Newbury, Newcastle and Fairyhouse - a weekend wrap

What a weekend! We've had some absolutely top notch racing both sides of the Irish sea, sadly no Annie Power but hopefully the mare comes back to the racecourse soon enough. Unfortunately it looks like there is a possibility that the star mare could have a stress fracture, lets keep fingers crossed for her. Still we had some really quality stuff with some proper 'Cheltenham' horses on show so let's get stuck in looking back starting with Newbury on Saturday, Hennessy Gold Cup day. 

Newbury 

Trip: 3 miles 2 1/2 furlongs 

Ground: Heavy 

Stamina: Please only apply if you stay longer than the Mother in Law 

Eventual winner Many Clouds with Merry King close behind

Yes this was the Hennessy Gold Cup, and what a renewal 2014 was looking. With hot favourite Djakadam coming over from Ireland on what looked like a very lenient mark,but also bringing question marks over his jumping and experience we had plenty of punters look looking to take him and Ruby Walsh on. Smad Place, Fingal bay...I could list most of the field as it looked a hot renewal on paper. In the end it went to Many Cloud who provided Oliver Sherwood with his 2nd win in the big race, seeing off 50/1 shot Houblon Des Obeaux , Merry King and Monbeg Dude. Just looking at the first 4 home tells you what an Exacting stamina test this race turned into with a good gallop being set from the off by What a Warrior - There were only 9 finishers! Favourite Djakadam was one of these but he could never threaten the winner, the race at Carlisle where he defeated Holywell looks like a great preparation race now! Many clouds can be backed at 16/1 for the Gold Cup in March now, he has certainly proved himself worthy of a place in the race after winning one of the toughest handicaps going, in a very open year you would be foolish to draw a line through him. On Sunday Mr Sherwood confirmed he would love to have a crack at the big one and if Many Clouds can prove he has overcome these exertions in January then it'll be full steam ahead!

 

An emotional winning jockey post Hennessy success (Photo Richard Young/Rex)

Elsewhere on the Newbury card 2013 World Hurdle Winner More of That made his reappearance in the Long distance hurdle, a race previously won by Big Bucks on an annual basis. Cole Harden looked a useful opponent pre race with fitness on his side and was backed in as the heavily odds on favourite drifted slightly. More of That looked like he did not totally love the ground and a lack of fitness was found out as he was beaten a fair way from home while eventual winner Medinas was still cruising three out. Richard Johnson was in line for more big race success on a Saturday as his mount stayed on strongly to see off the pace setting Cole Harden and earn quotes of 20/1 for the World Hurlde in March. McCoy post race seemed happy enough but bookies have pushed him out to 7/2 for a repeat world hurdle win and I must admit I had expected a fair bit more from More of That. I guess the stable are not exactly flying and MoT is a big horse who will take some getting fit but what seemed like the ante-post bet to have at the start of the season didn't look quite so attractive now. 

The going gets too much for More of That as Medinas goes on to take Long Distance Glory 

  

Up North on Saturday 

Well up at Newcastle we had one of the more disappointing renewals of the Fighting Fifth and also of the Rehearsal Chase, usually a long distance race with  big field. Neither of there races really appealed to me on Saturday morning as I looked at the cards but that doesn't stop them running them! Irving was a hot favourite for the Fighting Fifth despite a crashing fall on reappearance in a Wincanton hurdle but this was probably due to the perceived lack of creditable opposition in the race, the most interesting being the John Quinn mare who was getting plenty of weight from the field. In the end these two were left to battle it out and it was Irving who found most to give Paul Nicholls his 100th grade 1 victory although Aurore D'Estruval lost absolutely nothing in defeat but I can't see him being good enough to justify a Champion Hurdle bet even at 20/1. Hey Big Spender won the Rehearsal Chase easily making a mockery of his 12/1 sp, he absolutely loves the stamina test this race throws up (this was a remarkable 3rd win for HBS in the race) and was part of a Toon treble for Brendan Powell. 

Irving gives Paul Nicholls his 100th Grade 1 victory - a great achievement 

More Hilarity at the BHA

You study the form, pick your horse based on form over the distance of the race and then sit back ready to watch your selection romp home. Unbelievably for some punters backing in the opening 2 mile race at Towcester the runners did not actually stop after the advertised race distance of two miles though! However this was not a case of a field of top notch horses who were going so quickly they couldn't slow down, oh no...this was a case of the data being supplied to certain sources being incorrect. So while you had your copy of the Racing Post declaring a 2 mile race to start the card this was never actually the case and the entries were made over the distance of 2 miles 5 furlongs...quite a difference! After a series of high profile blunders at the top end of the sport in recent weeks, for example the Badger Ales chase being won by an illegible horse, this will not have gone down well at all at racing HQ and does not reflect overly well on the sport. Yes I promise we are in the 21st Century...aren't we???

Ireland on Sunday 

Despite the withdrawal of Annie Power due to lameness the card over in Fairyhouse on Sunday was absolutely top notch, the Irish certainly know how to put on a top card on a Sunday! Willie Mullins released another host of stable stars with Cheltenham aspirations; Kalkir,Allez Colombieres, Zaidpour...not to mention other top notches like The Tullow Tank who would bring the house down if he won this looked a belting day and it did not let us down! However the day was tinged with saddness after Allez Colombieres suffered a fatal injury and had to be put down, thoughts go out to connections of him as he looked destined for the top.


On the day Kalkir started the Mullin's bandwagon rolling with an 8 length victory in the opener on the card. Quite whether he deserved to be cut into 7/1 from 12/1 for the Triumph hurdle on the back of this victory is up for debate as I'm not sure exactly what he beat, but he did do it very nicely and I wouldn't be a layer put it that way!

Kalkir jumps clear in the opener (Photo Patrick McCann - Racing Post)

Mullins got the double up in the 2nd race but unfortunately there was a sad note as Allez Colombieres was pulled up very early on in the 2 mile race as mentioned earlier. In his absence Willie still won the race, such is the strength of his stable, as Nichols Canyon took full advantage to take the victory. 14/1 was quoted for the Supreme post race, however with the ammunition the Mullins has to fire at that race I wouldn't be totally confident NC would even turn up in March.
The Grade 1 action resumed although Mullins couldn't win this one with Zaidpour taking a tumble; however the master trainer would no doubt have been heartened that Sandra Hughes could take this one, her first Grade 1 victory and one for Dessie no doubt. Would you take the 25/1 for the World Hurdle offered post-race about the winner? Well with More of That disappointing yesterday the race does look more open that it did on Friday, however you would want to see Lieutenant Colonel beat more than Jetson and the admirable Little King Robin before taking a Cheltenham plunge. 
The race of the day, the Drinmore Novices Chase, saw many horses place their Cheltenham credentials on the line and it was Valseur Lido who rose to the challenge, giving Mullins a treble on the card and earning him quotes of 7/1 for the JLT Chase, or 5/1 with certain firms on VL winning ANY Cheltenham race. The Tullow Tank didn't give his running imo as he disappointing down the field but in seeing off Apache Stronghold and the field Valseur Lido certainly boasts some smart form in the book now, and his jumping was absolutely beautiful. He looks some horse and was probably the highlight of the Fairyhouse card for me although who knows what his Cheltenham target will be! 

Bryan Cooper aboard the hugely impressive Valseur Lido

That's it for my wrap of the weekend, we really have had a great few days and for sure there is plenty to think about looking ahead to the Festival in March. Let me know what you think on the weekend's action; who impressed you most with your ante-post hat on?

Thanks for reading 

Alex

My first experience of the Racemakers2014...and what an experience!

