NOVEMBER 2015
|
Monday 30 November 2015 |
|
Just one
runner of interest today, at Plumpton: William H Bonney (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the
Novices’ Hurdle (12 ran); Wayne’s 28th winner of the season. Tomorrow there’s
again just one runner of interest, at Lingfield Park: 14:30
Solstice Star (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3
furlongs & 110 yards] Sprinter Sacre will bypass this Saturday’s Tingle Creek Chase in
favour of the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton just after Christmas. Meanwhile Un De Sceaux
is among ten horses entered for the Tingle Creek, the others being Vibrato Valtat, Simonsig, Sire De Grugy, Josses Hill, Savello,
Somersby, Special Tiara, Mr Mole and Third Intention. |
|
Sunday 29 November 2015 |
|
Wayne Hutchinson celebrates his Hennessy Gold Cup win aboard Smad Place I enjoyed
my day at Newbury yesterday, despite the blustery and frequently damp
weather. And, by all accounts, there couldn’t
have been a more deserving horse than Smad Place to
win the feature race and record his name in racing history. There were
seven runners of interest yesterday, five of which ran at the Berkshire track
and this is how they fared: Newbury: Lady Persephone
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
(Listed) (7 ran). Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
finished 5th in the Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (for Fulke
Walwyn Trophy) (10 ran). Midnight
Prayer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2
miles 6 furlongs & 93 yards] (16 ran). Smad Place (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won & Ned
Stark (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) finished 8th in the
Hennessy Gold Cup (15 ran); there were two withdrawals in the run up to the
race – Fox Appeal and The Druids Nephew, both due to the ground. It was Wayne’s 27th
winner of the
season. Here is
the report from the Racing UK website: http://www.racinguk.com/news/article/39325/smad-place-dazzles-in-hennessy-rout-at-newbury Alan King dedicated the win to a member of his
staff, John Goggin, who tragically lost his battle
for life following a recent car crash: http://www.racinguk.com/news/article/39327/smad-place-provides-emotional-win-for-barbury-castle Thistlecrack, trained by Colin Tizzard
and ridden by Tom Scudamore, won the Grade 2 Long
Distance Hurdle; it wasn’t a total surprise, having seen the horse win the
Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree back in
April. Yesterday
turned out to be a Gavin Sheehan ‘benefit’
day – he rode a treble to add to two previous wins at the Festival; no
surprise that he won the top jockey award.
The new
bridge entry/exit point worked quite well; I was directed to the newly tarmaced No.4 car park yesterday, which made a pleasant
change from grass and sometimes mud, but it was more difficult to avoid
gridlocked traffic upon departure. I
waited in my car for 30 minutes for queues to dissipate; for some strange
reason many drivers wanted to head in a westerly direction whilst still
within the grounds, rather than use the bridge and then head in that
direction once on the A4. It was an
excellent day’s racing and the only thing missing was Choc, who was not in
attendance today ... L nor on Friday for
that matter L. Meanwhile,
at Doncaster: Quantum Of
Solace (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 5th in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (11
ran). Briery Queen (Noel Williams/James
Banks) won the
Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran). Sadly
Phone Home died as a result of his fall at the final ditch during the Sir
Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap Chase at Newbury
yesterday; I thought as much, as there was an announcement that the following
race would be delayed whilst ‘the
course was cleared’. RIP It’s also
been reported that the Sue Smith-trained Vintage Star broke a leg on the
gallops last week. RIP Fairyinthewind has been retired to
stud having sustained an injury during the Jim Joel Memorial Trophy; in 2013,
she was trained by Alan King. https://mobile.twitter.com/TickityBleue/status/670950466327601152/photo/1 Another
ex-Alan King-trained inmate, Bless The Wings, won at Fairyhouse
today. Gordon Elliot currently trains
the well-travelled horse; ‘he’s a very
sound horse’ he said. I also
notice that Money For Nothing, again ex-Alan King, finished 3rd of 7 in a
Handicap Chase at Bangor yesterday. I am now
convinced that Racing UK has put in place measures to prevent their feature
race-days from being recorded digitally.
This would also explain why the Aintree coverage failed to record back
in April; at the time I thought it was just a glitch – although I’m hoping
they rebroadcast their Aintree coverage when there’s no racing at Christmas
and I can (hopefully) get a complete copy of the missing first race! I set up
my Sky box yesterday to record Mark Your Card, followed by Live Racing, followed
by Racing Replay, and all three programmes are listed as ‘Failed’ on the planner. Bum.
And I know the Sky Box is working, because I’ve successfully recorded
Strictly Come Dancing. So, at present,
I have no recordings from yesterday because I only discovered this once their
Racing Replays had finished and they’d moved on to today’s action. Double Bum.
However,
I’m hoping for a reprieve as, in the TV listings, RUK states that action from
all three days of the Hennessy Festival will be shown from 16:30 on Tuesday,
repeats continuing through the night into early Wednesday morning; this
appears to include this morning’s analysis show too. But, fingers crossed, this will provide the
necessary action I require for my diary.
Although, having said that, it will save me a lot of work if I don’t
have a recording!!! Going
forward, I think I may have to rely on manually recorded replays for
everything ... thank goodness this didn’t happen when Choc was riding,
otherwise I’d have been totally devastated to lose all those interviews,
etc. I wish I’d
checked the Sky box earlier but, yesterday evening, having arrived home at
22:30, I spent around an hour or so throwing up before crawling wearily into
bed! It has been known for me to be
sick if I overeat but, having eaten a chicken burger at a pub in Caversham yesterday evening, it may have been food
poisoning on this occasion! Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Leicester: King Kayf (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 2nd in the
Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Araldur (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the
Veterans’ Handicap Chase (5 ran). Marley Joe
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled up in
the Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 113 yards] (9 ran). Monty’s
Revenge (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 6th
in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs & 45 yards] (8 ran). Jeans Lady
was a non-runner in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle. Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Plumpton: 13:10
William H Bonney (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Novices’ Hurdle Great
Britain has won the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years ... or should
that be the Murrays have won the Davis Cup for Great Britain! |
|
Friday 27 November 2015 |
|
Happy Retirement Rock On Ruby Trainer
Harry Fry has announced that Rock On Ruby has been retired having sustained a
tendon injury when winning the Coral Hurdle at Ascot last Saturday. There were
a number of runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Newbury: Ardamir (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) finished 5th in the Juvenile Hurdle (9 ran). L’Unique (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the
Fuller’s London Pride Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) (7 ran). Board Of
Trade (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (10
ran). Big Chief
Benny (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the NH Maiden Hurdle (12
ran). Doncaster: Billy Biscuit
(Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 12th in the Handicap Hurdle Qualifier [3
miles 96 yards] (15 ran). Seven
runners of interest tomorrow: Newbury: 12:15 Lady
Persephone (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Listed) 12:45
Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
– Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (for Fulke Walwyn Trophy) 13:15
Midnight Prayer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 6
furlongs & 93 yards] 15:00 Smad Place (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Ned Stark (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
– Hennessy Gold Cup The Grade
2 Long Distance Hurdle takes place at 14:25 and features Whisper, Cole
Harden, Thistlecrack, Aqalim
and Deputy Dan. Doncaster: 12:50
Quantum Of Solace (Noel Williams/James Banks) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 15:05 Briery Queen (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Mares’ NH
Novices’ Hurdle It’s an
early start tomorrow, as Newbury’s gates open at 10:00; I’ve become a
procrastinator, in so much that I never leave home at the planned time
anymore. Tomorrow’s planned departure
is between 08:00 and 08:15, so we shall see! I’m not
hopeful of good photographs later in the afternoon, as rain is due to arrive
by 14:00 and will become heavy by 15:00 or 16:00 tomorrow. |
|
Thursday 26 November 2015 |
|
Here are today’s
results for my runners of interest: Taunton: Double
Chocolate (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) unseated
in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 3 yards] (7 ran). Newbury: Mille Nautique (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished last in
the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran). Chosen
Well (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Novices’ Limited
Handicap Chase (12 ran). Kir Royal (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd
in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (13 ran); the race was won by Fly Du Charmil which carries the well-known McNeill Family
colours but is trained by Warren Greatrex. Colin Tizzard’s Native River won the Grade 2 Novices’ Chase;
the owners are now considering the Grade 1 Kauto
Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day as his next target. https://mobile.twitter.com/Racing_UK/status/669886372803682304/photo/1 There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Newbury: 12:25 Ardamir (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) – Juvenile Hurdle 14:05 L’Unique (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Fuller’s London
Pride Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) 15:15
Board Of Trade (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:45 Big
Chief Benny (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Maiden Hurdle Doncaster: 12:15
Billy Biscuit (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Handicap Hurdle Qualifier [3 miles 96
yards] Seventeen
horses have now been declared to run in Saturday’s Hennessy Gold Cup; here
they are in no particular order (they are grouped by trainer actually, where
applicable), Saphir Du Rheu,
Bobs Worth, Smad Place, Ned Stark, Fingal Bay, If In
Doubt, Houblon Des Obeaux,
The Giant Bolster, The Druids Nephew, The Young Master, Fox Appeal, Splash Of
Ginge, Benbens, First
Lieutenant, Urano, Al Co and Theatre Guide. The new
bridge linking Hambridge Road and Newbury
racecourse has been completed and will be in use for the Festival. Traffic approaching from the west, north
and east is being encouraged to use this route and, although this replaces
the extremely neglected and potholed ‘tunnel’
route via the golf course, I’m wondering if there will be sufficient exit ‘roadway’ to prevent gridlock on
Saturday within the car park! It does
loop around the Health Centre however.
