MAY 2018
|
What’s new this month? |
|
Thursday
31 May 2018 |
|
This
evening I became the latest victim of the pathetic train service being
provided by Thameslink since the new timetables
were introduced on 20 May. I was
travelling back from Luton to St Albans, just three stops down the line. I got to
Luton station at around 17:07 expecting to catch the 17:12 train from
Platform 1; it was cancelled. I was
already annoyed, as the previous train was running late but the doors closed
just as I arrived on the platform; that was the Littlehampton train ... why
on earth does a train, which commences its journey at Bedford, terminate in
West Sussex of all places? I could
have sworn that you need to go to Victoria Station if you want to travel to
Littlehampton. I’ve not got anything
against the seaside town as such, as my family used to take day trips there
when I was a child, but I can’t image that many people who live in
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire would wish to travel there on a regular
basis! Besides, the longer the
distance the train has to travel, the more unreliable it becomes. Anyway,
the next scheduled train was the 17:16 to Rainham
in Kent, departing from platform 2; that was also cancelled. There was then an announcement that a
train, which was due to call at Luton Airport Parkway and St Albans amongst
other places, would depart from platform 4.
So I headed back up the stairs and down onto platform 4; after five
minutes standing on that particular platform, the details suddenly
disappeared without warning from the electronic notice-board, only to be
replaced by details of an East Midlands train, first stop St Pancras! So it would appear that promised trains
also disappear into thin air! I thus had
to head back up the stairs and down onto platform 1 again, to catch the 17:28
instead. There were a number of later
cancellations being notified too, both southbound and northbound. Thameslink
couldn’t organise a **** ** in a brewery!
It’s a total shambles!!! Thameslink is a commuter line, which also links Luton
Airport and Gatwick Airport; it’s not a line for day trippers to the seaside. Just one
result to report today, from Ffos Las: Floral Bouquet
(Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) fell at the last in the Mares’ Novices’
Hurdle (9 ran); the race notes state she was winded, but hopefully that means
she’s okay. Mr Mafia
(Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) was a non-runner in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles
4 furlongs] Here are tomorrow’s runners of interest, at Market Rasen: 14:50 Visage Blanc (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Novices’ Handicap Hurdle 15:25 Desiremoi D’Authie (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles 2 furlongs & 140 yards] 16:45 Follow The Swallow (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlongs &
89 yards] I’ve also
been notified of a revised delivery date for Lee Mottershead’s
book "Cue Card The People's
Champion", which I ordered at the end of March; it now due to arrive
on 07 June. The Tattersalls Ireland sale took place at Cheltenham today
with record prices recorded ... Gordon and Willie have been spending
big!!! Graeme McPherson bought a horse
named Ask Ben, for £30,000. |
|
Wednesday
30 May 2018 |
|
There is one result to report from yesterday, at Redcar: Celtic Artisan (Rebecca Menzies/Cam
Hardy/EPDS Racing) finished 5th in the Handicap [7 furlongs & 219 yards]
(15 ran). There is no result to report today, as my sole
runner of interest – Lord Topper – was a non-runner at Warwick! There are
due to be two runners of interest tomorrow, at Ffos Las: 18:00
Floral Bouquet (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle 21:00 Mr
Mafia (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs] Jockey
Dave Crosse fractured his right thumb following an incident at Huntingdon on
Monday; his mount suddenly veered off course close to the finishing line
during the bumper, crashing through the plastic railings as a result. He’ll be out of action for around three
months. Fortunately Dave does an
excellent sideline in hospitality! Gavin
Sheehan, who fractured his arm as a result of a fall during the Grand
National, hopes to return to action later this week. I forgot
to mention that Stynes also won the best turned-out
prize prior to his win at Cartmel on Monday. https://mobile.twitter.com/EPDS_Racing/status/1001182348573118464/photo/1 Owners Grech and Parkin will be
sending an Aintree Goffs UK sale purchase to
trainer Alan King; the horse is named Shannon Hill and joins Nayati at Barbury Castle. They own Claimantakinforgan
amongst others ... although they may have sold one or two at the recent
Doncaster sales. https://mobile.twitter.com/GrechParkin/status/1001417364087427073/photo/1 I went to
see Pasha Kovalev at the St Albans Arena yesterday
evening – this year’s tour is called ‘The
Magic of Hollywood’ and, once
more, he appears with former partner Anya Garnis,
along with four other professional dancers.
