AP On The Brink!

It has been well publicised that champion jockey A P McCoy is nearing the number of winners that my father sent out during his time as a trainer (4191) and it would seem that as he has drawn closer to that tally, the winners have become harder and harder to come by.  It is a target that A P had set for himself after riding his 4000^th winner and it has been an on-going personal challenge between him and my father for some time.  To think that it has taken McCoy twenty years to achieve this total is some testament to the success that my father enjoyed as a trainer, although I know he will be delighted when the champ finally surpasses his tally.  They have been exchanging teasing texts over the past few weeks, but it has all been of a fun nature although my father has threatened to take out his trainers licence again…I certainly hope he is only joking, otherwise I will be on the lookout for another assistant trainer!

Anyway, it will be a tremendous feat by A P and we are all thrilled for him and tremendously proud to have played a part in his success story.  He is quite simply a unique talent and far from his talent diminishing with age, he has refined his skills and he is riding as well as, if not better than ever before.  I don’t know what his next target will be, perhaps he will aim next at 5,000 winners but you would be foolhardy to bet against him achieving anything he sets his mind to.

The horses continue to trickle back in and last week we bought Dell’ Arca, Vieux Lion Rouge, Gevrey Chambertin and Great Choice in from their summer holidays.  I thought that Greatwood Hurdle winner Dell’ Arca (pictured above) looked very well in particular – he has clearly enjoyed his break, although I am pleased to have them all back in.  They will have a quiet time to start with as we build them back up slowly – I would imagine that Dell’ Arca will start out over hurdles this term, although he has always looked a smashing chaser in the making and would have that as an option later on.

On the racing front we only had three runners last week, with both Intermath and Famousandfearless finishing third at Stratford and Southwell on Sunday respectively.  Intermath, who had been a sprinter on the level once again hinted at enough ability to win a little race over the summer months, although I was a little disappointed by the performance of Famousandfearless.  He arrived in this country with quite a lofty reputation having won an Irish point-to-point and as yet has not really confirmed that promise.  Even so, he has always looked like an embryonic chaser and anything he achieved over hurdles was going to be a bonus – I am sure there are races to be won with him, particularly when eventually switched to the larger obstacles.

As is usually the case at this time of year, there are only limited opportunities for the horses.  We have runners this afternoon at Newton Abbot, but other than meetings at Uttoxeter and Worcester on Wednesday, there are no other jumps meetings until the weekend.  On Wednesday we will run Purple ‘N Gold in the one mile handicap on the level at Sandown– it doesn’t look to be the strongest of contests for the track so we will be hopeful of a good run from him.  He will appreciate the quicker ground and will be partnered by current championship leader Ryan Moore so he will get every assistance from the saddle.

With rain forecast this weekend, we all know how quickly the going can alter (see Newmarket last week), so it will be very much a case of seeing what the elements have in store for us before deciding on our weekend runners at Market Rasen, Cartmel and Newton Abbot.  Market Rasen host their Summer Plate meeting on Saturday and the big race is supported by a couple of valuable hurdle races.  Recent French import, Serienschock who was a Grade 3 winner over hurdles figures in the Summer Plate as well as both of the hurdles, while Perth Gold Cup winner Guess Again is our other entry in the feature chase.  Azza and Hawkhill (who is yet to make his first start for the yard) complete our entries in the Listed Summer Hurdle.  For all the latest news on running plans for these as well as all other stable gossip, keep up to date with Chester’s Daily Chat.

Finally, I would just like to address the issue of handicapping horses in this country.  I appreciate that the handicappers have a thankless and near impossible task trying to accurately assess all of the horses and they generally do an excellent job.  Even so, there are times when the system currently used is clearly flawed…take the first race at Newton Abbot this afternoon where Tom Scudamore won the race aboard the unraced David Bridgwater trained Collodi.  The third horse home, Supreme Present currently has a rating of 145 which looks extremely high considering what she has achieved.  In some ways you have to feel sorry for connections of the winner as they are going to have their horse judged by the performance of the third and will likely gain a lofty rating themselves.  There has to be a better way of assessing the races as strange as it may sound, I know that a 130 rated horse in the summer is not as good as a 130 rated horse in the winter.  Perhaps races should be governed by the amount of prize money amassed as they sometimes do in France or maybe a scaling system whereby horses on a long losing run get additional weight off their backs?  Owning horses is an expensive business and while prize money is improving, it is only happening very slowly.  Whatever we can do to help the owners should certainly be considered.