Weekend round up for 14 and 15 December 2007

By Graham Richards

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Cheltenham 14 December 2007

The opening race on Friday saw Which Pocket spring a surprise in a run of the mill event.

Joe Lively jumped for fun, he clearly enjoys going left-handed and the unique contours of Cheltenham, and racing close to the pace. The result was a forgone conclusion, bar a fall, a long way from home. One could suggest the form is compromised by some below par performances in behind. I feel this would be churlish, as it is highly unlikely all three ran below their best and his FSF rating is only 9lb behind the top rated novices. Imperial Commander never looked happy; he jumped poorly and was beaten before stamina became an issue. Ornais’s profile suggests he needs to go right-handed; both his wins have come on genuinely good ground. Irish Wolf appears to dislike jumping fences and it is hard to see where he goes from here.

Over The Creek made the most of a favourable handicap mark to take the valuable staying handicap chase. Kicked on by Christian Williams round the home turn he jumped right at the last two fences before winning with something in hand. I felt his rider should have made less use of the whip and concentrated on pushing the horse out with hands and heels. Over The Creek loves it at Cheltenham; he is one to remember for the staying handicaps at the Festival next March. The ones that finished in behind were all in a heap.

Simon went well for a long way before he made a mistake. Rallying he ran on well on the flat. His profile suggests he is best on flat tracks. Having run well, before falling in the Grand National, he has to go on the short list for that race. Monkerhostin also made mistakes and he rallied well to come home in third.

Principe Azzuro was ponderous at some of his jumps. Only six-years, this was a cracking run and he should learn plenty from it. Softer ground will not come amiss either. Parsons Legacy was another to make a mistake at a crucial stage and his rider did well to stay on board. He ran on well and this was an excellent start to his assault on the Grand National. Flying Enterprise should be spot on next time and look out for Model Son in soft or heavy ground. Blue Splash did not jump that well and he was caught out by the downhill fence that is three from home. He may be better on a less undulating, galloping track.

Wonderkid ran away from the gallant front running Heads On The Ground. They will be hard to keep out of the frame at the Festival, along with Ivoire De Beaulieu, who looked back to something like his best.

Jack The Giant justified market support running on strongly to fend off the consistent Roman Villa. If the pair meet at Ascot, I feel the runner-up has every chance of reversing the form. Firstly, he may be even better right-handed; secondly the two hurdles in the home straight and the relatively short run in, should suit his style of hold up running. Bremen needs further, Wheelhaveit can win again dropped in class, Ring The Boss needs a break, while Odiham is another who is better going right-handed and over further.

Leading Contender ran away with the three-mile handicap hurdle. It is hard to analyse what he achieved with so many out of the handicap. Millenium Royal ran a fair race but is clearly happier at his beloved Haydock Park. Wild Cane Ridge should be able to win over fences in the near future, Hennessy ran on well having lost his position; he does look a bit of a character!

The finale went to Calgary Bay, who came through to mug Snap Tie on the run in. This was the slowest race run over this distance on Friday and Saturday. Calgary Bay is clearly both improving and talented. Things went his way here and I reserve judgement on him until we see him in a faster run race. I fully understand connections of Snap Tie holding him up in an effort to teach him to settle in his races. However, given the pace of the race, and the fact he hurdles so well, Richard Johnson may well have been better kicking on three from home. He remains an exciting prospect, as he will continue to improve. I’msingingtheblues ran well again and he could be more than useful when upped in distance. Uncle Eli ran a blinder and looks nailed on if dropped in class. He could win a low-grade novice without harming what may well be a decent handicap mark. Platin Grounds was never put in the race and is another who would prefer a stronger run race.

Cheltenham, 15 December 2007

The opening race on Saturday saw a great finish with Harper Valley and Franchoek fighting out a titanic finish. As Alan King has suggested in the past, Franchoek is always likely to be susceptible to a horse with a turn of foot. Conceding 7lb, he comes out the moral winner; he will be hard to beat when connections (now owned by J P McManus) up him in distance. Franchoek’s FSF rating is now 131, which is only a couple of pounds below Katchit’s rating going into Cheltenham last March. Harper valley improved for the blinkers and he gives a good collateral guide to the Irish juvenile form. He gave weight away to the useful Maca Rince when third to that filly in a Grade Three and she is due to be upped to Grade One company in the near future. The remainder were well beaten including the disappointing Indian Blood.