I’ve experienced little problem with queues post-Hennessy since my
first trip to the event, so we shall see what happens; on that occasion, I
also got stuck in a long traffic jam within Thatcham. I managed
to find a copy of Weekender at Sainsburys today;
when submitting his column, Alan King wasn’t 100% sure if Ned Stark would be
declared for the Hennessy, or one of the other races at Newbury on Saturday,
or even the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle.
He did, however, confirm the Hennessy option on his website yesterday. I also
went shopping to the Food Hall in M & S this morning but was seduced by
their ‘Black Friday’ weekend
non-food discounts which began today; 30% and 50% off! I’ve had my eye on a handbag for the past
two or three weeks – a large black and grey one. I couldn’t justify spending the full price
of Ł49.50, so decided to have a look in their handbag section to see if they
had any still in stock, just in case ... and, yes they did; I’m now the proud
owner of said handbag costing Ł35.65! Ardamir + Ned Stark = Choc
... enough said. J |
|
Wednesday 25 November 2015 |
|
Just one
month to Christmas Day ... One runner
of interest today, at Wetherby: Cajun
Fiddle (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Mares’ Standard Open
NH Flat Race (10 ran). There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Newbury: 13:35
Mille Nautique (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Novices’ Handicap Hurdle 14:45
Chosen Well (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase 15:50 Kir Royal (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH
Flat Race Taunton: 15:25
Double Chocolate (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 3 yards] There is a
race named ‘Well done at Cheltenham Ian
Popham’ Handicap Hurdle on Taunton’s card tomorrow
afternoon. Ian doesn’t ride in this
particular race, but he does have one engagement aboard a Dan Skelton runner
earlier in the afternoon.
The AppleTree Stud is advertising a role for a Stud Hand: http://jobs.careersinracing.com/index.php/jobs/stud-hand-110/?utm_source=hootsuite Here is a
photograph of Quevega’s filly foal having her
hooves checked by a farrier: https://mobile.twitter.com/AtTheRaces/status/669183988922101761/photo/1 The
weather forecast for Newbury on Friday is a wet afternoon and evening and,
Saturday, wet during the afternoon.
Great. I have a ticket for
Saturday, and I have a feeling I need to go on Friday too, to see Ardamir and one particular member of his entourage! And who, hopefully, will also be in
attendance to see Ned Stark run on Saturday!!! J I had an
aborted trip to the newsagent today; I was endeavouring to find a copy of
Weekender but they didn’t have any in stock, yet. I checked to see if it is still issued on a
Wednesday, and it is. I may pay them a
visit again tomorrow or early Friday, as it is the same shop where I found a
number of copies a couple of weeks ago. |
|
Tuesday 24 November 2015 |
|
Just one
result today, from Lingfield Park: Royal
Plaza (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Standard Open NH Flat Race
(All-weather) (6 ran); the outsider won, having ‘stolen’ the race by sweeping around the field from last to first
and catching the others napping due to the very steady pace which had been
set. Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Wetherby: 15:30
Cajun Fiddle (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat
Race; hopefully she’ll remain calm in the Parade Ring, unlike her intended
outing at the Cheltenham Open when she reared up and went over on her side
and was thus withdrawn. The big
news story of the day is the confirmed absence of Coneygree
from this Saturday’s Hennessy Gold Cup, following an unsatisfactory schooling
session today. Evidently he didn’t
jump with his usual flare and connections believe his foot might still be sore,
having pricked it when spreading a plate last week. So, this
means that Saphir Du Rheu
has been promoted to carry top weight, with the weights rising by 9 lbs. This brings Ned Stark into the handicap at
10 stone 3 lbs. Newbury’s
Hennessy Festival is to be reduced from three days to two days from
2016. Dougie Costello has teamed up with trainer Karl Burke
to concentrate on flat race riding from now on. He’s been combining flat and jumps in
recent seasons, to give him more options now he’s over 30; even when riding
over jumps his weight has been 9 stone 7 lbs or less and this will also give
him the opportunity to spend more time with his family. Menace is
reported to still be a little subdued following his fall at Uttoxeter on 14 November; there’s nothing physically
wrong with him, so he’ll continue on the ‘quiet’
list until he’s back to his normal self.
Bless him. I was
looking through the copy of Weekender that I purchased a couple of weeks ago
and found a Malcolm Jefferson Stable Tour article. He reports that Cyrus Darius is out for the
season due to a leg injury. However,
as he won a Novices’ Chase at Perth in September, he won’t be eligible for a
novice season when he returns. I
overlooked the purchase of Weekender last week; I found it more difficult
than usual to track down a copy a fortnight ago, and may have to go further
afield. Last week I was tied by other
commitments and didn’t have time to think about scouring local newsagents
but, as I’m on leave this week, hopefully I’ll be more successful in my
quest. It’s been
a stay-at-home chores kind of day today; the weather having been grey and wet
for much of the time. And I’ve wrapped
all of the Christmas presents I’ve bought; there may be more though, as I
give money to my nieces and nephew to buy their own presents, which I may or
may not need to wrap also. |
|
Monday 23 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Kempton
Park: Gone Too
Far (Alan King/Barry Geraghty) unseated at the first
in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs & 110 yards] (8 ran); he took
out one of the other runners in the process.
It was not Barry’s day, as he also fell aboard Regal Encore during the
Novices’ Chase that was won impressively by Vaniteux
for Nicky Henderson and Nico de Boinville! Presenting
Lisa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 9th in the Handicap Hurdle [3
miles & 110 yards] (12 ran). Paddys Runner (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd in
the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (12 ran). Ludlow: Magic
Music Man (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) finished 2nd in
the Maiden Hurdle (14 ran). One runner
of interest tomorrow, at Lingfield Park: 15:30
Royal Plaza (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race
(All-weather) At the
five day stage, there are 21 entries remaining in the Hennessy Gold Cup – Coneygree, Saphir Du Rheu, Valseur Lido, Houblon Des Obeaux, The Druids
Nephew, The Giant Bolster, Smad Place, Bobs Worth, Fox
Appeal, The Young Master, If In Doubt, Splash Of Ginge,
Ballycasey, First Lieutenant, Cloudy Too, Benbens, Fingal Bay, Al Co, Ned Stark, Urano and Theatre
Guide. With Coneygree at the top of the weights, entries from Cloudy
Too downwards (which includes Ned Stark) are out of the handicap and will have
to carry the minimum of 10 stone; in the long handicap Ned Stark would carry
9 stone 8lbs! http://www.attheraces.com/racecard/Newbury/28-November-2015/1500 Today, I walked
to the local garden centre, where I bought a sewing book, a pack of Christmas
cards, and a couple of garden vouchers.
On the way back I dropped into Dunelm to buy
another set of knitting needles – 3ľmm or what would have been size 9 in the
olden days! I’ve already got at least
two pairs of this particular size, but fancied another pair just in case I
decide to have a number of projects on the go at any one time. I’d usually use 4mm needles for double
knitting projects but, at present, my stitch tension leaves a little bit to
be desired! I already have numerous
pairs of 4mm needles collected over the years. I had hoped to find some red buttons for an
Aran knitting project which is waiting for me to sew it up, but they didn’t
have any that appealed to me. I then
sewed up a DMC ‘Top This’ hat which
I knitted yesterday – it has a lion pom pom; I already have a unicorn one! They are intended for kids ... not big
kids like me ... but I couldn’t resist and they just need a few stitches and
rows to be added to fit an adult size head.
