Trainer secures £25,000 bonus with the bargain buy he spotted when riding against him

The timing was uncanny as Kingofthefrontier landed a maiden hurdle at Southwell on Tuesday, triggering a £25,000 bonus for the trainer who had spotted a potential bargain when riding against him in a point-to-point.

With cancellations across the season’s final two weekends, the 2025-26 campaign ultimately finished earlier than scheduled and without any horse having advertised the season’s biggest new initiative: the GB Pointing Young Horse Maiden Series, sponsored by Tattersalls Cheltenham and Goffs UK, which offered bonuses of up to £25,000 for any horse who won one of 12 qualifying maidens and then went on to win under rules.

Cue Kingofthefrontier. He became eligible for the bonus when winning at Charm Park in Yorkshire in March and duly secured an extra £25,000 for his new owners when landing the maiden hurdle at Southwell.

Most of the 12 maiden winners during the season headed through the sales ring, many making a healthy price, but some, like Kingofthefrontier, were sold privately – and in this case trainer John Dawson must be applauded for such a shrewd purchase, having ridden against Kingofthefrontier when he was trained by Cherry Coward, daughter of Mick Easterby and well-known within Yorkshire for her excellent handling of the point-to-pointers.

Dawson said: “He's a lovely type. I broke him in for the Cowards before I had my licence and when he won his maiden he was just the sort I wanted for [owner] George Critchley. George has had a few who have needed time, but I was confident we could have some instant fun and, with him being five already and coming from the Cowards, I knew he’d been done well but wouldn’t be overcooked. 

"He’s a lovely mover and, while I didn’t want to risk him on ground too quick, I felt he was well able to win the bonus this time and everything just fell into place.” 

While there will always understandably be great interest in the huge figures paid at the sales houses, Kingofthefrontier is an example of the value to be found in winning British pointers who haven’t turned the heads of higher-profile agents or trainers. Instead, it was Dawson’s inside knowledge that reaped rewards and former connections are delighted for him.

Cherry Coward’s daughter Samantha Coward said: “My cousin actually bred Kingofthefrontier. His circumstances changed and he offered him to me, so we bought him relatively cheaply as a yearling. We sent him to John to break in, had him home, then trained him turning four. He did everything right, worked well, had a racecourse school, but the ground dried up so he didn’t run.

“The sales houses didn’t want him and we actually asked John his advice on what he was worth. He then came back to us with an offer and we accepted. 

"We are so happy for him and thrilled to have done it all from Yorkshire! We have been in the sport a long time and these scenarios don’t come along very often so we are very happy. It wasn’t the best race that he won, but to win first time out you have to be talented and he has proved that by winning on the track.”

Frontiersman, a son of the great Ouija Board, stands in Gloucestershire at Overbury Stud, whose Simon Sweeting said: “I’m thrilled the bonus has been won and even more delighted it was by a horse by Frontiersman. It is exactly what we wanted; he has covered a lot of mares and some really good ones too. He has a lot of stock winning races, he is quietly achieving results and there is a lot to come. 

"I'm thrilled for John Dawson, a good amateur who has transitioned to the training ranks. To turn this around is brilliant.”

Paul Miller, chief executive of the Point-to-Point Authority (PPA), said: “I’m absolutely delighted for everyone involved with Kingofthefrontier. Behind the scenes we've been working incredibly hard over the last couple of years on a range of new initiatives, and moments like this make it all worthwhile.

“Going from the initial idea to implementation takes a long time and the GB Pointing bonus series goes right back to a meeting I had with the BHA and High-Quality Horse group back in November 2024. I can’t thank the Levy Board enough, both for underwriting the series to the tune of £250,000 and their wider ongoing support for point-to-pointing.

“This season also saw the introduction of two further series, the 0-110 series and the hands-and-heels one, both of which gained tremendous support from the Jockey Club. We were having meetings in September 2024, again highlighting the amount of work which goes on into getting these things off the ground. Sometimes it may appear nothing is happening or changing, but there is always a lot going on and we are already working on things for two years’ time.”

Champions dominant again

There is a familiar feel to the championship tables at the end of the season.

Gina Andrews adding a 12th Goffs-sponsored women’s title to her already glittering career, while James King dominated the Tattersalls Cheltenham men’s table and in doing so secured a fifth title with a career-best 65 winners.

Among the trainers, Josh Newman was champion for the third year running in the large yard category sponsored by Foran Equine and Jennifer Owen added a second title in the Oriental Club-sponsored category for trainers with fewer than five horses. There was also a first crown for Luke Price in the division for trainers with six to 14 horses, also sponsored by Foran Equine.

John and Sonia Gardener won the Izuzu leading owner award, enjoying a tremendous season with 14 winners. The Gardeners have long been involved in the grassroots sport and are most deserving winners.

The Highflyer Bloodstock novice riders awards were won by Katie Featherstone and Lucas Murphy, who enjoyed superb seasons with 11 and 18 winners respectively. 

There was also a new award, sponsored by the Jockey Club and the PPA, for the winner of the hands-and-heels series. This went the way of Dewi Haddock, who finished on 14 points and is another talent for the future.

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