- Monday, 06 April 2015 11:18
- Written by David Pipe
With Aintree nearly upon us I am delighted the yard continues in good form. I have not had that many runners in the last week but with three winners, three seconds, two thirds and a fourth from 10 runners I could not be happier as we look forward to Thursday.
Rathealy kicked things off nicely winning at Warwick last Monday. He'd taken a rise in the weight for a win at Plumpton previously and I was delighted he stepped up again to win this more competitive race nicely. He still tended to jump a little left but it was not as pronounced as it has been on occasions and he battled on tenaciously to win. He will of course take another hike in the ratings and although I had him in the Sussex Champion Hurdle at Plumpton yesterday the race came soon enough and we will wait for another day. He seems to act on any ground and being only 4 there is hopefully a little more improvement still to come. Running on the flat at some point is another avenue I will be considering for him.
Herbert Park (pictured above) also won on Monday at Kempton. On his first try over three miles he appeared to get the trip really well under a nice ride from Kieron Edgar. He has had five career starts winning a bumper and two hurdle races as well being second on the two other starts. He is a lovely horse for the future and with that in mind he is now officially on holiday!
Also on Monday, the darling boy ran okay to finish fourth at Chepstow while Saint John Henry took a tumble at Warwick. I am pleased to report he is none the worse for this and providing the ground is soft enough I am hoping to get another run in to him this season.
On Tuesday we had three places with all the horses running well. Sindaar's Man was third at Exeter and For ‘N’ Against was second, while Susie Sheep ran her best race to date to finish second at Huntingdon.
It was two runners for the yard at Taunton on Thursday and Low Key put up an improved effort to finish third in the novices’ hurdle. This was his best run over hurdles and hopefully he can get a win over jumps sooner rather than later. Classical Art was a winner on this card. He surprised me greatly after being so disappointing last time at Newbury. He got a good ride to get up on the line and force a dead heat! This was my first ever dead heat and from looking at the official photo finish photo there was not even a nostril to split them. He will be kept on the go and hopefully he can improve again.
Lady of Longstone ran well to finish second at Plumpton on Sunday. A winner of a Worcester bumper, this was her best performance over hurdles so far and she was returning from a winter break and so will now be kept on the go as she prefers better ground.
Looking ahead to this week we have a couple blank jump racing days before the excitement of Aintree. I am looking forward to my annual trip to Liverpool and while we do not have a big team we hopefully go there with a few nice chances. Horses such as Monetaire, Ballynagour, Kings Palace, Ainsi Fideles, Stars Over The Sea, Baltimore Rock, Dell' Arca, Unique de Cotte all hold entries to name but a few.
It is great that Soll (pictured top of page) has made the top 40 for the Grand National on Saturday. He is an intended runner and Tom Scudamore will be on board. Soll has been around the National fences before and having only joined Pond House this season he has done nothing wrong by winning both starts for the yard. The application of blinkers and a tongue strap have brought about improvement and I am really looking forward to seeing our gentle giant in the big race. He has schooled over the National style fences at home and it is all systems go for Saturday.
Our other entries in the National, The Package and Broadway Buffalo both need horses to come out to get in but they would take their chance if they happened to get in, while Standing Ovation will almost certainly miss the cut. The Package holds an entry in the Topham on Friday and may go there, although the Scottish National and Bet365 Chase at Sandown are other possibilities. He seems to have come out of Cheltenham in flying form and is evergreen at the age of 12. Broadway Buffalo has the same two options if he does not make the cut on Saturday.
Both Soll and The Package schooled over our Grand National style fences this morning and they jumped nicely as you would expect of horses with experience of the big race. Meanwhile, we also schooled Cheltenham Festival runner-up Monetaire over the big fences and after pleasing me he will head for the Topham Chase on Friday rather than the three mile handicap chase on the Saturday. There is of course more to this week’s racing than just Aintree and for all the latest news on the stables’ runners, don’t forget to keep up to date with Chester’s Daily Chat or follow us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing.
Finally, I’d like to thank mares sponsors OLBG.com for offering me a £100 free bet on the Grand National in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund. If you are still trying to find the winner look no further for your Grand National Tips than their own website http://www.olbg.com/grand-national.htm and you’ll also be able to see on there who my fellow trainers and I are placing our charity bets on.
