Wow, what a weekend of racing we’ve just had. From Newbury on Friday to Navan on Sunday with Ascot, Haydock and Wincanton sandwiched in between, there were performances of the highest order and Cheltenham clues by the bucketload.
So where do we start?
At the beginning is probably best and the Game Spirit Chase. Unfortunately my viewpoint of this race wasn’t the best as I was stuck in a traffic jam just outside Newbury and it was difficult to make out the runners stuck behind the Number 32 bus over a mile away. Listening to the commentary on my phone was the only option where it was apparent that Sprinter Sacre was different class to the rest of the field. Having since watched the race I can fully understand the hype surrounding his Arkle claims and he is a solid favourite but before you get stuck in to him at short odds it might just be worth watching him run in last years Supreme Novice Hurdle where he stopped very quickly when faced with the Cheltenham hill from the last hurdle. I’m So Lucky again caught my eye in third and I can’t wait for him to be dropped in class.
Still stuck behind the Number 32 bus and ‘enjoying’ our umpteenth game of eye-spy (TJ, traffic jam, C, car, B, bus, AC, another car…….) when Long Run scraped home by 1/2 length from Burton Port it meant another race commentary via my phone and a re-run later that evening when I got home. Again the Gold Cup winner lacked fluency in his jumping but I’d imagine that giving 10lb to the runner up will look a very decent performance come the end of the Season. I certainly haven’t given up on Long Run retaining his title come March and Burton Point looks a very live Gold Cup hope but looks an even better Grand National prospect.
Finally clear of the traffic jam we arrived at the course just as the runners were sent on their way for the Betfair Hurdle. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and my good friend Matt (who had let the train take the strain and made it to the course on time) my wagers were in place. £25ew Ericht at 28/1, £25ew Raya Star at 12/1 with Bet365 and an antepost bet on Olofi at 14/1. I just made it to a vantage point as they jumped the last to see 2 of my 3 runners in with a chance. Olofi weakened into 5th under a less than inspiring ride from Paddy Brennan while Raya Star didn’t quite have the finishing pace of the eventual first two but finished a creditable 3rd. The latter looks one for the County Hurdle where Cheltenham should be right up his street. As for the winner, it was a bad result for the stats but a good result for the form readers who were right to think he was well handicapped off a rating of 151. He won’t ever run off that mark again but I’d wager that he’ll still be some way behind Hurricane Fly when he’s reassessed. It was clear to everyone that Darlan was going very well when coming down giving Tony McCoy a crashing fall and he entered a lot of notebooks but into my notebook will go Brampour who, after being quite some way behind the field for most of the race, stayed on very nicely up the home straight to finish 7th. He might be worth trying over further. In all the excitement I hadn’t realised I was stood watching the race next to Paul Nicholls. The moment Zarkander passed the post he scurried off back to the parade ring with plenty of hugs, back slapping and words of congratulations ringing in his ears looking a very relieved man.
After meeting up with Matt we ensconsed ourselves in the Premier Enclosure bar which suited my dad down to the ground as he had TV pictures, tote office and wine all within 10 yards of his newly claimed spot. I don’t think he ventured further than that for the rest of the afternoon. He was as happy as a pig in muck! I ventured a little further with a trip to the rails bookies to place my wager on the next. All The Aces is a horse that did me a few favours on the flat and his hurdles form looked pretty decent so I had £40 at 9/2 on him. That wasn’t the best £40 I’ve ever staked as he looked outpaced, outclassed and finished out with the washing. A longer trip and handicaps look to be his future. The winner, Montbazon, took it well but it’s hard to think he would have won had Colour Squadron stayed on his feet as that one was travelling very strongly at the time and he had already recorded a course and distance victory over Montbazon earlier in the season. If that fall hasn’t left too many scars he could be a player in the Supreme Novices and the 16/1 might be value each way.
The handicap hurdle that followed looked the weakest race of the day and I had it between the two novices Knock a Hand and Gullinbursti with the latter just getting the nod. Dylan had his pocket money each way on What An Oscar, which I forgot to back, so I was glad to see him finish second last. Despite getting 3/1 on the favourite and despite him running a great race it was still a losing race for me as he could never quite get on terms with my second choice, Knock A Hand. I doubt they’ll be any Cheltenham winners coming out of this race but the front two may well pick up more races before the season’s end.
Onto the Novice Chase and my best bet of the day, For Non Stop. I gave him on the blog, I bored everyone in the car going to the races, I told Matt and his friends before the race that he was going to win here and then win the Jewson Novice at Cheltenham but nobody took any notice. Except for Dylan who’s still young and naive enough to think that Daddy knows best. So I had £30 at 10/3 with Bet365, £40 at the same price with betfred and £60 at 7/2 with Ladbrokes on the rails. I promised Dylan £5 if he won. Under a brilliant ride from Noel Fehily he ran exactly as I had forseen and appreciated every yard of the trip to record an impressive victory. Dylan and I were in the stands jumping up and down like lunatics getting strange looks and heavy tutting from all and sundry. I guess they didn’t listen to me either. After finishing 2nd to Overturn, Cue Card and Al Ferof on his last 3 starts he certainly deserved this. Next stop Cheltenham where I will be backing him again.
