- Saturday, 30 January 2016 07:56
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Winner at Huntingdon - Taj Badalandabad
Everyone please beware there is a 10am inspection at Cheltenham today following 15mm of rain overnight which has left the track heavy, waterlogged in places. Fingers crossed racing will go ahead as there is some fantastic action to look forward to and I am sure they will be doing everything they can so it goes ahead but we are in lap of the gods. There are two other jumps cards today at Doncaster and Uttoxeter plus a flat card at Lingfield. David has two runners at Cheltenham, Un Temps Pour Tout in the 1.15pm 15 runner handicap chase and Champers on Ice in the 3pm novice hurdle. Un Temps Pour Tout carries top weight and has Tom Scu on board. The French Champion hurdle winner has run well in both of his chase starts so far and hopefully he should put up another good show. Champers On Ice has won three of his last four races but this looks like a Cheltenham Festival race itself with plenty of good winners in the line up Tom Scu rides our grey and he also rides Thistlecrack in the Cleeve hurdle for Colin Tizzard. Fingers crossed Tom can have a good day.
- Friday, 29 January 2016 08:23
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Today we have four meetings taking place with jumps action from Huntingdon and Doncaster as well as two all-weather flat cards from Lingfield and Wolverhampton. David runs Spending Time in the 2.00pm race at Doncaster - it is a three mile handicap chase and the Post have put him in as a 10/1 chance. He was pulled up last time out but had previously been successful at Huntingdon and was runner-up at Wincanton to Aachen (now rated 151!) in between so he is not without hope given a clear round. Conor O'Farrell, who has won aboard him is in the saddle this afternoon. There are plenty of runners at the meeting with lots of trainers looking to get runs into their horses with the Cheltenham Festival getting ever nearer. Over at Huntingdon David is represented by Taj Badalandabad who won four times last season. He should be sharper for his first outing of the season last month and he could go well.
- Thursday, 28 January 2016 14:55
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps action coming from Warwick and Fakenham while there are a couple of all-weather flat fixtures from Southwell and Chelmsford City. David has one runner at Warick today; Herbert Park who carries top weight of 11-12 in the 3m2f handicap hurdle. He is yet to recapture the best of his form from last season which saw him win three times and he is now tried in blinkers. Tom Scudamore is in the saddle and the Post make him an 11/1 chance.
- Wednesday, 27 January 2016 10:54
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Doctor Harper was the ready winner of the novices’ chase at Leicester yesterday. He jumps his fences much better than he did hurdles and was foot perfect yesterday under Tom Scudamore as he won with the minimum of fuss. This was only two miles yesterday and he did win a Grade Three hurdle at the Grand National meeting a couple of years ago over three miles so there are plenty of options open to him. I see he was a mover in the betting for the Cheltenham Festival with firms making him a 12/1 chance for the Kim Muir Chase and the 2½ mile novices’ handicap chase.
- Tuesday, 26 January 2016 08:28
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
This afternoon there are three meetings taking place with jumps action from Leicester and Wetherby and an all-weather flat fixture from Southwell. Following the defection of Bladoun, David has just the one runner at Leicester; Doctor Harper who contests the novices' chase at 2.30pm. Doctor Harper (pictured above) finished a decent second to Garde La Victoire at Ludlow last time and while there are some useful rivals in opposition, he meets nothing of that caliber today and should go well under Tom Scudamore.
- Monday, 25 January 2016 08:31
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
This afternoon the only jumps action comes from Kempton following the abandonment of Newcastle although there is an all-weather flat fixture from Wolverhampton. Unsurprisingly David has no runners today. There was some cracking action from Leopardstown yesterday which will have had plenty of Cheltenham Festival implications. How impressive was Faugheen in the Irish Champion Hurdle? He won by 15 lengths easing down from the biggest threats to him at Cheltenham; Nichols Canyon and Arctic Fire. He looks fitter than last year and rates banker material come March although you won't get very rich backing him at odds of 2/5.
- Saturday, 23 January 2016 10:01
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Sadly Fontwell was abandoned yesterday morning owing to some standing water on the track so the rules action is looking a bit thin on the ground with just an all-weather flat card fro Chelmsford City to look forward to on these shores. If you are after a bit of jumping action the amateurs carry the baton near the yard with the annual meeting at Chipley Park between Wellington and Milverton - they normally have a good turnout there while there are often a few familiar faces from the stable about (normally around the beer tent!).