It has also been confirmed today that Pasha will be one of the
professional dancers featured in this autumn’s Strictly Come Dancing. J This will be his 8th season on the popular
dance show. Gorka
‘the Corker’ also returns for his
3rd season on Strictly. |
|
Monday
28 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Huntingdon: Pearls
Legend (John
Spearing/Nico de Boinville)
won the Handicap Chase [2 miles
& 104 yards] (6 ran). J Samson The Man (Noel Williams/Tom Garner)
finished 5th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 145 yards] (13
ran). Cartmel: Crushed (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd
in the Novices’ Hurdle (14 ran). The Tourard Man (Alan
King/Kevin Dowling) finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 1 furlong
& 83 yards] (8 ran). Stynes (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods/EPDS Racing) won and Comanche
Chieftain (Neil King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2
miles 1 furlong & 61 yards] (8 ran); Graeme’s 4th winner of the season. Miss Crick (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
2nd in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlongs & 34 yards] (5 ran). Just one runner of interest tomorrow, at Redcar: 15:00 Celtic Artisan (Rebecca Menzies/Cam
Hardy/EPDS Racing) – Handicap [7 furlongs & 219 yards] There’s no
need for me to watch the French Open this year, as it transpires that Djokovic split from his coach Andre Agassi back in
April. That’s fortunate, as I don’t
like Djokovic anyway!!! Having
been held back by a head cold this weekend, I’ve completed 3/5ths of the
planned website updates. I didn’t get
around to doing any gardening, but I did a little bit of spring cleaning
instead! |
|
Sunday
27 May 2018 |
|
Here are yesterday’s results for my runners of
interest: Chester: Redicean (Alan King/Dougie Costello/formerly owned by Apple Tree Stud)
finished 9th in the Handicap [1 mile 5 furlongs & 84 yards] (12 ran). Ffos Las: Grey Diamond (Alan King/Tom
Cannon) won the
Standard Open NH Flat Race (11 ran); Alan’s 9th winner of the season. The horse is owned by Dai Walters, who
recently sold Ffos Las to ARC. It was an amazing run as, despite the horse
almost pulling Tom’s arms out for much of the race, he went from last to
first within the final two furlongs to win by 1½ lengths
at the line. When interviewed, Tom
said he’d saddled the horse himself, to ensure the saddle wouldn’t slip! And today’s results: Uttoxeter: Desirable Court (Alan King/Daryl Jacob) finished
2nd in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (6 ran). The Ben Case-trained Dakkar
Collonges was lost as a result of a fall during the
first race of the day. RIP Fontwell Park: Scooby (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) won the Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 1 furlong & 166
yards] (7 ran); Graeme’s 3rd winner of the season. Mr Muddle (Gary Moore/Andrew Glassonbury)
finished 7th and Ballina Lady (Graeme
McPherson/Harry Stock) finished 9th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 1 furlong
& 165 yards] (10 ran). Delirious Love (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 4th in the NH Maiden Hurdle (8
ran). Shady Glen (Graeme McPherson/Kielan
Woods) finished 3rd in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong & 210 yards]
(4 ran). And here are tomorrow’s runners of interest, and
Wayne Hutchinson is back in action: Huntingdon: 15:10 Pearls Legend (John Spearing/Nico de Boinville) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles & 104 yards] 16:20 Samson The Man (Noel Williams/Tom Garner) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 145 yards] Cartmel: 14:10 Crushed (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Novices’ Hurdle 15:20 The Tourard Man
(Alan King/Kevin Dowling) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 1 furlong & 83
yards] 16:30 Stynes (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods/EPDS Racing) & Comanche
Chieftain (Neil King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 1 furlong
& 61 yards]; Neil’s stable jockey, Trevor Whelan, is combining flat and
jumps racing during the summer. 17:05 Miss Crick (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlongs & 34 yards] My cold
made me feel pretty rough yesterday and I even went back to bed for around
three hours during the afternoon! But,
despite having almost lost my voice by the time I woke up this morning, I’ve
gradually been feeling better as the day has worn on and don’t feel too bad
just now. |
|
Friday
25 May 2018 |
|
Here are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Chester: 15:30 Redicean (Alan
King/Dougie Costello/formerly owned by Apple Tree
Stud) – Handicap [1 mile 5 furlongs & 84 yards] Ffos Las: 21:05 Grey Diamond (Alan King/Tom Cannon) –
Standard Open NH Flat Race Then on Sunday: Uttoxeter: 15:05 Desirable Court (Alan King/Daryl Jacob) –
Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Fontwell Park: 14:15 Scooby (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 1 furlong &
166 yards] 14:50 Mr Muddle (Gary Moore/Andrew Glassonbury) & Ballina Lady
(Graeme McPherson/Harry Stock) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 1 furlong & 165
yards] 15:25 Delirious Love (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – NH Maiden Hurdle 16:00 Shady Glen (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong &
210 yards] And
looking even further ahead, EPDS Racing’s Stynes is
due to run at Cartmel on Bank Holiday Monday. |
|
Thursday
24 May 2018 |
|
I haven’t
got anything planned for the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend ... apart from
website updates and a little bit of gardening ... but I certainly didn’t plan
on catching a head cold, in May. Damn.
L I didn’t
feel quite right when I went to bed last night; I subsequently woke at 05:00
this morning with a sore throat, and my nose started running this
afternoon. And I don’t even know
anyone with a cold ... poodles! Here is tomorrow’s runner of interest, at Worcester: 20:45 Undisputed (Noel Williams/Harry Teal) –
Mares’ Handicap Hurdle The Kvilleken is due to
run in the Open Hunters’ Chase at 17:40. The results are in from the Goffs
Horses in Training sale: Rosa Damascena sold for
£4,000 to Peel Bloodstock. City Dreamer sold for £40,000 to Stroud Coleman
Bloodstock/Sean Clancy – they purchased Gibralfaro
at a previous sale. Couer De Lion sold for
£110,000 to Stephen Kemble Bloodstock, which has a stud farm near Andover; he
will now be aimed at staying handicaps on the flat, such as the Cesarewich. Chato was sold for £19,000
to David Pipe. Single Estate remained unsold at £1,800 with bids
invited. Tyrell also remained unsold at £14,500 with bids
invited – he was subsequently sold privately to Colin Stirling, Director of Foulrice Park Racing, for
£17,000. Jamacho was sold for £20,000
to Robert Aplin; he also owns Hammersly
Lake. Dan Skelton purchased Marracudja
from the Paul Nicholls yard for £18,000. And as for Go West Young Man ... he was sold to
Laura Morgan for £5,000. And he’s a
character if nothing else; he almost ran off the course at Bangor last
Saturday, which resulted in him dropping from second position to finish 4th
at the line! EPDS Racing’s Our Reward
finished as runner-up in this race instead. I forgot to mention that Canelo
sold for £110,000 yesterday.
Happy Retirement to Cole Harden I recall
that Cole Harden has an ongoing issue with one of his knees, so connections
have decided to call it a day; he hasn’t run since last August. He’s already got a good home lined up, as
he’ll be living at Greatwood’s Marlborough base.