Newbury 28th November

I made the journey to Newbury racecourse for the second day of their three day Hennessy festival but not as my usual self...this time I was joining the team of Racemakers lead by John who help out at the big race days around the country. The aim is to create a team similar to the ganesmakers that made the 2012 Olympic games so successful and I was really excited to become part of the squad. Getting to chat racing all day and help out fellow racegoers sounded right up my street so when John offered me the chance to be part of his team I jumped at it, thanks must go to Kate from the London Racing Club for urging me to apply as I absolutely loved every minute of it (apart from some awful punting on my behalf!)

Meeting Sam TD, a more friendly man you could not meet!

Raceday

The racing on the day was decent enough, I had a few fancies on the card which I mentioned in the midweek blog slightly. However in was shocked to see Micheal Nolan jocked off my main fancy for a jockey who could claim slightly more off little boy boru and I started doubting if I wanted to trust the new partnership. More on that race later however.

The Opener

The opener was a nice hurled race for which the Alan King trained Karezak was a hot favorite having impressed on debut. Odds on everywhere you looked and after King struck three times they day before confidence was high. However this went to the Paul Nicholls horse Old Guard, Andy Stewart was here to see this one win and we managed to catch him post race where he was very positive on his Hennessy chances with Rocky Creek.A pipeopener in a grade 1 was what he effectively described his run first time up as and confirmed he was absolutely spot on for tomorrow. A very friendly man, great to chat too with my fellow racemakers! However we should have taken his presence as heed to back Old Guard here, perhaps it would be foolish to ignore him twice!

Top owner Mr Stewart after taking the opener

Conditional Jockeys on show

We then had a nice conditional jockeys race, where I always end up backing the jockey not the horse! This time I went for quick decision under Micheal Nolan, however I had to play 2nd best to the impressive winner Wilton Milan, a double for Nicholls on the day and a nice ride by young Jack Sherwood. 

Handicap ahoy

The 1:30 was the race in which I ended up deserting Little Boy Boru in favor of Balley Legend e/w at big odds in the hope that the step back up in trip and a nice drop in the weights after running over too short a trip at Sandown would bring about some improvement. When you are playing against the McCoy/Pipe duo in a handicap you should always take e/w insurance in case what they have is absolutely thrown in. In this case they had Unique De Cotte coming into the race off a decent win lto and the market support was there for it, going off heavily odds on.however the horse never looked like winning, sadly my selection was even worse though! Classic Pipe 2nd string winner struck here under a great ride from Tom Scudamore who currently wears the top rider of the meeting armband as he lead all the way from the start to score in impressive fashion. The favorite looked like he suffered from the classic bounce factor as he really never was a factor in the race, JP had made the trip over to Newbury so I doubt he was too impressed! However fair play to Mr McManus as when I asked him where I should put my money in the next he said 'buy a pint instead!'

JP McManus encouraged sensible drinking!

My betting gets in even deeper trouble

I couldn't understand why Deep Trouble was such a big price in the 2:05. Well I could as the Paul Nicholls horse had some great hurtling form and the trainer had just had a double on the card but Deep Trouble had very decent form himself and also had the benefit of a run over fences already this season which can prove vital in these kind of races so I took a punt on him. Dell Arca, another with impressive hurdling form (Greatwood winner) as well as chasing experience lead to the price on my selection tempting men in! Oh dear again! Deep Trouble didn't finish the race, pulled up before the finish, getting further than Saphir Du Rheu though who unseated Sam TD. This went to Coneygree who defied a huge 671 day absence to jump beautifully all the way round and saw off Del Arca at the business end. nico gave it an absolute beaut of a ride and the money was landed as Coneygree was well punted into 2/1 before the off. The had attempted a gamble on this one a week or so ago but he had to be taken out at the start that time due to vet advice. Cue trainer and connection anger as the had no idea what the vet thought was wrong, however he was allowed to take his chance this time and thanks to a great training performance from Mark Bradstock it was a case of job done!

Bottom Weight romps home

The 2:40 was a hot handicap with a lot of big stables involved. Ruby was over riding the paparazzi kid, we had McCoy on Pendra and Geraghty on Cantlow in the JP colours and a host of other potential fancies so it was really difficult for me to take a bold stance in this one. Half the time you don't know if this race is the target or the one later down the line, especially with McManus! However this went to bottom weight No Buts ridden by man of the meeting Tom Scudamore again as all the big names disappointed really. I wonder if JP would have been quite as jolly as he had been with me earlier after this double defeat!

Starting to get worried where a winner would come from...

Onto the penultimate race on the card where I really liked Teafortwo under jockey of the moment Lizzy Kelly. I was nervous about Thomas Brown whom Fehily had given a positive mention to on Racingfm earlier this week but was confident my selection was a seriously good horse. However the lack of pace in the race didn't play to my selections strengths and neither did the small field as he was pulling hard in the early stages. Out Sam won but I'd take Thomas Brown out of the race who carried top weight here by some distance, made a hash of the last but still ran on well into 2nd place. With a cleaner round of jumping next time out I wouldn't put anyone off him especially as he won't always be giving weight away in more decent races.

The Getting Out Stakes

In the concluding race I took heed of the advice given by Declan Rix at the London Racing Club season preview and had a look at Different Gravey, whom Declan flagged up as a pointer who could make his mark this season. I didn't know what Declan thought of his chances here, especially with the form of the yard, but lacking knowledge of any of the rest of the field I had a dabble. I was more keen when Henderson took the preceding race on the card and happily I got my winner on the day as Nico De Boinville scored a double to see off the Geraghty ridden stable number 1 Days of heaven. The favorite made a right hash of the start though, giving away several lengths and long term will probably be the best horse in this race. Still I wasn't complaining!

Newbury Grandstand

Apart from the little Hennessy preview post racing that was the end of a fantastic day at Newbury racecourse, the track and staff made us racemakers ever so welcome so thanks guys! I can't wait to get back tomorrow for the big day where hopefully I can get a few more winners! However it was great getting on board with the Racemakers team and I'm really happy to be a part of it, it really is fantastic fun and a great way to meet other people with the same passion for racing. It really is important to have people at the races who can offer help and advice to racegoers in need of a little experience at it was really fun being able to do this and send people off with a smile on their face! Hopefully we can help more race goers tomorrow on the big day and get more and more people trying their hand at a day out at the races, or coming back for a 2nd or 3rd go!

Thanks for reading!

Midweek natterings and thoughts for the weekend

With quite a lot happening this week on the news front I thought I'd do a little round up of the news both on an off the track and give my thoughts on the goings on in the horse racing world. Hopefully I can provide a decent little round up!

Jockey News

Well just as we were welcoming one jockey back into the thick of the action getting the champ AP McCoy back in the saddle at Fontwell on Wednesday, standard AP back with a winner as well, we had to say goodbye to another. Shock news reached us that Grand National winning (a great title no-one can ever take away from him) jockey Ryan Mania was retiring from the saddle, citing weight issues and making the point that he sadly was no longer enjoying the sport. It is a lot harder for the Northern jump jockeys to make the game play with the dominance of Southern tracks so Mania's decision, while a sad one, is hopefully the right one from him and I hope we do not lose him completely from the sport.

Ryan Mania after his Grand National win

Thankfully it looks like we will keep AP McCoy in the game for the foreseeable future, although it was no surprise to hear him can thoughts of 300 winners for the season after his comeback on Wednesday. The man has a ridiculous desire and thirst for winners that keeps him going day in day out, through injuries and illness, and he is really one of the greatest ambassadors a sport could have. While all those pocket talkers on the forums slate McCoy I'd love to see how they would ride having just taken a kicking from 2 horses only 30 minutes earlier!
We also had the ridiculous situation at Sedgefield racecourse on Tuesday where the following scenario occured...

