22nd DECEMBER 2009
Barring something extraordinary happening (Caledonia Princess winning the Welsh National?), this will be the last update of 2009. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers, and thanks to all those that have supported us during the year, in which we have had 30 winners, highlighted by Zafisio's pair of Group 3 successes on the continent. See you in 2010.
Bentley Brook
8th Dec: Southwell, 1m 6f handicap on the all weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 4th
In the end, this below par run probably came too soon after his win at Wolverhampton. Had he put up a more lacklustre race last time, he would have been spot on for this, but it appears the moment had temporarily passed - unless Bentley Brook has undergone some sort of weird religious conversion and has turned his back on Southwell. But, in the world of reality, that is best dismissed as a theory until some sort of evidence is available. Science can be fussy like that.
Lesley's Choice
8th
Dec: Southwell, 5f handicap on the all
weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald:
WON
The Racing Post race summary neatly summed this up: Led, chall 1f out, found more last 100yds. After his extended spell of being really off the boil mentally, it seems that Lesley's Choice is prepared to do the decent thing and retain his current buoyant mood, as this was the third win on the spin. The handicapper is eventually going to get the better of him, but for now (at least until his opponents start physically roughing him up), the Lesley's Choice is a highly enthused competitor. Over this course and distance he has run five times, winning three, finishing second on the other two.
Its A Classic
8th Dec: Fontwell, 3m 2f handicap chase on
soft, ridden by Mark Grant:
WON
This was an a super ride from Mark, as he was able to dive onto the far side rail approaching the last fence, and the edge that gave him the run-in's dog leg turn in his favour. And that made the difference between victory and defeat in a race won by just half a length. Rather like we saw at Plumpton, there was no shortage of effort from Its A Classic, and he was much further clear of the horse that was harrassing him late in his previous win. How much the handicapper deems him to have improved will be important!
La Toya J
10th Dec: Kempton, 7f two year olds auction maiden on the all weather, ridden by Dane O'Neill: 3rd
This was her debut for us, and we were delighted to make the frame on only her second race. She showed signs of her inexperience, and it drew her into one or two traffic problems, but once she extricated herself, La Toya J ran on very gamely, and should be capable of improving further. As she seemed at home on the track, more all-weather runs beckon.
Stellar Cause
14th Dec: Plumpton, 2m juvenile hurdle on soft, ridden by Mark Grant: Pulled up
We turned up at Plumpton, bumped into the clerk of the course early, casually enquiring into the state of the ground. Anything such as wet, very soft, decent would have been fine, as long as it did not imply holding. His reply? "Sticky." It seemed we were on a wild goose chase even then, and Stellar Cause could not go on it. Before the drainage was improved, the course had more meetings called off, but those that went ahead were on ground that the right horse coped with more readily. Swings and roundabouts.
Alderbrook Girl
14th Dec: Plumpton, 2m 4f handicap chase on soft, ridden by Mark Grant: Pulled up
Ditto as for Stellar Cause, although she does have previous for hating these conditions, and stuck to her guns on this one. It is probably too late to talk her out of it.
If pictures of Alderbrook Girl in paddock at Plumpton were currency, we could be the Royal Bank of Scotland - obviously with plans to improve on that level of performance.
Friends Hope
15th Dec: Southwell, 1m 3f seller on the all weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald: 7th
Friends Hope was strongly fancied for this, as at her best she is better than a seller horse, and she had been working like she was indeed around his best. The market, which saw her and the eventual fourth flip-flop around, indicating that expectations were great for that one as well, ended up with joint favourites, but Friends Hope ran badly for no obvious reason. Heads are still being scratched on this one.
Happy Fleet
17th Dec: Ludlow, 2m lady amateurs' handicap hurdle on soft, ridden by Chloe Boxall: Pulled up
Chloe reported that Happy Fleet was, in fact, extremely unhappy, at least with the going, and it looks as if we will hold fire over hurdles and wait for the summer. In the meantime, there is always the option of giving her a try on the all-weather, as she works like a horse that could compete on the flat, despite her jumping origins.