O’Toole got up in the closing stages to pip the valiant Saintsaire with Kalca Mome and Maljimar closing down the pair on the run in. Saintsaire was going so well he kicked on three from home and even approaching the last looked likely to hold on. However, he jumped left at the last and that let in O’Toole who jumped ahead and held on with little to spare.

The winner will have a rest now while Saintsaire may return to Newbury after Christmas. Kalca Mome ran on well without being given a hard race (better on soft ground), while Maljimar may need further. Bambi De L’Orme was not discredited; as noted previously the spring is his time of the year. All Star ran a fair race and is one to look out for on a flat track. He likes Huntingdon and may go there over Christmas. Crozan and Hasty Prince ran like drains.
The Relkeel Hurdle produced a runaway winner in the shape of Pouvoir. He has been knocking on the door this season and the step up in distance clearly suited him. Liberate raced close to the pace; at the top of the hill he kicked on, with Gwanako in his slipstream. Charging down to the second last, Liberate came under pressure and made a mistake at the flight. Gwanako took over and was immediately kicked for home. However, approaching the last flight the petrol emptied out and Pouvoir jumped into the lead and quickened away up the hill from the running on Goodbye Simon and Pigeon Island.

The winner is improving all the time and will be interesting in decent races over this distance. His dam won over this distance though his sire would not be a further influence for stamina. Goodbye Simon ran on well and he may improve for a step up in trip and softer ground. Pigeon Island is consistent; his best form has come in faster run races and he may enjoy a slight drop in trip. I am at a loss to explain Gwanako’s performance. This is the second time in a row he has weakened approaching the last. Given the other effort came over two-miles the distance may not be the only problem. He was off for a long time prior to his win at Chepstow and may just be feeling something when push comes to shove. A winner over fences it may be the time to try the bigger obstacles again. Liberate ran a lot better than he has done recently and he too can hopefully build on this. Grand Bleu needs softer ground; however, he showed enough to suggest he will pop up when he has his conditions.

The two mile five furlong chase was won well by Tidal Bay. He is still a bit novicey at some of his fences but never looks like falling. His trainer is not afraid to drop him back to two-miles and his Festival target is up in the air at present. The turn of foot he displayed to catch the game front running Gold Medallist suggests to me the Arkle would be the best option. He is now joint top rated novice with Hobbs Hill on FSF ratings. The pair of them are only 8lb behind Taranis who won the RyanAir Chase in March. Further improvement would open up that option.

Gold Medallist returned from a twenty month enforced absence to run a blinder. He jumped well throughout the race and it was probably lack of full fitness that cost him his chance. All the races he has won on the flat and over hurdles have been on straight or right-handed track. I hope he is given a break to avoid the dreaded bounce; when he does return, a step up to three-miles will not inconvenience him.

Mick Fitzgerald gave Duc Du Regniere an excellent introduction to fencing. His jumping was the usual novice mix of indifferent, novicey and good. Fitzy gave him every chance to recover from any mistakes he made and coming down the hill you would not have thought he would finish where he did. He is very highly rated and will come on in leaps and bounds for this effort. The SunAlliance Chase has been mooted as a target. However, his breeding suggests to me he may struggle to get three miles. The majority of his sire’s siblings have run over two and a half miles or thereabouts and stamina will need to come from his dam. There is some hope there, as her sire is the sire of King George winner Algan, amongst others. He reminds me of the stable's Trabolgan. I will be interested to see if he turns up at Kempton Park for the Feltham Chase, a race in which Trabolgan went down by the narrowest of margins. Predateur did extremely well to finish where he did, given the howler he made four from home, while Nudge And Nurdle was not knocked about when beaten; he can go well again when returned to softer ground.

