- Monday, 16 November 2015 15:35
- Written by David Pipe
The Paddy Power meeting has been and gone for another year and one of the principle meetings on the National Hunt calendar has passed by without the Pond House team managing to get on the scoresheet for the first since 2007. While it is disappointing not to have been among the winners I am pleased to report that all of the horses returned safe and well and there will be other days for them. That is not something that can be said for many after the horrific turn of events in Lebanon and Paris over the past seven days. It puts things very much into perspective and our thoughts are with those families who have lost loved ones at this tragic time.
On the racing front, it is not all bad news with a number of creditable performances to look back upon. Champers On Ice performed well in the novices’ hurdle on the Friday, making all of the running until headed on the home turn, but still staying on well enough to hold second from the highly touted John Ferguson runner Penglai Pavilion (who had finished fifth in the first of Treve’s two Arcs). This was his first start of the new campaign and his first outing over hurdles and he is fully entitled to improve for the experience. As a winner over three miles in a point-to-point he looks sure to appreciate further in time and he still rates as a very exciting prospect for the season ahead.
Also on Friday I thought that Dell’ Arca ran an absolute cracker in the novices’ chase over 2m4½f to finish third, beaten only six lengths by former 167 rated World Hurdle winner More Of That. He stuck to his task really well in the closing stages and he looks set for another productive season in which he could mix hurdles and chasing once again. He is quite a difficult horse to place as he is very much a victim of his own honesty – he hardly ever runs a bad race so gets very little help from the handicapper.
On Saturday French Champion Hurdle winner Un Temps Pour Tout was runner-up in the 3m½f novices’ chase on his debut over the larger obstacles. He jumped very well in the main and while it is disappointing that he was run out of it after the last by Vicente, this was by no means a bad performance conceding experience to the useful winner. He would have been suited by even more testing ground and this was an encouraging first effort over fences - he will improve for the outing and I am sure he will be make up into every bit as good a chaser as hurdler.
There was a sorry footnote to the meeting for conditional jockey Michael Heard who was hurt when parting company from Willem in the boys’ handicap hurdle on Sunday. Unfortunately he was trampled by one of the horses behind him and Michael was knocked out for a period of time. He was in discomfort last night in the Gloucester Royal Hospital as you would expect and scans taken this morning reveal that he has a stable fracture of his T6 vertebrae. He will be off games for around twelve weeks although he is in good spirits and hoping to be out of hospital tomorrow.
Earlier in the week the stable enjoyed a welcome success when Spending Time (pictured right) ran out a decisive winner of the novices’ handicap chase at Huntingdon on Tuesday. He is a horse that has had a whole host of problems throughout his career so to have managed to win with him over both hurdles and fences since joining the team at Pond House last season is an achievement that I am particularly proud of. He enjoys the testing conditions and should continue to be competitive while stamina is at a premium.
Looking to this week it promises to be a busy one. I am at the Arqana Sales at Deauville today (Monday) looking for the stars of tomorrow. Meanwhile the stable has one runner this afternoon as Bladoun makes his seasonal debut in a competitive looking handicap hurdle at Leicester, while on Tuesday quality hurdler Katkeau makes his debut over the larger obstacles in the beginners’ chase at Fakenham. He has schooled well at home and looks to be an exciting recruiting to fences – Tom Scudamore will ride.
We have plenty of entries for the remainder of the week, including the highlight at Haydock on Saturday. Both Dynaste and Ballynagour have been left in the Betfair Chase, while we have confirmed Low Key and Batavir for the Fixed Brush Hurdle on the same card. As is normal procedure, we will look for the best opportunities for each of them and take it from there. Don’t forget to check Chester’s Daily Chat for all the latest news on the stables’ runners.
Below we bring you the latest installment of our staff interviews and legendary broadcaster Mike Vince caught up with the oracle, also known as Tony Lowman, our evergreen groundsman. Tony is an incredible chap - always cheerful and enthusiastic and he has more energy than most of the staff in the yard who are a fraction of his age! By the way, Tony is 85 on Tuesday, so many happy returns to him for then! You may recall that back before the Cheltenham Festival in MarchTony pointed you all in the direction of The Package so he has a fair bit to live up to this time around - find out his horse to follow by watching the video below.
Finally, I would just like to say how impressed I was by the seamless transition A P McCoy made from race-riding to broadcasting at the weekend when debuting on Channel 4. He looked thoroughly at ease in front of the cameras and spoke confidently and knowledgeably about his subject. A job well done and I look forward to seeing more of him in the coming months.