Romney Marsh
18th Dec: Uttoxeter, 2m amateur & conditionals handicap hurdle on soft, ridden by Danny Burton: WON
Regular readers will recall that Romney Marsh has been threatening to put up a performance like this for a while, and it finally happened, under a good ride from Danny Burton, brother of our former conditional, Wayne. Having been reminded that his horse stayed further and not to be shy about going for home, Danny attacked before the home straight and Romney maintained her gallop all the way to the line, as rivals fell away one by one, and she did look as if only a jumping error could lose the race from quite a way out. A very satisfying experience to get her back on the winning trail at last.
Money Finder
18th Dec: Uttoxeter, 2m 4½f maiden hurdle on soft, ridden by Mark Grant: 8th
She did not really cope with the ground on only her third run (first over hurdles), but got 11 out of 10 for effort (maths which will help us if we do turn into the RBS), as she did not stop trying throughout. In time, she will need three miles, where that level of commitment can be rewarded.
Dreamwalk
21st Dec: Ffos Las, 2m juvenile hurdle on good to soft, ridden by Mark Grant: 6th
This was a first jumps runner at the splendid new course in the middle of nowhere, rendered even less accessible by the weather - it does actually get the seal of approval as a venue despite the results so far (see below). Basically Dreamwalk could not handle the ground, which was a definite fear based on his flat form, but no harm was done in giving him a first active experience of hurdling. It was tempting to say "hurdling in anger" but the early part of the race was run more slowly than he would have got used to when schooling, so "hurdling in suspicion of imminent chaos" might sum it up better.
Rince Donn
21st Dec: Ffos Las, 2m 3½f handicap chase on good to soft, ridden by Mark Grant: 2nd
After a second here on the level, we now have one over jumps, although this was a very close thing. Having won by being on the rail with Its A Classic, not being on it probably cost Rince Donn the race. He outjumped his main challenger, Cesium, at the last, but that horse got up in the last inch or two, to win on the nod by a margin about equal to it's atomic radius - watch out for more chemistry based gags in 2010! Shorten the race a fraction, or lengthen it a whisker and he is the winner. At least it proved that he stays two and a half miles (or nearly that). Both he and Dreamwalk had arrived at Folkestone for the frost ridden meeting that was called off - perhaps they are beginning to think that a horsebox is a device for giving them a tour of British wintery landscapes. Next stop, the Cairngorms.
An informative perspective on Rince Donn's Ffos Las conqueror
Capone
21st Dec: Kempton, 6 furlong handicap on the all weather, ridden by Hayley Turner: WON
As a famous fictional character used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together" and he never had to resort to throwing Snickers at people in adverts. Six furlongs is his trip, and he loves a strongly run race, which he got here in spades (a strange phrase, does it mean that the course is lined with gardeners offering encouragement?), plus Hayley Turner gets on with Capone exceptionally well. End result? A cosy win, and a time 0.2 seconds outside the course record - although on the Racing Post site there seem to be two course records (in addition to two more for 2 year olds) and Capone equalled one of them. Things only went awry when the horse box took five hours to get home from Kempton - perhaps Ffos Las is not so remote after all?
7th December 2009
Another slightly overdue, but even more star-studded than usual, newsletter. In a forced effort stick to schedule, readers will be wished a merry Christmas next time...
NEW ARRIVALS
We have had a mini-influx of horses, mostly owned by Richard Behan, since the last update. Most were ready to run, and some have done so already, and a couple were also entered in the sales, so could be brief visitors to the yard. Also joining on the day of the update is a new conditional jockey, Nathan Cook. Nathan, who hails from Jersey, has been riding out for us for a while, and has just upgraded from an amateur licence.
Rince Donn
19th Nov: Hereford, 2m novice handicap chase on
good to soft, ridden by Mark Grant: 5th
Rince Donn was entered for this before he joined us, but it looked a perfectly reasonable race to be tackling so we stuck with it, and although fifth, not beaten a huge distance was not a bad run, it did rather enhance the mystery. It seemed that two miles was too nippy for him, but he has tried further and run as if he wants two miles. To add to the melange (or blancmange) of doubt, Mark has ridden him previously and says that the horse gives a completely different feel from one race to the next. In the style of Sherlock Holmes, some impossibles will have to be eliminated and hopefully that will leave a race that does not look too improbable. The Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe are impossibles, the rest? We'll see. In the meantime, our new book, "Sherlock Holmes and the Blancmange Of Doubt" is available from no good bookshops, but plenty of dodgy ones.
