IT was a beautiful day for racing as the Lamerton Hunt held their point-to-point steeplechase races at Kilworthy on Sunday.

There were more than 50 entrants across the seven races, with some exciting racing throughout the day. Racing was delayed by 30 minutes due to a road accident near the course.

In the first race of the day, the Pannells Commercials Hunt Race, Tamarstone put up a brave performance to win under David Prichard. After making the running he was headed at the final jump by Acadian, but rallied gamely to gain the verdict by a neck.

The Open Maiden race for mares attracted 14 runners with five-year-old Grey Frontieres prevailing in a blanket finish. The winner had made the journey from the Droitwich yard of owner / trainer Max Young.

Six time national jockey champion Will Biddick rode home the first of two winners in the PPORA Club Members Maiden, riding Five Gold Bars to victory over Noble Promise and Luck’s Boy.

The day’s feature race was the Condy Mathias Mixed Open, a qualifier for finals at both Cheltenham and Stratford in May.

Last year’s winner Dicky Bob ran away to victory, clocking the fastest time of the day, beating Heaney and Chosen Lucky. Dicky Bob’s trainer, Verity Nicholls, is from Walkhampton and said: ‘He is really my old hunter. I do his schooling and popped him over a jump yesterday. I expect his next outing will be the Members’ at Cherrybrook and I would like to consider a hunter chase before the end of the season.’

In his English pointing debut, Ballyvodock beat Clondaw Bunny and Awesome Tunes in the Confined Race.

The 14-1 outsider Come On Joey found a good turn of foot in the home straight to claim the prize in the Restricted Race.

Will Biddick won on Tuff Nano in the final race, the Intermediate, to put him on the 16 winners mark for the season, and left him just ten short of the British record of 414 career wins, set by Richard Burton in the 2011 season. It was the third successive time that Tuff Nano has won the Intermediate Race at Lamerton.

Pictures by James Bird — see more in this week’s Tavistock Times.