Then, this
afternoon, I accompanied mum to the local M & S superstore in London Colney. She was
searching for a new pair of black trousers, which she found; I wasn’t
searching for anything ... but came away with a ‘Berry’ coloured fleece gillet. I cannot get out of the habit of buying
warm clothes with racing in mind, despite cutting back my regular attendance
since Choc’s injury and retirement. The shop was heaving with pensioners and
the queues to pay were really long; I knew there was a reason why I like to
go shopping at 09:00 in the morning! Tomorrow I
am going to wrap a number of Christmas presents, if not all of them! |
|
Sunday 22 November 2015 |
|
There were
two runners of interest this afternoon, at Exeter: Theatre
Goer (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 3rd and Ugly Bug finished 2nd (Tony
Carroll/Robert Dunne) in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 25
yards] (9 ran). Four
runners of interest tomorrow: Kempton
Park: 14:45 Gone
Too Far (Alan King/Barry Geraghty) – Handicap Chase
[2 miles 4 furlongs & 110 yards] 15:15
Presenting Lisa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles &
110 yards] 15:45 Paddys Runner (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Conditional
Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle Ludlow: 13:20
Magic Music Man (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) – Maiden
Hurdle Looking
ahead, I notice that Ardamir is entered for the
Juvenile Hurdle at Newbury on Friday; he is owned by the Dunkley and Reilly
Partnership so, presumably, Choc will pay a visit to the racecourse too! Strangely enough, I had an inkling he might
make an appearance at this particular fixture ... The
Ł50,000 National Jockey Day target was successfully reached, with Betfair donating said amount to the IJF. Bingo D’Olivate is reported to be fine following yesterday’s
mishap, although Noel Williams is expecting that he will be a little stiff
today: https://mobile.twitter.com/DavidBellamy72/status/668141168463634432/photo/1 A
controversial decision on Strictly Come Dancing this evening ... Jamelia and Peter Andre were in the ‘dance off’ and despite having danced a better Quickstep than
Peter did a Jive, Jamelia was voted off the show by
the judges. Jamelia
has been in the dance off on a record number of occasions and still
progressed when saved by the judges but, as the couple doing the poorer dance
are supposed to be the ones to depart, the judges should have saved her again
on this occasion. Okay, so Peter has
been the better dancer since the beginning of the series, excelling in a
number of styles and I don’t even like Jamelia, but
the judges should have abided by the rules of the dance off. So, on this occasion, Len Goodman chose Jamelia, but was outvoted by the other three. Len has the casting vote if the other
judges arrive at a 2-1 decision, so Craig, Darcey
and Bruno had to all vote for Peter to save him, which they did. I’ve now
booked tickets for Lesley and me to attend Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang at the theatre in Milton Keynes next May. The King
George VI Chase is shaping up nicely following this weekend’s outings by a
number of the intended runners; with both Smad
Place and Annacotty holding entries too. I’ve got my ticket to what should be a very
good renewal of the famous race. Coneygree has been given the green light to contest next
Saturday’s Hennessy Gold Cup following an injury scare earlier in the
week. The Cheltenham
Gold Cup has lost its sponsor, Betfred. Both Jockey Club Racecourses and Arena
Racing Company have decided to only allow those bookmakers who contribute a
fair amount of their offshore levy to the sport to sponsor races at their
tracks; Betfred is not one of them. In fact, at present, only Betfair, 32Red and bet365 fall into the category of
Authorised Betting Partners. Entries
for the Welsh Grand National include Araldur,
Midnight Prayer, Annacotty and Sego Success. And, of
course, I’m on annual leave this week. J |
|
Saturday 21 November 2015 |
|
The star
of the day was definitely Cue Card, who put up an excellent display to win
today’s Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Haydock Park. More
The result
certainly pleased me, as I love it when the underdogs win – and it’s great to
see Colin Tizzard’s star chaser back to his
best. Here is
Cue Card returning to the Winners’ Enclosure following his victory: https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/668136288994926594/photo/1 Vautour, on season debut at Ascot, wasn’t particularly
impressive, but still managed to beat Ptit Zig by one and three quarter lengths. He made one big jumping error and also had
a tendency to jump out to his left today; but no doubt he will come on from
the run. Here are
today’s other results, for my runners of interest: Ascot: Label Des Obeaux (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran); the first and second pulled well away from the
remainder of the field. Gabriella
Rose (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th and Altesse
De Guye (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) finished
2nd in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran). Grumeti (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was very unlucky
and had to settle for 5th in the Coral Hurdle (6 ran). He was upsides the winner, Rock On Ruby, at
the last but tipped the top of the hurdle and sprawled on landing; he
couldn’t recover from his error. It
was an expensive mistake too, with Ł51,255 going to the winner and Ł19,233 to
the second; 5th prize was Ł2,412.00.
Oh well, it was still good to see Rock On Ruby win. Turn Over Sivola (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was a non-runner in
the Handicap Chase [2 miles & 192 yards]; once again the ground will have
gone against him. Criq Rock (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Standard Open NH Flat Race (10 ran); following up his
recent victory at Bangor-On-Dee.
Wayne’s 26th winner of the
season. A good day
at Ascot for Harry Fry and for Barry Geraghty, as
both had trebles, teaming up for two of them.
It’s been a good 2-day fixture for Alan King and Wayne Hutchinson too,
with a total of three winners for the team.
Huntingdon: Angel Face
(Alan King/Paul Moloney) finished 3rd and Quantum
Of Solace (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 5th in the Mares’ NH Novices’
Hurdle (8 ran). Bingo D’Olivate (Noel Williams/James Banks) got a little bit
excited following his long absence and fell when he over-jumped at the first
(10 ran); he galloped away okay so, presumably, is fine just so long as he
didn’t suffer an injury whilst loose. A quick
reminder of tomorrow’s runners ... There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Exeter: 13:00
Theatre Goer (Noel Williams/James Banks) & Ugly Bug (Tony Carroll/Robert
Dunne) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 25 yards] Very sad
news today that Red Cadeaux has lost his fight for
life after the injury sustained during the Melbourne Cup. Having undergone an operation to mend his
damaged near-fore leg, complications set in when the blood supply to his foot
ceased. More https://mobile.twitter.com/AtTheRaces/status/667834789211332608/photo/1 I haven’t
done much today, apart from watching the racing on TV, although I have begun
reading ‘Not Enough Time’ in which
Henrietta Knight recounts her life with Terry Biddlecombe. I woke up
to a dusting of wet snow this morning, although it soon turned to rain and
subsequently disappeared. The sun came
out, but it remained windy. Thus we’ve
now had as much snow as we had in St Albans the whole of last winter!!! |
|
Friday 20 November 2015 |
|
Three
runners of interest at Ascot this afternoon, and
this is how they fared: Wishing And Hoping (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Introductory Hurdle
(6 ran); the odds-on favourite trained by Nicky Henderson fell two out ...
but jumping is the name of the game! Desert Joe
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7
furlongs & 180 yards] (9 ran). Winner Massagot (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the
Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 152 yards] (11 ran). Wayne rode
his 23rd winner of the
season aboard Final Nudge at Wincanton yesterday, so today’s winners were 24th and 25th respectively. For the
record, a horse named Schoolboy Error ran in Division II of the 7-furlong
Maiden Auction Stakes at Wolverhampton this evening; trained by Jamie
Osborne, he is part-owned by Apple Tree Stud, and finished 9th of 11. Many
runners of interest tomorrow: Ascot: 12:20
Label Des Obeaux (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Novices’ Hurdle 13:30
Gabriella Rose (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Altesse
De Guye (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – Mares’
Handicap Hurdle 14:40 Grumeti (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Coral Hurdle
[registered as the Ascot Hurdle] 15:15 Turn
Over Sivola (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles & 192 yards] 15:50 Criq Rock (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH
Flat Race The
feature race is the Grade 2 1965 Chase, where Vautour
takes on Ptit Zig, Third
Intention, Seventh Sky and O’Faolains Boy. Huntingdon: 12:00
Angel Face (Alan King/Paul Moloney) & Quantum
Of Solace (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle; the latter
is Menace’s next door neighbour! 13:05
Bingo D’Olivate (Noel Williams/James Banks) – NH
Maiden Hurdle; he is returning from 610 days off the track. Bingo slobbered on my sleeve when I visited
the yard ... but I like him anyway! Although
no specific runners of interest at Haydock Park,
the Grade 1 Betfair Chase is their feature
race. Just five high-class entries – Ballynagour, Cue Card, Dynaste,
Holywell and Silviniaco
Conti. There’s
concern that despite good prize money, fields are small for conditions
races. Vautour’s
race has a prize fund of Ł90,000 but only 5 runners. The Grade 2 Coral Hurdle has 6 runners
despite Ł90,000 in prize money. Just 4
runners are heading to Haydock Park for their
Ł100,000 Betfair Price Rush Hurdle (Irving, Melodic
Rendezvous, Top Notch and Fou Et Sage). And, of course, 5 runners for the Grade 1 Betfair Chase, which offers Ł200,000. Basically I guess the problem lies with the
handicapping system, whereby if your horse isn’t quite top notch and has to
regularly run in handicap company, running too well in graded company is
going to ruin your official rating! It’s a
very early start for tomorrow afternoon’s racing; 12:00 noon. That is what is so annoying about hour-long
The Morning Line being moved to 09:00, as it leaves just two hours to get
chores done before the racing begins. Evidently
there is a crisis with dropping viewing figures for Channel 4 Racing – for
starters, they should consider dispensing with the services of Emma Spencer
and Gina Harding. Avid racing fans
will subscribe to Racing UK so that they can watch racing every day, also
ATR; Channel 4 just doesn’t offer enough coverage and nor, it seems, does it
appeal to the casual racing viewer either. There will
be an article in tomorrow’s Racing Post about jockey Ian Popham;
he confesses that he was close to quitting after smashing his jaw and
cheekbone last December. It’s good to
see him back with a bang last Saturday when winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup
aboard Annacotty and, hopefully, he’ll enjoy an
extended injury free run; although sadly with National Hunt racing you can
never guarantee. Following
his premature retirement, there’s the very good news that Champion Court will
live out his days with the Keighleys, leading the
young horses on the gallops and over fences.