Capone
21st Nov: Kempton, 6f handicap on the
all-weather, ridden by Hayley Turner: 2nd
27th Nov: Lingfield, 6f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Hayley Turner: 3rd
Both these runs were not too bad, the Kempton one, where he got a little boxed in but was extricated neatly by Hayley and was beaten only by a horse in red hot form, being the better, but his fifth placed run in a conditions race saw him whacked up the handicap by ten pounds, and he was beaten around about a length in each of these. Hopefully these results will have persuaded the man with the notebook and ultra-sharp pencil that a drop back is justified. Either that or Capone calls up the men with Tommy Guns...
Alderbrook Girl
22nd Nov: Towcester, 2m 3½f handicap chase on
soft, ridden by Mark Grant: 2nd
With the rains starting to have an effect on the ground, it seemed that two and a half miles would suit her better than three, with the plan being to stay handy all the way. That was an excellent plan, suffering only from the fact that none of the opposition wanted to lead, and Alderbrook Girl was unusually keen to get on with things. Mark decided to launch an ambush on the uncooperative oppo, and Alderbrook Girl led from the start for the next 2 miles, 3 furlongs and 108 yards. In the end, it was disappointing to be pipped so very late in the race, but it was a great performance from horse and jockey in the circumstances - and put the Warwick nonsense to bed once and for all.
Romney Marsh
23rd Nov: Kempton, 2m conditional jockeys'
handicap hurdle on good to soft, ridden by Marc Goldstein: 11th
She has become a bit of a lax worker at home, and now needs a run to liven her up to the idea that the regular sporting exertions are back on her agenda. Once upon a time, we could have concealed six packets of Refreshers in her breakfast, but now tricking horses into eating huge quantities of fizzy sweets is not a common training method. It seemed that the best practical way to do what was needed was to go out and make the running in a two miler. Marc did what was required, and Romney Marsh hung on in front for a bit longer than was expected. The exercise did the trick, and she has been working much, much better since.
Lesley's Choice
25th Nov: Kempton, 5f handicap on the all
weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald:
WON
A continuation of the last entry, as Lesley's
Choice has got his confidence back, and even after his Southwell
Going French
26th Nov: Kempton, 6f nursery on the all-weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald: 2nd
5th Dec: Southwell, 5f two year olds maiden auction on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 4th
In the end these were two disappointing
results, as Going French (who would not have been supported by the Duke Of
Wellington under any circumstance!)
Money Finder
26th Nov: Uttoxeter, 2m bumper on heavy, ridden by Mark Grant: 5th
This was his second race, and due to the
extremely testing conditions, it was run at a real dawdle. As Money Finder is a
stayer in the making, this did not suit at all and in hindsight perhaps it would
have been better to kick on and see what the rest could offer. However, as he
had been so green first time out, there was every chance that he was not ready
for a more aggressive campaign, and it could have knocked him back had that been he
case. However, there is nothing like five minutes of idle speculation over a cup
of tea and a custard cream, and we just have to ensure that Money Finder does
not settle in to that sort of lifestyle.
Aviatore
26th Nov: Taunton, 2m 3½f handicap hurdle on good to soft, ridden by Chloe Boxall: 8th
After surprising us all on his previous Taunton run, the ground this time was much softer, more so than the official going, and Aviatore could not repeat the effort. The weather at the moment is not in his favour, but his fitness is coming along all the time.
Caledonia Princess
27th Nov: Lingfield, 5f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 7th
4th Dec: Wolverhampton: 5f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 8th
She is proving a little disappointing at the current time, as she works like a horse in good heart, but runs as if a little jaded. In fairness, at Wolverhampton she got squeezed up against the rail just as she tried to make some progress to get in a challenge, but if she had really been full of vim and vigour, she might well have escaped the trouble anyway.
Its A Classic
28th Nov: Towcester, 2m 6f novice chase on heavy, ridden by Mark Grant: 3rd
He only ran in this as an afterthought, as he was out of his class against the main two runners, but with seconds before the deadline to declare it was a valuable race with only three runners. He had a paddle round, picked up around a grand for finishing third, and the trainer then can claim to be a weather forecasting genius, as his preferred race a couple of days later at Plumpton was rained off, thanks to a burst of late and unexpected rain. In your face, John Kettley!!!
