RACING enthusiasts in the West Midlands can look forward to another competitive point-to-point season when action gets back underway in Chaddesley Corbett next month.

The first fixture will take place at the Worcestershire track when the Harkaway Club host racing on Friday, December 27.

The 2019/20 season sees a new venue added to the West Midlands schedule with the opening of the Croome & West Warwickshire’s course at Shelfield Park.

This has been several years in the making and a lot of time, effort and hard work has gone into improving the drainage and it has also benefitted from a major reseeding programme which resulted in the course receiving very positive feedback at its recent open day.

Max Young is another of the area’s up and coming young trainers and the Droitwich handler hopes that Baby Jake, who won five times under rules for Shark Hanlon, could be the type to thrive in his current environment.

Taboo is a 10-year-old mare previously with Phillip Rothwell. She has run 22 times under rules and been pulled up on numerous occasions - that provides current connections with big challenges.

The rest have all been running in point-to-points with varying degrees of success, but with another summer under their belts there is no reason to believe some of them cannot improve.

Stinggrey’s jumping does not yet match his talents while Final Sting has finished fourth on two occasions in Ireland. Clondaw Tonic has pulled up twice but must have shown previous connections some ability as he started favourite on his debut, whereas Second Chapter won a short Cothelstone maiden.

Angela and William Rucker's colours are carried with distinction at all the major National Hunt meetings, but the Worcestershire-based couple always support local point-to-points with two or three horses trained from home.

Monbeg Oscar and Tossapenny both won last year, the former finishing second to King of the Clothe (successful four times) at Brafield before holding the sustained challenge of Miss Seagreen at Bitterley.

Tossapenny was the odds-on winner of a 2-1/2 mile Restricted at the second Chaddesley fixture. He did not beat much on that occasion, but should have no trouble finding another winning opportunity.

Paxman won an Irish maiden for Colin Bowe as a four-year-old before joining Evan Williams stable. He fell two out in a Taunton hurdle in 2018 and was then pulled up at Ffos Llas, but is young enough to make amends.

The Smith Maxwell family have always been involved in West Midland Area Point-to-Points at both administrative and competitive levels. This year their daughter Alex Dunn is preparing Tulsa Jack and How About It.

Christine Banks fields an unchanged team. Arthurs Secret started last season by finishing third in a hot ladies open at the Harkaway Club and finished it by pulling up in a Stratford Hunter Chase.

In between those efforts he had been very impressive winning a mixed open by 30-lengths at Brocklesby Park and annihilating the opposition in two Hunter Chases at Ludlow, beating Now Ben by 22-lengths on the first occasion and winning by no less than 43-lengths on the second.

Diamond King was not to be outdone as he won Ladies Open at Brafield and Chaddesley Corbett as well as taking the Area Hunter Chase at Worcester.