1. It was decided that a fence was to be omitted due to poor visibility. Jockeys would have been aware this was under consideration but not aware of the final decision pre-race.
2. Once the race was underway stewards decided it would be dangerous to jump the fence and sent a flagsman out to alert the jockeys
3. Flagsman shows the WRONG COLOUR OF FLAG!!!! He unintentionally declares the race void rather than fence omitted however jockeys, using common sense and awareness of conditions possibly resulting in skipping of fence, simply skip the fence and continue to race rather than pull up.
4. No horse is disadvantage by the above and race continues as normal.
5. Race finishes...and then is declared void due to the flag situation.

It really was a farcical situation, made even more farcical by the subsequent banning of all jockeys involved for ten days! The stewards recognised the mistake made by the flagsman and have raised this to the BHA, but also say all jockeys should have pulled up so the whip come out and bums are smacked. And by the letter of the law they are right, the jockey's should have pulled up when seeing the flag waved. However this is another ridiculous situation where it is hard to believe we are involved in a sport in the 21st century; surely common sense could prevail and we could reach a far more amicable agreement rather than penalise jockeys, connections and punters (although many bookies did pay out on both the winners and void all other bets, very good gesture.) I think this one will run and run as we get possible jockey appeals and BHA comedown on the course, one to look out for.

A deserved Banning for a shamed trainer

Disgraced trainer Philip Fenton 

We also received the frankly welcome news that disgraced trainer Philip Fenton has been banned from the sport for three years by the Irish Turf Club and rightly so. The trainer has shamed the sport with his awful tales of drug related abuse towards his horses, and the sheer quantities of drugs found at his yard are absolutely staggering. Furthermore Fenton was never totally co-operative in the investigations into the findings of banned substances at his yard, preferring rather to drag the sport through the mire as he tried to wriggle his way out of the mess he found himself in. The sport is better off without Fenton and hopefully this length of ban will ward others in looking for a shortcut to success in the training ranks. It is scary to think that Fenton could theoretically been a dual Cheltenham winner in 2014, imagine if the Gold Cup winner had then turned out to have won juiced up to the eyeballs!

A brief look ahead to the upcoming action

Well unfortunately for Newcastle racecourse the Fighting Fifth looks a very substandard renewal of the race to me this year. For a Grade 1 race it really does not attract the field it could, although the new hurdle race at Haydock has certainly not helped them out here and again is an example of the sport not doing the best for the customer who so loyally support it. If pushed for a selection I'd plump for the John Quinn mare Aurore D'Estruval; John often targets this race and this mare has looked smart so far in her career. She gets weight from the field being a lady and certainly won't mind the softer ground conditions on offer at Gosforth Park. Definitely not a race to go ploughing into for me though.

We've actually got a great clash happening tomorrow at Thurles when Willie Mullins unbeaten Un De Sceaux embarks on a chasing career with Ruby set for the ride. He won't have it all his own way however as Blood Conti, although from the same stable, is no easy opponent and neither is Mr Fiftyone or Clarcam (if he gets a place in the lineup). However if Un De Sceaux continues where he left off last season we will be in for a treat as his style of running, basically go out quick and see if you can get home!, is really exciting to watch for the punter if not the trainer!

The Newbury Hennessy festival starts tomorrow, I've done an ante-post piece on the race already which you can find elsewhere on the site, but there are some more great races at this festival worth a watch. Obviously we have the Long Distance hurdle, where last season's World Hurdle winner More of That is ready to make his seasonal debut. The potential line-up looks very solid as well, with At Fishers Cross (a horse with plenty to prove), Cole Harden, Lac Fontana and Medinas all very useful opposition. However this is the race that AP has said he has timed his comeback around; he clearly holds More of That in very high regard and I'll be watching hoping for a really exciting and impressive win here.

Up tomorrow Jolleyallan is a really nice horse for the season ahead, given positive mentions in our pre-season preview blog by the London Racing Club panel, and he will continue his education in the opening race at Newbury. He has already made a great start to his hurdling career and will race under a penalty tomorrow; I am certainly hoping for a good performance before bigger things later in the season. The Intermediate Hurdle later in the card also looks a very interesting contest, with horses such as Wicklow Brave (6th in the Supreme last season), the exciting French recruits Le Mercurey and L'ami Serge and another Mullin's horse Daneking all clashing in a limited handicap that could be worth watching as there could be a few nice types out.

Finally lets touch on Friday, where I can announce (and I'm so excited for this!) I will be making my debut for the Racemakers team, offering help and advice at the course in a similar manner to the gamesmakers at the Olympic Games. On the track I'll be hoping Little Boy Boru can complete the hat trick in the Pertemps Hurdle qualifier; he won the last twice in impressive manner with plenty more to come and Nolan has struck up a great relationship with Suzy Smith's horse. Ground conditions will be totally fine and a 7lbs rise for victory last time out may not be enough to stop him here. I'll be waiting for declarations before making any more decisions but will be tweeting on the day (@_Neptune_) with pictures from my day as a race maker and also my (hopefully) winning tips so get involved and interact with me on twitter!

Once again thanks for reading and have a good punting Hennessy Festival!

Ante Post - Hennessy Gold Cup

The big betting race of the upcoming weekend, the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury racecourse, is a grueling stamina test. 3 miles 2.5 Furlongs the trip faced on what is sure to be testing ground, for me this race will forever by associated with two time winner Denman, the Tank. While we may not have a horse who has yet reached the heights of that fantastic beast in this year's renewal we do have a high class list of entries and the 2014 race looks like being a very hot contest.

2013 Hennessy Gold Cup winner Triolo D'Alene (Getty images)

Djakadam currently heads the market at 5/1; Mullins won't be sending this one over for the good of his health and even be Willie's extremely high standard the stable is absolutely flying at the moment. Fresh from releasing a host of Cheltenham horses the weekend just gone Djakadam will be trying to continue the trend of winners but it is worth noting that he is only 5, and no 5 year old has ever won this race. The Hennessy is a real tough test and with only three chase starts under his belt will this young horse have the experience for a handicap race of this nature? He may well be very special, and off his current mark could bolt in, but at current prices I'm going to look elsewhere.

Nicky Henderson has won the last 2 renewals of the race and Henderson sends last years winner Triolo D'Alene out again. However Triolo will have to carry 8lbs more than when victorious and also hasn't had the benefit of a prep run this time round so is passed over. His other representative is Hadrian's Approach who unseated in the race last year but does have plenty of form in the book that shows his abundant reserves of stamina, with the going set to be testing this will be a vital asset for any wannabee winner of the race. With prices of 20/1 available he is the more fancied of the 2 Hendo horses for me in this race but I wouldn't want to back him unless we get Barry Geraghty on on top purely because I think you need a top jockey to stop this horse falling (not the best of jumpers). If Geraghty is on Hadrian's Approach becomes a major interest for me, however as this is an ante-post piece I have to pass both Henderson runners for this article's purpose.