And Sire
De Grugy is spending a working holiday at the ROR
centre at Palace House in Newmarket this summer. He will be available to meet his many fans,
and connections are hoping that possible alternative careers will be
identified whilst he’s there. They
also want to teach him to stand still like a hack, so that he can lead the
Moore family’s ponies when he returns home; Jamie Moore says Sire De Grugy is already fantastic with kids. There’s
also good news regarding conditional jockey Fergus Gregory, who has been
hospitalised since a fall at Huntingdon on Tuesday. He hasn’t broken any bones and hopes to be
released from hospital tomorrow. |
|
Wednesday
23 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Yarmouth: Cecilator (Noel Williams/Liam
Jones/EPDS Racing) finished 9th in the Handicap [1 mile 6 furlongs & 17
yards] (11 ran). Warwick: Tara View (Alan King/Tom Cannon) finished last in
the Novices’ Handicap Chase (5 ran). Southwell: Lady Vitesse (Martin
Keighley/Richard Johnson) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4
furlongs & 62 yards] (9 ran). Newtown Boy (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd
in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (7 ran); the Ricci’s Palixandre
finished 5th. There are no runners of interest tomorrow. Following
the first day of the Goffs Sale, Canelo has been purchased by JP’s son Kieran, presumably
for his father, and Pougne Bobbi was bought by
Donald McCain. |
|
Tuesday
22 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Huntingdon: Silva Samourai (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods) was a non-runner in the
Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 171 yards] Second Time Around (Alan King/Tom Bellamy)
finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 137 yards] (9
ran). Serpico (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 4th and Minella
Whisper (Richard Phillips/Tom Bellamy) finished last in the Handicap Hurdle
[3 miles 1 furlong & 10 yards] (7 ran). Racing was delayed after the 18:10, as an
ambulance was needed to take Fergus Gregory to hospital following a fall in
which his mount, The Blue Bomber, died.
RIP The
20:10 commenced at 20:48; as a result, the Novices’ Hunter Chase was
abandoned. Hexham: Next Level (Jamie Snowden/Daryl Jacob) finished
7th in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (11 ran). Here are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Yarmouth: 15:55 Cecilator (Noel Williams/Liam
Jones/EPDS Racing) – Handicap [1 mile 6 furlongs & 17 yards] Warwick: 15:15 Tara View (Alan King/Tom Cannon) – Novices’
Handicap Chase Southwell: 19:35 Lady Vitesse
(Martin Keighley/Richard Johnson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs &
62 yards] 20:35 Newtown Boy (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –
Standard Open NH Flat Race; Palixandre is due to
make his debut in this one – he’s owned by the Ricci’s and trained by Nicky
Henderson. The Goffs UK Horses in
Training/Point to Pointers Spring sale begins tomorrow at Doncaster and, as
usual, there are a number of horses which I’ve followed which will be looking
for new homes. These include the Alan King-trained Canelo – which has to be sold because it’s a Million In
Mind partnership horse. Also coming under
the hammer are Rosa Damescena, City Dreamer, Couer De Lion and Chato;
meanwhile Crushed and Beneagles were withdrawn from
the sale. A number of Nicky Henderson-trained horses are
listed in the catalogue, including the striking Pougne
Bobbi; Paul Nicholls is sending horses to the sale too. Also on the transfer list are Tyrell (lot 579), Jamacho (lot 674) and Single Estate (lot 541). I’d buy the latter if I had the money, and
promptly retire him to become an ROR horse; I’m sure he’d enjoy working in a
different sphere! Jamacho
would be next on my list for ROR retirement; whereas Tyrell may still have a
little more mileage in him, as a racehorse.
Namewise, the newly acquired
Single Estate and Jamacho would then revert to the
‘pet’ names given to them by Apple
Tree Stud when they were yearlings ... in other words, Frank and Steve! Although I don’t know which one is
which! Anyway, here are all of the lots due to be sold: http://www.goffsuk.com/sales-results/sales/spring-hit-p2p-sale-2018 Many unnamed store horses have been auctioned
today, with Alan King, Jamie Snowden and Graeme McPherson among the buyers: http://www.goffsuk.com/sales-results/sales/spring-store-sale-2018 |
|
Monday
21 May 2018 |
|
Here are Tuesday’s runners of interest: Huntingdon: 18:10 Silva Samourai
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Hurdle
[1 mile 7 furlongs & 171 yards] 19:10 Second Time Around (Alan King/Tom Bellamy)
– Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 137 yards] 20:10 Serpico (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods) & Minella
Whisper (Richard Phillips/Tom Bellamy) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 1 furlong
& 10 yards] Hexham: 19:30 Next
Level (Jamie Snowden/Daryl Jacob) – Novices’ Handicap Chase |
|
Sunday
20 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Market Rasen: Londonia (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods/EPDS Racing) finished 6th in the Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles & 148 yards] (14 ran). Midnight Maestro (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) won the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs &
139 yards] (13 ran); Alan’s 8th winner of the season. Beneficial Joe (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) was pulled up in the Handicap Chase [ 2 miles 7 furlongs & 191 yards] (8 ran). Stratford: Flow From Devon (Jamie Snowden/Tom O’Brien)
finished 4th in the Mares’ Novices’ Selling Hurdle (7 ran). Generous Chief (Graeme
McPherson/Bryony Frost) won the Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 2 furlongs & 83
yards] (6 ran); Graeme’s 2nd winner of the season. Mr Mafia (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) won the
Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (10 ran); Martin’s 3rd
winner of the season. I’m
quickly going off summer racing, as there were at least three fatalities
today; two at Market Rasen and one at
Stratford. Mountain Path, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, sustained an injury on the flat and Or De Vassy, trained by Dan Skelton, suffered a fatal injury
when he fell. Hardessa,
trained by Laura Hurley, went wrong on the flat at Stratford. RIP.
