- Monday, 25 January 2021 13:55
- Written by David Pipe
Little Red Lion by Birdie
We moved onto the 38 winner mark for the season last week thanks to a couple of nice winners and despite not having that many runners the yard continues in good form. Astigar made a very pleasing hurdling debut at Exeter last Tuesday. Although disappointing not to win he is a horse we hold in very high regard. This was only the second run of his life and he is still quite green and learning all the time. He has a big engine and I am sure he can go one better next time as he has a very bright future.
Little Red Lion was a winner at Chepstow on Wednesday in very testing conditions. He ground out another hard fought victory for the David Pipe Racing Club. This was the seven year olds third win of the season having already won over fences at Lingfield and Taunton. He suffered a fall at Wetherby on his previous start and so we thought we would give him a confidence boost over hurdles and take advantage of his five pound lower mark over the smaller obstacles. He loves the mud and battled on really well all the way up the home straight. He is a horse who is never really going to win that impressively but he has a huge heart and was always just doing enough under Fergus Gillard. He has now won all his completed starts since March 2020 and is the flag bearer for our Racing Club. We had so many messages following his win and everyone took so much joy from his victory which is what it is all about. Cartoonist Birdie did a great picture of him after his win and you can visit his website to purchase a print if you so wish https://birdieracinggifts.co.uk/. Little Red Lion will now have a little rest while we freshen him up but I have a race in mind for him back at Lingfield next month. First Lord Du Cuet ran another good race to be placed on the same card at Chepstow and finish second. While a little frustrating not to have got his head in front yet this season you cannot fault our seven year old’s consistency, having finished placed on all five starts and indeed finishing runner up three times. His turn should not be too far away.
On the same day Panic Attack disappointed at Newbury but nothing has come to light as to a reason why. Her form has been a bit an out with two great wins and while we don’t think she enjoyed the ground at Newbury perhaps she just had an off day – she is a lady after all!! The good news is that she has come out of the race absolutely fine and we will look to get her back on track next time.
We had just one runner and one winner at Wincanton on Thursday thanks to Brinkley and Tom Scu winning for Brocade Racing. He is a horse a like a lot but he was very disappointing at Exeter on his seasonal reappearance for which we struggled to find a reason why so it was just great to get him back on track. He is an out and out galloper who loves testing conditions and the further he went at Wincanton the better he went and it was a nice performance. No doubt the handicapper will have his say after this but there is more improvement to come and whatever he does over hurdles this year I am very much looking forward to sending him chasing next season. A special congratulations goes to Tom Scu as it was his 1353rd winner of his career and it moved him above Noel Fehily in the top ten jockeys of all time. I hope there are a few more to come to!
Ranco and Sans Logique ran on the flat at Lingfield on Friday to give them a blow out while we wait for some better ground over hurdles. As we feared, their ratings they got from France are a bit on the high side and although both ran okay they probably need to drop a few pounds in the handicap to be competitive. Eamon An Cnoic was our only runner over the weekend and he returned to hurdling for the first time in a few years in a very competitive seniors handicap hurdle. He ran okay and jumped well until he probably just lacked a bit of tactical speed as they quickened things up leaving the back straight. Now ten years old, this would have boosted his confidence and he still shows plenty of ability at home so we will look for a suitable race for him next, over hurdlers or maybe revert to the larger obstacles.
WEATHER ISSUES & WEEK AHEAD
The weather is now set to play a major part in proceedings in the beginning of this week. While Haydock did a tremendous job in getting their Saturday meeting on, Hereford weren’t quite so lucky on Sunday. Market Rasen on Monday was thwarted by the weather and Kelso, Wincanton and Catterick also have worries about their meetings early this week. Things are due to warm up however and we have the return of rain this week. Our first runners are due to be at Wincanton on Wednesday if it passes its inspection and Bumpy Johnson is declared in a competitive novice hurdle. He disappointed slightly at Hereford on his first start over hurdles where he finished third but the form has been franked and he is a horse a like a lot. He has done plenty of schooling since he last ran and even if Wincanton is off he holds other entries later in the week so he should be out on the track hopefully one day this week! Sexy Lot is our other runner declared in the mares handicap hurdle. She has been in great form of late and has done nothing but improve this season. She likes the heavy going and she should run well.
On Thursday we have To Fly Free and Great Tempo entered at Fakenham but we shall see what the weather does before deciding plans and we have a few entries at both Doncaster and Huntingdon on Friday. On Saturday it is Trials Day at Cheltenham and we have made a few entries in several of the races. Adagio is entered in the Triumph Hurdle trial, Main Fact and Ramses De Teillee have entries in the Cleeve hurdle and other entries on the card include Eden Du Houx, Umbrigado, Bumpy Johnson, Night Edition, Martinal and Nordic Combined.
Meanwhile up at Doncaster we have Red Lion Lad entered in the River Don novice’s hurdle and Rathlin Rose and Hugo n Taz also entered. There are two jumps cards on Sunday at Uttoxeter and Fontwell and we have entries at both. Keep checking the daily blog for more news of the stable runners.
SUNDAY FUN DAY
On Sunday we had a scattering of snow here at Pond House, not as much on the hills but more than Wellington where they did not have any! It was just enough to get the kids excited and we did some family sledging before a nice Sunday roast!
Sledging fun with the kids!
DONCASTER SALES
There is an online sale at Doncaster this tomorrow and fair play to Goffs for trying to keep the show on the road. It is quite hard to buy horses in training totally online without actually seeing them in the flesh but they are all sold with vet certificates and there are plenty of photos and videos of the horses available. It will be interesting to see how it all goes. The star of the show could be Le Bague Au Roi who is being offered as a broodmare. She has plenty of good high class form and I’m sure she will attract plenty of interest.
We are all in strange times at the moment but we are very lucky to be racing and life continuing fairly normally in the racing world. I hope everyone is staying safe and well and enjoying watching all the actions from the comfort of your sofas!