Man of the moment Philips Hobbs, a past winner of this race, would need to have his runners included in any race shortlist at the moment and he has a really interesting candidate here in Fingal Bay. Fingal Bay reverted to hurdling last season, with great success it should be added, but Hobbs is trying his had at the chasing game again with this classy horse. Just a look back in Fingal Bay's form catalogue and you have to take him seriously as a potential winner of this race as he has all the attributes you would want. Stamina, ability on testing conditions, course form, decent chase form (if we gloss over the time he ran out at Exeter...) and bundles of proven class (multiple Cheltenham winner is this one!) FB could well be the solution to the Hennessy puzzle. To win the Hennessy you have to be a horse with potential to run in top graded races, not just a good handicapper with a mark that has slipped down, and FB is certainly the former of those. Schooling reports have also been good and at 8/1 Fingal Bay is my selection of those at the head of the market.

Fingal Bay is very attractive in the market at 8/1 (Mark Cranham)

Smad Place is the horse that gives me the most to worry about at the top end of the betting (Wasn't impressed with Rocky Creek on reappearance, although apparently STD was?), whilst Many Clouds will be popular having been the selection of top tipster Tom Segal when assessing this race. However for a 2nd string to my bow I will be looking at Buywise, who was really well fancied for the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham this year and if he turns up at Newbury could run a huge race. The step up in trip will suit, as will testing conditions; they should also slow the pace of the race and give Buywise a bit more time at his fences and hopefully help his sketchy jumping. I'm not 100% sure Buywise will line up in the race or if Evan Williams will want to give him a longer break after his Paddy power exertions but at 20/1 the price is there to take the gamble.

Monday Edit

Unfortunately Buywise did not feature in the 23 entries revealed today, I did mention above that I was not totally sure if he would go for the race and Evan Williams has decided to save him for another day. The money continues to come for Djakadam and he is now as short as 7/2 in places, absolutely crazy considering the fav still needs to prove his stamina over the trip but he could be thrown in an it's that potential that people are backing. Hadrian's approach is also a less certain selection for me after Henderson admitted, after a poor Monday where several odds-on Hendo horses were beaten, that his stable had been held back a little in their work. So as an alternative to Fingal Bay I am adding in Dan Skelton's What a Warrior, a 25/1 shot in the race. What a Warrior is an improving type, coming here off the back of a big Handicap victory in the United House Gold Cup at Ascot which was earned the hard way; from the front. What a Warrior wouldn't want too much rain to arrive but he does have good form over races in excess of 3 miles and trainer Dan Skelton, although still a relative novice in the training ranks, has experience already of sending out winners of big Saturday races. Importantly Skelton also thinks there will be improvement seen by sending his charge left handed and coming here on the back of wins the last twice he will be full of confidence. At 25/1 there will certainly be value in getting involved to small e/w stakes if the ground doesn't get too wet.

Selections for the 2014 Hennessy Gold Cup

Fingal Bay 8/1
Buywise 20/1 - NON RUNNER
What a Warrior 25/1

Ascot, Haydock and Gowran - a NH Saturday feast

Saturday 22nd November - Cheltenham Clues all over the Country!

After a great weekend at Cheltenham I wondered if I would get the Prestbury Park blues; a feast of great racing followed by a dull weekend with not much on. However one look at my horse tracker last night blew those fears away! A great renewal of the Betfair Chase, the return of established stars like The New One and Al Ferof as well as some potential stars hoping to really make their mark this season - see hype machine Tell Us More from the Mullin's yard for the most interesting of those. We also had a lot of horses mentioned in the season preview blog Which you can read here such as Fletcher's Flyer, put up by Jon-Ivan Duke as a potential horse for the Novice Hurdle Division. Let's get cracking with looking back on a top day on Saturday!


Ascot

Well as I mentioned Fletcher's Flyer was the first horse of interest and, with top jockey Ruby Walsh booked for the ride for Harry Fry, all the vibes were good for this one. Thankfully blog fans were rewarded as FF was driven out to beat Parish Business, of whom Aidan Coleman was hugely optimistic about in his RUK column pre-racing, so it could be that FF beat a good horse here, and with Hunt Ball back in third I would be inclined to rate this form quite highly. Lets hope FF keeps doing the business this season!

Later at Ascot I was firmly against Al Ferof in the Amlin Chase, I thought he would have been left with plenty to work on by Paul Nicholls with the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day his big target this side of January. After reading the trainer's blog on Betfair on Saturday morning (found at https://betting.betfair.com/horse-racing/paul-nicholls/) I was even more firmly against him, soundbites such as

I have been training him with a view to peaking at Kempton next month, not today, so I have left a fair bit to work on

and

Ideally he wants better ground as well, so defeat here against race-fit rivals wouldn't be the end of the world, by any means, as he will definitely need it. 

made it look like a price of 5/2 was a lay all day. How wrong I was! Al Ferof was hugely impressive in beating Somersby (who loves it round here) and Wishful Thinking (Impressive winner at Aintree earlier this season) as he liked, even after tiring late on as a lack of fitness told. That makes his performance of even more interest with the King George in mind as this win, on testing ground, with plenty left to work on, saw him cut into 8/1 from 20/1 for the Boxing Day showpiece. I definitely could not be put off even at 8/1 after that performance and this was certainly a case of me getting it so so wrong pre-race! One slight note of caution would be that jockey Ruby Walsh may not be on at Kempton, with Champagne Fever a likely runner you would imagine Walsh will be on the Mullins runner, so STD will presumably take over. Obviously not a bad sub but Walsh is an absolute master in the saddle and you will have to take it on faith that STD can strike the same tune with Al Ferof.

Al Ferof; So impressive in his Amlin romp

 Faugheen was the next of the emerging stars of last season to strut his stuff at Ascot as he started heavily odds-on for the Coral Hurdle. Blue Fashion, a horse Henderson thinks the world of by the way but will come into his own over fences, appeared here after a summer breathing operation and I was interested to see how he would go; however make no mistake Faugheen was expected to romp home if he was to justify his position as market leader for the Champion Hurdle. And romp he did, unbeaten record upheld and really I think we were only scratching the surface here as Ruby only asked him to quicken after the last yet he absolutely hosed home, flying over the final hurdle and winning ever so easily. Quotes of 9/4 post-race will have been quickly snapped up as this was a performance again full of potential, really exciting as we were left wondering just how much is under the bonnet of this machine.

Haydock

Let's head up North with our review now as we had some really good action from Haydock Park on National Jockey Day, a great incentive from Betfair to recognise the often under-appreciated hero's of our sport.
The New One, market rival to Faugheen, was in action at the Merseyside venue around an hour before we saw Faugheen at Ascot so giving TNO the chance to stake his claims for this seasons Champion Hurdle slightly earlier. Nigel Twiston-Davis' stable star, an unlucky loser of last season's Champion Hurdle, was 1/3 poke before the off but with Melodic Rendezvous in opposition (a soft ground lover) didn't appear to have a stroll in the park ahead of him. The race was run at a decent pace, unusual for these events, but The New One looked comfortable all the way round before being asked to put the race to bed over the last flight by Sam Twiston-Davis and put it to bed he did, winning by just under 3 lengths in the end. However I wasn't massively convinced by this performance...I must mention I'm not a huge fan of TNO (his jumping was better than usual here I admit) but the acceleration was not immediate and he made getting past the Zamdy Man look a touch harder than I would have liked for a 7/2 shot for Cheltenham Glory. He won, yes, and easily in the end but I definitely do not think we saw a Champion Hurdle winner up at Haydock Park this weekend.