Others were pulled up pretty quickly too ... having appeared to lose
their action to varying degrees L There
appear to be no runners of interest tomorrow or at least not over the jumps
at Towcester; although it’s too early for an ATR
tracker to arrive with news of any flat race runners. The
recently retired Timmy Murphy was a guest on Luck On Sunday this morning: https://www.racinguk.com/videos/watch/ondemand/13317 Despite
the beautiful weather outside, I’ve been slaving over a hot laptop for much
of the weekend; I’ve decided to concentrate on sorting out my photographs
first, and will then write my diaries.
|
|
Saturday
19 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Bangor-on-Dee: Fleeting Visit (Graeme McPherson) finished 5th in
the Maiden Hurdle (14 ran). Our Reward (Jamie Snowden/Jack Quinlan/EPDS Racing)
finished 2nd in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (9 ran). Dr Dunraven (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 3rd in the
Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (9 ran). Pomme Du Nuit (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 11th and Potters Vision (Alan King/James Bowen) finished 5th in the
Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (14 ran). Uttoxeter: Between The Waters (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page
Fuller) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 6 furlongs & 108
yards] (8 ran). 20:05 Swaledale Lad
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 12th in
the Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 168 yards] (13 ran). Doncaster: Two Weeks (Clive Cox/Hector Crouch/Appletree Stud) finished last in the Novice Stakes [6
furlongs & 2 yards] (11 ran). And here is a re-cap of tomorrow’s runners of
interest: Market Rasen: 14:45 Londonia (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods/EPDS Racing) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles & 148 yards] 15:50 Midnight Maestro (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 139 yards] 16:50 Beneficial Joe (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Chase [ 2 miles 7 furlongs &
191 yards] Stratford: 15:10 Flow From Devon (Jamie Snowden/Tom O’Brien)
– Mares’ Novices’ Selling Hurdle 15:40 Generous Chief (Graeme McPherson/Bryony Frost)
– Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 2 furlongs & 83 yards] 16:10 Mr
Mafia (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle |
|
Friday
18 May 2018 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Aintree: Passing Call
(Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran). Kootenay
River (Alan King/Mr Thomas O’Brien) finished 2nd and Rogue Diamond (Graeme
McPherson/Mr Z Baker) finished 12th in the Goffs UK
Spring Sale P2P Bumper Standard NH Flat Race (Amateur Riders) (14 ran). 33-1
outsider Cool Sky, trained by Ian Williams, won the 2½ mile Handicap Hurdle
... he’s a half-brother to EPDS Racing’s unraced filly named Jessica Rabbit,
trained by Graeme McPherson.
Connections are hoping to start her off in a bumper at either
Worcester or Southwell early next month. She was already known as ‘Rabbit’ before being officially named. And there
was another runner of interest ... which I missed because it was on the flat
and I wrote yesterday’s blog without checking my in-box for an ATR tracker
email! Zabeel Star (Karen Mclintock/Jamie Gormley) won
the Handicap [1 mile & 68 yards] Here are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Bangor-on-Dee: 13:40 Fleeting Visit (Graeme McPherson) – Maiden
Hurdle 16:00 Our Reward (Jamie Snowden/Jack Quinlan/EPDS
Racing) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 16:35 Dr Dunraven
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Novices’
Handicap Hurdle 17:10 Pomme Du Nuit (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
& Potters Vision (Alan King/James Bowen) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Uttoxeter: 18:05 Between The Waters (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page
Fuller) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 6 furlongs & 108 yards] 20:05 Swaledale Lad
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Hurdle
[1 mile 7 furlongs & 168 yards] Doncaster: 19:50 Two Weeks (Clive Cox/Hector Crouch/Appletree Stud) – Novice Stakes [6 furlongs & 2
yards] And on Sunday: Market Rasen: 14:45 Londonia (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods/EPDS Racing) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles & 148 yards] 15:50 Midnight Maestro (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 139 yards] 16:50 Beneficial Joe (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Chase [ 2 miles 7 furlongs &
191 yards] Stratford: 15:10 Flow From Devon (Jamie Snowden/Tom O’Brien)
– Mares’ Novices’ Selling Hurdle 15:40 Generous Chief (Graeme McPherson/Bryony
Frost) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 2 furlongs & 83 yards] 16:10 Mr Mafia (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) –
Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle I’ve no
specific plans for the weekend. I’ll
watch the Royal Wedding on TV tomorrow ... but I will not be watching the FA
Cup Final, as I can’t stand football!
That leaves me with plenty of time to work on my diaries and
photos. |
|
Thursday
17 May 2018 |
|
There are three
runners of interest tomorrow, at Aintree: 17:35
Passing Call (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Mares’ Handicap Hurdle 20:50
Kootenay River (Alan King/Mr Thomas O’Brien) & Rogue Diamond (Graeme
McPherson/Mr Z Baker) – Goffs UK Spring Sale P2P
Bumper Standard NH Flat Race (Amateur Riders) |
|
Wednesday
16 May 2018 |
|
There are two results to report today: Newton Abbot: Dino Velvet (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 4th
in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2 furlongs & 110 yards] (7 ran). Colonel Miller (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished
13th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (15 ran). There
appear to be no runners of interest tomorrow! |
|
Tuesday
15 May 2018 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest, with Tom Bellamy deputising for
Wayne Hutchinson once more: Wincanton: Chato (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 82
yards] (9 ran). Skin Deep (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 3rd in
the Mares’ Standard Open Flat Race (17 ran); Pride of Pemberley’s
little sister, All Hands On Deck, finished 6th in this race. Sedgefield: Jamacho (Brian Ellison/Danny
Cook/raised by Apple Tree Stud) won
the Maiden Hurdle (10 ran). Southwell: Delirious Love (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 3rd in the Maiden Hurdle (5 ran). Visage
Blanc (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 2nd
