- Monday, 18 January 2016 16:29
- Written by David Pipe
The cold, wet weather continues to run amok with fixtures abandoned left, right and centre and bottomless ground is very much the norm at present. It is unsurprising therefore that it was a quiet end to the week for us with our last runners coming on Wednesday while that trend is likely to continue through the early part of this week with no runners this afternoon at Plumpton, while Exeter have already abandoned their meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday).
Later in the week Epic Warrior is our only conceivable runner at Newbury on Wednesday in the Harwell Trophy. He made a satisfactory chase debut at the track last month and the extra furlong and likely testing ground should suit our seven year old gelding. It does look like a competitive contest after the entry stage so we will do some work tomorrow on likely participants before deciding whether or not he takes his chance as he is also engaged later in the week at Ludlow and Chepstow.
Thursday sees a runner on the all-weather as Honeymoon Cocktail bids to supplement his last time out Lingfield success when he goes to Southwell for a 1m4f handicap. Apprentice jockey Rob Hornby gave him an accomplished ride that day and he will be in the saddle once again – he claims a handy 3lbs off his back to boot. It wasn’t the strongest of races at Lingfield although he could do more than win a shade cosily and he will be only 1lb higher on Thursday and I would be hopeful for another bold show.
We will have plenty of entries at Ludlow and Wincanton on Thursday while over the weekend the likes of Unanimité, Shotavodka, What A Moment, Saint John Henry and Taj Badalandabad will hold engagements at Ascot, Haydock, Taunton and Fontwell.
Looking back to last week and I have to say I was particularly encouraged by the performances of Baraka de Thaix and Doctor Harper at Ludlow on Tuesday. Baraka saw out the longer trip of 2m5f well in the maiden hurdle as he finished a staying-on fourth behind some promising types in the maiden hurdle and he looks as though he will be suited by further still. He had some decent form in France and was a close third in Grade 2 company at Cheltenham last season. While he has been a little frustrating thus far I am sure there are races to be won with him.
Doctor Harper looked to have an impossible task on paper as he competed against high class hurdler Garde la Victoire in the novices’ chase on only his second start over the larger obstacles. He jumped well on the whole and fared nicely in finishing a five length runner-up (in receipt of 10lbs). He will be suited by a return to better ground and will benefit from further and I am sure he will be winning over fences before long.
I was pleased to read that the veteran’s series will continue this year (and not just because I was lucky enough to win the final with Soll at Sandown, pictured above!). One of the great things about jump racing is that many of the horses return season after season and inevitably draw a following from the spectators – something that the flat can never do owing to the lure of lucrative stud careers for the best of the younger generations. The veteran’s series provides the older generation who may find it tough to win a handicap against their youngers with a lucrative pot to aim for, not just in the final but in the qualifiers as well. I for one am fully in support of the series and intend to have more runners again this term.
Talking of good initiatives I was also particularly impressed by the latest incentive to get runners to the track at Chester. This forward thinking independent racecourse are offering £400 appearance money to every runner which is excellent when you consider that I had a horse finish third in a novices’ hurdle at Taunton last week and picked up only £477 (not that this is the worst I have seen by any means). They are an excellent example of how a racecourse should be run – hopefully they will be rewarded with larger fields and more of the tracks would do well to take note.
Finally, we have bid farewell to jockey Brian Toomey who joined us earlier in the season. Brian is off to pastures new and we wish him with him every success in his role with Dr Richard Newland.
For all the latest news with regard to stable runners and any other bits of gossip, don’t forget to read Chester’s daily chat or follow us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing.
