TRAINER Sally Alner claimed a first and second in the Men’s Open race as the new Wessex Area season got underway at Larkhill.

Other highlights included jockey Liam Harrison earning his first point-to-point winner and there was a victory for the classy Southfield Theatre in the Ladies’ Open, ridden by his new pilot Lily Bradstock.

The opener produced some excellent racing when 53 horses took place in the six races at the Hursley Hambledon meeting.

The Men’s Open race produced a tremendous finish with Tom Barton holding off his fast finishing stablemate Apple’s Queen, ridden by Bryan Carver with Sarazen Bridge and Nick Phillips a close third.

The winner, owned by the Four Dames Partnership, headed by Anne Tory is well known for his triumphs round Badbury Rings but this proved his versatility in going right handed.

It will be a day his 16-year-old rider Harrison will never forget on his first ever point-to-point ride and his initial comment was that; “I have been taught a great deal by my partner.”

Harrison, who works for trainer Neil Mulholland, has been riding at the Limpley Stoke stable since the age of 12 and recorded his first victory for his employer on Magical Thomas in a hurdle race at Stratford in August, the day he received his GCSE results.

Too young to drive at present, he is grateful to his mother Heather for acting as his chauffeur and on the basis of this ride she may be visiting many more point-to-point courses this season.

Southfield Theatre recorded his first success for enthusiastic owner Angela Yeoman since winning a steeplechase at Exeter in February 2015 when scoring in the Ladies’ Open race ridden by Bradstock.

Having been trained by Paul Nicholls to win eight races he had rather lost his way and the move to new trainer Sara Bradstock and a different regime seems to have rekindled his enthusiasm.

Yeoman, who is a very well known National Hunt owner was registering her first ever point-to- point winner and was delighted to see her King’s Theatre gelding enjoying himself in front for virtually all of the race.

Another familiar face from the National Hunt scene enjoyed his own triumph when Drumlynn was a very easy winner of the Restricted race for former jockey and now TV presenter Luke Harvey.

Already the winner of a bumper when trained by Nicky Henderson he outclassed his six rivals and won by a distance under Darren Edwards.

Explaining his bucking on the way to the start, Harvey did say that he had not been able to do much work with him due to his television commitments at Newbury, and as such was very fresh in the preliminaries.

Harvey who could have kept his horse to National Hunt races said: “I love pointing and want to keep being involved in it.”

Edwards reported that his mount has ‘a real engine’ and could progress through the ranks.

Blackwater Bramble was another easy winner of the Conditions Race and supplemented his win from Buckfastleigh on the opening day of the season.

Owned by Katherine Smith-Maxwell and her daughter Ros and ridden by her son John he is trained by Katherine’s other daughter Alexandra Dunn at West Buckland in Somerset.

The King’s Theatre gelding was previously in the care of Jade Barber and recorded two victories last season before being sold quite cheaply in the summer.

The other two races on the card were the Maiden races where there was much drama none more so than in the shorter Maiden Race when Dawn Sunrise unseated his rider Josh Newman at the first fence and then proceeded to cause chaos at the next two fences when three of the runners were eliminated.

The fences took their toll on the 13-strong field with five loose horses passing the winning post ahead of the eventual winner Drake’s Well, ridden by Sam Lee and trained by Fred Hutsby..

Sophie Lacey’s Airlander was fancied to make a winning debut for owner Lady Cobham in the final race, the Open Maiden, but he could not match the pace of the winner Danilo D’Airy ridden by Zac Baker.