and Sugar Storm (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 11th in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (13 ran). Here are
tomorrow’s runners of interest, and Wayne Hutchinson is still on the injury
sidelines: Newton Abbot: 15:10 Dino Velvet (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2 furlongs & 110 yards] 17:15 Colonel Miller (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –
Standard Open NH Flat Race Native River has been crowned Jumps Champion, the
Anglo-Irish ratings having been published today: Timmy Murphy has announced his retirement from
race-riding. Having switched from jump
race riding to flat race riding in 2015, he’s calling it a day because of
issues with his weight. |
|
Monday
14 May 2018 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Kempton
Park: Hidden
Cargo (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) unseated at the 11th fence Novices’
Handicap Chase (6 ran). Jaboticaba (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 3rd in the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] (10 ran); Tom replaced Wayne, who must have
suffered an injury when coming off Hidden Cargo earlier in the afternoon. Towcester: Our Three Sons (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) won the Beginners’ Chase
(2 ran); there were two non-runners. Jamie’s 2nd
winner of the
season. Catterick: Pacific
Fleet (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope/Apple Tree Stud)
was a non-runner in the Novice Stakes And here
are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Wincanton: 15:20 Chato (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 82 yards] 16:50 Skin Deep (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Mares’ Standard Open Flat Race I also notice that a mare named All Hands On Deck
is running in the bumper; she’s trained by Harry Fry and will be ridden by
Niall Madden ... and she’s also a full sister to Pride of Pemberley! Sedgefield: 15:00 Jamacho (Brian Ellison/Danny Cook/raised by Apple Tree
Stud) – Maiden Hurdle Southwell: 19:30 Delirious Love (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Maiden Hurdle 20:00
Visage Blanc (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) &
Sugar Storm (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Mares’ Handicap Hurdle Here is Money Maid and her 2-day old filly foal: https://mobile.twitter.com/EPDS_Racing/status/996014990762172416/photo/1 Another mare and foal, this time at the Vigors’ Stud: https://mobile.twitter.com/wickhamwicks/status/995752731783639040/photo/1 Altior and friends on
holiday: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/996007640722485251 |
|
Sunday
13 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest, which includes more winners: Ludlow: Pearls Legend (John Spearing/Fergus Gregory) was
a non-runner in the Handicap Chase [1 mile 7 furlongs & 212 yards] having
run at Haydock Park yesterday. Instant Karma (Jamie Snowden/Lucy K Barry)
finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 169 yards] (8
ran). Back On The Lash (Martin
Keighley/Richard Johnson) won the ‘Newcomers’
Standard Open NH Flat Race (7 ran); Martin’s 2nd winner of the season. Plumpton: Crushed (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Maiden Hurdle (7
ran); Alan’s 7th winner of the season and Wayne’s
5th winner of the
season. And Wayne rode another winner at the track
yesterday: Gin And Tonic (M Wigham/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 195
yards] (13 ran); Wayne’s
6th winner of the
season. That places Wayne currently in 4th position in
the 2018/2019 Jump Jockeys’ Championship, behind Harry Skelton (12 wins), Aidan
Coleman (7 wins), and Richard Johnson (7 wins)! Nico de Boinville, James Bowen and Sam Twiston-Davies
currently have 5 wins apiece. And here
are today’s runners of interest: Kempton
Park: 15:15
Hidden Cargo (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 16:50 Jaboticaba (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles] Towcester: 19:00 Our
Three Sons (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) – Beginners’ Chase Catterick: 15:05
Pacific Fleet (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope/Apple
Tree Stud) – Novice Stakes And,
finally, EPDS Racing’s Money Maid has had a filly foal, with a stud visit
promised in the very near future. J I’ll now
need to keep my fingers crossed that, when arranged, it doesn’t clash with
the either of the two other engagements I currently have in my late
spring/summer diary. L |
|
Saturday
12 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Haydock Park: (Mixed
Card) The Tourard Man (Alan
King/Kevin Dowling) finished 9th and Monbeg Theatre (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page
Fuller) won the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 6 furlongs & 177 yards] (17 ran); Jamie’s 1st winner of the season. The Unit (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
8th and William H Bonney (Alan King/Brendan Powell Jnr) finished 10th in the Swinton
Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 144 yards] (16 ran); the race was
won by the Evan Williams-trained Silver Streak, ridden by Adam Wedge. Pearls Legend (John Spearing/Tom Scudamore) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 2
furlongs & 211 yards] (9 ran). This is Monbeg Theatre: https://mobile.twitter.com/lucy_snowden/status/995290187835039744/photo/1 Galactic Power beat him by half a length earlier in
the season, at Ludlow. Okay, it was in
a Handicap Hurdle race, where Monbeg Theatre
carried 11-12 compared to our lad’s 10-11 but, nevertheless, it was GP’s day! Fortunately Bryony Frost walked away from a
crashing fall two out in the Swinton Hurdle; very
sadly her mount, the McNeill-family owned Act Of Valour, didn’t make it. L
RIP Act Of Valour Warwick: Primogeniture (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman)
finished 3rd and Sammylou (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 5th in the Novices’ Hurdle (7
ran). Deyrann De Carjac (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the NH Maiden Hurdle (5 ran); Alan’s 5th
winner of the
season and Wayne’s
3rd winner of the
season. Paddys Runner (Graeme
McPherson/Harry Stock) finished 5th and Diva Du Maquis
(Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 11th in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles & 5 furlongs] (13 ran). Miss Crick (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
3rd in the Mares’ Novices’ Chase (6 ran). Fidux (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs] (9 ran). Balli Martine (Noel
Williams/Tom Garner) finished 3rd and Nobby (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won Standard Open NH Flat Race (14 ran). Alan’s 6th winner of the season and Wayne’s 4th winner of the season. Hexham: Pantomime (Rebecca Menzies/Conor O’Farrell/formerly an EPDS Syndicate horse!)
