- Monday, 03 March 2014 19:20
- Written by David Pipe
Virtuel d’Oudon started the ball rolling with success in the Plumpton bumper on Monday afternoon. Making all the running under a positive ride from Tom Scu, he kept on well when challenged in the straight. He is already a winning Irish point-to-pointer and stamina seems to be his forte – his future certainly lays over hurdles and eventually fences. I was particularly pleased as he was making his debut for the stable and was a first runner for his proud owners Steve and Jan so to get a winner on the board for them was fantastic.
On Wednesday Vif Argent put behind him the disappointment of his earlier starts since arriving from France with a good win in the 2m5½f handicap chase. A more realistic handicap mark, an ease in grade and the application of blinkers certainly seemed to help spark a revival in his fortunes as he saw out the trip in determined fashion under Tom Scudamore. Hopefully this success will help give him a confidence boost and he can go on from here.
Scu was in the saddle when The Darling Boy (pictured above) went one better than on his debut for the stable by landing the 2m3½f handicap hurdle at Taunton on Thursday. Despite the sheepskin cheekpieces he shows a really determined attitude in his races and held on in tenacious fashion to beat previous winner Join The Navy who was partnered by Pond House conditional jockey Kieron Edgar in a driving finish. He is owned by one of the most enthusiastic owners I think we have ever had at the yard – it may not be the Cheltenham Festival, but the sheer joy on display was a timely reminder that we should cherish every success.
While I am on the subject of Kieron Edgar, I would just like to wish him a speedy recovery after he suffered a horrendous fall at Newbury on Saturday. Kieron suffered a broken leg when his mount Roman Flight trained by David Dennis tried to avoid an earlier faller, catapulting Kieron into another horse. He was operated on yesterday (Sunday) in Swindon Hospital and he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines as he recuperates. It is a terrible blow for him as he would likely have picked up a ride or two for me at Cheltenham and now that meeting and Aintree are certainly off the agenda for him. Let’s hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.
There was an air of excitement around the yard on Saturday morning when we played host to the Channel 4 Racing team as they did a live link from Pond House. It is incredible how many people it takes to bring an outside broadcast live to your television set from presenters and producers to camera crews and the techies in the two outside broadcast vans. I hope that those of you who saw the programme enjoyed our contribution and I would just like to say a very big well done to Rosie Clarke and Sarah Buckley who I thought were excellent in their interviews with Gina Bryce.
Front to back: Cheltenham hopefuls Red Sherlock, Kings Palace, Swing Bowler, Vieux Lion Rouge
parade around the yard for Channel 4 cameras on Saturday
I will be joining the Racing Post tomorrow (Tuesday) evening between 5.30pm and 6.30pm for a live Q&A session and I will be pleased to answer the best of your questions so take a look at their website for further details. Meanwhile you can keep up to date with all the latest news from Pond House including our runners by visiting Chester’s Daily Chat or following us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing.
It is with sadness that I have to inform you that one of the old Pond House stalwarts has been retired. Master Overseer ran his last race under rules when fifth in a veteran’s chase at Newbury on Saturday. ‘Mo’ has been a fantastic servant down the years winning eight races for me in bumpers, hurdles and over fences including the Listed Midlands National at Uttoxeter and a Grade Three handicap chase at Cheltenham. He hadn’t shown the same enthusiasm in two starts this term and it wasn’t a difficult decision to call time with him. He has long been a favourite at the yard for his tough as boots style of racing and his placid and friendly demeanour. He will be missed around the yard, although he has a lovely home to go to with one of our staff, Eleri Apps who will compete with him in point-to-points.
Finally, we were visited on Tuesday by broadcaster Mike Vince and he caught up with me to talk all things Cheltenham. We have a series of videos to bring you on the run-up to the Festival, the first of which is featured below. We also have the thoughts of jockeys Tom Scudamore, Conor O'Farrell, Tom Bellamy and Mikey Ennis to bring you over the coming days in Chester's column so make sure to keep checking back!