The New One under Sam TD wins at odds of 1/3

The race of the day up at Haydock was the Betfair Chase, and this year we had a fantastic renewal of the race with plenty of Gold Cup wannabees taking each other on early in the season. Cue Card, Dynaste, Silviniaco Conti and Taquin Du Seuil all harbor hope of lining up in the feature race of Friday at Cheltenham in March so it was really exciting to see them clash at this stage in the season. What pointers could we take from this one?
Well Cue Card took us into the race jumping well on the front, however coming into the home straight he was swamped by a wash of quality as his jumping went to pot. In the end it was Silviniaco Conti and Menorah who locked horns right at the business end of the race as the rest gave way and Silviniaco was the one to emerge on top in a great battle. The searching pace and soft ground really brought stamina into play and this is what Conti absolutely loves, helping the Paul Nicholls horse turn around Wetherby form in no uncertain terms. In terms of looking to the future though I feel there is so much we can take from this race in regards the Gold Cup market and I'd love to know if you agree with what I'll take forward.

1. Cue Card does not stay 3 miles, won't win the Gold Cup. A step back in trip is needed or a really easy 3 miles - not Cheltenham. 
2. Taquin Du Seuil looks to have jumping issues when going at pace in a quality field. After his Newton Abbot flop this is another disappointment and it wouldn't surprise me if they were to revert to hurdles with this one as conditions really should have been ideal for him today.
3. Menorah is a contender come March. This was another quality run from Philips Hobbs previously unreliable chaser and on ground which would have been far from ideal. Perhaps it's just the stable form but Hobbs could have got to the bottom of Menorah and come March we will be running on better ground which will suit. See what happens on his next run but for me a definite contender at a huge 25/1. Should not be twice the price of Holywell!
4. Silviniaco Conti is a quality chaser but definitely is best in a strongly run race on soft ground. Will he have soft conditions this season come March? After his Cheltenham flop last year I'd be much more keen on his for King George glory at 5/1 than as a Gold Cup winner and feel there are better ante-post bets than 10/1 about him for GC glory.
5. Dynaste - just not good enough for the Gold Cup. Take on the Ryanair again.

Comments on the above 5 points greatly appreciated as in an open division there is much potential for debate!

Who will be taking this home with them in March 2015?

Gowran Park

Any review of Saturday with an eye on Cheltenham wouldn't be complete without a trip over the Irish Seas to see what Willie Mullins was releasing at Gowran; the answer was a lot! Future Ryanair Chase winner Ballleycasey was running over 2 miles 4, the next Faugheen Tell Us More would face a 2 mile hurdle race and Don Poli, already a Cheltenham winner, was out over a trip far shorter than ideal (2m 4f). The reoccurring theme here...all were winners!

How many winners today Willie??

You won't see many easier winners than Tell Us More as he absolutely demolished the opposition in the Maiden Hurdle on the card, making odds of 1/5 look generous! Apparently they may step this one up in trip but the sky really is the limit. Bryan Cooper, who rode him to victory in the Gigginstown colours, said he was as nice a horse as he has sat on in a while, Patrick Mullins speaks so highly of this horse I can't do it justice with written words and Willie reckons 'He looks top draw'. Wherever this one turns up next he won't be much of a price but make no bones about it this one will make his mark if he turns up at Cheltenham in March.

My idea of the Ryanair Chase winner Balleycasey was next up, and I was not put off him for the aforementioned race as he beat the useful Moscow Mannon on his way to victory under Paul Townend. He made all, jumped nicely and you could have no complaints really. With the horse set to be kept to Grade 2 or 3's for now he could build up a nice winning streak before Cheltenham time, so take the 16/1 still available at the time of writing as I can't see him getting much bigger.

Finally another Patrick Mullins love child, Don Poli, was sent out for his chasing debut over a trip shorter than one would presume his best trip having won over 3 miles earlier in his career. However he was another winner for Mullins, and this one at odds against (shock!) as he beat Wounded Warrior (A horse loved by his trainer and thought very highly of) by just over 2 lengths. I was very taken by this win actually; he jumped nicely on chasing debut and beat some decent opposition, this was definitely no Faugheen cakewalk pre-race as the opposition were decent. Post race Willie was saying he looks made for the 4 miler at Cheltenham and I'm sure his son will be telling him that is a smashing idea!

There were so many more great stories on this fantastic Saturday; a fabulous win for jockey Lizzie Kelly in the fixed brush hurdle was one such highlight. This was only her 6th ride of the season, and pre-race she didn't even get a photo in the programme with just a grey silhouette where every other rider had their face, but that didn't stop her taking a highly competitive handicap where she had to to battle with Dickie Johnson in the finish as she rode a 9/1 winner! Highly appropriate to get such a great jockey related story on National Jockey Day! There is so much more I could go into but I've said enough for today I think!

Thanks very much for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of the day's action or any Cheltenham markets after a top day of National Hunt racing around the country and over the sea.

Alex

The Season Ahead with the London Racing Club

Right, let's get cracking with part 2 of the review of the fantastic National Hunt Season Preview with the London Racing Club who staged their Preview Night in early November. The panel, chaired by Sam Lawrie and made up of Nick Watts, Jon Ivan-Duke and Declan Rix, looked ahead to the upcoming season starting with...

The Hennessy

Double winner Denman on his way to his first Hennessy victory (Photo: Racing Post)

DR began with his views on Irish fancy Djakadam, who he thought was a bright light for the season ahead but not for DR in this race due to the poor record of 5 year olds in the race. DR told us how keen Ruby Walsh was on this one for the season ahead though so definitely worth following in races, possibly just not this one. He is an old fashioned chaser, and certainly his current mark of 147 is workable. However it may be that he is outstayed late on by more furnished horses, but DR certainly can envisage him running well for a long way. DO NOT FORGET THIS ONE for the season ahead though!
He pointed out the great record of the front 4 in the market traditionally in this race, so warned the audience not to try and be too clever here, look for the 2nd season chasers and was siding with Smad Place. DR thought he would improve for the trip. Potentially look out for Lyreen Legend to front the Irish challenge, especially if the ground comes up soft. If it is bottomless then gives Harry Topper a chance.
JID thought that Djakadam was a deserved fav for the race but Many Clouds off a mark of 151 was interesting. Fingal Bay also, with the Hobbs yard flying, was very exciting over fences after his exploits over hurdles last season. Smad Place, at 10/1, was interesting but the market, in JID's opinion, had this spot on at the moment with the top 4 in the market deservedly there. He voiced concerns over Rocky Creek's return given his price of 12/1, however SL told the audience Sam TD was actually very sweet on Rocky's comeback run.
NW Also a Rocky Creek fan, thinks he has had a breathing tweak and we all know just what improvement they can bring about! He wasn't convinced over Smad Place's staying ability over this trip and Many Clouds was the one for NW at the price. Oliver Sherwood doesn;t get enough credit for his excellent training efforts in NW's opinion, Many Clouds beat the fav for this years Gold Cup first time out, has done it in big fields, ran a cracker first time out at Ascot last year and ticks all the boxes for NW. Oliver Sherwood has won this race before and in Many Clouds NW thinks he could repeat the trick in 2014.

King George

Kauto Star brought the roof down at Kempton in 2011 with a 5th King George win (Photo:Steve Parsons)

JID wanted Champagne Fever over for the race, and this was before he smashed the field to pieces in the Clonmel Oil Chase the following day. He pointed out Kempton clearly suits Captain Chris, who will be aimed at this race, and 25.1 was a cracking bet at the prices. Silviniaco Conti was the one for him at the head of the market.
NW liked Dynaste for the race, he was shocked at his Aintree loss and pointed out the horses record fresh. He dismissed Al Ferof when asked of his chance by SL. However he does love Don Cossack, however DR thought the Don was a Grade 2/3 horse at best and told us to leave him to mop up at Thurles and the like. Wanted to see how Simonsig got on in the Peterborough Chase before getting involved at 5/1
DR thought Cue Card did stay and was a major fancy if the race to be run on a decent surface. He couldn't believe Silviniaco Conti didn't win last year, confirmed this was the target for Champagne Fever and also thought 25/1 on Captain Chris was a massive price. Another Irish horse Road to Riches still needs to prove his worth in the eyes of DR but was absolutely foot perfect first time out. Simonsig was exciting but maybe not at this trip.

