- Monday, 17 August 2015 15:50
- Written by David Pipe
The stable enjoyed a good week last week with three winners at Fontwell, Market Rasen and Southwell taking our seasonal tally to 16 and while I am not normally superstitious, I must admit that I was pleased to get off the ‘unlucky’ 13 mark! With the winners beginning to flow again after the summer mini-break it is time to consolidate and build on the sound start we have made to the season.
For ‘N’ Against was the one to get us off of 13 winners when a facile scorer of the 2m5½f handicap hurdle at Fontwell on Thursday. With the deluges during the course of the day the race did cut up a bit with no less than four non-runners and he probably did not have to improve on his previous seconds in handicaps to take this comfortably. Bred by the late and very much missed Philip Scouller (for years a patron of Pond House and very accomplished amateur) and owned by his son Elder, this was indeed a poignant and pleasing success. With only eight runs to date our six year old son of Presenting is still open to plenty of improvement he will have further entries over the coming days and will in all likelihood bid to follow-up at Worcester on Wednesday.
Standing Ovation maintained the momentum when gaining a deserved first success over hurdles by landing the novices’ event at Market Rasen under Tom Scudamore on Saturday. Better known as a quality chaser (winner of the Listed Badger Ales Trophy at Wincanton) the pick of his form entitled him to go well in a race of this nature and he wasn’t extended to beat his rivals by a comfortable 13 lengths. He is another with further entries coming up (over hurdles and fences) and we could attempt to strike again while the iron is hot.
Kalifourchon (pictured above) completed our winning week when a cosy winner of the 2m4½f handicap hurdle at Southwell on Sunday. Had he not made a Horlicks of the last I am sure he would have won even more convincingly and he is a progressive young horse who looks certain to get further.
Although there is no jump racing today (Monday) or tomorrow, the stable has entries at Worcester on Wednesday, Stratford on Thursday and Bangor on Friday, while there are some quality cards from Newton Abbot and Perth on Saturday as well as at Worcester on Sunday.
Newton Abbot hosts their big meeting of the season on Saturday with the £40,000 Mildmay Chase and £36,000 handicap hurdle the feature contests. I have enjoyed success in both races in the past (Star Of Germany in the Chase and Raslan (twice) in the hurdle) and in our effort to win them once again I have Kie and Standing Ovation engaged in the Mildmay, while Kie, Standing Ovation, Willem and Kalifourchon are entered in the hurdle. For a small track these are fantastic prizes and are bound to be hotly contested – Newton Abbot should be congratulated for their continued excellence and they deserve a great turnout.
As well as the jumpers we also have a few engagements on the level this week with Impulsive American, Honeymoon Cocktail and Street Entertainer all entered up. The first named pair are both recent acquisitions from France and I am sure you will be seeing them in action very soon.
While we are on the subject of new acquisitions, I am pleased to bring you news of one very high profile new recruit to the ranks at Pond House. I am talking of jockey Brian Toomey who made the headlines for all the wrong reasons two years ago when taking a horror fall at Perth which literally left him for dead. Since then Brian has undergone extensive surgery, come through an induced coma and intensive rehab to make a recovery that has dumbfounded all supposed experts to the point that he was awarded his jockeys licence once again and returned to race-riding.
His story compelled me to put pen to paper in my blog a few weeks ago and on the back of that I had a call from Brian and the rest is history. He joined us on Monday and has been riding out for me all week and while we already have a good team of jockeys in place, hopefully there may be opportunities when the winter season gets going.
Looking at the flat, what a race to savour at York on Wednesday. The Juddmonte International looks set to host a fascinating clash between dual Guineas winner Gleneagles and Derby and Eclipse winner Golden Horn. I can’t remember the last time the Guineas and Derby winners of the same generation clashed on the racecourse and I am looking forward to the seeing it – connections of both horses should be applauded for not ducking away from the challenge. For what it is worth I am siding with the Derby winner to prevail!
Anyway, for the remainder of the news from around the yard, latest running plans and truly awful jokes don’t forget to check Chester’s Daily Chat or follow us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing
