Rhys celebrates birth of his daughter with a hat-trick of winners at Tivyside

Mar 18 2008 by Brian Lee, Western Mail

RHYS HUGHES, 26, celebrated the birth of his daughter Anaira last Tuesday by riding his first ever hat-trick at the rain-soaked Tivyside Hunt Steeplechases with Hume Theatre (members), Little Ed (confined) and Bob Bites Back (maiden division three).

Rhys, who is married to former stable lass Natalie Band and has two other children Kristian, aged 8, and Oliver, 18 months, said, “When I entered the winners’ enclosure, after winning on Bob Bites Back, the owner, Mrs Edna Hussey, was so delighted she nearly pulled me off the horse to give me a big kiss.”

However, Rhys’s wife Natalie has no need to worry as the remarkable – she’s nearer 90 than 80 – Mrs Hussey’s great love is Bob Bites Back who won easily from the favourite Monsieur Delage.

Little Ed, tried in blinkers for the first time, was completing a four-timer, and Hume Theatre, a winner of his only two starts last season, comfortably accounted for Paktol De Brosses. All three of Rhys’s winners are trained by Robert Scrine of Pyle.

Minsgill Man gave James Tudor his 16th winner of the season when winning the men’s open and Ceri Evans, 16, took the ladies’ equivalent on Miss Sallyfield, trained by her mother Gina.

Dillwyn Thomas’s homebred Daisy’s Rainbow won the restricted under Luke Price, and Balloughton, who had finished fifth in a Leicester hunter chase recently, was a winner for Jodie Hughes in the intermediate.

Isabel Tompsett took the first division of the maiden on Find It Out, whose only claim to fame was in finishing third in a selling hurdle a couple of seasons ago, and Sams Lad, ridden by Deano Coleman and owned by Cardiff bookmaker John Lovell, won the second division.

Robert Williams won both pony races at the recent Dart Vale & Harriers Point-To-Point at Buckfastleigh. Robert, 13, grandson of Bargoed National Hunt trainer Bernard Llewellyn, won the 138c race on Oscar and the 148c on Chucka.

Robert’s mother Beth won nine point-to-points, a steeplechase and a hurdle race and his uncle John (Beth’s brother) has ridden many winners under rules, so he is carrying on the family tradition.

A pupil of Rhymney Comprehensive School and a member of the Gelligaer Farmers Pony Club, last season Robert won two races to add to the three winners he has ridden this season.

Congratulations to Evan Williams and his assistant trainer James Tudor on their great success with High Chimes at the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival last week. Evan was saddling his first festival winner while James was riding his first festival winner. High Chimes must be the first horse trained in Wales to win at the Cheltenham festival since Nortons Coin won the 1990 Gold Cup.

Well done too to Abergavenny’s Sam Thomas on winning the Gold Cup on Denman. Sam is the first Welshman to ride a Gold Cup winner since Bill Rees won on Pas Seul in 1960. The first Gold Cup in 1924 was won by Dick Rees aboard Red Splash. He won it again in 1928 on Patron Saint and in 1929 on Easter Hero.

Evan Williams was successful on the mighty Golden Miller in 1936 and on Roman Hackle in 1940 while Davy Jones, better known as a Flat race jockey, won in 1945 on Red Rower.

Former Welsh boxer Lennie “The Lion” Williams phoned me last week to tell me that his son Tyrone Williams, who handed in his jockeys’ licence in April 2005, was returning to the saddle.

Tyrone, 41, who served his apprenticeship with Henry Candy, rode his first winner at Epsom on Going Going in 1983. The big races he won included the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot, the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket, the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle and the Lincolnshire Handicap at Doncaster.

Let’s hope that Tyrone will soon be adding to the 800 or so winners he has already booted home.

The Brecon and Talybont point-to-point will now be held on May 10, 2008.

Easter is a busy time for hunt-racing enthusiasts and on Saturday the Curre & Llangibby hunts hold the second of their two fixtures over the popular Howick course, near Chepstow.

On Monday the South Pembrokeshire hold their meeting at Lydstep near Tenby. With crowds expected at both venues, racegoers are advised to set off early.

Racing gets under way at Howick at noon and at Lydstep at 1pm. The men’s open race at both meetings are qualifiers for the £10,000 Volkswagen Touareg Point-To-Point Championship to be held at Towcester on May 12.

You can email your views/news to Brian Lee at leebrian@ btinternet.com or phone him on 029 2073 6438