He’ll also go hunting and Belinda will take him for fun rides,
accompanying Freddie and Harry on their ponies. There are
two runners of interest on Sunday, at Exeter: 13:00
Theatre Goer (Noel Williams/James Banks) & Ugly Bug (Tony Carroll/Robert
Dunne) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 25 yards] I wonder
if the forecasted snow flurries will arrive tomorrow; temperatures have
certainly dropped to a normal level following an extremely mild November so
far. No doubt it will be particularly cold
at Ascot ... it always seems to be the coldest racecourse once winter sets
in! |
|
Thursday 19 November 2015 |
|
One runner
of interest today, at Wincanton: Miles To
Memphis (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 3 furlongs & 166 yards] (9 miles). Three
runners of interest at Ascot tomorrow: 14:05
Wishing And Hoping (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Introductory Hurdle 15:15
Desert Joe (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs
& 180 yards] 15:50 Winner
Massagot (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap
Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 152 yards] It’s Betfair’s ‘National
Jockey Day’ on Saturday raising money for the IJF: http://www.attheraces.com/news/latest-news/mick-fitzgerald-backing-'national-jockey-day' And,
despite an exciting ride aboard his mount at Wincanton today when his tack
failed, Andrew Thornton moved one closer to his 1,000th career victory: Connections
are more hopeful that Coneygree will make it to the
Hennessy Gold Cup starting line following the scare earlier this week,
although it’s not a certainty yet: http://www.attheraces.com/news/latest-news/coneygree-hennessy-bid-at-newbury-'a-live-possibility' I’m on
annual leave all next week, so just one more working day to go ... yeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss! J It’s the first complete week I’ve had off
with nothing specifically to do since last November, so I’m very much looking
forward to it. |
|
Wednesday 18 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Chepstow: Georgian
King (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 3rd in
the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131 yards] (11 ran). Darnitnev (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) finished 6th in
the Conditional Jockeys’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (7 ran). Warwick: McCabe
Creek (Alan King/Jamie Insole) finished 8th in the Conditional Jockeys’
Handicap Hurdle (15 ran). Sceau Royal (Alan King/Daryl Jacob) won the Juvenile Hurdle (4 ran). Karezak (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Novices’ Chase (4 ran); the race was won by Bristol De Mai. Yanworth (Alan King/Barry Geraghty) won the NH Novices’
Hurdle (13 ran). Tomorrow
there is one runner of interest, at Wincanton: 13:50
Miles To Memphis (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3
furlongs & 166 yards] Loving
this photograph of Champion Court as a foal with his mum: https://mobile.twitter.com/boardsmillstud/status/666759575232765952/photo/1 And this
one too, of Martin Keighley congratulating Ian Popham
following the latter’s victory aboard the now Alan King-trained Annacotty in the Paddy Power Gold Cup last Saturday: https://mobile.twitter.com/mjyharris/status/667093627173228544/photo/1 And EPDS
Racing’s Daliance being saddled prior to
yesterday’s return to action: https://mobile.twitter.com/RMPlegend/status/666681606384558081/photo/1 AP McCoy
escaped unhurt from an accident on the M4 this morning. Three vehicles were written off when a van
collided with the car in front of him and he had nowhere to go ... so I supposed
you could say he was ‘brought down’! Fortunately everyone walked away from the
incident. Rock On
Ruby is due to run in the Coral Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday; Barry Geraghty takes the ride, as Noel Fehily
will be at Haydock to ride Silviniaco
Conti in the Betfair Chase. Al Ferof did a racecourse gallop at Warwick today and,
having been transferred to the Dan Skelton yard, will head for Huntingdon’s
Peterborough Chase. Lovcen, now trained by Sophie Leech, and having been on
the sidelines due to a tendon injury, will have a run over hurdles before
heading to the Welsh Grand National. I’ve now
uploaded the photographs I took at Ascot on 31 October. |
|
Tuesday 17 November 2015 |
|
Happy Retirement Champion Court Martin
Keighley has tweeted to say that Champion Court has sustained a leg injury
and has been retired with immediate effect.
A very popular horse, he’ll be sorely missed by his trainer and the
public alike, but hopefully will have a very long and happy retirement. Three
runners of interest today, at Southwell; a touch of ‘placeditis’
but that’s far preferable to being unplaced! Daliance (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in
the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 62 yards] (11 ran). Awesome
Rosie (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
(9 ran). Give Him A
Glance (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Intermediate Open NH
Flat Race (8 ran). There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Chepstow: 14:30
Georgian King (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131 yards] 16:00 Darnitnev (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – Conditional
Jockeys’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Warwick: 12:40
McCabe Creek (Alan King/Jamie Insole) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 13:10 Sceau Royal (Alan King/Daryl Jacob) – Juvenile Hurdle 14:20 Karezak (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase 14:50 Yanworth (Alan King/Barry Geraghty)
– NH Novices’ Hurdle Vautour is expected to compete at Ascot on Saturday; his
rivals may include Ptit Zig,
The Giant Bolster, and two returning from injury – Captain Chris and O’Faolains Boy. Alan King
has a number of entries at Ascot too and these include Grumeti,
Turn Over Sivola and Manyriverstocross. Menace is
reported to be ‘subdued but fine’
following Saturday’s fall. Choc’s girlfriend Jennie is
learning to ride – her ‘schoolmaster’
is Medermit! |
|
Monday 16 November 2015 |
|
There were
five runners of interest today and a touch of ‘seconditis’ for all of my
followed yards! Leicester: Forgiving
Glance (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) finished 2nd in the
Juvenile Fillies’ Hurdle (10 ran). Double
Chocolate (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished
2nd in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 6 furlongs & 151 yards] (8 ran). Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) finished
4th in the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase (6 ran). Plumpton: Authorized
Too (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Hurdle (11 ran);
his starting price was 40-1 today and he’s pictured below. Inner
Drive (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Novices’ Chase (6
ran).
Three
runners of interest tomorrow, at Southwell: 14:35 Daliance (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 62 yards] 15:05 Awesome
Rosie (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle 15:35 Give
Him A Glance (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Intermediate Open NH Flat Race;
his full-sister Forgiving Glance finished 2nd at Leicester today. He’s described as a grey/roan; his sister
is grey so it’s no surprise that their dam Giving is also a grey! Both horses sport the familiar silks of Mrs
K Holmes, as does Passmore. Daliance (below) is one of the EPDS syndicate horses, but
he’s been off the track for 580 days due to injury and it’s his first run for
Noel. Noel’s stable jockey, James
Banks, is travelling to Fakenham for a couple of
rides; hence Wayne picks up this one.
News today
that Teaforthree has been retired; he’s rising 12
and back in training following injury, but Rebecca Curtis and the owners have
decided to call it a day whilst he’s happy and sound. Dodging
Bullets won’t be back in action until the New Year, having been suffering
from a few minor issues. Aux Petit Soins is out until the New Year too, having had a problem
with a tooth! Nicky
Henderson is in no hurry to make a decision about the Tingle Creek Chase for
yesterday’s winner Sprinter Sacre. Cole Harden
is on course to make his seasonal debut in the Long Distance Hurdle at
Newbury on Saturday week. However, Coneygree has suffered a minor setback, having pricked a
foot; his participation in the Hennessy Gold Cup will be dependent upon
whether this issue affects his work schedule in the run-up to the race. |
|
Sunday 15 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Cheltenham: Brod Na Heirann (Alan
King/Tom Bellamy) finished 13th and Shadarpour
(Alan King/William Featherstone) finished 2nd in the Conditional Jockeys’
Handicap Hurdle (24 ran). The Unit
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race
(13 ran). It was a
day of surprises, with Sprinter Sacre overcoming
his serious health issues to put up an excellent display in the Grade 2 Schloer Chase to win by 14 lengths from Somersby, Savello and Simply Ned.
