- Monday, 01 May 2017 11:18
- Written by David Pipe
There is certainly no rest for the wicked! The 2016/17 season has come to a close and following a day’s holiday we are back raring to go for the 2017/18 campaign. As I have said a number of times in the past, I am not convinced that one season following so hotly on the heels of another is the best way to go, but the days where there used to be a meaningful break of a month or more where jockeys, trainers, staff and most importantly the horses can recuperate are long gone.
We finished 2016/17 with 59 winners and a shade under £800,000 in prize money. This is not where we want to be but the sport is ever more competitive and we said goodbye to a number of quality older horses during the course of the season including Dynaste, Gevrey Chambertin, Red Sherlock and Soll. That calibre of horse is difficult to replace and we have done our best to do so with some nice youngsters to look forward to for the seasons ahead. Nevertheless, there were plenty of high points to the season with two winners at Cheltenham’s Open meeting in November, a Becher Chase success over the Grand National fences, a Grand National Trial and Un Temps Pour Tout’s amazing second successive victory in the Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The final week of the old season was a quiet one for us with just a handful of runners owing to the prevailing dry weather and quick ground. We took Warthog across to Ireland for the Punchestown Festival to contest the bumper we won a couple of years ago with Champers On Ice. I always enjoy attending the Punchestown fixture – the reception is always very friendly and the staff could not be more helpful. The atmosphere is fantastic and I would recommend it to any racing enthusiast who is yet to visit. As for Warthog, he ran a creditable sixth in a deep looking bumper. While he handled the ground, softer and further over hurdles and fences will be what he wants. He remains a very nice prospect for the years ahead.
Congratulations to stable jockey Tom Scudamore who reached his seasonal century with a day to spare finishing with exactly 100 winners and hitting the ton for the third time in four years – a very good achievement. Meanwhile, I felt sorry for my old pal Gordon Elliott who was narrowly denied his first trainers’ championship in Ireland on the final day of the season – I am sure there will be plenty more opportunities for him and he should be very proud of all he has achieved this season.
Looking ahead to the new campaign, we have three runners this afternoon (Monday) with Celestial Path and Work on duty at Warwick, while Arkadios runs at Kempton. There are a couple of blank days before jumping resumes on Thursday, while we have entries at Fontwell on Friday including Dell’ Arca who is a quality horse to have on the go for this time of year.
Three Star General is an intended runner on the level at Goodwood on Saturday in a 1m6f handicap. He was a good winner of the charity flat race at Cheltenham a couple of weeks ago and before that was a promising fourth on his hurdling debut for the yard at Ascot. He finished in the frame on a number of outings in Ireland, looks feasibly treated from a mark of 74 and hopefully he will be able to perform with credit this weekend.
Don’t forget, we have a very nice selection of young horses for sale for the coming season and you can find more information about them here. With auction prices going through the roof, I believe these represent excellent value. We can also buy to order if there is something particular you are after or you have a specific figure in mind. We have ownership options to fit most budgets and would be delighted to hear from you.
We are all back with a clean slate today and I can’t wait to get going.
