- Saturday, 02 January 2016 08:46
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
David kicked off the new year in the best possible manner yesterday with the first winners of 2016...and it was at Cheltenham to boot! Champers On Ice battled on bravely to win a hot looking novices' hurdle under a penalty, posting a very useful effort. He is clearly going the right way and is a smashing prospect for the future. Meanwhile Alternatif looked sure to be involved in the following race, a 3m2 1/2f handicap chase although his stamina appeared to peter out approaching the last as he weakened to finish fourth. I went to Exeter yesterday and managed to get extremely wet! The ground was almost unraceable but it was good to see some of the old faces I haven't seen in a while and despite the horrendous weather it was good to see plenty of young race goers which bodes well for the future of the sport.
- Friday, 01 January 2016 08:07
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
Champers on Ice runs at Cheltenham
The good news is that Exeter has passed it's inspection and racing goes ahead! So today we have six meetings, jumps cards at Cheltenham, Musselburgh, Catterick, Fakenham and Exeter plus a flat card at Southwell. David has three runners at Cheltenham, Champers on Ice, Alternatif and Batavir and all are ridden by Tom Scu. Champers on Ice won on soft going at Newbury last time out but has to give weight away to some useful opposition. It looks a good race but there is no reason why he should not go close. Alternatif is favourite in the Racing Post for the 12.45pm handicap chase. He won with any amount in hand at Fontwell last time out. Although this is only his fourth start over fences he jumps well, stays well and hopefully he should run well. Batavir runs in the 2.30pm handicap hurdle. He was third last time in the Fixed Brush hurdle at Haydock although he was beaten a fair way. He is five pounds higher today than his winning mark but cheekpieces are on and with a little improvement hopefully he can be competitive.
- Thursday, 31 December 2015 08:23
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
The big news of the day is that A P McCoy has been awarded a Knighthood in the Queen's New Years Honours List. He will now become known as Sir Anthony McCoy - I am still going to be calling him "A P" as it would be difficult to call him sir when I have seen him with his trousers around his ankles and a pair of ladies tights on! I wonder how many other 'sirs' have been dressed like that?! On a serious note though, we are all delighted for AP - this is the ultimate acknowledgement of all that he has achieved in racing and he is thoroughly deserving of all the plaudits. Not only is he the finest jockey we have ever witnessed, he has also been a wonderful ambassador for our sport and an incredible role model for any aspiring jockeys or people wanting to get involved in the sport.
- Wednesday, 30 December 2015 08:29
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
There was a nice winner for the stable yesterday afternoon at Doncaster as Baltimore Rock (pictured above) made the long journey north worthwhile when making a winning chase debut. He jumped well bar a slow jump at the last and could be called a winner some way from home even though the eventual winning margin was only half a length. This looked to be a decent novices' chase so it was a good performance to win under top weight on his first start over the larger obstacles. Meanwhile, Epic Warrior ran creditably to finish third at Newbury in what looked like a decent contest and he will certainly find easier opportunities.
- Tuesday, 29 December 2015 08:12
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Newbury, Doncaster and Kelso as well as an all-weather flat fixture from Southwell. David has four runners this afternoon with Baltimore Rock making his chasing debut at Doncaster under Tom Scudamore, while at Newbury we have Epic Warrior and Shotavodka ridden by Kieron Edgar and Balgarry who is partnered by Conor O'Farrell. Balgarry (pictured above) was a winner last time out at Taunton and was a winner on soft ground in France so conditions should suit him - he is 4lbs higher than when successful but is expected to be thereabouts once again. Shotavodka reverts to hurdling on a mark of 135 which is 6lbs lower than his highest winning chase mark while Kieron takes an additional 3lbs off his back. The bookies make Epic Warrior a 10/1 chance and this slightly shorter trip should help him - we look to have some sound chances today.
- Monday, 28 December 2015 08:25
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
Today we have three meetings taking place with jumps action from Leicester and Catterick as well as an all-weather flat card from Lingfield although the stable does not have any runners. What a great weekend of racing we were treated to with Cue Card winning the King George Chase at Kempton in a thriller from Vautour - the downside of the race was that both of the jockeys involved were awarded bans. Can you think of another sport where you break the rules, yet still keep the title or event? Paddy Brennan was awarded an eleven day ban and a fine of £4,200 while Ruby Walsh was suspended for two days...the sad thing is, I am sure if the race was re-run they would both do the same thing again. I am not sure what the answer is...would Cue Card have won without Brennan getting stuck into him? The answer is obviously no, so what do you do, kick the horse out? What do you think?
- Sunday, 27 December 2015 08:43
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
Top of the Gallops
Today we have just two meetings following the abandonment of Chepstow and Wetherby yesterday due to waterlogging. We have had so much rain it is not surprising but it is just disappointing for racing fans over this festive period. This leaves us with just jumping at Kempton and a flat card at Chelmsford. It looks a good card at Kempton with lots of prize money on offer.
