- Monday, 29 May 2017 07:30
- Written by David Pipe
Delface - Winner at Ffos Las
After a somewhat frustrating period it was great to finally get on the board for the season at Ffos Las on Saturday evening. Delface won the opening novice hurdle under Tom Scu, making all. Bought quite recently from Ascot sales for reasonable money he carried the colours of the Pipe’s Prospectors and won on his Pond House debut. Tom Scu kept things simple from the front and he jumped very well and won in workmanlike style. This was his second win over hurdles for the four year old as he was winner on his last run in Ireland. He will probably want further in time but on this galloping track the minimum trip was no issue and he should continue to give his owners a lot of fun along the way. He may well have another run shortly before we decide whether to keep him going or have a little holiday. I couldn’t be more pleased for everyone involved.
All our horses ran well at Ffos Las on Saturday night. Three Star General was a good second on only his second run over hurdles. This was a step up on his debut fourth and he will have no trouble in going one better and he will mix hurdling and runs on the flat over the summer. Bambi Du Noyer narrowly lost out to victory in a photo finish. This was his third run for the yard having two fourth places to his name already. This was a step up on those and he is another who will be running throughout the summer and his turn for victory should not be far away. Tis What It Is made his racecourse debut in the concluding bumper on the card. He had to make his own running which was probably not ideal but I really liked his attitude as he was one of the first off the bridle but kept galloping on right the way to the line to finish a close third. He will have learnt a lot from the experience and although ultimately he is going to be a stayer over obstacles I don’t see why I can’t win a bumper in the near future. Aldrin ran on the flat at Chester on Saturday and I was pleased with his debut effort for the yard over 7f. John Egan gave him a nice ride and I am sure he will give us an his owners, the Value Racing Club plenty of fun on the flat and maybe over hurdles this summer.
On Sunday I headed to Uttoxeter with three runners. Prospera Pascha ran well enough again in a mares novice hurdle to finish third. This was probably another step in the right direction and she may have one more run before going on her holidays. She is only four and I am sure she will do some strengthening up over the summer. Sadlers Gold ran a cracker to finish second in another photo finish. Although I don’t like finishing second I was delighted with the horse as he has had a long time off through injury and he is not the easiest to train. This was a good comeback on ground that he enjoys and as long as he comes out of the race okay I hope this will give us something to build on and he should have little trouble getting his head in front once again.
Ballynagour was our final runner at Uttoxeter and it is with a tinge of sadness I have to report that he has run his last race but will now enjoy the retirement he deserves. He was badly hampered and Tom Scu went out the side door in the race but he was beaten at the time and myself and owners Allan and Stella Stennett discussed his future after the race and unanimously decided to call time on his career. He has been a fantastic horse for us all but he does have a few health issues which really do seem to have caught up with him at the age of 11. He had been showing all of his usual sparkle at home but just not on the racecourse. His form figures may look a bit in and out, he was either very good or very bad but it was his physical ailments rather than any lack of trying or effort from the horse that meant he could not always show his best. He was the winner of five of his 35 races and was placed a further eight times. He joined me in 2013 and won on his debut at Warwick, destroying a useful field of a mark of 123. He didn’t run his race at the Cheltenham Festival that year but returned the following year and won the Byrne Group handicap chase of a mark of 140 very comfortably. He was then third in the Melling chase at Aintree and second in the Champion Chase at Punchestown in 2014. In the next season he had one below par effort, missed Cheltenham but headed to Aintree for the Betfred Bowl where he put up a tremendous effort to finish a head second to the mighty Silvianaco Conti who was in his prime at that time. He was then unlucky when falling at Punchestown after that but he then went to France where he gave me my first victory at Auteuil when he won the Prix La Barka. He was a creditable fifth the French Champion hurdle after that and although he has not won since he has ran many a good race in all the top class races. He was third in a Charlie Hall, second in a Summer Cup at Uttoxeter and second in a Summer Plate at Market Rasen. He got round in the Grand National this year and I am immensely proud of everything he has achieved. He won just under £350,000 in prize money and he is a great credit to everyone involved with him. Mandy in the yard has looked after him and ridden him every day since he arrived and we will all be extremely sad but obviously happy to see him retire in one piece. I would like to thank him for all that he has done for me and Tom Scu and I would like to wish him a long and happy retirement.
Last week I was up at Doncaster sales and it is great to have three new additions to the yard. Vaniteux is a high class chaser, rated 158 he was bought out of Nicky Henderson’s yard. He will be able to take his new owners to all the big meetings throughout the winter and should give us lots of fun. Ilovemints was bought by the Value Racing Club and has joined our team. The five year old is a bumper winner who will have a little holiday before being campaigned over hurdles in the autumn. Shares are available in the mare so please check out www.valueracingclub.co.uk for more details. Our third acquisition is a five year old King’s Theatre gelding called Keating. He is yet to win but did finish second on his last start for Philip Hobbs over hurdles. I really like the look of him and it was great I was able to get him at a good price. He is looking for an owner so if anyone is interested please get in touch on 01884 840715 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details.
This week I will be heading off to Cheltenham Sales on Thursday. Once again if anyone is interested in getting involved in perhaps buying a horse please do get in touch as I would be delighted to hear from you. The early part of the week is looking fairly quiet on the runner’s front but I am introducing another newcomer to the racecourse in the bumper at Newton Abbot on Tuesday evening. Rod’s Dream was bred by his owner and is a half-brother to Midnight Sapphire a four time winner over hurdles so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. For further news of our runners throughout the week please keep an eye on Chester’s Daily Blog.
