'I hope this initiative is the start of something bigger and better' - Nick Luck pledges £5,000 bonus for hunter chase double
Claire Hart with her weekly round-up from the point-to-point world

Showcasing British point-to-pointing on jumps racecourses in hunter chases has never looked so positive.
A crowd-funded initiative to sponsor series of races which originally kicked off in 2022 has now gained the support of racing broadcaster Nick Luck.
Point-to-point enthusiast Gordon Phillips from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was one of the moderators and a long-time member of the original point-to-point discussion forum on the Jumping For Fun website.
Phillips first had the idea of raising enough money to sponsor one hunter chase within the ‘forumites’ community and a crowd-funding page was set up.
He said: “The interaction on the forum with fellow point-to-point enthusiasts spurred me on to create a way in which to support the sport we all love.”
Success followed and the sponsored series now comprises of eight races at Ludlow, Wincanton, Leicester, Catterick, Fakenham, Kempton, Hexham and Stratford. Charlotte Fuller, mother of former jump jockey Page, is also involved and said: “The racecourses have been brilliantly supportive, offering tickets and boxes.”
Following the closure of the forum, Phillips was seeking another suitable platform to host the hunter-chase sponsorship and a relationship with Ben Atkins of the Pointing Pointers podcast was formed.
During the coronavirus pandemic Atkins was asked to host the live stream at his local point-to-point and following that the Pointing Pointers podcast took off. Pointing Pointers were able to promote Phillips’ ideas through their podcast and eventually the Pointing Pointers forum was launched and many people followed the move.
Fellow podcaster Nick Luck, a pointing enthusiast himself, was keen to become involved and has put up a £5,000 bonus to any horse who has ran in a point-to-point during the current season and that can win the races staged at Catterick on March 5 and Kempton on April 1. These races will be titled ‘The Nick Luck Daily Podcast Pointing Pointers Hunter Chase’.
Luck said: “I have a point-to-point background, Tweseldown was a favourite course to visit, my parents were involved and my brother trains the odd one or two. I hope this initiative is the start of something bigger and better, I'm very keen to support the amateur sector of our sport. This has the potential to provide a healthier and more successful link to jumps racing”.
Weekend preview
Southfield Theatre, a once useful rules performer when trained by Paul Nicholls, recently celebrated his 17th birthday and will be bidding to gain his 30th career victory under his regular partner Lily Bradstock at Larkhill, Wiltshire on Saturday in the members race.
Bradstock, daughter of trainer Sara, will be hopeful he can yet again prove that age is no barrier. She says: “He is a legend, he is a total lunatic at home, he goes flat-out everywhere and being a racehorse is his job. He will only run a couple of times this season.”
Acey Milan, trained and owned by jumps trainer Anthony Honeyball, is the pick in the novice riders race. Honeyball said: “It's brilliant to have these old horses for the lads in the yard to ride. Chad Bament won three point-to-point races on him and now Will Higgs takes over. It's important to encourage the lads that want to race-ride and it gives them a less-pressured stage at a point-to-point. It also encourages them to work hard within the team at home.”

Course specialist Grace A Vous Enki will be bidding to win his eighth race at Larkhill in the men's open. My Drogo, now trained by Devon's Ed Walker, ran a promising third here in December. Others to note are Duc De Bourbon who won here at the last meeting and Oscars Moonshine from the Olive Nicholls yard.
At Friars Haugh in Scotland connections of Dusart, who ran in high profile races such as the Cotswold Chase and the Scottish Grand National when trained by Nicky Henderson, will be hoping he can make amends for unseating at Alnwick in December in the mixed open race.
Music Drive, trained by Kelly Morgan in Leicestershire is an eyecatching entry and a likely runner in the mixed-open race at Revesby Park.
Previously trained in Ireland by Gordon Elliott, the eight-year-old hasn’t run since December 2022 and Morgan said: “The weather has been frustrating and we have had a stop-start prep, but I hope he can do himself justice.”
Saturday
Larkhill, Wiltshire, SP4 8QR. First race 11.30. 7 races. 90 entries.
Revesby Park, Lincolnshire, PE22 7NB. 12.00. 6 races. 71 entries.
Sunday
Friars Haugh, Borders, TD5 8LT. 12.30. 7 races. 90 entries.
Read these next:
Racegoers in for a treat as Chaddesley Corbett and Horseheath set to feature top-class runners
How Stratford’s boss is also a ubiquitous figure in the world of point-to-point

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Published on inGB point-to-point
Last updated
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- 'There's value to be had but the buying budget has gone up' - quality and competitiveness on the rise in point-to-pointing
- 'We're all excited about this new course' - Scottish track Pusk Farm getting ready for first meeting on April 26
- 'We wanted to become a must-attend social event' - Cocklebarrow draws huge numbers again even in bad weather
- Established jumps trainers only want to help the pointing scene and their runners should be welcomed
- Foxhunters' winner returns to action while Sheriff Hutton and Ampton host Grade 1 stars