- Monday, 09 June 2014 14:51
- Written by David Pipe
I was very pleased to keep the good early season momentum going with a couple of winners from our four runners over the sticks last week. Mount Haven was the impressive winner of his bumper at Fontwell on Wednesday, while Guess Again (pictured above) took our seasonal total to sixteen when following up Problema Tic’s success of twelve months ago in the Perth Gold Cup on Sunday.
Mount Haven (pictured right) was our first runner of the week and he could not have been more impressive on his debut for the stable when landing the 2m2f bumper by sixteen lengths under 
Tom Scudamore. This was only his second ever racecourse start (having previously finished runner-up in an Irish point-to-point) and he is entitled to improve yet further for the experience. I am not sure how much strength in depth there was to the race, but he can do no more than win impressively and he looks like a decent 2 ½ to 3 mile chaser in the making. It was nice to get on the scoreboard at the first time of asking for his owners the Angove family on their first venture into racehorse ownership – hopefully this was the first of many to come.
I have to admit to being disappointed and somewhat mystified by the performance of Ainsi Fideles at Worcester on Saturday when sent off favourite for a competitive 2m4f handicap hurdle. The ground and trip should have suited him well, so it is a case of back to the drawing board with him. He has hinted at a good deal of ability on a couple of occasions and I am sure he can be placed to advantage over the coming months. In the same race Star Of Angels is entitled to come on for his first start in eighteen months.
While we had runners over the sticks, I was off to Epsom with Red Seventy. It is the first time that I have been to the track, so when better to do it than Derby day?! Although Red Seventy cut little ice in a very competitive handicap, I was pleased to be in attendance all the same to witness history in the making. I was very impressed by the performance of Australia and particular congratulations must go to trainer Aidan O’Brien who earned the distinction of becoming the first trainer in history to win the great race an amazing three successive years (following the successes of Camelot and Ruler Of The World)…a wonderful achievement.
Onto Sunday and we took Guess Again on the long journey all the way up to Perth for the Perth Gold Cup. It was a race we had won twelve months ago with Problema Tic and I was hopeful that we could follow-up with Guess Again. I had been impressed with him when winning at Wincanton last month and felt that a 5lbs rise in the weights for that success was perfectly reasonable. He jumped well in the main under another positive ride from Tom Scudamore and he kept responding for pressure. Although nine years of age, he is still relatively lightly raced and still appears to be improving.
Looking ahead to this week, we will have a couple of runners at Worcester on Tuesday evening when Lady Of Longstone makes her racecourse debut in the bumper and Massannie competes in the 2m7f handicap hurdle. Lady Of Longstone has done all that has been asked of her at home and she has a decent pedigree, being by Beneficial out of a decent mare (Christdalo, a half-sister to Broadway Buffalo) that my father used to train. The race features a host of horses making their debuts so there is very little form to go on – we will know more about her after tomorrow.
Massannie has proved to be something of an enigma since arriving at Pond House. She clearly has plenty of ability as demonstrated when she won her first three starts for the stable before trying to give a head start and a beating to subsequent Grade Two winner Toubeera. She has her own ideas about the game, but on a going day would be very difficult to peg back.
Our only other runners this week could come at Uttoxeter on Thursday where we have recent flat recruit Intermath in the juvenile hurdle and Star Of Salford entered in the bumper.
Finally, I am always keen to hear how not only our horses, but our staff get on after life at Pond House and I was delighted to hear that young Charles Foot who spent a season here 18 months ago has been awarded this year’s Fred Packard Scholarship by the British Racing School and is in South Africa for 3 months at Southveld Training Estate in Durban.
Part of the scholarship is educational and he is writing a blog regarding racing in South Africa which you can read here: http://charlesjfoot.com/about-charles/
As usual, for all of the latest news and running plans from the stable you can keep up to date with Chester’s Daily Chat or follow us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing
