The day farmer Fred could have dented mighty Istabraq's Cheltenham Festival record

In the pantheon of great hurdlers, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Istabraq is right up there, but meet the Warwickshire farmer who almost put a dent in that brilliant horse’s Cheltenham record before it had begun. 

Fred Hutsby was a teenage amateur when Mighty Moss rolled into his parish, a horse bought by his dad Ken a year after a family tragedy.

Point-to-pointing has been stitched into Hutsby life for generations, back to Fred’s great-grandfather Fred, and it has been handed down to his son Tom, 16, who started in points this season and, after 13 rides, he might get his elusive first winner on Joe Kidd at Larkhill on Sunday.

Turn time back to 1997 and there was Fred and six-year-old Mighty Moss lining up at the Cheltenham Festival, not in the Foxhunters’ Chase, which would have been an achievement in itself, but in the 17-runner Royal Sun Alliance (now Baring Bingham) Novices’ Hurdle. 

Imagine it, a point-to-point rider aged 19 partnering his dad’s horse and taking on the cream of jockeys and potential Champion or Stayers’ Hurdle winners.

They didn't win, but they led from the fourth flight, rallied when Istabraq under Charlie Swan passed them going to the final hurdle, and were just a length behind at the line.

It remains an example of a genuine amateur excelling among the best of the pros, for Richard Hughes finished third and Richard Johnson fourth. Istabraq went on to win three Champion Hurdles, while Mighty Moss, who one year earlier had finished third under Hutsby in the Champion Bumper, subsequently took fourth place in the Stayers’ Hurdle and fifth in the Foxhunters’ Chase.

Istabraq: triple Champion Hurdle winnerCredit: Pat Healy

Fred says: “I rode once at 16, once at 17, and five or six times at 18, so Tom has had a hell of a start by comparison. Hopefully, he will make a jockey – it’s what he wants to do. He plans to go to agricultural college later this year, but I hope in time he is good enough to ride for other people, and we won’t need to have so many horses.”

As is the way of things in the horse world, Mighty Moss was not planned. Fred says: “Dad was in Ireland, staying with Brian Murphy at the Dunraven Arms and looking for a hunter for my sister, when he saw Mighty Moss. He bought him for two and a half grand [Irish punts].

“I was a stable lad at David Nicholson’s, so the horse went there. It was a great time with the likes of Richard Johnson, Warren Greatrex and Richard Burton working there, and I’m still friends with all of them. I learned a lot. Mighty Moss wasn’t a fast horse, but he had such a cruising speed and the first time he ran he hosed up in a Huntingdon bumper.

“I was young, and if he’d come along when I had more experience, things would have been different. In the Istabraq race they went so fast they ran wide on the first bend, I went up the inner and found myself in front and he became really lit up. He pulled and pulled, but if I had dropped my hands and relaxed on him we might have won.”

Despite knee issues, Mighty Moss raced until he was 12, eventually becoming a potent hunter chaser and a wonderful focus for the family after the death of Fred’s brother Ryan in a farm accident.

“Tom’s a far better rider than me,” says Fred, “but I rode 94 winners, so he has a long way to go to catch me. I had some brilliant times riding.”

Weekend preview

Sunday’s Coronation Gold Cup at Larkhill has attracted an entry of 11 quality horses. Recent Hereford winner Time Leader does not run, while Will Biddick, trainer-rider of Taunton winner Regatta De Blanc, says: “I plan to run, but am going to walk the course first. She’s a really smart horse and – if she wins – she qualifies for Cheltenham, although unlikely to run there this year.”

Grace A Vous Enki: winning at Larkhill on New Year's Eve

Olive Nicholls’ collarbone injury is mending, but she cannot ride Viroflay, whom she trains and who won the race last year. Nicholls will run her horse if Biddick becomes available. The Nicky Sheppard-trained Grace A Vous Enki has looked exceptional in two wins this season, while Espoir De Teillee, Marcle Ridge, Solomon Grey and Sixteen Letters are all class acts.

The south-east season begins at Charing, where Kent showjumper William Rekert hopes The Red Fella can land the maiden. The pair were narrowly beaten when Biddick rode a vintage finish on Jingle De Gouet at Ampton last month.

Rekert said: “The plan was to be ready for the first meeting at our local course, and the Ampton run has put him spot on.”

Duncombe Park’s JRL Group Flat race can go to Sam Coward’s Soft Summer Breeze, a half-sister to a Flat winner, while All Is True is likely to be the Tom Ellis-selected runner in the intermediate race at Garthorpe, where Jason Maguire’s One For Rosie is set to give Ryan Alderman a first ride.

Sunday

Charing, Kent, TN27 0JS – 12.00. 6 races, 65 entries

Duncombe Park, Yorkshire, YO62 5EB – 12.00. 7 races, 69 entries

Garthorpe, Leics, LE14 2RT – 12.00. 6 races, 73 entries

Larkhill, Wiltshire, SP4 8AT – 12.45. 6 races, 71 entries

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

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