Weekend round up for 23 to 25 November 2007

By Graham Richards

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Ascot 23 November

Acambo made an excellent start to his chasing career. Jumping well he had the race won when he was left clear at the second last. Inevitably thoughts turn to the Arkle; two observations are worthy of comment. He appears at his best when fresh and his best form has come on right-handed tracks. Although he has won at Haydock, that is a wide galloping course with long sweeping bends. He bombed on his only visit to Cheltenham.

The first three home in the novice hurdle should all go on from this. County Zen showed great determination to hold off Blue Bajan on the run-in. He gave the form of I’msingingtheblues a further boost in the process. Third place Song of The Sea looked to be in need of the run. He got a second wind late on and finished well. He has now run well in two decent races since going over hurdles. Further back Phar Again, Polyfast and Edgeover all showed promise for the future.

Lord Jay Jay bolted up in the two-mile three-furlong chase. On ground conditions from good to firm through to good to soft, he has run ten times, in fields of nine or less runners. He has won two of those races and been second five times.

Exeter

Seven Is Lucky made his handicap debut in the two and three-quarter miles hurdle. He was never really travelling well despite the cheekpieces being fitted for the first time. However, he stayed on dourly in the home straight; his breeding suggests, three-miles will bring out the best in him.

Ascot 24 November

Rebel Melody ran a blinder against multiple winner Gone For Lunch; he looks sure to make his mark over fences in the near future.

Yes Sir set a tremendous gallop in the early stages. Both the winner Howle Hill and runner-up Fier Normand, were at the back of the field a mile and a quarter from home. Howle Hill goes well fresh and will need a good break following this effort. The runner-up is improving and will do even better over three-miles. Mister Quasimodo ran well on ground not soft enough for him. His stable is steadily finding their form and he should win soon, as long as his jumping does not let him down. New Little Bric will also improve over three-miles; finishing well from the second last, he may do better on a track with a longer straight.
Hardy Eustace and Afsoun had a titanic struggle. My personal feeling is that had Fitzgerald kicked Afsoun on as they approached the second last, when he was going easily, he would have stolen enough of a lead to hold on. As it was, he was just out battled by the old warrior on the run in. In Afsoun’s defence, he pulled hard in the early stages, which would not have helped him at the business end.

Having reviewed the race and heard the comments from connections, it would appear both horses are going to struggle to make an impact at three-miles. The Champion Hurdle is looking an open event at present and it may be best to reserve judgement until after the Fighting Fifth this Saturday. Wichita Lineman ran well enough over an inadequate distance, he looks as though he will improve markedly over three-miles.

I believe the bumper at the end of the day may prove to be a decent contest. The winner won last here season and the third home won her first two races. In addition, the fourth home had run well in a decent bumper at Cheltenham, while the fifth has run with credit against decent opposition in Ireland. Seven Is My Number reminds me of the stables previous championship bumper winner Liberman. He is a highly-strung horse that does not take a lot of getting fit. He won comfortably and was always holding the attentions of highly promising debutant Supreme Duke.

Haydock

Lightning Strike and Tazbar fought out a tight finish in the opener. Time may show both will be even better performers over further. The runner-up deserves much credit, as this was his first race over hurdles. Both horses jumped well and left a dual winner in their vapour trail. FSF ratings suggest, with normal improvement, they will be amongst the top clutch of novices.

The Timeform Hurdle was run at a slow pace, some 5.4 seconds slower than the opener. Gwanako looked the winner turning for home. He had jumped and travelled well throughout. Jumping the third last well he quickened to take the advantage. As they came over the second last he found himself unable to quicken any further and a “paddling leap” at the final flight ended his chance. I am more than prepared to give this fine young horse another chance. Pouvoir took over at last; once again, he found himself done for speed on the run-in. Pigeon Island quickened through to win a shade cosily. Having finished fifth to Sizing Europe in the Greatwood, the form of this race looks solid; it is also an indication of the strength of the Cheltenham race.

To fall at the last in a 38K handicap hurdle at Aintree must have been hard to bear for connections of Special Envoy. To repeat the trick again in the 62K Betfair "Fixed Brush" Handicap Hurdle, would try the patience of a saint. The horse had the race won when he dived at the obstacle, giving his pilot no chance.

Special Envoy was raised 12lb for the Aintree disaster; the handicapper has shown no mercy by raising him a further 14lb. The lucky recipient was Millenium Royal. His performance here puts him within 1lb of champion stayer Inglis Drever. However, whereas he has shown good form at Haydock, he has bombed twice at Cheltenham. Sonnyanjoe ran a fine race in defeat, as did Halcon Genelardais. He looks sure to give a good account if he attempts a second Welsh National win. Taranis ran a fair race but is clearly better over fences and is perhaps better when fresh. Ungaro looks ready to win when he goes back to a right-handed track.

The Betfair Chase was run in a 5.8 seconds slower time than last season. However, the time was 7.90 seconds faster then the three-mile handicap that followed. The time confirmed the official going as soft, compared to good to soft in 2006. There can be no doubting both these horses were at the top of their game. There is under five-weeks to the King George and it remains to see how much the race will have taken out of them.

Kauto Star answered his critics with a gallant success, digging deep into his resources on the run in to hold off an equally game runner-up. His jumping improved throughout the race, the last mile and a half he jumped as well as one could hope for. His customary flirtation with the last fence was less heart stopping than usual. His FSF rating of 159 is his highest ever, as is the runner-ups at 158. We can see from the table below just how highly rated these two chasers are. Arkle and Mill House, Déjà vu?