finished 4th in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (4 ran). Lingfield Park: Ardamir (Laura Mongan/Jason Watson) finished 4th in the Handicap [2
miles & 68 yards] (5 ran). Here is a recap of tomorrow’s runners of interest: Ludlow: 15:35 Pearls Legend (John Spearing/Fergus
Gregory) – Handicap Chase [1 mile 7 furlongs & 212 yards]; he ran at Haydock Park today. 16:10 Instant Karma (Jamie Snowden/Lucy K Barry)
– Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 169 yards] 17:10 Back On The Lash (Martin Keighley/Richard
Johnson) – ‘Newcomers’ Standard
Open NH Flat Race Plumpton: 14:10 Crushed (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Maiden Hurdle I’ve
finished uploading my Sandown Park photos and have also proof-read and uploaded
my Sandown Park diary today. It’s
taken me hours ... in fact I started before 11:00 this morning and didn’t
finish until 21:00; although that includes a quick snack at lunchtime, a
tea-time meal, and also completing today’s blog ... plus sorting out my
clothes washing! |
|
Friday
11 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest … and two were winners: Market Rasen: Leapt
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods/EPDS Racing)
finished 3rd in the Maiden Hurdle (11 ran). Shady
Glen (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) won the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 191
yards] (6 ran); Graeme’s 1st winner of the season. Ascot: Sam Missile (Jamie Osborne/Jack Dinsmore/formerly
owned by Apple Tree Stud) won the
Apprentice Handicap [1 mile 7 furlongs 209 yards] (11 ran). Ripon: Single
Estate (S Waugh/Aaron Jones/raised by Apple Tree Stud) finished 5th in the
Selling Stakes (9 ran). And the amazing thing is that Shady Glen was a
10-1 shot and Sam Missile a 25-1 shot! Here are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Haydock Park: (Mixed
Card) 14:00 The Tourard Man
(Alan King/Kevin Dowling) & Monbeg Theatre
(Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) - Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 6 furlongs &
177 yards]. 15:10 The Unit (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) &
William H Bonney (Alan King/Brendan Powell Jnr) – Swinton Handicap Hurdle
[1 mile 7 furlongs & 144 yards] 17:55 Pearls Legend (John Spearing/Tom Scudamore) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 2 furlongs & 211
yards] Warwick: 17:30 Primogeniture (Martin Keighley/Aidan
Coleman) & Sammylou (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Novices’ Hurdle 18:00 Deyrann De Carjac (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Maiden Hurdle 18:30 Paddys Runner
(Graeme McPherson/Harry Stock) & Diva Du Maquis
(Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles & 5 furlongs] 19:00 Miss Crick (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Mares’ Novices’ Chase 19:30 Fidux (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs] 20:30 Balli Martine
(Noel Williams/Tom Garner) & Nobby (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Hexham: 13:45 Pantomime (Rebecca Menzies/Conor O’Farrell/formerly an EPDS Syndicate horse!) –
Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Lingfield Park: 16:15 Ardamir (Laura Mongan/Jason Watson) – Handicap [2 miles & 68 yards] And, just in case I don’t get around to writing a
blog tomorrow evening, here are Sunday’s
runners of interest too: Ludlow: 15:35 Pearls Legend (John Spearing/Fergus
Gregory) – Handicap Chase [1 mile 7 furlongs & 212 yards]; he’s also been
declared to run at Haydock Park tomorrow. 16:10 Instant Karma (Jamie Snowden/Lucy K Barry)
– Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 169 yards] 17:10 Back On The Lash (Martin Keighley/Richard
Johnson) – ‘Newcomers’ Standard
Open NH Flat Race Plumpton: 14:10 Crushed (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Maiden Hurdle This is Elgin winning at Chelmsford yesterday
(Thursday 10 May); his second run on the flat … very stylish! http://www.attheraces.com/racecard/Chelmsford-City/10-May-2018/2040/ I’ve
actually been very industrious this past week and may yet finish my Sandown
Park diary this weekend! So watch this
space … |
|
Thursday
10 May 2018 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of interest: Huntingdon: Potterman (Alan King/James
Bowen) won the NH Maiden Hurdle
(8 ran); Alan’s 3rd
winner of the
season. Midnight
Chill (Jamie Snowden/James Davies) finished last in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 3 furlongs & 137 yards] (14 ran). Wincanton: Solstice
Star (Martin Keighley/Tom Bellamy) finished last and Lord Topper (Jamie
Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) finished 6th in the ‘Confined’ Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 3 furlongs & 166 yards] (8 ran). Sporty
Yankee (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) finished 13th in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 5 furlongs & 82 yards] (16 ran). King Vince
(Jamie Snowden/Richard Johnson) finished 8th and Matravers
(Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) finished 9th in the Maiden Hurdle (14 ran). Lady Vitesse (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) finished 5th in the
Conditional Jockeys’ Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (11 ran). Worcester: Mr Muddle
(Gary Moore/Andrew Glassonbury) finished 7th and Ballina Lady (Graeme McPherson/Mr J Nailor)
was pulled up in the Handicap Chase [2 miles & 110 yards] (10 ran). Youngoconnor (Christian
Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (9
ran). Follow The
Swallow (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished
5th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles & 4 furlongs] (10 ran). Peggies Venture (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Fixed Brush Hurdle Series Mares’ Maiden
Hurdle Div I (9 ran); Alan’s 4th
winner of the season and Wayne’s 2nd winner of the season. Scooby
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 5th in the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles & 7 furlongs] (8 ran). Chester: Zabeel Star (Karen McLintock/PJ McDonald) finished 10th in the Handicap [1
mile 2 furlongs & 70 yards] (12 ran). Just four runners of interest tomorrow: Market Rasen: 13:30
Leapt (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods/EPDS Racing) –
Maiden Hurdle 14:05
Shady Glen (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 191 yards] Ascot: 17:25 Sam
Missile (Jamie Osborne/Jack Dinsmore/formerly owned
by Apple Tree Stud) – Apprentice Handicap [1 mile 7 furlongs 209 yards] Ripon: 18:25
Single Estate (S Waugh/Aaron Jones/raised by Apple Tree Stud) – Selling
Stakes The beautiful Altior …
and noisy Might Bite … are being spoilt with carrots whilst on their summer
holidays at the Vigors’ Stud: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/994311666258137088 And you have to love a cria
too … that’s a baby alpaca! https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/993777115190452224 Bound For Glory, who finished 6th in this year’s
Aintree Foxhunters, passed away following a run at Fakenham
earlier in the week; he was 12.
