A Weekend To Remember!

Of our four winners three of those successes came from promising youngsters, while the other came from one of the stable’s old stalwarts.  Dynaste (pictured right) produced a deeply impressive performance when winning the Steel Plate & Sections Novices’ Chase on the opening day of the meeting beating some very useful rivals in the process.  With a rating of 161 over hurdles, he was our highest rated recruit to fences this tem and he certainly didn’t disappoint.  Jumping with great aplomb on this chasing debut, jockey Tom Scudamore was able to ask Dynaste to go long or short at his fences and he was able to come nicely clear of Fingal Bay after the last – I really couldn’t have been any more pleased.

It is true that Dynaste possesses a similar profile to Grands Crus in as much as they both won this race, both won the Fixed Brush Hurdle and both showed excellent form over hurdles against the mighty Big Buck’s but he is probably an easier ride than his illustrious stablemate.  Considering he has proven stamina over three miles, it was pleasing to see the turn of foot that he was able to display over this 2m4f trip (run only at a steady gallop) and that means he will have plenty of options throughout his career.  The race that Grands Crus won at Newbury would be an obvious next target, while he could also possibly take in the Feltham at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Our Father (pictured left) was another to make quite an impression on his chasing debut as he readily disposed of his rivals in the novices’ chase on Saturday.  Jumping extremely well Timmy Murphy gave him a shrewd ride to find the best ground and he easily came clear in the straight.  We have always regarded him very highly and with only seven career starts under his belt (including Saturday) he is still very lightly raced and open to plenty more improvement.  He is a nice big, old fashioned chasing type and rates a smashing prospect.

Over timber Goulanes (pictured top of page) produced an excellent effort to land the Listed handicap hurdle over three miles and this former winning Irish Point-to-Pointer is another one to look forward to.  Having only his second run under rules, Goulanes was by far the least experienced in the field but showed real determination (as was characterised by his previous win at Newbury) to get up close home to beat Cross Kennon.  He is another exciting youngster to look forward to and I am delighted to have so many horses of considerable potential to look forward to.

One slightly more exposed winner from Cheltenham was old favourite Swing Bill.  Bill is rising twelve yet still retains all of his enthusiasm despite countless problems down the years.  Indeed, he produced an action replay performance on Friday to win the amateur riders race under a fine ride from Mikey Ennis to follow-up his success of twelve months earlier.  This was Mikey’s first winner at Cheltenham and I am sure he will remember it fondly for the remainder of his career.  Swing Bill may not be the most talented horse in the yard, but he is certainly one of the toughest and any trainer would love to have a stable full just like him.

Of course, Grands Crus was a high-profile disappointment in the big race itself, pulling up two from home having weakend after reaching a challenging position.  The good news is that he is sound and the form that he showed here was clearly too bad to be true.  Geoff Lane scoped him on Sunday and I am pleased to say that he has found a problem with his wind and recommends a wind operation.  We are considering all options and more news will follow.

I am always on the lookout for new talent and having ploughed through the catalogues am currently at the Deauville Sales looking for potential new stars (remember both Grands Crus and Dynaste were purchase through Arqana).  You will be able to find news of any purchases in Chester’s Daily Chat.

Looking ahead to the weekend, there is more top class action in the offing with Haydock playing host to the valuable Fixed Brush hurdle that we have won for the last couple of years with Grands Crus and Dynaste and we have left three in at the latest forfeit stage…Poole Master, Knight Pass and Katkeau,  as well as the Betfair Chase.  It is a blank day for the yard today, although we will be having runners between now and the weekend, so do keep checking back for all the latest news.