"There
WILL be a lot of rain over Fakenham...making it look like this."
Stefanki
28th Nov: Wolverhampton, 7f 2 year olds maiden on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 8th
Alas, a bit more of the same. Stefanki came off the turn looking set to go and at least be challenging for the win, but there was not really the surge of pace that he shows at home. The prospect of being gelded rises ever more prominently, like the sun over one of those Pacific Islands that are just sand and one palm tree, which, of course, exist only in cartoons. The upside is that he could end up, now he has run three times, on a workable handicap mark, but unless he is prepared to use the natural ability he possesses, that will not count for anything.
"Hello. I'm here to see Stefanki"
Bengers Lass
29th Nov: Kempton, 1m 4f maiden on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 5th
A jump up in trip saw her perform a bit better, and as she is learning the lie of the racing land, she may stay even further.
Happy Fleet
30th Nov: Fakenham, 2m 7½f handicap hurdle on good to soft (but really worse than that), ridden by Mark Grant: Pulled up
Just the nine hour round trip, only to arrive and find that the ground was completely wrong for her - the whole point of going to Fakenham being that it is not usually as soft there as many other courses when there has been a lot of rain. Anyone reading the press reports will have believed that the going was perfect, but then they were asking those who had won...
Despite not having left the parade ring, Happy Fleet has already rumbled that the going may not be what she had been led to believe and is looking a touch demoralised. Never fear, for a gloating John Kettley was nowhere to be seen.
Baltimore Patriot
30th Nov: Wolverhampton, 1m 6f amateurs' handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Chloe Boxall: 4th
Another decent effort, and perhaps with slightly different tactics he might have found his way into second - we shall never know. Baltimore Patriot is shaping as if he could win on the all-weather, but he seems more likely to deliver the goods over hurdles, were the current spate of soft ground not against him.
Bentley Brook
30th Nov: Wolverhampton, 2m ½f
handicap on the all
weather, ridden by Tony Culhane:
WON
Anyone who asked about this one and ignored him - apologies! He was working well, but his long standing disdain for anywhere not called Southwell (maybe Southwark would do if they had a Palio-style race round the cathedral), meant that this was really expected to be a pipe-opener for a return to the normal scene of all his glories. The only explanation is that apart from one dual course and distance winner, the oppo did not have much form at two miles, and wins on the all-weather were few and far between. Maybe the question is not "how did he win at Wolves?" but "how far would he have won by if this was at Southwell?"
Tacinja
1st Dec: Southwell, 3m ½f handicap chase on good, ridden by Mark Grant: Pulled up
A disappointing run, but she made a couple of errors early on, and knocked herself out of all contention.
Jat Punjabi
5th Dec: Chepstow, 2m ½f bumper on heavy, ridden by Mark Grant: 7th
He has come right at just the wrong time, when conditions are really hard for giving a horse his first sight of the racecourse, and this race was also run in very dark conditions, as the racing was running late. Ultimately, we were happy with an uneventful introduction, as he has the makings of a nice horse, and no harm was done to his confidence or enthusiasm.
Apache Moon
6th Dec: Warwick, 2m juvenile hurdle on soft, ridden by Mark Grant: Pulled up
Although he only managed one run on the flat, we think Apache Moon has the makings of a very decent horse. Hopes that there would be the sort of great leap forward here that would astonish even Chairman Mao fell flat on account of the ground - Mark reported that he did not handle it at all, and had Apache Moon done so, it may have found him out for fitness. Next stop, Taiwan. Or anywhere closer to home with better ground. You would normally be thinking Norfolk, but after the last trip there...
Myshkin
6th Dec: Warwick, 2m juvenile hurdle on soft, ridden by Chloe Boxall: 4th
Myshkin was in the same race as Apache Moon, and in their work on the gallops you would never have expected Myshkin to have fared so much better here. In fact, the early impression that he has created is that he is only happy when he believes the entire world is run for his convenience, so it was a pleasant surprise how well he knuckled down to what proved to be some hard work. Perhaps hurdles will be the making of him.
