- Monday, 26 August 2013 11:46
- Written by David Pipe
It was nice to be back among the winners last week with Royal Peak scoring again at Worcester on Monday in determined fashion from a potentially well-treated rival. Having been headed after the last, he found extra to deny multiple point winner She Is A Cracker by a head in a driving finish. He was turned out again at Newton Abbot two days later under a penalty in a bid to stay ahead of the handicapper but the race may well have come a bit soon for him as he looked a little flat in finishing fourth. He will be due another rise from the official handicapper tomorrow (Tuesday), but he is only lightly raced and can continue to progress.
I was extremely satisfied by the success of My Brother Sylvest (pictured above) in the two mile open handicap chase at Ffos Las on Thursday. I was confident of a good run from him as conditions suited – indeed, the faster the ground, the better for him. He has not always been the easiest horse to train and can be extremely headstrong, so it is gratifying when you can get them to win, especially when the race is worth in excess of £14,000 to the victor. He is open to further improvement over fences when you consider that this was only his sixth start over the larger obstacles and he can continue to pay his way, particularly when the ground is on the quick side. I would like to congratulate Ffos Las for putting on some excellent prize money for the fixture and Dai Walters and his team deserve great credit for this.
It is good to see conditional jockey Kieron Edgar back in action following a fall at Stratford at the beginning of the month. Kieron injured his thumb in the incident and was sidelined for three weeks. It wasn’t all bad news for the Scot however as he took the opportunity to soak up a few rays with his girlfriend by spending a week in Gran Canaria. The sun must have done him good as he returned to race-riding with a winner for Alistair Whillans at Cartmel on Saturday with his only ride of the day. Kieron is back riding for the stable today with the mount aboard Bathwick Man at Bangor.
While we are on the subject of jockeys, I can divulge that Midlands National winning amateur jockey Mikey Ennis is currently in the process of turning professional. As an amateur Mikey has had more than 75 rides against professional jockeys and so the BHA are now able to collect a fee for his services. As things stand Mikey is not able to use the racecourse physiotherapist without paying for it and is not even allowed to ask for travelling expenses. As it is currently costing him money to be a jockey, it makes economic sense to turn professional – afterall, it wouldn’t cost him any more even if he didn’t get a ride! This is an issue that should be looked into – there are plenty of opportunities for experienced amateurs, but it shouldn’t be costing them to compete!
Early closing entries for the Cesarewitch closed last week and the stable entered Mamlook in Newmarket’s showcase flat handicap in October. Mamlook has been off the track for a couple of years but is back in full work now and looking well – he has run twice in the race before, finishing third in 2008 before finishing runner-up to Darley Sun twelve months later. Mamlook went on to win the Chester Cup (left) and the handicapper has given him a bit of a squeak from a 7lbs lower mark than for that Chester success. It will be great to finally get him back on the racecourse.
Looking to this week we have a number of entries on the flat and over sticks, but it is Newton Abbot’s big two day fixture at the weekend that I am most looking forward to. We have entered Shoegazer in the Mildmay Chase, a race that he won twelve months ago, while he could be joined by exciting recent ex-French recruit Vif Argent, who is a multiple winner on the flat, over hurdles and fences in his native country. Meanwhile we have entered Decoy, Street Entertainer and My Brother Sylvest in the valuable handicap hurdle on Sunday.
The atmosphere around the stable continues to build as the horses still filter in from their holidays and the yard fills up and we have a very nice team of horses to look forward to. Indeed, if you are interested in becoming more involved and fancy racehorse ownership there are a number of exciting opportunities currently available to suit most budgets. You will find further details on our horses for sale page, including some exciting and unexposed youngsters such as the athletic Asteroide d’Albain (pictured right) and well-related filly by Beneficial, as well as proven winners such as Royal Peak. Percentages are available in some of these horses, so do feel free to contact me for a no obligation chat about your requirements.
I am presently on holiday in Tuscanny with family and friends and we are having a great time, despite the thunder and lightning that greeted us. We are currently participating in a snooker tournament and I am pleased to inform you that the score is currently David Pipe & Simon Crockett 2, Martin Pipe & Chester Barnes 0!
In the meantime, you can keep up to date with all of the stables runners and news by visiting Chester’s Daily Chat or by following us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing.
