IN FORM local Herefordshire trainer Venetia Williams enjoyed an early Christmas present as she had two winners in the last meeting of the year at Ludlow Racecourse, writes Simon Burgess.

Wednesday afternoon's, meet took place in blustery cold conditions but still attracting a very healthy four figure attendance.

The meeting had to pass an early morning inspection due to the threat of overnight freezing temperatures but Williams will be glad the meeting went ahead as her horses, Roll Again (ridden by stable jockey Charlie Deutsch) and Subcontinental (ridden by stable amateur jockey Lucy Turner) both won comfortably within half an hour of each other.

Roll Again looking particularly impressive and one to follow over the winter months on only his second start in this country having come from Willie Mullins in Ireland.

Williams, based at Kings Caple, has now had 12 winners from her last 28 runners, an impressive 43 per cent strike rate.

There was also local success for Billingsley based trainer Alistair Ralph as his horse Getaway Totherock won the EBF Mares Novice Hurdle by a wide margin 10 lengths after an initial promising run over course and distance back in November.

This race was a drop in grade to a Class 4 (from a Class 2) and having been ridden prominently throughout, Getaway Totherock took up the running three flights from home and could be called the winner from there on with a bloodless victory at juicy 20/1 odds.

Another local trainer, Dr Richard Newland who trains in Droitwich, Worcestershire, was also on the mark as his attractive grey horse, Caid Du Lin, took the feature £26,000 Tanners Cava Handicap Chase.

The horse bounced back to form after a couple of below par runs and clearly enjoyed being ridden from the front (a tactic that often pays dividend around the tight turns of the Ludlow parkland course) and the reapplication of cheekpieces worked after blinkers were resented last time.

There were also wins for Lambourn trainer Nicky Henderson who took the opening novice hurdle, (traditionally a strong race on this card), with Hijack who jumped well and cruised away from the Jonjo O Neill pair of Nautical Star and Garry Clermont.

An eventful beginners chase went the way of the relatively unfancied Espoir De Teille for Slad based trainer Tom George who likes to target horses at Ludlow.

Going off at 12/1, Espoir De Teille was left in the lead four fences from home after Burrows Edge fell and bought down Garrattstown and from then on the result was never in doubt as Phillip Hobbs’s Cotswold Way merely chased him in vain up the run in.

The concluding ‘bumper’ race was run in near enough pitch black conditions but saw another impressive winner as Anthony Honeyball’s Mont Segur, a £58,000 purchase, easily pulled away from a decent field of long-term prospects.

Indeed all of the front three including Lord Apparelli from Kim Bailey’s yard and Pisgah Pike from Jamie Snowdon’s yard look capable of progressing up the ranks and are horses to keep an eye on in the near future.

The next meeting at Ludlow is on Wednesday, January 8, with race details and start times yet to be confirmed.