An Owen family festival affair? Ragnar Lodbrok could be in line for Cheltenham tilt

James Owen might not be the only member of his family training a well-fancied Cheltenham Festival runner in March.

His wife Jenny, an equine vet based in Newmarket, pulled off a bit of a coup at Horseheath on New Year’s Eve when saddling Ragnar Lodbrok to win the mixed open race, beating the hot young talent Fairly Famous. 

There was a similar turn-up at Larkhill where Randox Foxhunters’ Chase winner Famous Clermont finished third behind the former Paul Nicholls-trained Grace A Vous Enki, who is now in Herefordshire with Nickie Sheppard.

Both Fairly Famous and Famous Clermont will strip fitter next time, but the nine-year-old Ragnar Lodbrok and seven-year-old Grace A Vous Enki are two special point-to-pointers.

Owen, whose husband trains Triumph Hurdle favourite Burdett Road, hinted Cheltenham’s St James's Place Festival Hunters’ Chase was mentioned in the same breath as Ragnar Lodbrok over boot-of-the-car drinks after his win on Sunday.

However, she said: “His next target is likely to be the Dick Saunders’ Hunters’ Chase at Leicester on February 15. 

"He's owned by a group of nine lovely people, including Dick Saunders’ daughter Caroline Bailey and her husband Gerald.

“For now, we’re just taking it one race at a time. He’s a little quirky, but our head groom Kim Phillips and the team have done a great job with him, and Alex Chadwick rides him so well in races and knows he always does just enough.”

Owen, who is responsible for five pointers, has entered The Big Lense in the season’s first hunter chase of the season, which takes place at Taunton (3.00) on Monday. 

She would be mad not to take advice from her husband but, as he says, training horses is a team event, and being married to a vet must be quite an asset.

Senor comeback delayed

Senor Lombardy is one of only two point-to-pointers trained near Penrith in Cumbria by jockey coach and former jump jockey Brian Harding.

Last seen finishing fifth behind Billaway in the 2022 running of the St James’s Place Festival Hunters’ Chase, the 11-year-old was set to make his comeback in the men’s open race at Alnwick on Sunday, but that meeting was cancelled on Thursday.

Harding’s wife Kelly says: “The ground was a little quicker than ideal at Cheltenham and he picked up a minor leg issue, so we gave him last season off, but his fifth was as good as a win. We own him in partnership with my sister Kate and her husband Adam Thompson, who had not been involved in ownership until this horse.”

Kelly not only part-owns a good horse, she is also the mother of promising conditional jockey Elizabeth Gale. She was utterly luckless while gaining just 21 rides over five seasons in point-to-points, due to a combination of Covid lockdowns and a broken back.

However, she remained determined and instead of joining a yard near her home after fulfilling her mum’s wish to complete her A-levels, she headed to the further reaches of Somerset to Philip Hobbs and Johnson White. That decision looks wise now. 

Weekend preview

Gloucestershire trainer Max Comley was set for a 2.30am alarm call ahead of a trip to Alnwick on Sunday, until its meeting was cancelled on Thursday.

He will now switch his attentions to Cornwall and the meeting at Wadebridge, where he has entered Wagner and Jay Bee Whiskey. James King, who tops the men’s championship with ten wins, is booked to ride the pair, although Wagner, who is entered in the mixed open race, is not a certain runner.

Comley said: “I’m just trying to keep his head happy. He likes going left-handed, but horses like Singapore Saga and Hawkhurst are hard to beat on their day and they have shown form around Wadebridge.” 

Singapore Saga beat Hawkhurst at the track’s December meeting, when Wind Tor, who is also entered on Sunday, finished third. 

Jay Bee Whiskey, who scored easily at Alnwick last time out, could face the smart Hearts Corner and consistent Stadmallen, who were first and second at the Cornish track last month, and the Alan Hill-trained Learntalot.

Jongleur D’Ainay, from Alan Hill’s Oxfordshire yard, is interesting in the young horse maiden following a taking debut last season. He has since been bought by Hill and the Point-to-Point Authority’s Jake Exelby.

Sunday

Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 3AE – CANCELLED

Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 7JE – 11.30. 6 races, 58 entries

More information at pointtopoint.co.uk & gopointing.com

Read this next:

Decision to extend cut-off point for horses running on the track before spring point-to-points is having an effect 

The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.