The morning started with a touch of cool mist in the air, which soon cleared to a warm and sunny day, without a breath of a breeze. An excellent platform for a race to unfurl and the eventual winners of the day and season to be decided. While the weather looked inviting, the sun was noticeably higher in the sky for the start, making for warm and challenging conditions as the morning progressed.
Our three top contenders were present and fully primed for the final challenge to determine the championship. Our four President's Cup contenders were equally geared up and ready to fight it out to the finish line. Hall’s Heroes didn’t hold any surprises, but the formality would soon be cemented.
The drama began just as the last of our competitors exited the driveway with our second on the points table popping a hammy before the crossing! Nooooo! Big feels to 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗼𝗻 who put a massive personal effort into this series only to be denied a start.
However, the rest of the field was not to know (except Andrew Grady) so the race was kept honest to the conclusion. 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆𝗹 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 took the honours lopping a healthy 1:44 from his handicap time with an actual time of 48:31. 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘇𝗶𝗰𝘇 claimed second spot, 7 seconds over her handicap in a time of 59:37. 𝗖𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻 romped home in third with a massive PB of 6:39 in 54:31 just 31 seconds over her handicap. Congratulations to our three podium placers!
More than the October winners was at stake though, with James out, the championship was down to who would cross the line first and points leader 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸 was able to overcome a fast finishing 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺 at the death to seal the championship. Even without gaining a point from October, the drop 2 rule kept 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗼𝗻 in Second place by a margin of 3 points, leaving 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺 with a respectable 3rd place!
The Presidents Cup final was a race within a race, with our four finalists battling for the glory. 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸 was able to snatch the glory from 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺, who kept ahead of 3rd placed 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗮𝗻𝗻, and 4th placed 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗠𝗰𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗲. A well fought-out result!
Hall’s Heroes was confirmed with 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸 a clear winner for the female, and 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘆 taking out the male prize.
What an exciting series and an equally dramatic final.
Congratulations to our championship podium finishers!
And a special mention to 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸, who not only cleaned out our trophy cabinet, but also set a new course record in our 10 Mile Handicap this year!
Check out the full October results here 👈