- Monday, 06 January 2025 15:02
- Written by David Pipe
Lady Balko Entered in the Classic Chase at Warwick
I hope you all enjoyed a Happy New Year and while the majority of the nation returns to normality this week, going back to work and school, I can take a welcome breath as things calm down a little after a hectic festive period.
While a little quiet on the runners front in recent days there has been plenty going on at home while we also fit in some half days for staff to try to let them have a little bit of downtime to spend with their families. I have to confess, I did not see the New Year in, I was in bed before heading racing on New Year’s Day at Exeter where the weather was miserable but it was nice to see many familiar faces in good spirits at the track.
The weather has been a big talking point in recent days and racing has not done itself any favours with much confusion at several meetings about racing going ahead, abandonments, very late abandonments and then abandonments after a meeting has started! While we cannot control the weather, which does seem to be a little more unpredictable and extreme in recent times, I do think racing can do better in how it handles situations caused by the weather, whether it be rain, fog, snow and ice, of which we have had it all recently! Horses being in the paddock minutes before the first race, as at Musselburgh the other day I do think is avoidable and unnecessary. While we all want racing to go ahead and give it the best possible chance to do so, safety and common sense must come first. If racecourses decided to do late calls then I think they should provide compensation to the owners for the horses that have travelled. While frustrating on Saturday that Wincanton and Sandown were called off early doors, everyone understood why and there is a chance of re-scheduling the feature race(s) to another meeting fairly soon which is good as well. It was just a shame on Saturday however that there was not opportunity to move the all-weather fixtures timing so it could be covered on ITV, something to watch for your Saturday racing viewer. The freezing temperatures were forecast during the week and were not a surprise, so while the jumps fixtures remained optimistic of going ahead until the day itself, there should have been back up plans in place.
This Week
Anyway, the weather looks sets to continue to play its part in the coming days which more rain, snow and cold weather forecast throughout the week. Ludlow was called off on Monday while Leicester’s Tuesday fixture was abandoned on Sunday and things do no look that promising for Hereford with their meeting on Tuesday. Our first runner of the week is likely to be at Taunton on Wednesday. Saccary will make is hurdling debut in the maiden hurdle and Gearoid Harney rides. He has been off the course a long time but is a flat winner in France and Germany. It will be a tough ask for him to be competitive after a long absence but it will be good to get him back on the track and see how he gets on. Things remain quiet on the runner’s front towards the end of the week with First Lord Du Cuet being our only entry at Newbury on Thursday and Toronet having and entry at Huntingdon on Friday. At the weekend and with the weather set to turn warmer fingers crossed we will have a couple of runners to look forward to. Lady Balko is entered in the Classic chase at Warwick on Saturday. She has now won her last three chases and is a six year old on the upgrade but life will be much tougher off her new handicap rating of 137. She will tackle the 3m4f trip for the first time but she appears to be an out and out galloper and I do not think the extra distance will pose a problem. Remastered has an entry in the three mile handicap chase on Saturday at Kempton. I believe there are discussions taking place about re-scheduling the Veterans chase final which did not take place with Sandown abandoned and if it is moved to either Warwick or Kempton he may well run, but this race also looks a suitable alternative as he is a previous course and distance winner. Keep checking the Daily News on the website for the latest information on the stable runners.
One person, who is not looking forward to normal routine returning this week, is my son Jack. He has loved being on school holidays, riding out and going racing! His riding has improved a lot in this time and he is very much looking forward to giving pony racing a go this year! I think the girls in the office will be looking forward to him going back to school however, as things will definitely be a lot quieter without him in the office every day!
2024 Weather
2024, ended by narrowly failing to be the wettest year we have ever recorded here at Pond House. It slots into second place on our charts behind 2012, with only just over 1mm of difference between the years. We recorded 1319mm of rain at Pond House in 2024, which equates to 4ft 3” with 173 days of rain. In 2012, it was 1320.25mm or rain, so very little between them! 2023, is in third place with 1210.5mm while the driest year was in 2003 with 672.5mm recorded. We have been keeping these records for 25 years, it is interesting to compare, and there definitely seems to be an upward trend of increased rainfall in recent years. February was the wettest month in 2024 with 205.5mm of rain and 21 wet days while September was the second wettest with 192.5mm. June was the driest month of the year when just 18mm of rain fell and August was second driest with 27mm of rain. Recent trends suggest that is you are planning an event like a wedding and want dry weather; June is more likely than not to be the best and driest time! January 2025 is starting pretty much as January 2024 did with lots of rain and cold temperatures, we will just have to see what the rest of the year has in store!
Pointing Action
It is likely to be a busy day for our point-to-point team on Sunday as we plan to have three runners at Wadebridge. Fighter Allen finished second at the track last month while Sidi Ismael also returns there after getting a little tired in the Open last time. Royal Defender will make his English pointing debut in the restricted race. He is the winner of an Irish maiden point to point but disappointed under rules when last in action so we are going back to the drawing board with him. We have four amateur jockeys in the yard with varying experience and potential and it is great to be able to give them all some riding opportunities.