Christmas Hurdle/Champion Hurdle

There wouldn't be a dry eye in the house if The Fly could win at Cheltenham in 2015 (Photo:Michael Steele)

JID was not a fan of The New One as he didn't think the horse likes Kempton, always loves smashing the final flight to bits!
DR thought Ireland was more healthy that England in this division but Faugheen was the wrong fav given that Jezki was the prove horse; a Champion Hurdler us against Faugheen, a 3 mile winner on soft ground-he has a lot to prove and not got the solid form, certainly has the Mullins hype though! He said Faugheen would be campaigned softly, mopping up around 2/9 price and wouldn't really be able to justifiably be shortened in the market. Jezki the value call for Declan. Put up a horse not even priced up yet in Renetti, 2nd to the Tulle Tank in the Royal Bond, niggly injuries held this one back but you could get on at huge prices and could be worth a quid.
NW was keen on TNO to reverse Cheltenham form with Jezki, however for the Christmas Hurdle didn't think TBO was in love with Kempton either. Could see a very uncompetitive event. Reveled that in the Champion Hurdle last season TNO got a kick in the belly from Our Conor when OC fatally fell, from then on STD was very cautions with TNO until he knew he had recovered from the kick, from which point he absolutely motored home (From the authors POV does this mean TNO didn't tire himself getting involved in the bursts at the front of the race, saved himself and then finished strongly?) but NW would definitely be with TNo in the Champion this season.

Champion Chase

Just how fantastic would it be to get Sprinter Sacre back to his glorious best (Photo:Getty Images)

Main theme was the doubts over the front 2 in the market
DR told the audience that not only was the old Sprinter Sacre still not showing yet but Sire De Grugy spent most of last season with lameness here and there and was hard to keep niggle free. He wouldn't be surprised to see SS retired this season! Champagne Fever at 16/1 with a firm that are Non Runner Free Bet was the advice given by DR, who put up Bright New Dawn as a dark horse for this one. Wouldn't settle over the RSA chase distance but down in trip could see him going really well if allowed to bowl on out in front.
NW wouldn't be shocked of one of the novice chasers like Vautor or Josses Hill were to pitch up in the Queen Mum given the similarities between the fierce Arkle Chase and the Championship equivalent. Put up the Henry De Bromhead trained Moscow Mannan, 2nd behind Gods Own with hot horses in behind last season and a good winner on his seasonal debut this season.
JID could also see an Arkle horse being tempted into this race, liked Hidden Cyclone who gave a stone to Johns Spirit in last seasons PP GC and ran a blinder to finish 3ed. His 2nd to Dynaste in the Ryanair is good form.

Gold Cup

The Tank; My favourite Gold Cup winner of recent times

SL introduced this as a wide open renewal, how often do you see 10/1 the field about a GC winner in November!?!?
NW thought this was a murky market and hadn't seen anything to convince him yet this season. The race was messy last season, putting up the fact Lyreen Legend was in there pitching a few out! Boston Bob was the one for him at a big price at this stage; good ground will suit and he could finally be fulfilling his jumping potential this season but admitted his Cheltenham form was a concern.
DR told us to take no notice of the Holywell's comeback, he is a spring horse and only races properly when the magic blinkers are on. Irish hope Sire Des Champs was a worry with his tendon injury, DR wouldn't touch until he was convinced of his wellbeing. Morning Assembly needs it soft but is a horse he does like as he jumps and stays well so with conditions not one to rule out. Look to the Lexus race over Christmas to see if the improvement seen in Shutthefrontdoor (breathing operation) will be enough to make him a potential winner of this one.
JID reported money for STFD, 33/1 into 20/1 in recent days, however reported a good spread of money across the market reflecting the open nature of the race this year. All horses would beat each other throughout the season and this was a very hard race to punt ante-post for Jon.

World Hurlde

The World Hurdle will forever be associated with the great 5 time winner Big Bucks (Photo:Tom Jenkins, the Guardian)

NW said that we had a very worthy winner of this race in 2014 in More of That and saw no reason why the mare Annie Power would reverse the form. Everything was right about More of That as a potential winner this season except the price. At a more attractive price Briar Hill, who beat Very Wood and Apache Jack giving them weight last season, had top form and has the pace for a top race given his Champion Bumper win. 10/1 was the value in the market.
DR was also a huge fan of Briar Hill, a lazy sort who only ever does what he needs to. Definitely does not lack pace but the Ryanair could be his perfect trip. 5/2 was a joke of a price on MoT given the dangerous Beat That in the market - DR says Geraghty is in love with this one and BT has improved physically over the summer)
JID told us MoT deserved to be fav, agreed 5/2 was too short for an ante-post bet at this stage of the season. Again another Briar Hill supporter, whom he described as an absolute machine! Perfect animal for the World Hurdle in his opinion. In a fairly weak division 10/1 was a huge price for JID.

Novice Hurdle Division

DR from an Irish POV the early signs were that (surprise surprise) Willie Mullins had a very strong hand in this division. Tell Us More (a Patrick Mullins Horse to Follow) was in the Faugheen bracket when it comes to hype. His bumper win by 24 lengths was very special and one to keep on side. Added Shanes Hill, Black Hercules, Royal Caviar and Milsean as horses from the stable to watch. Allex Colombieres was by all accounts the WM Supreme horse but already a 10/1 shot for this race, already a huge loser for Hills according to JID.
NW said Tell Us More carried a hell of a lot of confidence behind him. Don't touch Forgotten Rules he warns, he is too good to go jumping and will stick to the flat, too much value to lose. Vigil was very interesting for Dermot Weld, likes cut in the ground and will be targeted at Leopardstown around Christmas. West Wizard, whos form behind Sergeant Reckless now looks very good, was a Supreme potential but Hendo has a shocking record in the race, last won it in 1992 (NW did post the question of when Hendo last won the race to the audience but no-one got it!) DR asked did WW have the toe for the Supreme, he had stamina in his pedigree over steed for DR.

JID likes Jollyallan from the Harry Fry yard. In 3 starts last season he was 6th in a Punchestown bumper and win his Novice hurdle this season despite greenness and not looking the finished article by any stretch of the imagination. This is what made him really exciting for JID though and thinks there is loads more to come from this one.. Also put up recent Ffos Las loser Fletchers Flyer, who should really have won at the Welsh venue.

Novice Chase Division

DR had his number 1 dark horse in this division in Sizing Tennessee, the Alan Potts horse who won a maiden hurdle at Navan last season before being moved from Mullins to HDH. ST will win races and was DR horse to follow.
When the mud is flying look out for Cloudy Copper, was sick last year but had a great summer and will win races for Jonjo O'Neil, albeit around the Grade 3 level.
JID thought this was a really exciting division, Clondaw Court, an unbeaten horse, 27 length winner of a bumper, P2P winner and a winner twice already over hurdles was one for Jon. Thought Josses Hill was a potential World Class Chaser.
Channon had a couple in Knock House who jumped for fun on his debut and Paradise Valley, who we can expect a lot more from.
Nicky Richards has Eduard for older chasers and Blakemount for the staying Novice chases.
NW also loved Knock House, said Channon's link with hen Knight was helping hugely. Kock House respects his fences but enjoys them and could see him not quite being out of the top bracket but certainly a good handicapper.
Thomas Crapper also was one for good handicaps for Robin Oliver, play this one's cards right, don't over pitch him and he could well turn up off a good mark in the Martin Pipe race back at Cheltenham in March (liked his Cheltenham form already in the book)

Elsewhere

Who doesn't love a good dark horse!