INJURY NEWS
For those who have not seen him around, Manav has been severely hindered by a broken leg. He did convince us that he could go to Lingfield, but came back looking about as unhealthy as is possible, so he has not been enjoying the raucous all-weather flat racing scene of late. It all happened as one of those colt-sees-filly, colt-casually-follows-filly, filly-gets-the-hump-and-lashes-out, innocent-Mauritian-bloke-on-the-colt suffers-fractured-fibia-and-tibia tales. Hollywood shoves out a dozen of these tales each month.
Zafisio
1st Nov: St Cloud, 1m Prix Perth, Group 3 on very soft, ridden by Dominic Boeuf: WON
14th Nov: Frankfurt, 1m 2f Hessen Pokal, Group 3 on heavy, ridden by Graham Gibbons: WON
For the pedantically inclined, it may break with the strict chronological layout of the newsletter, but after notching a pair of Group 3 wins, Zafisio has surely earned pride of place on the newsletter? In the wise words of Jon Bon Jovi, "They say that no man is an island, and good things come to those who wait." Well wikipedia, the source of all wisdom apparently, lists an island called Nomans Land off Massachusetts, and Mr Bon Jovi was right in his second assertion. Here the good things came as a result of patience being retained in early autumn, when the right ground just would not come for Zafisio. After the win at St Cloud, Dominic was adamant that a mile is Zafisio's optimum trip, but he is the sort of horse that prefers not to win by wide margins that could chasten the opposition, and we always felt that he would find a way to stay further if necessary. Nothing was left to chance, with travelling several days before the race ensuring he was settled in and giving us a chance to have a look round Frankfurt. Lots of banking and industrial landscapes, the type beloved of arty Krautrock bands! The main problem whilst we were there was that the officially soft ground probably was not as muddy as expected and the rain battering the rest of Europe gave Frankfurt a wide berth. So come the day of the race, confidence was draining away, but just after race one, the heavens opened, and it was more or less perfect when our turn came. When Zafisio came to reel in the leader, that rival proved a touch more determined than expected, but in the end, he won with more to give if needed. There is a possible race for him left at Toulouse, but whether he would be up for another long journey after two in quick succession is a doubt.
Bengers Lass
21st Oct: Bath, 1m 2f maiden on good, ridden by Darryll Holland: 14th
At risk of stating the obvious, this was a very disappointing effort. On her second appearance she showed signs of promise until held back by jockey injury, but at the moment she is not going on from that positive note.
Stefanki
23rd Oct: Doncaster, 7f 2 year olds maiden on good, ridden by Tony Culhane: 8th
This was also a slightly disappointing performance, as Stefanki produced a bit of a timid effort, admittedly in a race with some potentially rather good opposition. What we were not entirely sure of was whether he was a bit green and his concentration wavered or whether he was a bit frightened of the hubbub around him - this was a bigger and more competitively bunched field than on his debut. Tony was adamant that the horse needs gelding, and whilst we stand second to none in our defence of Stefanki's genitals, we cannot give them grace indefinitely.
Traditional Bells
23rd Oct: Fakenham, 2m bumper on good to firm, ridden by Mark Bradburne: 7th
Ran an odd sort of race, as although it was his third run in a month, Mark reported that Traditional Bells blew up when the tempo lifted quite late in the race and as a result was eased down in the last furlong and a half. All in all, he does seem to have come on a lot for the burst of experience, and is much more comfortable with the racing concept than on his debut.
Caledonia Princess
24th Oct: Kempton, 6f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 5th
11th Nov: Kempton, 6f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 5th
14th Nov: Wolverhampton, 5f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: WON
The honours go to Tony for this one, as due to her previous form - winning on the uphill six furlong course at Leicester - we had been inclined to blame a couple of lesser results on simply being badly handicapped. However, after she ran in blinkers for the first time on November 11th, Tony came back and said she felt like a five furlong horse to him. My, how we laughed. But we also stuck her in a minimum trip race at Wolverhampton, just in case, and she won it. In a blanket finish, Caledonia Princess enjoyed being dropped out early and pounced like a hungry mongoose on four rivals who thought they were fighting out the race between themselves.