It’s really strange that so many 2-mile chasers’ names start with the
letter ‘S’! Following the race,
connections did say that they may consider running him in the Tingle Creek
Chase at Sandown which takes place on the first Saturday in December. Here are a
couple of photos of Sprinter Sacre from twitter,
the second tweeted by Nicky’s daughter Camilla: https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/665969115941756928/photo/1 https://mobile.twitter.com/camillahendo/status/665958811203706880/photo/1 Meanwhile,
in Ireland, Nichols Canyon took the scalp of Faugheen
in the Grade 1 Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown! https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/665968472946565121/photo/1 Old Guard
won the Grade 3 Greatwood Hurdle for Paul Nicholls
and jockey Harry Cobden claiming 7 lbs. Here is an article from Racing UK: It is
reported that Maputo suffered a career ending tendon injury when he finished
2nd in the Novices’ Hurdle. However,
trainer John Ferguson hopes that the horse will recover and be able to have a
‘career’ as a riding horse. Yesterday’s
Paddy Power Gold Cup equine hero Annacotty is fine
following his exertions, apart from a small overreach issue. Noel
Williams tweeted yesterday evening to say that Menace was okay following his
mishap: “Menace seems fine
after his tumble today at Uttoxeter. Shame as he
was jumping and going well until then. He'll bounce back!” And I’m
sure there will be an official EPDS update soon too. Denis O’Regan incurred the wrath of the stewards at Uttoxeter, for his overuse of the whip in Menace’s race,
and will be sidelined for 2 days – Sunday 29 and Monday 30 November. And the same punishment for the same
transgression for Daryl Jacob following his ride aboard Shotgun Paddy in the
Paddy Power Gold Cup. Boondooma, fancied for yesterday’s feature race but pulled
up, was found to be lame in his off-hind; Darna
lost both of his front shoes before being pulled up and Cocktails At Dawn
lost his off-hind shoe. Yesterday’s
false start was due to Double Ross plunging towards the tape at a canter;
this was despite being fitted for the first time with a ring bit so as to
gain more control over him! There’s no
surprise that Simon Claisse and his team will be
investigating the possibility of re-aligning the Cross Country exit onto the
main racecourse following Friday’s incident when Sire Collonges
lost his footing and slipped up. There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Leicester: 12:45
Forgiving Glance (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) –
Juvenile Fillies’ Hurdle 13:45
Double Chocolate (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 6 furlongs & 151 yards] 15:15 Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – Conditional
Jockeys’ Handicap Chase Plumpton: 13:00
Authorized Too (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Novices’ Hurdle 13:30
Inner Drive (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase Meanwhile,
I’ve finished proofing my Ascot diary and have now uploaded it. But I still have to select and upload the
photographs taken that day. |
|
Saturday 14 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Cheltenham: Oceane (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the
Triumph Hurdle Trial (Juvenile Hurdle) (5 ran). Sego
Success (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 14th in the Handicap Chase
(Grade 3) [3 miles 3 furlongs & 71 yards] (17 ran); the former Alan
King-trained Godsmejudge completed in 15th. The race was won by Sausalito Sunrise for
Philip Hobbs and Richard Johnson. Annacotty (Alan King/Ian Popham) won the Paddy
Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Grade 3) [2 miles 4 furlongs & 78 yards] (20 ran). Morning
Herald (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) finished 11th in the Mares’ Standard
Open NH Flat Race (16 ran); meanwhile Cajun Fiddle (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) was withdrawn having reared over in the Parade Ring ahead of the
race. Annacotty was Alan’s first winner of the Paddy Power Gold
Cup, although he’d had a couple of near misses with Il Duce
finishing as runner-up in 2007 and Walkon runner-up
in 2012. Il Duce
was owned by Liz Prowting, as is today’s
winner. Also, the first winner he
trained was Annacotty’s dam, Mini Moo Min! Turn Over Sivola
wasn’t even mentioned in today’s daily newspaper or
online ... so perhaps it was solely my imagination that he was due to run had
the ground been okay today! Here is a
photograph of Annacotty crossing the line ahead of
his nearest rivals Buywise (left) and Sound
Investment: https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/665548386922180608/photo/1 And
another photo: https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/665575036334374912/photo/1 The
winning jockey, a well-deserving Ian Popham, is
having a close encounter with the trophy: https://mobile.twitter.com/Racing_UK/status/665580072057835520/photo/1 And Alan
King’s Travelling Head Lad, Matt, leads the winner back to the stables: https://mobile.twitter.com/JamesYellen/status/665568396814192642/photo/1 And a link
from the Racing UK website too: http://www.racinguk.com/news/article/39024/annacotty-takes-paddy-power-gold-cup-at-cheltenham Uttoxeter: Menace
(Noel Williams/James Banks) fell at the 7th flight (situated in the back
straight on the second circuit) in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs
& 207 yards] and brought down another horse (11 ran). This
incident spoilt my afternoon’s race viewing until I found out around an hour later
via twitter that our little pony was okay and had been walked back in;
although it is reported that he suffered a kick for his troubles too. It was made worse by the fact that Menace
didn’t appear to follow the field after his fall, although there was a brief
glimpse of James Banks and his colleague walking away from the scene. The Uttoxeter race was broadcast on ATR, with Punchestown’s 14:10 running late and pushing back the
scheduled off time of Menace’s race which should have been 14:15; so it didn’t
help that the Paddy Power Gold Cup was due to start on RUK and Channel 4 at
14:25 regardless of any delay. As a
result, I barely saw any of Cheltenham’s feature race live; just a snippet
here and there and the finish in fact!
Vendor and
Kuda Huraa, ex-Alan King
and now trained by Sue Smith and Harriet Bethell
respectively, finished 2nd and 5th in an 11 runner Handicap Hurdle at Wetherby today. In
a different handicap hurdle, Rayadour, also ex-Alan
King-trained now with Micky Hammond, finished 7th
of 9. Belinda
Keighley has tweeted a photograph of the Cross-Country legend which is Any
Currency, taken this morning following yesterday’s runner-up effort: https://mobile.twitter.com/belindakeighley/status/665473754236067841/photo/1 And
Freddie and Harry Keighley with Richard Johnson today: https://mobile.twitter.com/belindakeighley/status/665577896304640000/photo/1 Young Jack
Lander with his cheque for the IJF; he raised over Ł13,000 for the
organisation by undertaking a sponsored walk earlier in the summer: https://mobile.twitter.com/paulmstruthers/status/665577909122412550 Trainer
Fergal O’Brien tweeted this photo yesterday, featuring the new grandstand
after dark: https://mobile.twitter.com/FOBRacing/status/665301368777908224/photo/1#tweet_665301368777908224 And a
rainbow over Cheltenham yesterday: https://mobile.twitter.com/DrSimonCMP/status/665293838190305280/photo/1 Meanwhile
tomorrow, again at Cheltenham: 15:15 Brod Na Heirann (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) & Shadarpour (Alan King/William
Featherstone) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 15:50 The
Unit (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Sprinter Sacre is due to run in the Schloer
Chase provided the ground does not deteriorate too much. I’m not
keen on the new time slot for The Morning Line; I’m always ready for
breakfast by 08:00 in the morning and to start my weekend chores by
09:00. Moving it back an hour results
in me losing valuable time when I just want to get on and do things prior to
the racing coverage commencing. |
|
Friday 13 November 2015 |
|
There were
two runners of interest this afternoon, at Cheltenham, and this
is how they fared: Champion
Court (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 7th
and Any Currency (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) finished 2nd in the Cross
Country Handicap Chase (16 ran); it was an eventful race, with Sire Collonges and Uncle Junior both losing their footing and
slipping up at different points during the race, plus 2 unseats and one
faller at the last when unsighted due to being short of daylight! Poor old
Any Currency (Woody) finished as runner-up again, giving away 23lbs and 5
years to the winner Josies Orders in this handicap
race. But, at the Festival, the Cross
Country will be a conditions race which will favour Woody. More Of
That made an excellent return to the racecourse, making his chasing debut
after a 349-day absence, to win the 2 mile 4 furlongs 78 yards Novices’
Chase. https://mobile.twitter.com/Channel4Racing/status/665164021931339776/photo/1 The
Novices’ Handicap Hurdle became a farce, due to the never unexpected low sun
issue at this time of the year. Once
more the hurdles in the home straight had to be omitted due to this problem,
with the runners setting off from the steeplechase starting gate due to the
large number of entries and the lack of space between the hurdles starting
gate and the first flight. However,
this resulted in two needless casualties – namely Sam Twiston-Davies
and Midnight Shot, and Tom O’Brien and Trendsetter – coming down on the flat
very early due to lack of space within the tightly bunched field. Hopefully both jockeys and horses are none
the worse for their mishaps. The
remaining runners were also fortunate to have just enough room when re-routed
between rails in front the Best Mate enclosure and to steer back into line
just in time to jump what was then their first flight. Surely with the possibility of low sun at
this time of the year, the first flight should have been placed further away
from the starting gate, thus enabling the runners to bypass it safely without
having to re-jig their route up the home straight too much. I also think, of this occasion, they could
have pre-empted the problem by removing the affected hurdles ahead of time
and treating the home straight as they would done had it been a bumper. And, come
on AP, do women jockeys really need an extra allowance when riding against
the men? I don’t think so; certainly
not with Nina Carberry riding a double at
Cheltenham today. They may not have
