Boxing Day...St Stephens Day...What a day!!!

Woof. What a great day's racing! Boxing Day or St Stephen's Day, either way we saw some great racing with huge implications when it comes to think about targets for the 2nd half of the season. Some horses enhanced their reputations - see Faugheen, Sinviniaco Conti, Coneygree, Jollyallan, Clarcam etc etc, while some certainly blotted their copybooks - I'm looking at you Kalkir, and you Vautour! There was a feast of racing to keep tabs on and well done if you even managed to stay on top of half of it. In this blog we will review some of the main highlights of the day, feel free to comment if you think there are any glaring omissions!



Kempton



Let's start with the main meeting in England on Boxing Day, the King George meeting at Kempton Park. With an attendance up on last year the viewing public came expecting entertainment and did not leave disappointed. Jollyallan got the ball rolling in the opening hurdle race, oozing class as he romped to a 4 1/2 length victory over the Willie Mullins trained Sempre Medici (the runner up made a right hash of the last and may have put up more of a challenge otherwise), the pair 5 lengths clear of 3rd.

No doubt connections were expecting something good as the winner was a well backed 5/4 shot, and with improvement definitely still to come according to his trainer there will be a few tempted by the 16/1 floated about for the Supreme Novice Hurdle. This was a race run at a good gallop, with the first two no doubt very decent horses, although just where Sempre Medici comes in the Mullins pecking order who knows! I think the form will work out well and definitely like the winner going forward. He has progressed nicely this season, winning bumpers previously and progressing through the classes over hurdles. Fry is bringing him along well and I will be interested to see where he turns up next as I am sure the trainer will have at least 1 more run before deciding if the Supreme is the correct place to send Jollyallan.

Stellar Notion jumped beautifully from the from to take the Novices Handicap Chase on the card, impressing me as he really took his fences well. Cheltenham is the plan according to Tom George who trains this one, although he can go over 2 miles or the 2 1/2 of today's race so targets are slightly up in the air.

Another winner who jumped beautifully was Coneygree, who maintained his composure while virtually all of his rivals lost their places in the race at those tricky things they call fences in the Kauto Star Novices Chase (the Feltham to the rest of us!). One thing is for sure, Kauto Star didn't jump like the majority of this field, although the great horse would have been impressed by the winner who won by half the track in the end. Saphir Du Rheu was the first to go, taking with him the hopes of any favorite backers out there and also bringing yet more abuse for poor Sam Twiston Davis on social media. For my money STD didn't really do anything wrong on this occasion but I hate kicking a man while he is down (literally in this case) so perhaps this is playing on my mind. Carraig Mor, Salsalito Sunrise and Creepy all made mistakes and fell or were pulled up leaving just the three finishers but this race was all about Mark Bradstock's hugely game and impressive winner.

Having jumped his rivals into submission Coneygree was trimmed into 14/1 for the RSA. This horse is certainly making up for lost time in his career and will be sent to the festival now where he will certainly have his backers. He jumps, he stays and he is a half brother to the wonderful Caruthers; what isn't to like! He is overpriced in the RSA market for my money and certainly a possible ante-post bet for me.

The wonderfully game and beautiful jumper of a fence Coneygree takes the Feltham

Not long after the finish of the Feltham we had the funny sight of the track being filled with airport staff, waving their funny paddles as if signalling something was ready to take off. Then I realised what it was...the mighty Faugheen was getting ready for take off!

I was hugely excited to see what Faugheen the Machine would do over the 2 mile trip in the Christmas Hurdle as I thought there were some useful sorts in opposition who the track would suit more, meaning that we actually might get a race where Faugheen would have to come out of first gear. However once we were underway in the race Willie Mullin's charge showed just why he heads the Champion Hurdle market as he delivered an absolutely imperious performance, one that screamed class and screamed Champion to be honest. He dispatched Irving, Purple Bay and Sign of a Victory with consummate ease on a speed track that wasn't meant to suit his style, if he could do this at Kempton just what would we see come March??

Now as short as even money,and as big as 7/4, for the Champion Hurdle in March it would take an extremely brave man to bet against Faugheen taking glory in the big one. The market revolves around Faugheen, Jezki and The New One yet I just think the Mullins inmate has the class, speed and stamina to win the race whatever scenario unfolds come the Tuesday of the festival. I wouldn't bother getting involved ante-post now, the price won't be shorter unless something bad happens to either of his main rivals, but I also wouldn't bother backing anything else against him. Quite simply this horse is a complete and utter machine of a racehorse; I was seriously impressed!

Ruby needed a pair of binoculars to see any of the rivals he had left trailing in his wake

Right, after that it was King George time - the feature event of the 2 day meeting; in the preceding three races on the Kempton card we had seen 3 similar winning performances - horses jumping beautifully from the front and impressing viewers with the manner of their wins. Would we see another here?

Well it appears the answer was an emphatic yes as last year's victor Silviniaco Conti made light of ground fears to gallop his rivals into the ground, jumping beautifully and producing for me a career best performance on his way to a 2nd title, and a 9th for the Master trainer Paul Nicholls. This was the most impressed and taken I have ever been by a Conti performance, I've backed him before when he has won and didn't back him today so this isn't pocket talk either, this was just the best I've seen him jumps, strongest I've seen him gallop and best I've seen him ridden. A complete staying chaser performance delivered when it mattered and if Nicholls can get Conti to the Fez in this kind of form it will take some horse to beat him. The bookies agree and 4/1 fav is his general position in the market; this could well change if we see something special in the Lexus Chase but thus far this season this is comfortably the best 3 mile chasing performance seen.