The Boylesports Gold Cup was something of an anti-climax. Abragante, New Little Bric, Il Duce and Copsale Lad all ran like drains; Knowhere finally found his hard season taking its toll, New Alco seems to have lost his form at present. This left the talented Tamarinbleu to defy 11-8, putting himself in the picture for the RyanAir Chase. He goes well fresh and the performance puts him within 2lb of Taranis. Le Volfoni ran a blinder in second; the handicapper has put him up 4lb, which will hardly make life easy for him. He finished fifth at the Festival this March, while the third horse Patman Du Charmil, finished fifth to L’Antartique in the Paddy Power Gold Cup. This suggests to me the form should hold up.

Faasel recovered from an early blunder to run on well into fourth. He is worth a chance over three-miles. Palarshan was never seen with a realistic chance; he will do better in due course. Magic Sky continues to run well; soft ground and a slight drop in distance should see him winning again. Idole First and Yes Sir showed more than on their respective last runs.
Osana won the International Hurdle in scintillating style. Let us deal with the beaten horses first. Straw Bear ran well until weakening on the run to the last. As far as I am aware, no reports of a burst blood vessel have been logged, and he may have needed the race badly. However, he will have to be watched now until he shows a reversal in form. Desert Quest ran appallingly, having arrived on a high. On this evidence, it would appear his hurdling days at this level are behind him.

Afsoun was a disappointment. The trainer and jockeys’ thoughts that he had retained enough speed to be competitive over this distance, was blown out of the water with this display. He jumped well until losing his place between the third and second last. Despite keeping on well in the closing stages he was never near enough to land a blow. My FSF ratings suggest he ran about 9lb below his recent Ascot form, that considered he would still not have finished anywhere near the winner. Nicky has always felt he is a horse who goes best fresh, and that may have been a contributory factor. He did not show enough to suggest staying will be a viable alternative and connections may now switch to a chasing campaign.

Sublimity was reported in need of the race. A colleague who saw him in the paddock thought he was big and would improve for the race. That said he is a horse that has gone well when fresh throughout his career. As always, he travelled like a dream for much of the race. Looking as though he would get involved jumping the second last, he steadily weakened on the run to the last; eventually, he was unable to hold off Penzance for third place. He is a horse that has never been easy to keep right and though this race will bring him on, it reinforces the fact that his Champion Hurdle win was a below par renewal.

When one considers the collateral form with Hardy Eustace and Afsoun, it confirms to me the race was below that associated with a Champion Hurdle winner. This is confirmed by my FSF ratings; these display Brave Inca running a stone below his 2006 Champion Hurdle win. Penzance did well to run on and finish third. It was his best run for sometime, though once again he was never near the runner-up or winner. Katchit returned to his beloved Cheltenham and once again put his heart and soul into the race. On the run to the last, it looked for a moment as though he would collar Osana; however, he could find no extra on the run in and came home a gallant second. He will continue to develop, as he matures and strengthens, though, as I have noted before, he does not possess the scope of some of his rivals.

We now come to Osana. Some pundits have suggested he was given a soft lead. Whilst this is true, he still managed to pass the post eight lengths in front of a horse who has improved his form each time he has run this season. Osana jumps accurately and is very fast through the air. He came to the last with his ears pricked and flew the obstacle. He then surged away up the hill in impressive style. To achieve that at the end of a Grade One race is a considerable feat; he should in no way be considered lucky. He is improving, at the right age, and I believe we saw a high quality performance run in an excellent time.

The trainer clearly had him spot on for the race today; despite his trainers comments “this was his Champion Hurdle”, the performance may well have taken him by surprise. “Team Pipe” are nobody’s fools; now they know how good he is, they will train him accordingly. Where does Sizing Europe fit into the equation? The facts are this; he received 6lb from Osana in the Greatwood and beat him four lengths. He went into the race having had a run, while Osana was on his seasonal reappearance. FSF ratings show Osana has upped his performance considerably since that race; while there is no reason that Sizing Europe will not repeat the same feat, he still has to do it on the track. Current FSF ratings can be found below; they have been updated to reflect the form shown in 2007.

