- Monday, 04 June 2018 15:57
- Written by David Pipe
Exciting times
Although the summer season is traditionally a quieter time for us, there is still plenty to keep us occupied and as you will no doubt be aware, I was at Doncaster Sales the week before last and was pleased with my new additions to the yard. Furthermore, with each of them now having an owner, I was able to further bolster the numbers at Pond House with a consignment of three horses secured privately as well as another three exciting types from last week’s Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham Sales. Add to that a couple of winners on the racing front and it has certainly been a productive time for the stable.
Last week's runners
Of our runners last week, I was pleased to see Great Tempo take a further step back in the right direction when second in the novices’ handicap chase at Ffos Las on Thursday. Building on his promising third at Worcester on his only previous start over fences at Worcester, he jumped well in the main and was only narrowly denied close home by an unexposed rival. He is not the biggest, but jumps his obstacles well and they seem to have rekindled his interest. He will be kept on the go and found something similar - there is no doubt that the ability is there and now hopefully he may be able to go one better.
Dauphine Ereine was not disgraced on the same card, finishing fourth in the three mile chase and she will now have a little break. She is a promising young mare and there are plenty of races to be won with this half-sister to Dynaste.
Red Square Revival (pictured above) received a fine, opportunistic ride from Tom Scudamore to land the 2m3f handicap chase at Market Rasen on Friday, seizing a handy advantage at the start and never relinquishing it. He has certainly improved for going chasing and was recording his third win over fences from just eight starts. He is useful in his grade and clearly enjoys this good summer ground. He is another who will be kept on the go and we will look for another similar opportunity for him shortly.
Timeforben kept the good form of the stable going with a ready success in the mares’ handicap hurdle at Worcester on Saturday. She was much better suited by this stronger pace and came through with a well-timed run to score in good style. She is a progressive type, likes this ground and looks capable of winning again.
The Week Ahead
Looking to this week and we have two runners at Newton Abbot this afternoon (Monday) courtesy of It’s Obvious and Purple ‘N Gold. Tomorrow, ex-French import Delirant makes his hurdling and stable debut in the maiden hurdle at Bangor. He was a most exciting individual in France, winning a Grade One bumper and he has pleased with his schooling at home. He has been absent from the course for some time, but I am delighted to finally get him to the course and hope that he can begin to build on his undoubted potential. With only one fixture at Uttoxeter on Wednesday and a blank on Thursday, he will probably be our final runner of the week.
There are sales from Ascot tomorrow and I have had a good look through the catalogue and there would appear to be some interesting types who would be ideal for a summer jumping campaign if you would like to join the ranks of owner at Pond House, please do get in touch for a no obligation chat about your requirements.
Promising youngsters
As eluded to a little earlier, we have been busy bolstering the numbers at Pond House and I was thrilled to add three nice four year old geldings to the string from theTattersalls Cheltenham sales last week. First Lord de Cuet, Story Of Friends and Jasmin des Bordes all showed good levels of form in Irish point-to-points and are ones to look out for during the coming campaign. First Lord de Cuet was successful in an Irish point-to-point at Tralee at the end of May on his racecourse debut, picking up well and showing plenty of pace to hold off his nearest rival with the pair of them finishing well clear. He looks full of promise for the future and will start out in bumpers - he is currently for sale.
At the cheaper end of the market, I have Take The High Road, a four year old half-brother to Greatwood Hurdle winner Elgin, who has shown promise on the flat and over hurdles and he looks an ideal dual-purpose type for the flat and jumps this summer. If you have any interest in the ownership options available, please do get in touch.
Congratulations!
Finally, I would like to congratulate Charlie Appleby and his team on the fantastic success of Masr in the Derby at Epsom last Saturday. It was and exciting race and certainly good to see a resurgent Godolphin operation landing their first Derby. A bit of healthy competition at the pinnacle of the sport can only be a good thing.
I would also like to wish Andrew Thornton well after the announcement that he would be retiring from race riding after his four rides at Uttoxeter this coming Wednesday. At 45, he is certainly one of the older statesmen of the weighing room and has enjoyed considerable success, most memorably when landing the Cheltenham Gold Cup aboard Cool Dawn in 1998. We wish him a long and happy retirement.