Noel Fehily victorious aboard Silviniaco Conti (Photo Mark Cranham, Racing Post)

Dynaste ran well into 2nd place, putting to bed any doubts over the trip, but interestingly David Pipe said he'd rather win the Ryanair (5/1 Fav) than finish 3rd in the Gold Cup and with no reason for the form with Conti to be reversed it could be that a drop down in trip come March is in order.

Al Ferof  looked like he could do with a step back down despite finishing a good 3rd; Nicholls said post-race the Champion Chase was his idea of Al Ferof's race, he just needed to convince the owner! I think Champagne Fever should also have the 2 mile Championship race as his target as despite showing up near the front for the majority of the race he just didn't get the trip in the end and with that division looking potentially wide open I hope Mullins gives him a chance to be let loose from the front over 2 miles (you can back Al Ferof at 8/1 and CF at 14/1 for the Queen Ma).

Cue Card  is a Ryanair horse no doubt, although he would also be very interesting bowling out from the front over 2 miles, and the Ryanair is also the target for John's Spirit, who ran with credit in his first foray into the highest company.

Let's just sum this all up by saying this was a great race that did not disappoint the viewing public and we were treated to a wonderfully talented winner in Silviniaco Conti. Well done to all connected with horses that ran in the King George and helped produce such a spectacle!



Leopardstown and Limerick



Onto the action over the Irish Sea where to be honest it was more about horses that disappointing than those that wowed us as both Kalkir and Vautour - previously market leaders for the Triumph and Arkle respectively - were beaten at long odds on upsetting multiple bets nationwide (including my own!) While Vautour made a shuddering mistake at one of his fences that Bryan Cooper onboard Clarcam took full advantage of (although he may well have won anyway) there was no obvious reason for the defeat of Kalkir by 33/1 shot Fiscal Focus.

Indeed Fiscal Focus had so much in hand he was eased down to win and generate quotes around the 16/1 mark for the Triumph Hurdle, with Kalkir pushed out to around 10/1. The main winner in the Triumph Hurdle market was Peace and Co, who is now 3/1 favorite however if this race has taught us anything it is that betting in the juvenile hurdle races at the festival so far in advance is a bold tactic! Kalkir was so impressive last time out, was he such a let down this time or is the winner just a very smart horse? Only time will tell but there are 3 months till the festival. Kalkir could easily come out and blow us away again next time, or the winner could come out and win again, who knows? Just heed the lesson served up here - do not punt in the Triumph Hurdle market so early on unless you have some information others are not so fortunate to have!

Back to Vautour, destroyed by a horse he beat so easily last time out in Clarcam. We must allow for the shuddering error he made 5 out, indeed Townend had a job keeping him on all fours, but Clarcam has laughed at him under a top ride by young Bryan Cooper and would appear to have come on a bundle for his win last time out. He was sent off an 8/1 chance here, mainly because as I previously said Vautour had him in his pocket on all known form, but is now as short as 8/1 for the Arkle at the festival (Vautour pused out slightly to 6/1). It may be that Vautour is better on better ground, or that he really appreciates a certain Mr Walsh on board, who knows. However I previously thought Vautour was buying money to win at the festival, after today I'm not so sure.

Clarcal, previously slammed by Vautour, gained his revenge on St Stephen's Day

Lets not focus totally on the horses that performed below expectation though, and instead end our Irish review with a top chasing performance; that delivered by Gilgamboa over at Limerick. Trained by Cross-Country specialist Enda Bolger this is certainly a horse who does not lack for toe as he beat a quality field including Wounded Warrior, Adriana Des Mottes and Perfect Gentleman to win eased down. The performance of the day over in Ireland and Gilgamboa is a horse to follow no doubt. He ran well in the supreme novices hurdle at the Fez last year, and now sent over fences has been seen to even better effect in my opinion. He jumps really well, has speed and stamina, and is still as big as 14/1 for the Arkle in March. Excitingly we would see him clash with Clarcam at the Irish Arkle before Cheltenham, which would give us a really good idea of the pecking order of these Irish 2 mile chasers, but I would not be put off a nibble at 14/1 now for Cheltenham glory after today!

The famous Green and Gold carried to victory by Gilgamboa at Limerick

There were numerous other great performances around the country on the 26th December, after all we did have some 12 meetings to concentrate on, but I've tried to capture the main ones in this review. Time restricts me from going into every meeting in depth but lets just list a few nice ones now and you can check them out if you have the time or inclination!

O O Seven  - Impressive Bumper winner at Huntingdon, could be smart for Nicky Henderson.
Alternatif - Won the closing handicap hurdle for Pipe at Kempton and could be on a good mark.
Space Cadet  - Won a hot bumper over at Leopardstown for Gordon Elliott.
Close Touch - Henderson inmate who beat a good field in a Novice Chase at Wincanton.
Dolatulo - Could be on his way to the Grand National after winning the Rowland Merrick at Wetherby.

This was a great day for all racing fans, a real festive feast after a few days without any racing! The action doesn't stop there though, we've got plenty of top quality action coming up over the rest of the festive period so I'll definitely be blogging sooner rather than later

Thanks for reading!

Alex