NOTHING TO FRET ABOUT AS PETER LANDS A (W)RIGHT TOUCH

Given the sea fret that started (and indeed bookended) today in Scarborough, the last thing I was expecting at the Derwent point-to-point at Charm Park this afternoon was sunburn. And yet... and yet...

If nothing about the forecast presaged such a warm, pleasant day, then the reports of the work gone in to repair the course since the last raceday here made the immaculate surface slightly less of a surprise, if no less appreciated. The only occasion I've seen better anywhere all season was... here, in March.

In no time, Charm Park has reclaimed its right to be regarded as an exemplar pointing venue, its stock rising again dramatically just as that of the likes of, say, Thorpe Lodge and Dingley takes a bit of a dip. A huge well done to all concerned.

A total of 33 runners on the day might well have been better had more connections understood whether their horses were actually eligible for the Northern Novice Championship; it's likely a goodly number were.

The need to make this clear enough to avoid a repeat of today's two-runner renewal - Grenadine Save and Flashy Kate additionally hailing from the South Midlands and East Anglia respectively rather than locally - is already acknowledged by the one Point-to-Point Racing Company staffer I spoke to this evening.

Elsewhere on the card, it was one of those days to give those remaining owner-trainers sufficient encouragement to stick with the sport - plenty haven't.

Iana Stoyantcheva may have decided raceriding wasn't for her a mile into her first ride aboard Darius Des Sources at Dalton Park, but her fine grey has got her into the winner's enclosure twice now even so, victory today despite a 10lb penalty suggesting he may be good enough to bridge the class gap if campaigned in Opens next term.

Thomas Labeille *is* still owner-trainer-ridden, and although ostensibly exposed after a season taking in everything from Maidens to Opens, Leah Cooper's charge is at his most compelling at the 2m4f trip he skated home over today - a detail not lost on visiting Point-to-Point Authority supremo Peter Wright.

Considering the easy manner, determination and courtesy with which he has addressed all stakeholders' concerns about pointing these past few years, and navigated the sport through the treacherous waters of two lockdown-enforced interruptions with far less damage incurred than anyone had the right to expect, I doubt too many people will have begrudged Peter if he availed himself of some of the 11-1 to be had in places.

And with that, both Yorkshire's and my own 2022-23 pointing campaign in all probability come to a close, five weeks before the end of the season but with nothing booked between now and then. It has, as nearly always (some will know I wouldn't want to relive 2012-3 in a hurry), been an absolute joy. Summer well, friends, and see you again soon.