brute strength, but they probably have more affinity with their mounts, which
compensates. It’s the
second day of the Cheltenham
Open tomorrow,
with a number of runners of interest: 12:40 Oceane (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Triumph Hurdle
Trial (Juvenile Hurdle) 13:50 Sego
Success (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase (Grade 3) [3 miles 3
furlongs & 71 yards] 14:25 Annacotty (Alan King/Ian Popham)
& Turn Over Sivola (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
– Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Grade 3) [2 miles 4 furlongs & 78
yards]; however, if the ground turns out to be very soft, the latter won’t
run. 16:05 Cajun
Fiddle (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Morning Herald (Martin
Keighley/Aidan Coleman) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Uttoxeter: 14:15
Menace (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs
& 207 yards] Interestingly,
I notice that Godsmejudge is running in the 13:50
at Cheltenham having now transferred to the David Dennis stable from Alan
King; the trainer has many of Favourites Racing’s horses in his yard, the
former jockey had been their Racing Manager at one point. The horse has also undergone a hobday breathing operation during his summer break. A cake was
baked and decorated in the likeness of Cheltenham’s new stand. This photo was taken before members of staff
literally hacked it to pieces – if you watched Channel 4 Racing today you’ll
know they made an unbelievable mess of slicing it up! What amateurs! https://mobile.twitter.com/CheltenhamRaces/status/665133958749937664/photo/1 And here
is AP McCoy doing dressage under the tutelage of Charlotte Dujardin in the Parade Ring at Cheltenham today: https://mobile.twitter.com/Channel4Racing/status/665202617979699201/photo/1 I popped
out early this morning, before a period of heavy rain arrived, to pick up a
free copy of the local newspaper (which wasn’t delivered again this week) and
also purchased a copy of Weekender and the Racing Post whilst I was out. Coincidently Alan King’s column returned to
the former this week but I’d been unable to locate a copy in my local
supermarket yesterday; although I’d not even thought to look in previous
issues this autumn, nor had I seen any mention of his column’s return! Anyway,
being Alan’s first column since last season, he mentioned Choc’s
retirement and said that he’s still in contact with the retired jockey two or
three times a week, as Choc manages the Paul Dunkley and Danny Reilly horses
and, of course, sees him at the races when they run too. Alan also mentioned that there was a
surprise retirement party for Choc a week last Saturday (evening of 31
October), which was the day I saw him at Ascot; Alan said it was quite
emotional ... and I know Choc will have been emotional too, being a sensitive
Cancerian! I wonder
if Cheltenham plans to make a retirement presentation to Choc at some point;
my favourite jockey/ex-jockey being a member of their exclusive ’50’s’ club, having ridden over fifty winners
at the track, including 16 at the Festival itself. If any time soon, I’ll miss it, as I’m not
feeling brave enough to venture out alone to Gloucestershire when the weather
is so unpleasant; although it’s not so much the travelling out, as the return
journey in the dark. L Alan also
mentioned that the reason for L’Unique spooking at
Wincanton’s cross-fence last Saturday was the sudden appearance of a member
of the ground-staff in a bright yellow Hi-viz
jacket; it frightened her. I saw an
investigation on TV a few weeks ago about animal vision and what their brains
view in colour; evidently most non-primate mammals don’t see colours in the
red spectrum ... not even bulls ... but they do see blue and yellow – so a
yellow Hi-Viz jacket might be scary! Meanwhile
on Sunday, again at Cheltenham: 15:15 Brod Na Heirann (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) & Shadarpour (Alan King/William
Featherstone) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 15:50 The Unit
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race I’ve
finally completed my Ascot diary draft, having written over 11,000
words! So that leaves me with just the
task of proofing it and also selecting and uploading my photographs too. By the way,
The Morning Line is to be broadcast at 09:00 on Channel 4 tomorrow and into
the future. |
|
Thursday 12 November 2015 |
|
There are
six runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Ludlow: Who Dares Wins (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Juvenile Hurdle; Wayne’s 22nd winner of the season (7
ran). Kerrow (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the
Introductory Hurdle (11 ran). Hayjack (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong & 125 yards] (11
ran). Miss Crick
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Mares’ NH Maiden Hurdle (11
ran). Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Mr Harley Cornock) finished 6th in the Amateur Riders’ Handicap
Hurdle (11 ran). Taunton: Minella Charmer (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 8th in
the Maiden Open NH Flat Race (14 ran) There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, both grand old favourites, at Cheltenham: 14:50
Champion Court (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
& Any Currency (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) – Cross Country Handicap
Chase There was
a brief spell last weekend when I was contemplating going to Cheltenham on
Saturday, but November really is a horribly soggy month and I think the
weather is going to be too dire at the weekend for travelling an
unaccompanied 200-mile round trip. I was
intending to finish my Ascot diary draft yesterday evening but got
sidetracked when viewing TV – I found Channel 4’s programme featuring the
restoration of properties by the Landmark Trust very interesting; followed by Grand Design’s
House of the Year, although I’m not particularly enamoured with their
choices! I love programmes about
homes, buildings and architecture – I would have loved to have been an
architect. |
|
Wednesday 11 November 2015 |
|
There were
two runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Bangor-On-Dee: Araldur (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the
Handicap Chase [3 miles & 30 yards] (13 ran); but only 6 finished, with
the remainder pulled up. Exeter: Krackatoa King (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 8th in
the Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (9 ran). There are
six runners of interest tomorrow: Ludlow: 13:30 Who
Dares Wins (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Juvenile Hurdle 14:30 Kerrow (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Introductory Hurdle 15:00 Hayjack (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong & 125 yards] 15:30 Miss
Crick (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ NH Maiden Hurdle 16:00 Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Mr Harley Cornock) – Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle Taunton: 16:10 Minella Charmer (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Maiden Open NH
Flat Race Martin
Keighley has tweeted a photo of Tom Queally winning
yesterday’s Flat Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at Lingfield
Park aboard his yard’s Solstice Star: There are
60 entries for this season’s Hennessy Gold Cup, including Smad
Place, Annacotty, Ned Stark and Godsmejudge
from the Alan King yard; although I recall seeing the latter named on Alan’s
‘Resting Horses’ list on his
website quite recently. Looking at
previous renewals, approximately 20 runners will take part come the day; many
having taken up other engagements, etc.
However, currently on ratings, Smad Place is
equal 16th in the entry list (155), Annacotty equal
34th (147), Ned Stark equal 44th (141) and Godsmejudge
equal 50th (139). Tomorrow
is my ‘Friday’ as I’m taking a long
weekend. |
|
Tuesday 10 November 2015 |
|
There were
a number of runners of interest this afternoon and this is how they fared: Huntingdon: William
Hunter (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 6th in the Junior Standard Open
NH Flat Race (8 ran). Lingfield: Flementime (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 110 yards] (8
ran). Fred Le
Macon (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney) finished 3rd and Solstice Star (Martin Keighley/Tom Queally)
won the Flat Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran); Martin’s 14th winner of the season. Raya Hope
(Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 8th in the Mares’ Intermediate Open NH Flat
Race (All weather track) (12 ran). Two
runners of interest tomorrow: Bangor-On-Dee: 14:00 Araldur (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [3
miles & 30 yards] Exeter: 13:40 Krackatoa King (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Novices’
Limited Handicap Chase Sad news
today that legendary flat jockey Pat Eddery has
passed away, aged just 63. He had been
suffering from ill-health in recent times. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/34775264 I finished
the race comments for my Ascot diary this evening, and I just need to complete
the between races’ notes and finish off the tail-end too, before I do the
final proofing. But, of course, I’ve
not uploaded any photos yet. I find it
takes me two weeks to finish a diary and photos entry now ... but that’s
because I write too much these days! |
|
Monday 09 November 2015 |
|
There were
two runners of interest at Southwell and this is how they fared: Roberto
Pegasus (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2
miles 4 furlongs & 62 yards] (8 ran). Hurricane
Vic (Alan King/William Featherstone) finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 4 furlongs & 62 yards] (9 ran). A number
of runners of interest tomorrow: Huntingdon: 15:40
William Hunter (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Junior Standard Open NH Flat
Race Lingfield: 13:00 Flementime (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 110 yards] 14:30 Fred
Le Macon (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney) & Solstice Star (Martin Keighley/Tom Queally) – Flat Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle; Fergus
frequently rides Alan’s flat horses, and Tom often rides for and is sponsored
by Apple Tree Stud. Timmy Murphy and
Jim Crowley are also riding in the event, both having changed codes during
their careers. 16:00 Raya
Hope (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Mares’ Intermediate Open NH Flat Race (All
weather track) Schoolboy
Jack Lander, who did a charity walk this summer, has raised a magnificent
Ł13,686.84 for the Injured Jockeys Fund.