Bound For Glory RIP |
|
Wednesday
09 May 2018 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest ... and there are two winners! Fontwell Park: Pirate
Look (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) finished 8th in the Conditional Jockeys’
Handicap Hurdle (9 ran). Lord Condi (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) won the Standard Open NH
Flat Race (8 ran); Martin’s 1st winner of the season. Newton
Abbot: Desirable Court (Alan King/Daryl Jacob) won the Mares’ Novices’
Hurdle (8 ran); Alan’s 2nd winner of the season. Wolverhampton: Enforcement
(Martin Keighley/Luke Morris) finished 12th in the Handicap (3 year olds) [1
mile 1 furlong & 104 yards] (13 ran); Noel Williams’ Percy Prosecco finished as runner-up in this race! And there
are an unbelievable number of runners of interest tomorrow ... 15 in fact! Huntingdon: 14:35 Potterman (Alan King/James Bowen) – NH Maiden Hurdle 16:15
Midnight Chill (Jamie Snowden/James Davies) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3
furlongs & 137 yards] Wincanton: 17:50
Solstice Star (Martin Keighley/Tom Bellamy) & Lord Topper (Jamie
Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) – ‘Confined’ Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs
& 166 yards] 19:20
Sporty Yankee (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5
furlongs & 82 yards] 19:50 King
Vince (Jamie Snowden/Richard Johnson) & Matravers
(Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) – Maiden Hurdle 20:20 Lady
Vitesse (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) – Conditional
Jockeys’ Mares’ Handicap Hurdle Worcester: 13:40 Mr
Muddle (Gary Moore/Andrew Glassonbury) & Ballina Lady (Graeme McPherson/Mr J Nailor)
– Handicap Chase [2 miles & 110 yards] 14:10 Youngoconnor (Christian Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Novices’ Handicap Chase 14:45
Follow The Swallow (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods)
– Handicap Chase [2 miles & 4 furlongs] 15:55 Peggies Venture (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Fixed
Brush Hurdle Series Mares’ Maiden Hurdle Div I 16:55
Scooby (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles & 7 furlongs] Chester: 17:05 Zabeel Star (Karen McLintock/PJ
McDonald) – Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs & 70 yards] I’ve
finally booked a date for an ‘Alpaca
Experience’, which takes place at Butlers Farm in Essex; it was a
birthday gift from my work colleagues.
I also get to meet my adopted alpaca ‘Fab’! |
|
Tuesday
08 May 2018 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Exeter: Tillythetank (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Mares’ Maiden
Hurdle (11 ran); Alan’s 1st winner of the season, and Wayne’s 1st winner of the season too! Grey
Diamond (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was a non-runner in the Standard Open NH
Flat Race Ludlow: Harry Hunt
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 10th in
the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 171 yards] (11 ran). Red
Admirable (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished
4th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 55 yards] (13 ran). And
tomorrow’s runners of interest: Fontwell Park: 19:45
Pirate Look (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle 20:15 Lord
Condi (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Newton
Abbot: 14:10
Desirable Court (Alan King/Daryl Jacob) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Wolverhampton: 18:25
Enforcement (Martin Keighley/Luke Morris) – Handicap (3 year olds) [1 mile 1
furlong & 104 yards] Brian
Hughes has been appointed as Donald McCain’s first jockey ... so that pushes
Will Kennedy down the pecking order at the yard. Meanwhile,
Sam Twiston-Davies has four rides at Newton Abbot –
for Emma Lavelle, Paul Nicholls, David Dennis and Colin Tizzard. Harry Cobden has 4 rides for Paul Nicholls
and two for Colin Tizzard; Richard Johnson rides
Sizing Platinum for Colin too. |
|
Monday
07 May 2018 |
|
And here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Warwick: Mahlermade (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (12 ran). Delirious Love (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) unseated in the NH Maiden Hurdle (11 ran). Desiremoi D’Authie
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th, Another Crick (Noel Williams/Tom
Garner) finished 8th and Alexander The Great (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) was pulled up in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles] (13 ran). Kempton Park: Criq Rock (Alan King/Tom Cannon)
was brought down in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (5 ran). Alan’s horse was okay, as was the one which
fell, however, having then rode a winner, Tom Cannon stood down for the
remainder of the afternoon; it was reported that he could barely walk! With three days of the 2018/2019 NH season
completed, I’ve not been troubled to make any winning entries in my jockey /
trainer notebook yet ... I follow Alan King, Jamie Snowden, Martin Keighley,
Noel Williams, Wayne Hutchinson and, this season, Graeme McPherson too ...
