21st January 2016

British Point to Pointing will now feature in the Racing Post every Friday, this is fantastic news on the back of success boxes in the result section. Those who have made it possible should be congratulated. Some real positive steps have been made this year and it appears that finally we have some dynamic people driving the sport forward. I am not going to make lengthy comparisons between English and Irish Point to Points as there are many differences commercially. What I do believe in though is that, if you have the right type of horse winning its maiden it doesn’t matter what side of the Irish sea it wins on. Those horses have equal chances of progressing successfully under rules. The Irish Point to Point circuit is commercial and the English Point to Point circuit is preceived very differently. I am one of few people using the English Point to Point circuit commercially and have proved it can work. In England there are now a few young lads following suit and the more horses we, as commercial producer of young stock have in the Point to Point field in England the better our chances are of gaining further trust in the market place. It is a numbers game and Ireland have proved that, they have all but complete dominance. They market their success very well yet no one hears of the horses that don't go on and sadly, we all experience those.

It has been a long day with one thing and another but at least a little warmer, even if the sand gallop has failed to notice. I’ve had vets, owners and collected the lorry from the repairers. I now have naming forms and more paper work to do. Good Night.