In the finale, Razor Royale threw away a winning chance when he landed in a heap over the last. Prior to that, he had travelled supremely well and looked all over the winner. Generally, I do not like to criticise jockeys; however, one thing that does annoy me, is seeing a horse going easily as the race approaches the business end, with the man on top sitting motionless rather than pushing the horse on. If he had opened up a decent gap on the remainder of the field, there is always a chance he would have held on despite making a mistake. Razor Royale was beaten just over two lengths; given the ease with which he travelled throughout the race, I feel it is justifiable to raise this point. I can understand the thinking behind it in a flat race; in a three mile hurdle, on ground that had taken two days racing, is simply ridiculous. A fine big animal, he clearly needs time to organise himself when racing at speed. In fact, he had jumped the second last awkwardly; this should have served as a wake up call to his rider. "RR" looks sure to make a decent chaser; if continuing his improvement, he may even develop into a leading candidate for what was the Brit Hurdle. The time of the race was slow, possibly raising questions marks over the form. However, this was a field of above average performers and I feel it will hold up. Nenuphar Collonges battled on well and he looks an improved performer. Given his chase mark will remain unchanged, he is one to note if switching disciplines. Both Gone To Lunch and Souffleur were unsuited by the way the race developed. They look sure to be seen in a better light in a truly run race.

Other performances of note

Let us have a look at some of the other races run in the past few days. I felt Sharajan put up an excellent performance at Lingfield Park on Saturday. Always travelling and jumping well, he made minor mistakes at the last two hurdles as he tired; despite that, he ran away from Quarrymount on the run-in. He looks the type who can win a decent handicap hurdle this season, and a step up in trip will suit him. In behind Debauchery ruined his chances by some poor jumping; he should do better when he rectifies the situation. I was impressed with Shipmaster’s debut run. He travelled well just off the pace and his rider never really asked him a serious question. He will come on a bundle for this effort and should be more effective on less testing ground. Lemon Silk ran away with the Summit Hurdle. Improving all the time he is sill around 10lb behind Franchoek on FSF ratings.

Kruguyrova put up an impressive display of jumping when successful at Plumpton. She has recorded some excellent times in her career and looks like making up into a top class performer. Her FSF rating is 8lb behind Hobbs Hill and Tidal Bay and as she is still only four-years-old, she looks certain to improve again. I think I am right in saying, the last mare to win the Arkle Chase was Anaglogs Daughter in 1980. This young lady, a Grade Three winner in France, should not be underestimated in her pursuit of the same race. Runner-up, Its A Dream ran a blinder after a long lay-off, he looks certain to win soon. Paulliac could never go the pace and will do better when he is raised in trip.

Finally, in Ireland we saw some decent performances over the weekend. Our Ben won a Grade Two race at Cork in good style. He appears to be delivering what he has promised for a long time, though he is still a stone below the top Grade One performers at present. Glencove Marina was left to come home at his leisure, after two horses fell independently at the second last. He had some work to do but I felt, knowing the stiff uphill finish at Navan, he would probably have got there. He was given the perfect introduction by his jockey; jumping well throughout the race, having spent most of the time on the outside of the field. Clearly, he will need to improve to become a serious Festival candidate, but this was a good start.

Jazz Messenger and Sweet Kiln fought out a tight finish and both are wonderfully consistent in Ireland. I understand he will leave the stage clear, for Harchibald to contest the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park. In the same race, the Nicky Henderson trained Punjabi is being readied for his seasonal return and he is reported to be burning up the gallops.

Trafford Lad retained his unbeaten record with a narrow win over Gem Daly. Both have the look of chasers, and are not at this time, in my estimation, Grade One hurdlers. Majestic Concorde continues to impress and he will now be raised in class. Snowy Morning showed enough on his return to hurdles, to suggest he will be a force to be reckoned with when he goes back over fences. Looking at his action, he will always be best with plenty of cut underfoot.

Champion Hurdle ratings