Very well done Jack. Talking of
injured jockeys, Tom Scudamore hopes to return to
race riding on Thursday. And
Sprinter Sacre has been entered for Sunday’s Schloer Chase at Cheltenham. You learn
something new every day ... I’ve just
discovered that ‘Ned Stark’ is a
character from Game of Thrones and is played by Sean Bean. |
|
Sunday 08 November 2015 |
|
There were
runners of interest at Sandown
Park this
afternoon and this is how they fared: Simply A
Legend (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 3rd in the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle (8 ran); an excellent comeback run having spent 519 days off the track
recovering from injury. Winner Massagot (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was a non-runner in
the Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 216 yards] Midnight
Cowboy (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Standard Open NH Flat
Race (9 ran). There was
no surprise that Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Coneygree
won the Future Stars Listed Intermediate Chase; he jumped for fun and won by
25 lengths from Seventh Sky which, in turn, beat Southfield Theatre by 19
lengths! Puffin Billy was a non-runner
having been found to be lame early this morning. Here is a
super photo of Coneygree clearing the final fence
in today’s race, courtesy of Channel 4 Racing: https://mobile.twitter.com/Channel4Racing/status/663370824469082112/photo/1 A ‘pony’ accompanied Coneygree
as a travelling companion today ... namely Carruthers! I wonder what the half-brothers talked
about on the way home! Despite
his hospital stay, trainer Gary Moore was able to celebrate training three
winners at Sandown Park this afternoon – Ar Mad
ridden by son Joshua, and Darebin and Vino Griego ridden by Jamie
Moore. There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Southwell: 13:30
Roberto Pegasus (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 4
furlongs & 62 yards] 15:45
Hurricane Vic (Alan King/William Featherstone) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4
furlongs & 62 yards]; one of my favourites! Having
recently set up his new training establishment in Hampshire, Richard Hughes
has now moved his operation to Lambourn, taking up
residence at Malcolm Denmark’s Weathercock House. The reason given is that the accommodation
at his original yard was not large enough to house his expanding family; his
wife is currently expecting their third child. His new neighbour is brother-in-law and
sister-in-law Sylvester Kirk and wife Fanny.
I forgot to
mention that Monty’s Revenge was Ian Popham’s first
winner since returning from injury; he’s had a torrid time through injury
these recent seasons. I was
recently wondering how many winners Andrew Thornton needs to ride to become a
member of the exclusive 1,000 club – 18 evidently. I’ve been
out for much of today, visiting family, but have managed to make good
progress on my Ascot diary this weekend, regardless. Mum and I went to visit my niece Kim, who
was home for the weekend; she currently lives and works in Leeds, for
Unilever, carrying out product research. |
|
Saturday 07 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Kelso: Weyburn (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 4th in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (6 ran). Creepy (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled up in the
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 96 yards] (5 ran). Mortlestown (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
unseated in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 1 furlong & 14 yards] (10 ran). Wincanton: L’Unique (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the
Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) (6 ran); she tried to duck out at the 5th fence and
was also hampered when Gentleman Jon fell at the 11th. Junction Fourteen won the race. Big Chief
Benny (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Intermediate Open NH
Flat Race (13 ran). The Badger
Ales Trophy was won by Drop Out Joe for jockey Aidan Coleman and the in-form
Charlie Longsdon yard. Irving won the Elite Hurdle, gaining
recommence for his final flight departure in last year’s race. Meanwhile,
at Aintree, Shutthefrontdoor
finished 3rd in the Pertemps Network Handicap
Hurdle Qualifier and Bobs Worth saw off Simonsig’s
challenge to win the Betfred Hurdle! Tomorrow
there are runners of interest at Sandown
Park: 12:45
Simply A Legend (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle 15:00
Winner Massagot (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 216 yards] 16:05
Midnight Cowboy (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race The
feature event is the Future Stars Listed Intermediate Chase with Coneygree taking on Southfield Theatre, Puffin Billy and
Seventh Sky. It’s been
another very soggy day in Hertfordshire, with rain until mid-afternoon, then sunshine,
followed by early darkness of course.
Very depressing. This pattern
of weather is forecast to continue for the next couple of weeks – if so, I’ll
need a snorkel soon. |
|
Friday 06 November 2015 |
|
Two
runners of interest at Fontwell Park today and this is how
they fared: Avispa (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
was pulled up in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (6 ran). William H Bonney (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Standard Open NH Flat Race (10 ran). There are
a number of runners of interest over the weekend: Kelso: 12:30 Weyburn (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– NH Novices’ Hurdle 14:15
Creepy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 96 yards] 14:50 Mortlestown (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Handicap Chase [2 miles 1 furlong & 14 yards] Wincanton: 13:30 L’Unique (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase
(Grade 2) 15:50 Big
Chief Benny (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Intermediate Open NH Flat Race Forgotten Gold
runs in the Badger Ales Trophy at 14:05.
And the Elite Hurdle takes place at 15:15 with Irving, Melodic
Rendezvous, All Yours and Olofi amongst the
entries. Meanwhile,
runners at Aintree include Shutthefrontdoor in the Pertemps
Network Handicap Hurdle Qualifier at 13:55, and Bobs Worth plus Simonsig in the Betfred Hurdle
at 14:30; the latter has been off the racecourse for 970 days! Then, on
Sunday, runners of interest at Sandown
Park: 12:45
Simply A Legend (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle 15:00
Winner Massagot (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 216 yards] 16:05
Midnight Cowboy (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race The
feature event is the Future Stars Listed Intermediate Chase with Coneygree taking on Southfield Theatre, Puffin Billy and
Seventh Sky. Any
Currency (aka Woody) and Champion Court were schooled over Cheltenham’s Cross
Country fences today: https://mobile.twitter.com/martinkeighley7/status/662619693119836160/photo/1 And again: https://mobile.twitter.com/bencheltenham/status/662604812954005504/photo/1 Hayley,
Jamie and Josh Moore paid a visit to hospital to see their father Gary and
report that he’s in good spirits and has been watching the football on TV and
sorting out Saturday’s work list for the horses! I’ve no
plans for tomorrow, apart from further diary writing. I have plans for Sunday, but they are not
related to the racing. |
|
Thursday 05 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Market Rasen: Midnight Cataria (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
was pulled up in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 191 yards] (7
ran). Towcester: Jeans Lady
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was a non-runner
and Pattara (Noel Williams/Gerard Tumelty) finished 2nd in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (14
ran); despite being described as a ‘witch’
by her trainer, she seems to be doing okay! Thady Quil (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled up in the
Novices’ Hurdle (16 ran). Miss Minx
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 13th and The Barbury
Queen (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –finished 11th in the Mares’ NH Maiden Hurdle
(16 ran). Monty’s Revenge (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) won the Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlongs &
153 yards] (9 ran); Martin’s 13th winner of the season. Passmore (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Fillies’ ‘Junior’ Standard Open NH
Flat Race (6 ran). Tomorrow
there are two runners of interest at Fontwell Park: 14:40 Avispa (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
– Mares’ Handicap Hurdle 16:10
William H Bonney (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard
Open NH Flat Race Trainer
Gary Moore has been detained in hospital having been kicked a number of times
in the back by a horse; he has damaged ribs and fluid on the lungs. I wish Gary a speedy recovery. Evidently it
was an administrative oversight by connections which has resulted in Coneygree being omitted from the initial King George VI
Chase entry list; Sara Bradstock has not ruled out
the possibility that they may supplement the horse for the race. I’m not sure
if I’ll get around to drafting any more of my Ascot diary this evening; I was
so tired yesterday that I actually dozed off whilst at the keyboard of my
laptop! |
|
Wednesday 04 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Chepstow: Solstice Star (Martin
Keighley/Killian Moore) won the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (9 ran);
Martin’s 12th winner of the season – well
done to the team. Altesse De Guye (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 4th in the Handicap
Hurdle Qualifier [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131 yards] (12 ran). Minella Charmer (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) was a non-runner
in the Intermediate Open NH Flat Race Warwick: Georgian
King (Martin Keighley/Conor Smith) unseated in the
Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase (7 ran). Pemba
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Juvenile Maiden Hurdle (12
ran). My Khaleesi (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (17 ran). Red Cadeaux has undergone an operation on the damaged medial sesamoid bone in his near fore and is said to have come
through the surgery well. Jockey
Gerald Mosse is credited with pulling his injured
mount up quickly to avoid extensive and possibly irreparable damage. Menace is
still on course to run at Uttoxeter on 14 November,
although he has managed to cut his nostril on the water trough in his
