- Monday, 13 June 2016 14:56
- Written by David Pipe
It was a quiet week on the track last week with just a handful of runners although we were on the mark again courtesy of Gabrial The Great at Newton Abbot. Meanwhile the majority of our other runners also performed with credit and I am pleased with the form of the stable at present. Off the track, I enjoyed participating in a friendly cricket match at the weekend as a Jockey’s XI took on Arbuthnot Latham Sporting Celebrity XI in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Tom Maynard Trust. To learn how we fared, read on…
Gabrial The Great (pictured above) was the one to strike for the stable with success at his first attempt over the larger obstacles in the novices’ chase at Newton Abbot on Friday. Given a positive ride by Tom Scudamore who allowed him to bowl along in front, he quickly built up a big advantage and made every yard to post a ready success. He was a little sketchy at a couple of his fences here and will certainly benefit from the experience. He was a quality individual on the flat and over hurdles and he should be capable of winning many more races over fences.
Meanwhile both For ‘N’ Against (second at Fontwell) and Lady Of Longstone (third at Southwell) performed well enough to suggest that their turns are not too far away, while Impulsive American finished fourth in the two mile handicap on the flat at Musselburgh on Sunday, considering the amount of ground he was asked to make up he did well to finish as close as he did and he looks capable of winning something similar.
Looking ahead to this week it looks like being another quiet one with only four jumps fixtures although we will be represented by a runner on the level in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on Thursday. The stable has no runners this afternoon (Monday) although flat scorer Honeymoon Cocktail will make his debut over timber in the novices’ hurdle at Stratford on Tuesday where he will be partnered by Tom Scudamore.
Brook is a likely runner in one of the chases at Uttoxeter on Wednesday while Griraz will run in the Ascot Gold Cup on Thursday. You couldn’t get a much harder assignment on your first start for the stable but he is a nice horse who was three times a Listed winner on the level over shorter trips in his younger days. His owner likes a crack at the big races so we will see how we get on and we will know more about him after the race. Unfortunately both Low Key (by two) and Starchitect missed the cut for the Ascot Stakes, a race I was lucky enough to win with Junior in 2010. We will look to mix the flat and hurdles for Low Key now, while Starchitect will embark on a well-deserved summer holiday and will be aimed at the Cesarewitch handicap at Newmarket in October.
Later in the week recent Worcester winner Castlemorris King and For ‘N’ Against are possible runners at Market Rasen on Friday but as usual you will be able to keep right up to date with running plans by reading Chester’s Daily Chat or you can follow us on Twitter @DavidPipeRacing.
I did mention last week that my partner Leanne and my eldest, Jack would be participating in a colour run over five kilometres at Exeter racecourse on Saturday. As you can see from the picture (right) they entered into the spirit of things and helped to raise plenty of money for the Childrens’ Hospice South West. Jack was still surprisingly fresh after his exploits, although Leanne tells me that she will definitely come on for the outing!
As mentioned earlier, I participated in a little fund-raising exercise of my own over the weekend when I took part in a T20 charity cricket match near Newton Abbot. I was representing the Jockeys’ XI who was captained by stable jockey Tom Scudamore with the likes of Joe Tizzard, Richard Johnson and Nick Scholfield among my team-mates. We gave it our best shot but unfortunately we were a little outclassed as we took on a Celebrity XI who comprised Chris Gayle, Andrew Caddick and Keith Parsons to name but a few! Man mountain Chris Gayle (pictured below along with Jack and Sophie) in particular was most entertaining, hitting us to the boundary seemingly at will in between sips from his beverage. For what it is worth my contribution was 12 runs with the bat and a couple of wickets with the ball, although more importantly it was a good result for the benefitting charities.
