- Monday, 24 April 2017 16:00
- Written by David Pipe
If any proof were ever needed (and I suspect it might not be) the success of Three Star General at Cheltenham last Thursday showed that a winner at Cheltenham racecourse is a victory to cherished, be it at the all-important Cheltenham Festival in March or a charity race in April where there is no prize money on offer. Just to walk in to the hallowed winner’s enclosure victorious is an experience that every owner, trainer and jockey in National Hunt racing craves.
This was certainly the case for delighted owners the Mercer and Igoe families as they punched the air with delight as they led their four year old son of Montjeu in after his cosy success in the Pertemps Champions Willberry Charity Race. Army Staff Sergeant Ben Moore, formerly a conditional jockey at Pond House for my father in the 90’s was in the saddle and gave Three Star General a canny ride, refusing to get involved in the frenetic early pace and coming with a well-timed run. It was an emotional success as the main beneficiaries of the fundraising were Bob Champion’s Cancer Trust and Hannah’s Willberry Wonderpony Trust. Ben, who himself has had a cancerous tumour in his leg was greeted by his very proud daughter Grace, 9 who is bravely battling leukaemia. A great result for all involved and hopefully plenty of money will have been raised for these wonderful causes. You can still donate by clicking on the following link: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=BenjaminMoore2
Other than that it was a quiet week on the runners front. Starchitect performed creditably enough at Cheltenham earlier in the afternoon, although he seemed to lack his usual zest and was possibly a little flat after his Cheltenham Festival and Aintree exertions. He will have a nice summer break now and should be contesting all the nice handicap chases over intermediate distances next season.
The lack of any recent measurable rain means that the ground has been unsuitably fast for a lot of the horses and as such many will be turned out to grass very shortly.
As we enter the final week of the season we have a couple of runners this afternoon (Monday) at Warwick and then the next action will not be until Thursday at the earliest when we have entries at Market Rasen and Taunton. We have a handful of entries at Chepstow on Friday night and Sandown on the final day of the season, while Warthog is a possible runner in the 2m2f bumper at Punchestown on Friday evening – a race that we have won in the past with Champers On Ice.
The season comes to a close on Saturday and we will all be looking forward to getting going again on Monday.