stable! Noel Fehily feel rode his 1000th career winner today, aboard Lamanver Alchemy in the Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race
at Warwick. Andrew Thornton can’t be
too far away from that milestone too. Entries
have been published for Kempton’s King George VI Chase on Boxing Day; they
include Vautour, Don Cossack, Silviniaco
Conti, Saphir Du Rheu and
Cue Card. However, Coneygree
has not been entered. Steve
Ayres has tweeted a photograph of Ayres Succes,
sister to Balder Succes, with her friends: https://mobile.twitter.com/orse_racing_lad/status/661886546287714304/photo/1 Simonsig is due to make his comeback at Aintree this
coming weekend. And Alan
King has decided to send Karezak chasing; his
possible target a Novices’ Chase at Warwick on 18 November. The trainer said his charge is not well
handicapped at the moment and is not quite good enough to run at the top
level over hurdles. There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow; eight in fact: Market Rasen: 14:15
Midnight Cataria (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 191
yards] Towcester: 12:50
Jeans Lady (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) & Pattara (Noel Williams/Gerard Tumelty)
– Mares’ Handicap Hurdle 13:20 Thady Quil (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Novices’ Hurdle 14:55 Miss
Minx (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & The Barbury
Queen (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Mares’ NH Maiden Hurdle 15:30
Monty’s Revenge (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlongs & 153 yards] 16:05 Passmore (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Fillies’ ‘Junior’ Standard Open NH Flat Race |
|
Tuesday 03 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results from Exeter for my runners of
interest: Yanworth (Alan King/Barry Geraghty) won the Novices’ Hurdle (11 ran). The Tourard Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in
the Novices’ Chase (5 ran); the race was won by Native River, with Southfield
Vic being one of the non-runners. Ziga Boy (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was pulled up in
the Handicap Chase [3 miles 54 yards] (13 ran). Friendly
Society (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 11th (last of the finishers) in
the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 25 yards] (14 ran). Alan King
was very happy with Yanworth’s victory today: http://www.attheraces.com/article/558651?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter And Steve
Ayres has tweeted a photo of the chestnut chilling out in his stable at Barbury Castle having arrived home: https://mobile.twitter.com/orse_racing_lad/status/661622573076193281/photo/1 Meanwhile
Vibrato Valtat won the Haldon
Gold Cup, beating 4 rivals (as Court Minstrel was a non-runner) and despite a
blunder at the last fence: https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/661596261938630656/photo/1 Having
trailed in last, Jamie Moore admits that Sire De Grugy
is not the horse he used to be: Trainer
Fergal O’Brien was feeling cold at Exeter races today; pictured here with
Paddy Brennan: https://mobile.twitter.com/FOBRacing/status/661540067488497664/photo/1 There are
six runners of interest tomorrow: Chepstow: 13:10
Solstice Star (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle 15:20 Altesse De Guye (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle
Qualifier [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131 yards] 16:20 Minella Charmer (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Intermediate
Open NH Flat Race Warwick: 13:35
Georgian King (Martin Keighley/Conor Smith) –
Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase 14:05
Pemba (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Juvenile Maiden Hurdle 16:10 My Khaleesi (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Standard Open
NH Flat Race Globe-trotting
Red Cadeaux suffered a serious fetlock injury in
the Melbourne Cup; his jockey Gerard Mosse was very
upset, not yet knowing the prognosis.
However, the horse’s leg has been placed in a splint and the fracture
is stable; the injury is not currently considered to be life threatening but
he will not race again. Hopefully the
grand old servant will be okay and go on to enjoy a long and happy
retirement. I’ve
finally sorted out my contact lenses prescription and have ordered a 30-day
supply of standard lenses for my left eye and toric
lenses for my right eye; they should be in stock for me to collect in a few
days’ time. They will probably last me
for at least a year, by which time I’ll need my eyes checked once more. |
|
Monday 02 November 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: It was a
little bit foggy early and late at the Sunbury On Thames track, but Smad Place enjoyed bright sunshine for his race. Kempton
Park: Magic Music
Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran). Mirkat (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished last in
the NH Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran); the race was won by Dueling
Banjos (aka Pickle) which used to be trained by Martin Keighley before being
sold to new connections. Smad Place (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) was an impressive winner of the Graduation Chase (5 ran); Fingal Bay finished 8 lengths back in 2nd. Wayne’s 21st winner of the season. Alan King
was extremely pleased with his charge, which had a slight set-back six weeks
ago caused by an epiglottic
entrapment – evidently one morning the horse just couldn’t reach the top of
the gallops because he was struggling to breathe due to a membrane blocking
his windpipe. So he underwent a minor
operation to slice through the membrane and he was back on the gallops after
missing just four pieces of work. Alan
said this problem happens to one or two of his horses every year and he
understands Cue Card underwent the same procedure not long ago. It’s now all systems go for the Hennessy
Gold Cup at the end of the month. The Racing Post’s Picture of the Day is Smad Place clearing the last fence: https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/661226396958617601/photo/1 Silviniaco Conti finished 2nd to Brother Tedd in the Pertemps Hurdle
Qualifier, pleasing trainer Paul Nicholls who confirmed he will now head
direct to the Betfair Chase at Haydock
Park later this month. Although also
entered in the Hennessy Gold Cup, Colin Tizzard
expects Cue Card to head to Haydock for the Betfair Chase too. Meanwhile
the fog was horrendous at Ludlow, with every race a nightmare for Stewart Machin to commentate upon! Ludlow: Real Gone
Kid (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) finished 5th in the Standard Open NH Flat
Race (9 ran). Plumpton: Angel Face
(Alan King/Paul Moloney) finished 3rd in the Mares’
Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran). Tomorrow
there’s National Hunt racing at Exeter and a number of
runners of interest: 13:50 Yanworth (Alan King/Barry Geraghty)
– Novices’ Hurdle 14:50 The Tourard Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’
Chase; rivals include Flintham, Southfield Vic and
Native River. 15:20 Ziga Boy (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [3
miles 54 yards] 15:50
Friendly Society (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 25 yards] The
fixture features the Haldon Gold Cup to be run at
14:20 – there are 6 declarations, namely Sire De Grugy,
God’s Own, Third Intention, Vibrato Valtat, Court
Minstrel and Dunraven Storm. Following
the Southwell Weighing Room incident on 29
September, jockey Aidan Coleman has decided not to press charges against the drunken
intruder who assaulted him. I’m going
to view Autumn Watch for the next four nights but, hopefully, will also find
time to draft some of my Ascot diary each evening. My
colleague Sue is on annual leave this week, so I’m going to be very busy at
work; I can’t wait until it’s my turn to take a few days off later in the
month! |
|
Sunday 01 November 2015 |
|
One runner
of interest today, at Huntingdon: Duke Of Sonning (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Juvenile Hurdle (7 ran); he may not have won anyway, but did suffer a
broadside bump from Duke Street when the latter blundered badly at the last. One of my
horses to follow, Barters Hill, won impressively on his hurdling debut today,
also at Huntingdon. The ex-Alan
King-trained Vendor finished 11th of 15 in a Handicap Hurdle at Carlisle;
meanwhile Saphir Du Rheu
won the listed Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase impressively,
although against just two rivals. RUK spoke
to Trevor Hemmings at Carlisle and he confirmed
that Many Clouds won’t be running in the Hennessy Gold Cup because he’d carry
too much weight this renewal if he did.
I forgot
to report news of Uriah Heep’s run at Ayr yesterday
– he was brought down when hurdle race favourite Glingerburn
fell. Fortunately both horses were
uninjured. There are
three National Hunt fixtures tomorrow and runners of interest at all three
and equine stars on show too: Kempton
Park: 13:00
Magic Music Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 13:30 Mirkat (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Novices’ Hurdle;
Mirkat is a full brother to Katchit
... but much larger in stature! 15:05 Smad Place (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Graduation
Chase; Fingal Bay also holds an entry in this race. In
addition, Silviniaco Conti holds an entry in the Pertemps Hurdle Qualifier to be run at 14:30! It should
be a very good day at the Sunbury-On-Thames track, provided the predicted fog
clears and punters can see the horses!!! Ludlow: 16:20 Real
Gone Kid (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Plumpton: 13:50
Angel Face (Alan King/Paul Moloney) – Mares’
Novices’ Hurdle I’ve
decided to revamp a couple of my font colours, as the black wasn’t
particularly clear against the blue background. I was thinking about using gold, which has
previously signified Choc’s winners but, hopefully,
I may need that for Dunkley & Reilly Partnership and Apple Tree Stud
winners! It’s
reported that Edgardo Sol has passed away following
an operation. RIP. https://mobile.twitter.com/HorseRacingRIP/status/660825170815381504/photo/1 Also, Kentford Grey Lady has passed away in retirement due to
complications caused by colic. RIP https://mobile.twitter.com/HorseRacingRIP/status/660378521148268544/photo/1 I know
that it’s old news now, but AP McCoy has joined the team at Channel 4 Racing
and will be on hand for headline race fixtures, commencing with the
Cheltenham Open later this month. Baby Mix,
who left the racecourse in an ambulance yesterday having completed his race
in third position, is reported to have sustained a tendon injury. |