DR had Free Expression as a bumper horse from the P2P field for Gordon Elliott.
The Tullow Tank will be making his mark this season
Aaron hill for Jessie Harrington was on a good mark given good ground.
Top Notch was a horse that Barry Geraghty LOVES (DR from ATR, BG blogs for the firm)
Don Poli, every inch a chaser, would be sent chasing. Look at how he dotted up in the Martin Pipe last season for this one's potential.
It was a worry for DR that Josses Hill was yet to jump a fence this season.
Also pointed out the poor strike rate of Willie Mullins over fences at Cheltenham as something to be wary of.
Horse called Different Gravy had come from the pointing scene in Ireland and was one to follow.
SL put up Le Mercury as a 4 year old, although unfortunately no longer a novice but one the yard were dead keen on.
Kalkir was a horse already smashed into in the Triumph Hurdle market
NW put up Wichwoods Brook (this was greeted by approval from one member of the audience) who has had a good summer and improved a lot for Evan Williams. The trainer was very impressed with this one and on soft ground will mark his mark.
Carols Destiny also a nice horse
For Hunter Chases he told us that Quinz had recently gone to into the care of Alan Hill and given his form over fences could be a real lively one in this division.


And breathe! That was it for the evening from the panel, my hand was in pain as I'd be busy trying to jot down all the gems of info given out but apologies to the chaps if I missed anything. Anyway there is plenty there for the horse tracker! Once again I'd just like to thank the panel of Sam Lawire, Jon Ivan-Duke, Declan Rix and Nick Watts for their time both that evening and on twitter in the aftermath of the event, and obvious thanks to the London Racing Club for putting on the even. I urge you to attend one of these events if you get the opportunity.

Cheltenham Review - a bumper 3 days of action!

Wow...What a great 3 days at Cheltenham, when does the home of jumps racing ever let us down though eh? But with so much great action to review let's not waste time and get straight into the action

Friday 14th - Hobbs Runs Riot!

Friday was some day to remember for the Hobbs and Dickie Johnson partnership as they nailed a 105/1 treble featuring a potential Grand National winner this year in Balthazar King, who took the Cross Country race for the 2nd year running. On a day where sunshine wreaked havoc, leading to fences being crossed out here there and everywhere punters managed to latch onto Balthazar King and punted him into a 4/7 poke. The experienced campaigner rewarded their faith, beating home Uncle Junior and Sire Collonges on his way to retaining his title. Hobbs immediately nominated the Grand National as the target for this one and plans to send him straight there, he can certainly jumps for fun so must have a good chance if he can stay fit and healthy in the lead up to the big one in April.

The highlight of the treble for me though was the victory of Champagne West in the Novices Chase, a horse we flagged in the preview as being potentially very smart and we were fortunately rewarded as he led home a Hobbs 1-2, beating perennial bridesmade and highest rated maiden fencer in training Colour Squadron. Quotes after the race of 20/1 for the RSA could certainly tempt some punters in as whatever this horse did over hurdles was always going to be a bonus (I know, that old clique!) and he looks a really exciting one for the season ahead. The jockey said post-race that the winner usually comes on for his run, and Hobbs said he thought there would be more improvement to come up in trip as well, so I'm definitely following Champagne West for a while yet.

Champagne West impresses in the bright sunshine (Edward Whittaker)

We had a bit of an upset in the 3.00 as Barry Geraghty rode the John Ferguson Parlour Games victory as the 10/1 shot upset the applecart, beating 13/8 fav Blaklion and the heavily punter Port Melon in impressive manner with his smart turn of foot being the deciding factor. Blaklion tried to make all but wasn't up to the task and Parlour Games romped home up the hill. I'm pretty sure the lack of pace on in this race favoured the winner and disadvantaged Blaklion and Port Melon so I definitely wouldn't give up on the beaten horses just yet. However the winner is beautifully bred, the best-bred Barry has ever ridden apparently, and could be one to look out for especially when we get back on a bit better going as being a flat-bred you would think he would appreciate a firmer surface.

Elsewhere on the Friday Kim Bailey broke a 4,382 day run since his last victory at the course as he took the honours in the opening amature riders handicap with Charingworth. That is way too long for a trainer of Bailey's calibre to go without victory at NH HQ and I certainly doubt he will be waiting that long until his next one! Bold Henry was a winner in the JP McManus silks and also rewarded Pricewise followers, with Tom Segal putting him up at 12/1 in the morning paper, actually returning at an SP of 14/1, rare for a pricewise tip AND a JP winner! And we were denied a romantic end to the card when Sam Twiston-Davis narrowly denied Tom Scudamore a winner in the race named after his grandfather as he got Morito Du Berlais home ahead of the Scudamore-ridden Knight of Noir. Nicholls revealed post-race the winner had undergone a breathing operation, information I'd rather have heard pre-race to be honest but how often do we find ourselves saying that in this game...I do rather think that these procedures should be declared in the same way as headgear, however I do understand it is a bit of a grey area as there are many different types of breathing op, some much more major than others. I guess we will just have to keep on finding out after missing another winner who has had his breathing fiddled with.

Saturday 15th - A Day of Doubles 

John Ferguson started the day in the same form he ended yesterday in...good! His Chesterfield kept on improving his trainers record at Cheltenham, which was poor before this weekend, as he scored by a length over Great Choice who recorded another 2nd place for his rider Tom Scudamore at this meeting. This was a tricky looking handicap before so well done to those who found the winner, Geraghty and Ferguson are forming a really good partnership this year. The one to take out of this race for me was 25/1 shot Song Light who, under 7lbs claimer Kevin Jones, arrived late onto the scene and couldn't get to the winner and runner up however I fancy his trainer Seamus Mullins to find a race for this one in the future. He definitely ran a lot better than his SP suggested he would.
King's Palace put in a really impressive round of jumping on his fencing debut as Tom Scu improved on his 2nd place in the opener to take a very competitive Novice Chase up at 1.15. This really was a lovely round of jumping and I fancy there is a lot more to come from King's Palace as he did appear to idle slightly when left alone out in front, before staying on again as Sausalito Sunrise came to challenge. Turns out this one was another who has had his breathing operated on over the summer and the RSA Chase was nominated as the target for Kings Palace post-race, for which he was cut into 12/1 from 20/1 by Sky Bet. Obviously he was receiving 5lbs from the field, which won't happen any longer, and one of the major contenders did fall in Creepy but that's what the fences are there to do; test a horses jumping! As a chasing debut you had to be very impressed and it will be interesting to see how he goes at Kempton on Boxing Day if he lines up in the Novice Chase at the King George meet.