hopefully someone will train or ride a winner soon! There is
one winner to report however, notification via my ATR tracker came too late
to include in yesterday’s list: Ayr: Tyrell (Micky Hammond/Joe Colliver/formerly
owned by Apple Tree Stud) won the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles & 70 yards] (9
ran); he won by a short-head! The NHRE
Racing Club horse, Ring Minella, also won at
Warwick – Division I of the 3 miles 1 furlong Handicap Hurdle; the horse is
trained by Paul Henderson and was ridden by Paddy Brennan today. The National Hunt Racing Enthusiasts Racing
Club was formed following interest expressed via their facebook
group page. They have now taken on a
second horse, a mare by Scorpion trained by Robin Dickin,
so will be open to new members joining their Racing Club syndicate. It’s well worth joining the facebook group, if you enjoy National Hunt racing. And Hargam won too, again at Warwick. There are
four runners of interest tomorrow, Tuesday: Exeter: 17:50 Tillythetank (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Maiden
Hurdle 20:20 Grey
Diamond (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Ludlow: 18:00
Harry Hunt (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 171 yards] 19:30 Red
Admirable (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 55 yards] I popped
out just after 09:00 this morning, and there was already a fair amount of
traffic on the roads when I returned just before 10:00. That’s the problem when it’s nice weather
at the weekend or on Bank Holidays; everyone decides to go out, causing lots
of congestion! Anyway,
I’ve been slaving over a hot PC for much of the day, working on my Sandown
Park diary again ... I was hoping to complete it by the end of next weekend
but, with the current rate of progress, I think that may be a little
optimistic! |
|
Sunday
06 May 2018 |
|
Here are yesterday’s results for my runners of
interest at Uttoxeter: Young Phoenix (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 5th in the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (15
ran). Morning Herald (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock)
finished 9th and Lostnfound (Jamie Snowden/Sam Twiston-Davies) finished 6th in the Mares’ Handicap
Hurdle (12 ran). And today’s results for my runners of interest at
Towcester too: Court Out (Jamie Snowden/Harry Bannister)
finished 6th, Daydream Aulmes (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 4th and Ask Alice (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished last in the
Maiden Hurdle (7 ran). Our Reward (Jamie Snowden/Sean Bowen) was pulled
up and Lerichi Belle (Martin Keighley/Richard
Johnson) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (6 ran). Thomas Crapper (Robin Dickin/Charlie
Poste) finished 6th and Weyburn
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 5th in the
Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlongs & 151 yards] (7 ran). Raving Bonkers (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock)
finished 8th, Budding Robin (Graeme McPherson/Kielan
Woods) finished 5th and Hartshorne Abbie (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 6th in the Intermediate
Open NH Flat Race (11 ran). Dan Skelton trained four of yesterday’s winners
at Uttoxeter, and another at Towcester
today, so Harry Skelton is leading Jockeys’ Championship currently. Nicky Henderson hit back with a treble of winners
at Towcester – one for Nico
de Boinville, one for Jeremiah McGrath and one for
James Bowen! And here are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Warwick: 13:30 Mahlermade (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 14:05 Delirious Love (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – NH Maiden Hurdle 15:50 Desiremoi D’Authie (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Another Crick
(Noel Williams/Tom Garner) & Alexander The Great (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] Kempton Park: 14:55 Criq Rock (Alan
King/Tom Cannon) – NH Novices’ Hurdle Sam Twiston-Davies has
announced that he’s to go freelance this season, with Harry Cobden taking
over as number one jockey for the Paul Nicholls yard. Sam will still ride regularly for Paul,
including at Kempton Park tomorrow; perhaps he’s hoping that this new
approach to riding engagements will give him a better shot at the Jockeys’
Championship too. There had been
rumours ... and of course this also upsets the equilibrium, because Harry regularly
rode for Colin Tizzard too ... or, as I originally
mistyped, Colon Gizzard! LOL! I’d love to visit Colin’s yard when he holds the
public open day towards the end of the summer ... Apple Tree Stud has purchased a ‘ready-to-go’ Juvenile colt by Ruler Of
The World; a very pretty chestnut: https://mobile.twitter.com/Tattersalls1766/status/992405354431598593/photo/1 I’ve finally
finished the book I’ve been reading for what seems like forever; Damage by
Felix Francis. I watched TV coverage
of the 2000 Guineas yesterday and the 1000 Guineas today, also the
cross-country from the Badminton Horse Trials plus the show-jumping highlights. I’ve sewn up the latest snood I knitted
too. I’ve been
working on my Sandown Park diary today; I like to ease my way into diary mode
at this time of the year, beginning with the easiest of the eight outstanding
ones! Besides, it also demonstrates
that my website is still live, if I start with the latest one and then work
backwards to fill in the gaps from there ... |
|
Friday
04 May 2018 |
|
Following a break of six days, the 2018/2019
National Hunt season starts tomorrow! And here are tomorrow’s runners of interest at Uttoxeter: 13:40 Young Phoenix (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Novices’ Handicap Hurdle 16:30 Morning Herald (Martin Keighley/Harry
Stock) & Lostnfound (Jamie Snowden/Sam Twiston-Davies) – Mares’ Handicap Hurdle And Sunday’s runners of interest at Towcester too: 13:00 Court Out (Jamie Snowden/Harry Bannister)
& Daydream Aulmes (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) & Ask Alice (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Maiden Hurdle 14:10 Our Reward (Jamie Snowden/Sean Bowen) &
Lerichi Belle (Martin Keighley/Richard Johnson) –
Novices’ Handicap Chase 15:50 Thomas Crapper (Robin Dickin/Charlie
Poste) & Weyburn
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Chase
[2 miles 5 furlongs & 151 yards] 16:25 Raving Bonkers (Martin Keighley/Harry
Stock) & Budding Robin (Graeme McPherson/Kielan
Woods) & Hartshorne Abbie (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Intermediate Open NH
Flat Race It’s a
Bank Holiday weekend and, unusually, the weather is set to be dry and warm
throughout. J I’ve a
number of chores to complete but, hopefully, I’ll also have time to begin the
summer ‘catch-up’ of the
outstanding items on my website following a very busy couple of months! |
|
Tuesday
01 May 2018 |
|
There is one
result to report from yesterday, at Thirsk: Single
Estate (Simon Waugh/Cam Hardie/raised by Apple Tree
Stud) finished 7th in the Handicap Div I [7 furlongs]. And today,
at Newcastle: Pantomime
(Rebecca Menzies/A Mullen/former EPDS leased
syndicate horse) finished last in the Handicap [2 miles & 56 yards] (8
ran). Jamacho (Brian Ellison/Nathan Evans/raised by Apple Tree
Stud) – finished 2nd in the Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs & 42 yards] (6
ran). It has
been announced that At The Races is going to be re-launched as Sky Sports
Racing from next year. Chester and Bangor-on-Dee have signed up to the new
channel; they are currently with Racing UK.
The top
National Hunt sire for the 2017/2018 season was Flemensfirth;
King’s Theatre was runner-up. EPDS Racing’s
Wildehearted Woman, who was forced into retirement
due to a serious knee injury, has been covered by Jack Hobbs. Strangely enough, I vaguely recall
suggesting Jack Hobbs when the MD John was asking for people’s input during
one of the stable visits! |
