Christie chasing old point to point record Veteran Winged Leader is chasing an age old point-to-point record set the 1950s by Still William, as the top hunter chaser continues on his recent winning spell for trainer David Christie. An agonising runner-up when caught in the closing strides by Billaway in Cheltenham’s 2022 St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup, Winged Leader has raced in just one hunter chase (at Aintree in April 2023) since then, but has been busy racing ‘between the flags’. From 12 point-to-points last season, Winged Leader won nine times and this autumn, the ten-year-old has won all three races - bringing his career haul to 25 pointing wins. Having been successful most recently on November 9, Christie reports "we are trying to get the point to pointing record with Winged Leader. “The winning-most horse in point-to-points (Still William) had 33 wins in the 1950s and my horse is on 25 at the minute. Point-to-pointing was a lot different in those days and that horse was trained by Flat jockey Declan McDonogh's grandfather (John Bryce Smith). "It would be great to get the record but will be hard to do both point-to-pointing and hunter chasing with him, so we might have to forgo hunter chasing as those races take it out of you. Getting the record won't be easily done so I don't think he could do both, but we'll see." Behind Still William for that point-to-point record are a pair of P P Hogan-trained horses from the 1980s Under Way, with 30 wins, and Ah Whisht, 29, while Gus O'Brien’s Corryvreckan also registered 29. More recently Eugene O’Sullivan’s Arctic Times won 28 point-to-points in the 2000s. Regarding his other leading hunter Ferns Lock, which flopped at Cheltenham and Aintree last season, Christie added "we're still mulling over whether to bring Fern Lock to a shorter trip or to aim for a couple of hunter chases and then Aintree. We're thinking about running during Christmas, then Thurles (in January) and then Aintree but we were also thinking about going back to two miles or 2m4f as he has the speed to do that." The top point-to-point and hunter chase handler concluded "I also have a big mare called Hathaways Cottage who is a very good mare."
