Blackbow and co aiming to fly the flag for British point-to-pointers

With the likes of Samcro and Getabird set to start short-priced favourites for their respective Cheltenham targets, the spotlight will again be on Irish point-to-point graduates at this year's festival. However, they may not have it all their own way, as their British counterparts also boast a strong hand at Prestbury Park next week.

Among the weapons in the British point-to-pointers' armoury is the imposing Blackbow, who shot to favouritism for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper after extending his unbeaten record to three races with another polished performance in the Future Stars bumper at Leopardstown during the Dublin Racing Festival.

Blackbow may have been bred in Ireland and now be in training with the master of Closutton, Willie Mullins, but he began his racing career under the guidance of Tom and Sophie Lacey in rural Herefordshire.

"He was just the most gorgeous, athletic, rangy individual," recalled Tom Lacey of the day he bought Blackbow as a store for €32,000. "He's actually a first foal but he was huge - the amount of ground he covered was just incredible. I'm very commercial so pedigree and conformation are everything in my job - you need the right materials when you're starting out.

"Blackbow certainly looks the best bumper horse in Ireland and I'd love it if he wins at Cheltenham - if not this year then next," added Lacey. "He was always very straightforward; he's a natural jumper who's very fast over his obstacles."

While many will ponder the difference that a preparation between the flags in Britain and Ireland can have on a horse's future prospects, Lacey is quick to highlight that it is the most unmistakable similarity that people should be taking heed of.

"You've got to gallop three miles and jump 18 fences, whichever side of the Irish Sea you're on," he said.

"I won two maidens at Larkhill - the best point-to-point track in Britain - in January, and those two horses, Energumene and Sebastopol, were only three and a half years old. To gallop three miles and jump 18 fences, those horses have to have talent as they've done that on pure ability. They're not doing it on physical strength at that age, they're just horses with talent and an incredible amount of potential.

"Times can be interesting, as quite often our races are run way quicker than the Irish points and their races can be on sharper tracks. For my money, it doesn't matter what side of the Irish Sea you're on."

And it seems that a growing number of high-profile trainers are in agreement with Lacey, who revealed that Energumene - who shares his sire, Denham Red, with Un De Sceaux - was snapped up by Mullins in a private deal after his Larkhill success.

Moreover, the pool of British point-to-point trainers also aiming to produce young horses to a high standard would appear to be on the increase.

The Nicky Henderson-trained Santini, favourite for the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle and already a Grade 2 winner, began his career with a Didmarton maiden win for Ed Walker, while a host of Paul Nicholls-trained entries, including Coastal Tiep, Overland Flyer and Captain Cattistock, all spent their formative years with Jack Barber.

"It's an incredibly commercial business in Ireland," said Lacey. "The Irish bring such a huge number of horses to market via the point-to-point field each year that inevitably the Irish are going to produce more horses.

"Eight or ten years ago I think I was the only one trying to do it commercially in Britain. But there's more of the younger generation having a go with young horses and trying to produce them for resale in England now. There's definitely more people doing it than when I started."

And should more point-to-point handlers and pinhookers begin investing in more quality young stock to send through the British pointing system, Lacey feels it could well be a case of a rising tide lifting all ships.

"We're just going to need more depth to the races," he said on the prospect of British point-to-pointers gaining more commercial appeal. "Quite often there'll only be three four-year-olds running, whereas in Ireland they're running maximum fields of four-year-olds.

"But if you look back through history, hundreds of top-class horses have started off winning English point-to-points. Think Teeton Mill and The Dikler. The fact is the British just aren't producing the numbers like the Irish are."

Recent renewals of the festival have seen a handful of former British pointers return to the winners' enclosure, such as An Accordion in the 2008 William Hill Trophy or Alfie Sherrin in the 2012 JLT Handicap Chase.

But with a new wave of British pointers about to pitch up at the festival, people might decide to start paying as much attention to Larkhill as they are to Lisronagh.

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