Hazel Hill

"An absolute monster" and "a professor", prolific point-to-pointer Hazel Hill was in a class of his own. His connections tell Gemma Redrup about his stellar career - and the shenanigans of transporting the Foxhunter cup home

HAZEL HILL is the point-to-point horse of his generation. His form figures are staggering, with 19 victories from 28 runs during his seven-year career on the track. He won 13 of his 20 point-to-points and six of his eight hunter chases, clocking up £53,251 in earnings in the process.

“Ted’s” biggest day in the sun came when winning the prestigious Cheltenham Foxhunter in 2019 under Alex Edwards for his trainer Phil Rowley and his owner Diana Williams.

“We still talk about that win now,” says Mel Rowley, who trains under Rules alongside husband Phil. “I was in the stands with Phil before the race and it flagged up on the big screen that Ted had just become favourite. We looked at each other and said, ‘Oh, my God’. To start the biggest race in the amateur calendar as favourite – we just didn’t know what to do with ourselves.

“Then to see him coming up the hill between the second last and last fence, putting lengths between him and the horse in second, with the crowd cheering, was unbelievable – it was such a blur.”

Reflecting on that monumental victory, Mel describes the aftermath as if it happened yesterday.

“Phil and I were like two big piles of mush, because to have a horse that has achieved so much for us, on a small yard… they don’t come along very often and we were just so eternally grateful to the Williams family and to Alex. Ted made us so emotional because he just wanted to do it, and you can’t ask more than that, can you? Phil and I still watch the race back if we’ve had a bad day.”

Ted crossed the finish line a comfortable four lengths ahead of his nearest rival.

“I’ve never been more confident going into a race than I was going into that one,” says Alex. “There wasn’t anything that could beat him – he bolted up.”

NOW 16 years old, Ted was foaled in Ireland by Patrick Moakley. Bred in the purple, he is by Milan, out of a Presenting mare.