'We're all excited about this new course' - Scottish track Pusk Farm getting ready for first meeting on April 26

Point-to-point suffered a big blow last week with the news that three meetings had been lost due to the economics of staging them. In that context, it is particularly welcome to be able to report on a new meeting.

In Scotland, 25 miles from Perth racecourse on the outskirts of Leuchars, Pusk Farm is readying itself for its first point-to-point meeting on April 26, strategically timed at the end of Perth’s traditional raceweek.

Supported by the Fife Bloodhounds, this meeting is the brainchild of Louisa Cheape and her family. Meeting secretary Eugenia Turcan says: “Louisa is the heart and the brains of the whole project. The course is on the family farm.”

“We set up the bloodhound pack in May 2023 and decided that wasn’t enough,” says Cheape, taking up the tale. “We felt a point-to-point course on the farm would be brilliant too. The Fife Foxhounds used to stage their meeting at Balcormo Mains and, when that course closed, we moved to Overton for meetings in 2022 and 2023, which was great. However, we lost the support from locals and some of the sponsors didn’t engage with us due to the move.

“The hunt folding is what encouraged us to introduce the bloodhounds and the main drive for creating this course is to thank the local farmers who enable us to hunt across their land, and also to create a social event that can become an annual ‘must-go’ event. We're at the end of Perth raceweek and hopefully that will encourage people visiting to add us on.”

Chris Dennis, the BHA’s course inspector, visited the site intended for the new course during the summer of 2023. With his go-ahead as well as the support and help of her husband Henry, Cheape set sail to mark out the course. 

In January 2024 a pony-racing training day took place at the course, which was a great success, and a scurry held in April gave people the chance to ride the track, with reports of how it rode all positive. Offering good viewing, the left-handed, undulating track is the finished article and an imaginative racecard is on offer.

The new course is hoping to draw racegoers from Perth to its April 26 fixtureCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Cheape adds: “Peter Burgon was influential in the race planning and we're hoping to attract plenty of runners. Although we're very northern, we hope to gain support from further afield. With varying races, hopefully we can catch the curiosity of enthusiasts and participants.

“We've been lucky to secure lots of helpers and volunteers – the local community are thrilled to have this event. We had a high target with sponsorship and have received support from local trainers Lucinda Russell and Nick Alexander.”

Northern area secretary Hilary McTaggart, who is in her seventh year in the role, is full of praise for the team involved. “Everyone is so enthusiastic,” she says. “There's a lot of thought going on and we hope this new fixture is a great success.”

Turcan adds: “Our goal is to attract as many people and participants as possible. We'll do advance ticketing to ensure an easier flow of the public on the day. A bouncy castle and a rodeo bull will be just some of the family attractions. The Fife has a long traditional attachment to point-to-pointing and, while it's now the bloodhounds who hold this meeting, the hunt have been very supportive. We're all excited about this new course.”

Leuchars train station has a direct service to and from Edinburgh and a shuttle bus to the course is on the agenda.

As for the lost meetings, the Glamorgan and the Llangeinor/Pentyrch will not be staging their meetings at Ystradowen, nor will the Oakley meeting at Brafield-on-the-Green in Northamptonshire take place. All parties are hopeful of future involvement, possibly running joint meetings or amalgamating fixtures.

Paul Miller, Point-To-Point Authority chief executive, says: “For a variety of reasons many fixtures are facing a range of financial pressures, including increased costs and lower profits. Part of my role is to work out a way in which we can have a sustainable and viable blueprint for fixtures. It takes a lot of money to put on a fixture, so we want to ensure a good return for the investment.”

Weekend fixtures

Saturday
Chipley Park, Somerset, TA21 0QU. First race 12.00. 7 races, 94 entries.
Brocklesby Park, Lincolnshire, DN41 8PW. 12.00. 7 races. 92 entries.

Sunday
Higham, Suffolk, CO7 6LD. 12.00. 6 races, 53 entries.
Friars Haugh, Borders, TD5 8LT. 12.30. 7 races. 70 entries.

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