Elegant Olive
23rd Oct: Towcester, 2m mares' novice hurdle on good, ridden by Mark Grant: 8th
She had got as fit as was possible at home, but still needed the run for fine tuning. She ran quite well, a mistake three out knocked her back three or four lengths, and that was the margin between her and the fifth horse in the end. Mark's view is that she has grown into her frame now, and is ready to step up in trip, as she is bred to do. Her family also has an iffy record when the mud is flying, so an opportunity to run on heavy (waterlogged patches) at Fontwell was declined.
Callisto Moon
28th Oct: Musselburgh, 2m handicap on good to soft, ridden by Graham Gibbons: 7th
He has had a pretty good year but this was just one race too many. It was a shame that we had to go all the way to Musselburgh to find out, but it was the only track to have a suitable race on suitable ground at this time of year.
Assiun
30th Oct: Wetherby, 2m ½f handicap hurdle on good, ridden by Mark Bradburne: pulled up
Assiun pulled up with a hind leg injury, which is going to keep him off course for a fair while. He had been working like a potentially decent performer, so it is disappointing to suffer the setback before he had a chance to show it in a race.
Tacinja
30th Oct: Uttoxeter, 2m 6½f handicap hurdle on good, ridden by Chloe Boxall: 7th
She needed the run and will be a lot better for the race. There was one good sign of progress, however, as she has tended to fight the bit and resent being aggressively ridden, but settled quite well this time. Chloe knows her quite well, and gets on with Tacinja at home, so we now have pinned down the horse's comfort zone.
Capone
31st Oct: Ayr, 7f handicap on soft, ridden by Dominic Fox: 6th
14th Nov: Lingfield, 6f conditions stakes on the all-weather, ridden by Paul Hanagan: 5th
The first of these runs was a shambles from start to finish. The trainer, wishing to see Capone race in person, opted out of going to St Cloud, where Zafisio won a Group 3 race, in favour of sitting in a horse box for eleven hours en route to the west of Scotland, where the last possible turf race of the season for Capone would take place. It does not normally take that long to get there, but this was the Friday of half term week. As the journey hit hour ten, there was text from the course saying that due to oodles of rain, there would be an inspection the next morning. Racing did go ahead, but the ground was hopelessly wrong, so we did not learn much about his stamina either. Plus, due to closed roads, it took nine hours to get home to Lambourn. In fairness, Capone was quite matter-of-fact about the experience, but he knew once he had raced that he had nothing to concern himself with other than dinner. The next run was nearer and drier, and Capone ran a decent race, handling the tight turns well for a long striding horse. Certainly it is worth giving more tries on the all-weather.
Alderbrook Girl
2nd Nov: Plumpton, 2m 4f handicap chase on good to soft, ridden by Jodie Mogford: 9th
For this race, it was too short and not muddy enough, but it got a run under her belt, and had she travelled sweetly enough until the oppo quickened up and the surprise of that actually happening at Plumpton caused her to make a critical mistake which knocked her out of contention completely. Since then she was annoyingly withdrawn start on 11th November at Warwick. She can be a bit stiff and awkward when she first goes into action, but is fine once she has warmed up, and on this occasion Michael Murphy was riding and asked the vet just to run his eye over her, at which point the vet withdrew her. Dawn was on the spot and was pretty certain that it was normal for Alderbrook Girl and that once they jumped off, she would have had no problems.
In the absence of a photo of Zafisio's Group 3 double, Alderbrook Girl gamely steps into the frame for a Plumpton handicap chase. In order to prevent further incidents at the start, everyone who comes with the horse is now required to strike an odd pose, so that the vet just thinks there are harmless weird things going on.
Lesley's Choice
6th Nov: Southwell, 5f handicap on the all weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald: WON
As the trainer was certain would happen, but was beginning to get frustrated about how long it took, communication ceased to fail and Lesley's Choice finally found a day when he was in the right frame of mind to dismiss the possible antics of the others from his thoughts and just concentrate on winning the race in front of him. Using a visor instead of blinkers did the trick, or at least helped it, and in the end it was a fairly cosy two length margin.
