A Pleasant Week!

With the season getting into full swing now, I am pleased to report that the stable remains in good form.  Indeed, four winners over the course of the last week means that our seasonal tally now stands at 29 – a favourable comparison to this time last year.   Furthermore, the victories came from some of the promising youngsters that I had been so hopeful of at the beginning of the season and bodes very well for the remainder of the campaign.

Ex-French recruit Azza (pictured right) started the ball rolling on Wednesday at Carlisle with success in the juvenile hurdle.  Owing to the form of her win in an Auteuil Listed hurdle on her only previous start over timber, she was sent off at cramped odds to make a winning debut for the yard.  Making all the running under Tom Scu, she did make a couple of minor mistakes, but always had matters in control and scored comfortably under a penalty.  It probably wasn’t the greatest of races, but it was a nice starting point and she did everything that was asked of her.  She is a half sister to the stable’s high class bumper winner Vieux Lion Rouge, and like him has a lovely attitude.

The Liquidator (pictured below) went on to complete a double for the yard on the day with a bloodless victory in the novices’ hurdle.  A Grade One bumper winner last term, it was good to see him transfer that ability to hurdles with a smooth display of jumping – I couldn’t be happier with him and he looks sure to take high rank among the novices’ this season.  I know both he and Azza were long odds-on to win, but I cannot tell you how relieved I was after they had both obliged!

Centasia was a good mare in National Hunt Flat races last term, winning twice and finishing fourth in the Listed mares’ bumper at Aintree’s Grand National meeting in April and she made her hurdling debut at Uttoxeter on Friday.  She jumped and travelled strongly in the hands of Tom Scudamore and was firmly on top in the closing stages from another useful bumper performer, The Pirate’s Queen, who had finished a place behind her at Aintree.  She is a lovely big mare and I am hopeful that she will have learned plenty from this experience - there are plenty of opportunities for the better members of her sex this season and she should continue to progress.

Our final winner of the week was Pleasant Company (pictured above) who put up a most taking performance in winning the bumper at Ascot on Saturday by a convincing eight lengths.  A former point-to-point winner in Ireland and standing at over seventeen hands high, our five year old already looks like a chaser, but judged by this performance there are further races to be won with him before then.

At this point I should mention that these results have proven to be a triumph for anybody that has been watching our series of video interviews.  From just eight runners, my team have already notched up five successes at a strike rate of 62.5%...a fantastic strike-rate I am sure you will agree.  It seems that there are a few good judges out there afterall!  Below is the latest installment in the series and today we meet conditional jockey Kieron Edgar who was talking to Mike Vince...

 

Looking to the week ahead, another of last season’s exciting bumper horses, Doctor Harper makes his hurdling debut at Exeter tomorrow and will be joined at the meeting by Bygones Sovereign and Alderluck and The Wealerdealer.

Later in the week we have entries at Chepstow and Warwick on Wednesday, Towcester on Thursday , Fontwell and Musselburgh on Friday, Sandown and Wincanton on Saturday and Ffos Las and Market Rasen on Sunday, as usual you will be able to keep up to date with all of the latest runners from the yard by visiting Chester’s Daily Chat.

Finally, I should just make mention of a certain A P McCoy.  Following another double at Kempton this afternoon, the champ has moved to within 2 of an incredible 4,000th success.  He continues to be a phenomenon  and is a wonderful ambassador for our sport…we are very lucky to be witnessing history – enjoy it as we will not see his like again!