Hi everyone! It’s been a good couple of weeks getting to take Tango back out pointing with him on flying form! A lovely way to end the season on the old boy with our second win in our first season together.
After an eventful couple of races at Bitterly point-to-point I was determined to come back out and give it another go, and Tango certainly showed me what he was made of. Take it back to Mollington at the start of May, where Tango and I were entered in the PPORA Novice Riders race. It was nice to be back behind the ears of the old boy I know so well and I knew he was feeling well. Despite carrying a large penalty he wasn’t going to let that stop him from bouncing all the way down to the start! The ground was officially good; Mollington ground staff had done a good job of watering and aerating the ground in the build-up to the meeting.
I’m down at the start and as we know Tango is a bit of a tank when it comes to racing so I decided to keep him handy, however when the flag was dropped we were the quickest away and therefore ended up making it. Usually he likes to just go as fast as he can for three miles however I had decided as the ground was quicker than previous races this season, I was going to keep him chilled and nobody was really taking him on so he was very happy to set a better pace. This in turn meant his jumping was foot perfect as he flew round, winging everything without rushing! I couldn’t have asked for a better race with him cruising home 40 lengths in front of Gold Mountain and Harry Greasby.
Tango has been the best partner for this season, teaching me the "Dos and Don’ts" of racing and definitely how to not interfere in a race. I can’t thank Venetia Williams enough for the pleasure of riding this gelding and hopefully he can go again next year before he finishes his racing career. He has now gone on a much deserved holiday! It’s been an amazing pointing season with ups and downs and I’ve had the support of a huge number of people, in particular my sponsor Hattie Austin Sports Photographer who has put up with me all season!
I however have not taken a holiday, moving straight onto riding flat horses down at Richard Hannon's for the time being, hoping to see what the summer brings...whether it’s more point-to-pointing before the end of the season or trading the jumps for the turf!
Images kindly provided by Neale Blackburn - Chasdog Photography
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