Kauto Star 159
Exotic Dancer 158
Best Mate 155
Kicking King 154
War Of Attrition 152

Excluding his seasonal reappearance, Exotic Dancer has improved each time he has crossed swords with Kauto Star. Beaten eight lengths in the 2006 King George, he closed the gap to two and a half lengths in the Gold Cup, getting it down to half a length here. Like Kauto Star, he has won at Aintree and Cheltenham and has now impressed in defeat at Haydock and Kempton Park. Despite hitting the second last at Kempton Park last December, he never looked like passing Kauto Star; I feel he may always be short of speed round that track.

Beef And Salmon was beaten eighteen and half-lengths, compared to seventeen last season. His FSF rating is slightly higher for this season’s race, further enhancing the form of the race. He should win again, on home soil.
Turpin Green came on and off the bit throughout the race. There seems to be no pattern to when he is going to run well, though this is the first time he has failed to win on his seasonal debut.

I am at a loss to understand Alan King’s comments following the race concerning My Way De Solzen. Whilst accepting he comes on considerably for his first run of the season, his previous seasonal debuts have yielded a half-length win, a quarter of a length second, and a seven length second. To have a horse in your care for three years, one would imagine you knew him inside out; to solely blame a lack of fitness for the disappointing effort is, I feel, harsh. Comprehensively outjumped by Kauto Star five from home, My Way De Solzen quickly rejoined the Gold Cup winner rounding the home turn. However, as soon they raced into the straight and approached the fourth last, approximately half a mile from home, he was beaten.

I have compiled an analysis of his form in this country. I believe it pinpoints some interesting facts. The first is, he loves an undulating track; His record on tracks described as undulating is a follows. Eight wins and one loss, this came when he was too inexperienced for the race contested. Secondly, despite excellent form in three-mile hurdle races, his best chase form (in bold) has come at two miles and two miles five furlongs. This suggests he may struggle at Kempton Park. As far as Cheltenham is concerned, the RyanAir or Champion Chase appear the two most obvious targets.

Undulating tracks - eight wins from nine runs

Flat tracks - two wins from nine runs

Opera Mundi and Heez A Dreamer fought out another thrilling finish in the three-mile handicap chase. Both look improved performers and act well on soft and heavy ground. When ground conditions are in their favour, they will be hard to keep out of the frame in top handicap chases. The other horse to take from the race is Cloudy Lane. The McCain stable are steadily running into top form, and he looks sure to improve considerably for this run.
Roman Ark is another horse to be feared when soft or heavy conditions prevail. Runner-up Some Touch kept on gamely, but was unable to pass the winner in the closing stages. Both stay two and a half miles. Third place Stan is steadily finding his form and appears fairly treated at present.

There was no fluke about Queen Poline’s win in the bumper. Having travelled well she put the race to bed when she quickened clear a furlong from home. The unraced horses that were expected to go well, hardly covered themselves with glory. The Vicar did the best of the quartet and should come on for the run. Major Malarkey kept to the wide outside on what appeared the worst ground. He travelled easily for a long way and clearly has ability. Jorveybrook also went round the outside. He looked very green throughout the race and may need another run to wake up. Call the Shots was never involved; however, he hinted at some ability.

Huntingdon

Swordsman chased the pace before going on at the sixth flight. Gauvain closed him down, rounding the home turn; however, Swordsman went on again, coming right away for an impressive win. He looks likely to stay further and has the scope to make a chaser. His FSF rating puts him in the top five novices at present and he should not be under estimated wherever he turns up. Gauvain ran well on seasonal debut and he should be winning soon.

Art Professor’s experience told in the closing stages as he held off Metaphoric. The latter jumped satisfactorily and should come on a bundle this this effort. The winner is about 8lb behind Franchoek on FSF ratings.

Aintree 25 November 2007

In the opener, Bremen ran on late off a slow pace. He should go into handicaps now and is one to note when upped to two and a half miles, a distance he is bred for. Stablechum Cooldine Boy ran well after a long lay off; he is another to monitor. The other to make a note of is Laborec. The pace of the race meant he was unable to quicken when the leader put speed to the race in the home straight. He was not knocked about and can make amends over two and a half miles.

Cedrus Libani kept his unbeaten record over fences with a comfortable win from Tramanto. He looks a useful addition to the chasing division and has now clocked decent times over fences and hurdles. His FSF is up there with the leading novices at present, and he should stay two and a half miles if asked too.

The remarkable Souffleur came from going like a drain at the back of the field, to cantering at the head of affairs, winning in facile fashion. His rider knows him well and leaves him alone until he feels the horse is picking up his bit. What he will find when he is challenged is open for debate. It should be noted he is yet to run a decent time; when there is a fast pace on, I wonder what may happen. Haggle Twins was not disgraced; he is better handicapped over fences, where his best trip is around the two and a half mile mark. Of the remainder Bleak House ran well on his return; if he is able to build on this, he should pick up a similar event. I understand he may go over fences later in the season.

Mr Pointment jumped for fun in the Becher Chase. Challenged strongly on the run in, he just managed to hold off Bewley’s Berry in a rousing finish. Whilst he stayed this distance, I wonder with his exuberant style of jumping if he will see the Grand National distance out. The runner-up is clearly as good as ever and will command plenty of respect if turning up for the fun next April. These two were miles clear of Pak Jak and Le Duc who both appeared to run out of petrol. Irish Raptor ran well for a long way, he is perhaps the one to note for the Topham Trophy next year.