We’d all made our mind up in the car that Shutthefrontdoor was our selection in the last and that Tony McCoy would be our saviour if things were looking bad at that stage. Luckily by this time things were looking good so I had £40 at a very generous 9/2 with Ladbrokes and again promised Dylan £5 if he won. What a race! What a ride! What a result! For me, that was the best ride I’ve seen all season and no other jockey riding over jumps today would have won on him. It was McCoy at his marvelous best and it’s even more amazing when you consider that just over 2 hours before he had suffered a horrendous fall that would have seen plenty of riders, justifiably, take the rest of the day off. I would gladly have paid the entry fee to have witnessed that ride alone. As it was 12,500 people got to see it for free and I doubt anyone went home feeling they had wasted an afternoon (even if they had sat in a traffic jam for 2 hours to get there).
If Sprinter Sacre was the star of the show on Friday then it was another Henderson inmate that stole the limelight on Saturday. Binocular returned to his very best when trouncing Celestial Halo and Starluck in the Kingwell Hurdle under Tony McCoy with a performance that might just give Hurricane Fly’s connections something to think about. The 2010 Champion Hurdle winner has had his problems over the last few seasons but when he’s on song he is a top class hurdler who we know acts around Cheltenham. If he turns up in March in this kind of form it’s difficult to see him finishing out of the frame.
Yet another Henderson horse to book his Cheltenham place was Riverside Theatre who took the Betfair Chase for the second year running. He never made the Festival last year as he got injured and Saturday was his first outing since beating Gauvain by 10 lengths in the 2010 running. He now heads for the Ryanair Chase as a fancied runner but he’s not for me as that race is shaping up into a very strong renewal with plenty of worthy Grade 1 opponents. Kauto Stone was very disappointing and doesn’t look worth a rating of 162 while Gauvain was well beaten in the Ryanair last year after his 2nd to Riverside Theatre and doesn’t seem to have improved any.
One Henderson horse who didn’t enhance his Cheltenham claims was Bobs Worth who was firmly put in his place by Invictus in the Reynoldstown Chase although it is worth noting that he gave the winner 3lb. Silvianaco Conti was another Nicholls runner to run poorly and despite his Zarkander winning on Friday it wasn’t the best weekend of his training career. In fact, 1 winner from 31 runners over Friday and Saturday was a very poor return especially with 16 of them returning at odds of 5/1 or shorter. Invictus apparently lost a shoe when getting beat by Champion Court at Cheltenham on New Years Day so could be excused that run and it’s difficult to see why Bobs Worth is trading at half his odds for the RSA Chase. 12/1 Invictus might not be that bad a bet on a strict reading of this race and the Grand Crus/Silvianaco Conti/Bobs Worth form lines.
Connections of Big Bucks won’t have lost any sleep over the weekend with 2 horses he has consistently beaten Restless Harry and Cross Kennon fighting out the Rendlesham. The rest of the fancied runners in that race found the step up from handicap company too much and will no doubt be returning to that field on their next starts. Smad Place was another runner trying to show he was good enough to graduate from handicaps and challenge Big Bucks but was beaten by the novice Bourne. Giving 26lb to the winner over a trip that might prove a bit short for him in the long term was a decent performance but not good enough to scare the reigning champ. My 50/1 each way may still make the places. If there was nothing stepping up to the plate in this country then it was the same story in Ireland yesterday where Mourad (already soundly beaten by Big Bucks this Season) beat Mikhael D’Haguenet in the Boyne Hurdle and leaves just Oscar Whiskey as the only real threat to Big Bucks winning his fourth World Hurdle in March.
Balder Success did his Triumph Hurdle prospects no harm with an eased down win against his elders in the Ascot novice hurdle. He’s now unbeaten in 4 starts and has the look of an old style Triumph Hurdler rather than the lightly raced versions that have been winning the race recently. Since arriving from France his wins have looked very impressive but there has to be some doubts as to just what the standard of opposition has been. He’ll no doubt give a good account of himself in the big race itself but be warned that connections are toying with the idea of running him in the Supreme Novices. Nicky Henderson (that man again!) won the big 4yo novice at Haydock with his French import Une Artiste but the performance didn’t strike me as all that great and quotes of 25/1 for the Triumph are surely down to his connections rather than this run.
Brindisi Breeze has won his last two hurdles on testing ground and received quotes of 12/1 for the Albert Bartlett Hurdle at Cheltenham after the latest of those victories on Saturday. He’s obviously a decent horse but his only defeat came on good ground and he’s unlikely to get his favoured conditions at Cheltenham in March.
Which just leaves a couple of Grade 2 races from Navan yesterday. The 3m Novice Chase was one of the strangest races you’ll see all season and eventually went to the 50/1 outsider Lion Na Bernai who looked an unlikely winner jumping the last. The favourite Berties Dream clobbered the last and was immediately eased to come home in his own time while the 3 co second favourites all decided to spend the run from the second last giving the race away to each other only for the 50/1 rag fight back and beat them all.
Unsurprisingly the result did little to alter the RSA Chase antepost market. A comment that also applies to the Flying Bolt where former decent hurdler Donnas Palm took the spoils. Although the race was over 2m1f he doesn’t have an entry in the Arkle and quotes of 66/1 for the RSA Chase are a fair reflection of his chances in that.
So that leaves us as we started, with Sprinter Sacre looking a rock solid, good thing for the Arkle.
Good luck,
Gavin.
P.S. For those who are interested, Inter Penarth won their game 4-2 on Saturday with Dylan scoring a hat-trick. That’s 29 goals so far this Season for our little goal scoring champ.