Baltimore Patriot
6th Nov: Wolverhampton, 1m 6f handicap on the all weather, ridden by Kevin Ghunowa: 3rd
16th Nov: Wolverhampton, 2m ½f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Tony Culhane: 2nd
Baltimore Patriot was debuting on the all-weather for the first of these, and fell foul of a foiled plan to box in the favourite. This was not the easiest thing to do in a four runner race, especially when one runner went really wide on the turn and ran most of the race on the outside rail. In the end 1m 6f was too short for him, and it was up a bit in trip next time. With a furlong and a half to go he looked the most likely winner, but one other horse burst from the pack to deny him. The pair finished a long way clear of the third and there will be other staying openings for him, as long as we don't try to be too clever!
Aviatore
12th Nov: Taunton, 2m 3½f handicap hurdle on good, ridden by Chloe Boxall: 2nd
This result proved a little bit astounding as we thought that Aviatore was nowhere near fit enough to take home prize money out of this. Initially, the pace was steady and Chloe stalked them from the back of the field. When Aviatore was expected to start feeling the pinch, the pace did not appear to pick up that much, but other horses just kept dropping away and watched him breeze past them. He never looked like he would mug the winner as he had done to thirteen other innocent bystanders, but it augurs well for the future, even if we would have preferred a bit of sterner resistance from the opposition to knock some of the ring-rustiness out of him, to make it seem more like a race than a sparring session.
Street Devil
14th Nov: Uttoxeter, 2m novice hurdle on the soft, ridden by Mark Bradburne: 8th
If he had the brains to match his ability, he would either be running in pattern races on the flat, or perhaps run his own website. Maybe even managing a Kraftwerk tribute band. Unfortunately, he has a touch of the Tim Nice-but-dim's about him, and whilst there is no actual reason why he could not make up into a respectable hurdler, it is going to take a series of small steps along the way. This was one of them, and getting bashed around in some general chaos at the first hurdle did not help Street Devil get his head around the race at all. He did rally briefly in mid-race, but conditions had become very testing and it all got too much for him late on. Time and patience.
Our Teddy
14th Nov: Lingfield, 1m 2f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald: 7th
This was his first race for two and a half years and he ran as well as can be expected. Time may prove that 10 furlongs is a bit short for him now, but he came back sound and happy, which was the first priority.
Bentley Brook
14th Nov: Wolverhampton, 2m ½f handicap on the all-weather, ridden by Darryll Holland: 6th
Had been off since February, and ran well considering that he needed the race. What he also needs is Southwell, where he either likes the different surface, the view out over the electricity pylons of Nottinghamshire, the railway line next to the course, or combinations thereof.
Its A Classic
16th Nov: Plumpton, 3m 2f handicap chase on heavy, ridden by Mark Grant: WON
In the last few weeks, Its A Classic had improved a great deal in his work, handling it being with horses far speedier than soft ground three mile chasers. But it was his first run back and it was on heavy ground after a wet and wild weekend of weather, so there was confidence with a tiny reservation. When Mark hit the front three out, he was going better than all his rivals, and any cobwebs in Its A Classic showed themselves by merely preventing him dashing clear, instead just maintaining a margin of a couple of lengths all the way home. After Hugh missed out on Zafisio's win in Germany the day before due to the difficulties picking up a last minute flight, Plumpton provided a degree of consolation as far as being in the right place at the right time goes.
Its A Classic quickly learns to savour the delights of victory, and carefully positions himself so that everyone can see the "1st" sign
19th October 2009
Callisto Moon
26th Sep: Market Rasen, 2m 1½f handicap hurdle on good, ridden by Seamus Durack: 5th
With the trip being on the short side for him, there was no alternative but to make the running and see which of Callisto Moon’s rivals could not stand the heat. Rather unsportingly, a few had brought the factor 35 cream along, and he was knocked back to fifth in the home straight. It was a pretty heroic try all the same, and due to dropouts elsewhere, the Cesarewitch option was there for a follow up. On the plus side was his continued good form, the downside was that it is a terrible race for front running and he got about as poor draw as we could have not asked for. Unfortunately, that was rendered irrelevant due to a bout of colic. Callisto Moon did thankfully get over it, but by the time he is ready again, the weather is likely to have gone against him.