King's Palace; a really impressive fencing debut (Martin Lynch)

A late Friday tweak to the blog, after Our Father emerged a non-runner for the 1:50, proved profitable as Sam TD gave Sam Winner a great ride to win the Handicap Chase off top weight, really impressive given the testing nature of the ground at Cheltenham on the Saturday. Nicholls was in absolutely no doubt after the race that Sam Winner is a National horse (25/1 for that in case you were wondering) for which SW definitely looks to have the stamina reserves to make an entry worthwhile. Old boy the Package was disappointing here given how well he goes well fresh and perhaps the zest has gone sadly at the age of 11 and it will be interesting to see if Pipe keeps him on the go; he really owes the yard nothing though and no doubt Pipe will do best for the horse.
Onwards we moved to the big race of the day; the Paddy Power Gold Cup, an ultra competitive handicap which there were so many you could make a case for. There were plenty in with a chance coming over the last and we saw an absolute cracker of a finish with Sam TD carrying on where he left off giving Caid Du Berlais an absolute power-packed ride to get this one up in the dying strides of the race to deny last years winner John's Spirit. The runner up produced a great run, really heroic given the weight he was lumbering, and Present View also jumped for fun and ran really well into 3rd on ground that may not have suited, but what a run by the Paul Nicholls inmate. The form of this one will no doubt stack up really well, with 10/1, 8/1, 5/1, 6/1 and 7/1 the prices of the first 5 home reflecting the fact that most horses appear to have given their running so worth watching this one back a few times. Even top hurdler Oscar Whiskey ran to form over the larger obstacles and could well have won the race but for his 1 bad jump close to the end, that would have been some Geraghty magic. I don't know if I'll watch it back too soon though, my heart really goes out to John's Spirit who got so, so close to a memorable double in the race and I might be close to tears if I watch it too soon! After this run you would imagine he will get another hike in the weights and a step up in class beckons; 12/1 for the Ryanair Chase if you fancy him to take that step up in his stride.

Caid Du Berlais gets up by the narrowest of margins in the big one

Before the 3.00 we saw a huge move in the market for Big Easy, 11/4 from 5/1 and probably helped by Terry Warner's pre-race quote;"This one will win barring accidents!". Big Easy had won a big, competitive 33 runner handicap on the flat so the question was could he transfer his form over to the hurdles. Well the answer was yes but he was still denied by Katkeau, the subject of a masterful training performance by David Pipe to get this one ready to win after a 630 day absence and also get the double up for the trainer/jockey duo. No doubt a few bookies will have been toasting the Pipe mastery on Saturday evening, although Katkeau was gambled before the race I don't think it was to the same extent as Big Easy.
The penultimate race on the card went to that familiar duo from Friday; Hobbs and Johnson. These trials for the Triumph and Supreme Novice hurdles run early in the season are normally trumped by something that hasn't run till after Christmas but there was no faulting the attitude of the winner Golden Doyen as he battled away gamely to see off Hargam from the Henderson yard. The winner is still only 16/1 for glory in March however and may need really testing conditions to be seen at his best; if he gets those then you would need a hardy sort to get past him.
Finally a really pleasing bumper for the blog ended the card as Bitofapuzzle from the Harry Fry yard took the spoils at 4/1. She will now head over hurdles and given soft conditions and a stamina test I would make her of interest again. Daring Carlotta disappointed in 3rd place with a few fingers pointed at her jockey on social media post race; she certainly was left with a lot to do to catch the eventual winner. However Bitofapuzzle's performance should not be underestimated, after all she was giving weight to the field, a nice prospect for Fry for the season ahead. This win made Fehily the 5th double winner of the day, following in the footsteps of Sam TD, Nicholls, Tom Scu and David Pipe. The trainers may allow themselves a double or two in the evening, sadly for the jockeys they can't with another bumper day awaiting them on Sunday!

Sunday - RIP Dessie Hughes

Sunday began with the shocking news of master trainer Dessie Hughes, completely out of the blue and awfully sad news. RIP Dessie and thoughts go out to his family.

RIP Dessie

Onto the action on the track and the day began with another Pipe winner, overcoming another massive absence from the track as Unique De Cotte defied a 640 day absence to give Pipe is first JP McManus owned winner. How appropriate it should be a heavily punted favourite! Nicely all the jockeys at Cheltenham on the Sunday wore black armbands as a sign of respect for Dessie.
The 2nd race gave Nicky Henderson his first winner of the 2014 meeting, it would have been crazy if Nicky had gone the whole weekend without scoring given his prominent position in many Champion Trainer books. Hendo must have worn a wry smile as his Vyta Du Roc defied a Paul Nicholls trained favourite in Emerging Talent, the front two pulling a way clear in this 'trial' for the Supreme Novices hurdle (25/1 for the winner) and connections of winner and runner up can be pleased with their runs.

I wasn't that fussed about the first two races on the card however the 3rd up, an Arkle trial, was really exciting with some nice novices going full pelt at the fences over 2 miles. Dunraven Storm and Little John led the field round as they queued up behind; Duke of Navan gave way first through tiredness and then actually fell at the final fence while Vibrato Valtat was on the end of a waiting ride from Sam TD. Little John bravely led over the last but could not hold off the powerful charge of Dunraven Storm; yet another success for Hobbs and Johnson, they have certainly had some meeting! Vibrato Valtat, whom I voiced concerns over his desire to get into a fight, had every chance but really looked booked for 2nd to me and I'd be wary of following him in competitive races for all he jumps well enough.

We took a break from Cheltenham briefly to let emotion overcome us as Hurricane Fly smashed his critics into the ground as he beat Jezki to take another Grade 1 success in the Morgiana Hurdle. I absolutely love the fly but actually backed against him today with the mare Little King RObin in the hope she might get too much rope out in front. However I don't know if I've ever been as happy to lose a bet! The King is dead, Long Live the King!!!!

Now back to the action this side of the Irish sea as the Sholer chase came up next, sadly lacking the two big stars that could potentially have lined up in Sprinter Sacre and Sire De Grugy. However we saw a beautiful jumping performance from the front from Uxizandre as he dropped to 2 miles to take the plaudits and jump towards the head of the Queen Mother CC market. This was a spectacular jumping performance from Alan King's charge under a top Geraghty ride, keep this one to two miles considering the doubts over SS and SDG in the Champion Chase market would be my advice! He had some good good horses in behind but just could not be caught, I'd love to see come March Uxizandre, Sprinter and Sire De Grugy go at it over the minimum trip, one of the races of the meeting that would be.

The big race of the day at Cheltenham, the Greatwood Hurdle, came up at 3.15 and yet again Hobbs and Johnson were the victors as Garde La Victoire toughed it out to see off Vaniteux and Clondaw Warrior. In beating 2 very well handicapped horses who headed the marked you cannot say this was an undeserved winner, in fact you have to be nothing but impressed by the manner of victory. No-one could have been surprised if 2nd and 3rd had been 1st and 2nd so this, like the PP the previous day, could be form to follow throughout the season. My big fancy was Goodwood Mirage, however he was withdrawn due to the ground. Definitely don't give up on him though, given a decent surface don't be surprised if his handicap mark gets made to look silly, not like Jonjo hasn't done this trick before!

We signed off a fantastic weekend with another bumper and it was highly appropriate that the winner was ridden by Richard Johnson in Definitely Red. What a 3 days it has been for Dickie and it does make you wonder even more just how many jockey titles this man would have won if it weren't for AP McCoy? Definitely Red won this in really good style, with 15/8 f Birch Hill for the Henderson stable a big disappointment back in the field and well beaten a long way from home. Definitely Red eventually won unchallenged, the margin of victory similar to Dickie's margin of victory for jockey of the meeting with a whopping 7 victories. Top, top riding Richard!

And that was it. The end to a great three days from Prestbury park and three days what wet the appetite even more for the big festival come March. Still we've plenty of action to come before then and the quality National Hunt actions is coming thick and fast at the moment. It's time to end this review, watch the action back just a few more times maybe and then onto the next one starting with the Betfair Chase next weekend at Haydock.

Thanks for reading.

AB