Cheltenham Around The Corner!

Last week was another productive one for the stable with four winners taking our seasonal tally to a very respectable 47. The successes of youngsters Saint John Henry, Tullyesker Hill, Herbert Park (pictured above) and Bidourey (none of them older than five) bodes well for the future of the stable, while we still have an enviable array of more established stars to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead. Indeed, there is plenty to look forward to as the tempo increases with the close of the flat season and we have a raft of entries this week, culminating in the Paddy Power meeting at Cheltenham this weekend.

First things first though and I promised last week that I would keep you informed of our entries in the early closing races. Much as anticipated we entered Dynaste in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day – we also entered Ballynagour in both of those contests. Meanwhile we entered no fewer than eight horses in an attempt to extend our excellent recent record in the Fixed Brush Handicap Hurdle at Haydock on Saturday 22nd November. It is a race we have won three times in the last four years with the likes of Grands Crus, Dynaste and Gevrey Chambertin and this time we are represented by Dell’ Arca, Ballynagour, Vieux Lion Rouge, Knight Of Noir, Softsong, Heath Hunter, Katkeau and Unique de Cotte. I may have committed one catastrophic error in the entries however, none of them are grey!

Looking back to last week I was pleased to see Saint John Henry (pictured centre of picture right in blue and orange colours)  build on his promise of last season and grind out a hard fought victory on his handicap debut at Plumpton on Monday. The ground was very testing come the last race but I was particularly pleased with the way he stuck his head out under Tom Scudamore to beat the stable sponsor’s appropriately named Torrential Raine…sorry about that Wayne and Sarah! This was only his fourth ever start and he is clearly open to plenty of improvement as he gains experience.

Bonfire night was a cracker for us (pardon the pun!) after we scored a double at Chepstow on Wednesday with Tullyesker Hill and Herbert Park. Tullyesker Hill was particularly impressive when landing the 3 mile handicap hurdle from a mark of 123. The margin was only 2½ lengths although he was value for considerably more. He had looked very promising at this stage last year before his form tailed off. Following a nice break over the summer, this was a most pleasing effort so let’s hope that he can build on it this time around. Herbert Park completed the double on the day by going one better than on his racecourse debut in the bumper. Garth and Anne Broom of Brocade Racing have had a great run of late and had recently recorded their 50th success as owners, but amazingly this was their first success in a bumper. A handsome son of Shantou, he will probably go hurdling now and looks a very nice staying prospect in that division.

I guess bumper winners are like London busses! No sooner had Brocade Racing enjoyed their first National Hunt flat race success at Chepstow, they were in the winners’ enclosure with another promising type after Bidourey had landed the closing bumper at Ffos Las on Sunday. His was a workmanlike effort but the ground gets very deep at Ffos Las and considering he was conceding weight to all of his rivals (due to his previous success in France) I thought this was a very good first effort in this country. Those of you who read my column regularly may have seen Pond House jockey Conor O’Farrell’s video interview last week – you may also recall that Conor pointed you in the direction of Bidourey, so hopefully you may have had a few quid on. With Bidourey scoring as well as other previous winning selections, Moon Racer (Jules Shergold) and Herbert Park (David Smalle), there are clearly some fair judges around the yard.

To follow is the latest instalment in our video series featuring someone who should know what they are talking about; travelling head lad Bob Hodge. Bob has ridden some good horses down the years, not least when he was a conditional jockey with Mary Reveley – you may recall seeing him aboard classy individuals such as Bonanza, Cab On Target and Melottie. Anyway, for Bob’s horse to follow you will need to see his interview with broadcaster Mike Vince below.

Bob Hodge Horse To Follow 2014/15

Looking ahead to this week, the stable has no runners today (Monday) and our next racecourse representative comes tomorrow at Huntingdon when decent staying hurdler Softsong makes his debut for the yard under Tom Scudamore. He has pleased me since his arrival so we will be hoping for a good run from him. We will have plenty of runners at Exeter on Wednesday with Too Generous, Virtuel d’Oudon, Serienschock and Lady Of Longstone all intended participants, while we have plenty more entries through the remainder of the week.

Friday sees the beginning of the Paddy Power meeting from Cheltenham and it is a meeting that I like to do well at to continue the stables’ rich history at the fixture. The first two days didn’t go so well last season, but we more than made up for it on the Sunday with an incredible four-timer with Dell’ Arca’s Greatwood Hurdle success providing the icing on the cake. Indeed, I finished up as top trainer at the meeting and it is a feat that I would dearly love to repeat. In the big races I rely on Easter Meteor in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and in the Greatwood Hurdle we are represented by Baltimore Rock. Easter Meteor joined me back in the summer and has pleased me with his preparations for Saturday’s big test. He was still going well when coming to grief two from home in last year’s renewal, but hopefully he will be able to make amends in the hands of Tom Scudamore. We have schooled him intensively and Tom has been pleased with his jumping so we are hopeful of a big run come Saturday.

Imperial Cup winner Baltimore Rock proved he was ready for a step up in grade when running a good race when fourth in Grade One company at Aintree at the end of last season. His four previous successes have all come with cut in the ground, so any further rain will not inconvenience him - he is still lightly raced and has a progressive profile so I am hopeful that he should go well in the ultra-competitive Greatwood Hurdle on Sunday.

Finally, I would like to pass on my sincerest congratulations to Pond House jockey Mikey Ennis for his fantastic success in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton on Saturday aboard John Ferguson’s Purple Bay. Mikey spends as much time riding on the level nowadays as he does over obstacles and this was a well-deserved success for our 7lbs claiming jockey.