Off The Mark!

Former winning Irish point-to-pointer Shoegazer (pictured above) made a successful chasing debut at Hereford on Thusday when landing the beginners chase over 3m1½f with the minimum of fuss under Tom Scudamore.  His jumping was a little sticky early on, but improved as the race progressed and as the pace quickened.  He will be kept on the go for now to gain some valuable experience and should be up to tackling better company later in the season.

With the recent wet weather softening the ground, we have a few more horses in than usual that would otherwise already be out enjoying their summer holidays.   Sadly some parts of the country have had too much rain and Stratford (Wednesday) and Newton Abbot (Thursday) have already had to abandon their meetings.

Looking ahead to later in the week, we have plenty of entries at Ffos Las, Wincanton, Market Rasen, Haydock, Worcester and Plumpton.  Haydock plays host to the first big meeting of the new season with the Swinton and Long Distance Hurdles the highlights on the card.  The stable has won the Swinton in the past with the likes of Tragic Hero, Rainbow Frontier and Acambo and it would be terrific to add to those successes.  We have in-form duo Arab League and Dream Esteem entered in this year’s renewal.

Talking of the Long Distance Hurdle at Haydock, stable stalwart Buena Vista (pictured left) competed in the race twice, finishing third in 2008.  He will not be lining up in this year’s contest however as our dual Cheltenham Festival hero has been retired.  He never really fired last season and even a return to his beloved Prestbury Park in March (where he was bidding for an incredible third win in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle) could not revive his fortunes.  Nevertheless, he retires with a wonderful record – winner of nine races (a bumper, two chases and six hurdles) and perhaps more remarkably he managed to compete at eight successive Cheltenham Festivals.  He was owned by Matt Archer and the late Jean Broadhurst who absolutely idolised her horses.  When Jean sadly passed away in 2005 after a long battle with illness she left a trust to make sure that her horses were well looked after when she was gone and Buena Vista will enjoy a wonderful retirement in her paddocks.

From great horses of the past to great horses of the future and what an amazing training performance from Aidan O’Brien to record a 1,000/2,000 Guineas double with Homecoming Queen and Camelot at Newmarket over the weekend.  Despite the fillies’ incredible nine length success, I was particularly taken by Camelot who will quite clearly benefit from a step up in trip.  He already looks to be a shoe-in for the Derby and while it is an awfully long way off yet, I would be fascinated to know if connections would be tempted to emulate Nijinsky by going for the Triple Crown.

As a Chelsea fan I was delighted to see the Blues beat Liverpool at the weekend to lift the FA Cup – no prizes for guessing where I will be on Saturday week when they take on Bayern Munich in the Final of the Champion’s League…in front of the television!  Indeed, the next couple of weekends are looking fairly busy with the staff end of season party taking place this weekend – I am sure Chester will fill you in with any gossip next week!