- Monday, 09 May 2016 15:53
- Written by David Pipe
Purple 'N Gold - 1000th Winner
With the old season behind us you would think that it was time for a break, but far from it…despite the 2016/17 National Hunt season being only a few days old, we are as busy now as at most times during the season. The list of tasks is a little different of course, as well as the business of training the horses for the ‘off-season’ fixtures; we are preparing the paddocks to turn many of them out for their summer breaks, while of course trawling the catalogues in search for new talent to strengthen the team yet further. Winter or summer, there is certainly no let-up in the pace around Pond House!
With the new campaign underway I am pleased to report that the horses continue in very good form with two winners from our sixteen runners last week, and a further ten reaching the frame. There are a few more places than I would have liked in an ideal world, but even so it indicates the general wellbeing of the stable and that can only be a good thing.
Starchitect started the ball rolling for the week when a ready winner of the valuable and very competitive handicap hurdle at Newton Abbot on Thursday. He spent last term plying his trade in the very best handicap company and he produced great efforts in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury as well as in handicaps at the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, so this success was hardly coming out of turn. This was our first winner for owners Paul and Clare Rooney who were kind enough to send him to us and I am thrilled to get that initial success under our belts – hopefully it is the first of many together. Better still, Paul and Clare were on hand to see this very game performance so it couldn’t have worked out better. He seemed to relish this step-up in trip to 2m5½f and the plan is to now switch codes to take in a 1m6f race on the level at Salisbury end of month – should he go well there, he could end up being a Royal Ascot horse.
The success of Purple ‘N Gold at Haydock on Saturday (under a great never say die ride from Tom Scudamore) marked a large personal milestone for me as his victory in the handicap chase was my 1,000th winner under rules (including 16 on the flat as well as three Irish and two French jumpers). It is a great achievement and I am thankful to the owners that have supported me down the years and to all the staff at Pond House for their continued hard work and dedication, not to mention all of the wonderful horses that I have been fortunate enough to have trained. As I have said a number of times in the past, this is not a sport where you can rest on your laurels and I am already looking forward to getting number 1,001 on the board!
With that in mind, I have a couple of runners at Towcester this evening in Perspicace and Brook and they both look to hold reasonable chances. Later in the week we could have some runners at Aintree on Friday evening where the likes of Kie and recent winner Ballywilliam are among the entries, while on Saturday we have entries at Bangor and Uttoxeter. Market Rasen host a decent card on Sunday where the likes of My Brother Sylvest and Heath Hunter feature among the entries, while on the same day I have entered 2015 Champion Bumper winner Moon Racer in the novices’ hurdle at Stratford.
Moon Racer has come out of his recent race at Punchestown well and now that we have him in tip-top shape it would be a shame not to get a bit of experience into him over hurdles. Tom Scudamore has schooled him at home and he has been very impressed so it could mark an exciting new chapter in his career. He will be given other entries as well owing to the changeable weather forecast over the coming days - he will need a lot of rain before he runs.
Finally, I would like to pass on my condolences to connections of a special friend, Comply Or Die who I hear passed away over the weekend at the age of seventeen. He provided me with the highlight of my career to date when winning the 2008 Grand National at Aintree and ran another fantastic race when runner-up the following year. He was a tough, genuine and loveable horse and I was delighted to see him looking so well at the Grand National parade of former winners only last month when Gerry Supple had the privilege of getting the leg-up (pictured right). Since his retirement he had been a lead-horse at Timmy Murphy’s establishment before trying his hand at dressage, a discipline in which he had proven very successful. He is a horse I will always hold dear in my heart and I am greatly saddened to hear of his loss.
Two of racing's very best.
The late and much missed David Johnson visiting Comply Or Die in retirement
