- Monday, 16 March 2015 16:56
- Written by David Pipe
Can you believe it? There are only another 360 days to go until the start of the Cheltenham Festival!!! I can only consider the 2015 running of the greatest jumps meeting in the world as an enormous success – two winners for the yard is precisely double what I would have settled for at the beginning of the meeting and with a further three finishing runner-up it has to be considered a job well done and I would like to extend my grateful thanks to my owners, stable sponsors Bathwick Tyres for their continued support and my team at Pond House for their efforts.
Looking back, the first day of the Festival was a quiet one for the stable with only four runners although that didn’t stop Broadway Buffalo from running an extremely good race in the four mile National Hunt Chase for amateur riders. Partnered by Katie Walsh, he saw out the marathon trip extremely well despite not being favoured by the weights (in a handicap he would have been receiving 9lbs from winner Cause Of Causes) to finish a close runner-up. He could go for the Grand National next although with a rating of 137, we face an anxious wait as to whether he will get in or not (the last one in twelve months ago was on a mark of 138).
Onto the Wednesday and it looked as though it was going to be a day to forget with the disappointing performance of Kings Palace in the RSA Chase, the unlucky fall of Dell’ Arca in the Coral Cup and the unlucky passage of Unanimité in the Fred Winter. That trend looked likely to continue when Moon Racer (pictured above) missed the standing start in the bumper, meaning that he was much further down the field than had been intended. Saving ground on the inside all the way, Tom Scu had to sit and suffer and wait for the gaps to open, even then not enjoying the best of passages. Once unleashed in the straight however, he quickened smartly to win in the manner of a top class horse.
Talking of Kings Palace, I am pleased to report that he has returned from his race in the RSA absolutely fine. While Don Poli was an extremely worthy winner, Kings Palace is clearly better than he was able to show on the day. There will certainly be other days for him – he remains a top class chaser in the making and we will have a look through the programme book and see what options are open to him. He could well go to Aintree or Punchestown.
By Thursday I was had earned the nickname “Last Race Dave” when The Package (pictured right) bolted up in the Kim Muir Chase under crack amateur Jamie Codd. He jumped and travelled beautifully and there were few anxious moments. I had been very hopeful that our twelve year old could finally break his Festival duck (he had been placed at three previous Festivals) – the form from twelve months ago when he finished a close third to Holywell and Ma Filleule was there for all to see and he was 4lbs lower this time. I was delighted to provide a winner for the Johnson family and I am sure that ‘DJ’ would have been watching from above with a big smile on his face. He is entered in the Grand National, although much like Broadway Buffalo a mark of 137 will mean it is 50/50 whether he gets a run. Failing that he also has an entry in the Irish National, while the Bet365 at Sandown could also be a possibility.
Of our other runners I thought that Unique de Cotte and Monetaire also ran blinders, both finishing close runners-up and there should be some nice prizes to be won with them. Most importantly I am pleased to report that all of our runners returned okay - both Dell’ Arca and Balgarry took falls and while they are both a little stiff and sore, they will be fine. I am pleased to hear that similar comments would appear to apply to Willie Mullins’ mare Annie Power.
Once again we hosted a marquee for almost 150 guests on each day of the Festival and we had a great time. A winner or two always makes for a fantastic atmosphere and the roof was almost taken off the marquee when Moon Racer and The Package obliged. Many thanks as always to Joy and her fantastic team behind the bar and also to Liz who once again helped with the meeting and greeting.
We were on the mark at Fakenham on Friday when exciting novice chaser Ainsi Fideles was scoring for the seventh time this season. He only had one rival to beat and his odds of 1/20 were prohibitive, but it was a worthwhile exercise as he picked up nearly £7,000 for his efforts. He is a most progressive individual and is another who could well go next to Aintree.
I was interested to see that the governing body have moved to alter the format of the flat jockeys title with the proposed changes meaning that the championship would run from the Guineas weekend until Champions Day at Ascot in October in order to coincide the result with the supposed finale of the flat season. I fully support anything that raises the profile of the sport and make all aspects as exciting as possible although it does still leave me asking the question why the jockeys’ championship is decided by winners ridden and the trainers’ by prize money accrued? Surely both titles should be decided by the same method?
It would be churlish to talk about the Cheltenham Festival without acknowledging the incredible week that Willie Mullins has enjoyed. Eight winners from the twenty-seven races is an amazing performance and something I do not think we will see repeated for a very long time. The performances of Vautour, Un de Sceaux and Douvan were extremely impressive, while a 1-2-3 in the Champion Hurdle was phenomenal. Congratulations to Willie and all of his team – let’s hope they stay at home for the remainder of the year!
The great story of the week had to be the David versus Goliath tale of Coneygree in the Gold Cup on Friday and I would like to pass on my heartfelt congratulations to the Bradstock family and jockey Nico de Boinville for their sporting crack at the big one. It would have been easy for connections to go for the RSA but their bold decision and cavalier spirit was vindicated when Coneygree made every yard of the running to win the Gold Cup and in so doing become the first novice to win the race since Captain Christy in 1974. This truly was a well-deserved success that can do nothing but good for our wonderful sport.
Cheltenham is over for another twelve months…now it is onwards and upwards to Aintree!