Bengers Lass
26th Sep: Kempton, 1m 2f maiden on the all weather, ridden by Stephen Donohoe: 9th
12th Oct: Windsor, 1m maiden on good to soft, ridden by Tony Culhane: 14th
Did not do too disastrously on her debut, but the post-race verdict was that it was worth dropping her in trip – not what was expected on breeding or her work at home. Initially at Windsor , she relished the speedier race, and it seemed odd that Tony had eased her down a couple of furlongs out, without Bengers Lass appearing tired. When they unsaddled, the reason became clear – horse came back fine, but jockey not so well. Tony had been hit in the face by a large stone (All-weather kick-back? Minor league stuff!) and had blood streaming down his face, which meant he was unable to see where he was going, and thus had to go carefully. Will the next BHA initiative be for riders’ to have their own on-board first aid kit?
Lesley's Choice
29th Sep: Southwell, 5f handicap on the all weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald: 2nd
18th Oct: Southwell, 6f handicap on the all weather, ridden by Frankie McDonald: 7th
A tale of two draws. For the first race the trip was ideal and the first time blinkers did their job, but Lesley’s Choice had the worst draw of all and probably found it being the difference between a win and his eventual second.. Next time, he had a plum draw, but the six furlongs is stretching him a bit and having led, he faded in the last hundred yards.Time will tell if the headgear will have an enduring impact.
Caledonia Princess
29th Sep: Southwell, 7f handicap on the all weather, ridden by Graham Gibbons: 12th
12th Oct: Windsor, 6f handicap on good to soft, ridden by Tony Culhane: 9th
For the first of these, Caledonia Princess, even though in need of the run, appeared to be uncomfortable on the Fibresand surface – her other, more encouraging, all-weather run had been at Kempton – so it was one to write off as a lesson learned, but with the exercise having done her good, a much bolder bid for brilliance was expected at Windsor. It did not happen, and without a vicious geology-derived assault on Tony mid-race, reasons for the flop have not been identified, although Somali pirates remain a popular current scapegoat. She is certainly better than shown in these two races.
Capone
6th Oct: Chantilly, 5½f listed race on very soft, ridden by Dominic Boeuf: 9th
Made his debut for us, having worked like a nice horse. Simultaneously expecting him to handle a rise in class and very soft French going (which means the racing is followed by a regatta) was a bit too much, too soon.
Baltimore Patriot
10th Oct: Chepstow, 2m ½f novice hurdle race on good, ridden by Mark Bradburne: 10th
A new arrival from Ireland, we had to get a run into him as the handicapper was a bit shy of awarding a mark based on his Irish form. He was probably not quite 100% fit for this, but at least we now have far more flexibility in picking the next run.
Bould Mover
10th Oct: Ascot, 5f Cornwallis Stakes, Group 3 on good to soft, ridden by Darryll Holland: 4th
Another case of the oppo rather uncharitably being a little bit quick for him at the business end, but Bould Mover ran exceptionally well, bidding for glory a fair way out and only conceding late on. He again did not look out of place in a pattern race.
Money Finder
10th Oct: Bangor, 2m 1f bumper on good, ridden by Mark Grant: 9th
Expectations were quite low for this, as whilst fitness was as fine as it could be tuned at home, Money finder seems to have an objection to learning anything along the way. She was very green early on but instead of flopping around like a salmon trying to fix a toaster, she actually got to grips with the last third of the race quite well. Hopefully, she can maintain the progress.
Traditional Bells
15th Oct: Ludlow, 2m bumper on good to firm, ridden by Mark Bradburne: 3rd
This race was missed by the trainer, who delivered the horse to the track, went off to collect another one and then got stuck on the way back in a country lane blocked by an overturned car. This produced a certain degree of mental trauma, but thankfully only for the gridlocked, as Traditional Bells was far less wound up by his journey to the races this time. In fact, having settled extremely well before and during the race, we were left wondering whether he was intellectually ready to be challenged more, and had we done so, might he have won? We will never know, and had he been given a harder time, it might have done more harm than good.
Atlantic Jane
18th Oct: Fontwell, 2m 6½f handicap hurdle on good, ridden by Paddy Merrigan: Pulled up
It had been 1,075 days and three foals since Atlantic Jane last ran. It showed, but as well as just fitness, there was a doubt as to how enthused she really was. We will give her a couple more tries to sea if she moves on.