- Monday, 16 May 2016 14:49
- Written by David Pipe
While the string remain in good form, unfortunately the frustrating run of results continued last week with the vast majority of runners reaching the frame without quite getting their heads in front. Indeed, from our eleven runners we recorded a couple of runners-up and no less than five fourths! On the positive side it shows that the horses remain in good order, although we will be hoping to get back into the winners enclosure this week!
It looks like being a quiet start to the week with no runners from the stable either today or tomorrow, although there are plenty of other jumps fixtures later in the week. Even so, I will certainly be kept busy with a possible runner on the level at Goodwood on Thursday as well as a trip to the sales at Doncaster and a visit to France for the Prix la Barka at Auteuil on Saturday.
As usual the runners from the stable will be governed by the weather and while it is bright and sunny today, the forecast for later in the week is for a not inconsiderable amount of rain. That would certainly be the order of the day for a few of our entries; not least former Champion Bumper winner Moon Racer who has engagements at Worcester and Stratford this week. He would certainly need a deluge before we even considered running him – something that didn’t happen before last week’s Stratford entry.
Meanwhile, we have made entries for a handful of our new arrivals with the likes of Irish point-to-point winners Ramses de Teillee, Garran City and The Two Amigos all ready to go and entered in bumpers over the coming days, while Thunder Pass could make his debut for the stable on the level at Goodwood on Thursday.
Talking of new arrivals, it has already been a productive ‘off-season’ with a number of promising new additions to the Pond House squad and I will be looking to further bolster those numbers when attending the sales at Doncaster on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. As usual, I have been going through the catalogue meticulously looking for the jumping stars of tomorrow and I have a proven track record at the auction ring through the years. Racehorse ownership is more affordable than you might think and we can cater for most budgets from shares to outright ownership. If you are interested in purchasing a horse, please do give us a call for a no-obligation chat about your requirements.
The horses will be leaving on Wednesday evening ahead of the Prix la Barka at Auteuil on Saturday afternoon – a race we won last year with Ballynagour (pictured above). Ballynagour will be bidding to follow-up his success of twelve months ago and he will be joined in the line-up by the talented but enigmatic performer Gevrey Chambertin. It looks like a tough race (as you would expect of the French Champion Hurdle Trial) with Blue Dragon looking like the pick of the home team, while the likes of Ptit Zig, Simonsig, Al Ferof and Un de Sceaux are just a few of the overseas entries and while it is a big ask, conditions clearly suit our charges and we will be doing our best once again. As usual for all the latest news on the Pond House runners, do keep up to date with Chester’s Daily Chat or follow us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing.
Finally, I was privileged to attend the wedding of long-serving work rider Debbie Barron and Eamon Leigh (former travelling head lad at Pond House) in Taunton on Saturday. It was a lovely ceremony and they were blessed with wonderful weather. Several other members of staff were also present, while virtually the entire team turned up for a fabulous reception at the Beambridge Hotel in the evening. Congratulations to the happy couple, pictured below.
