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I’m sure Barry Dennis was overjoyed
He also cracks a smile whenever a favourite recieves a reminder or two after a furlong 
I am pleased for you Darren,I hope the hangover is bearable.
If you go to back a certainty always buy a return ticket.
Darren,
Your long post provides as much pleasure as watching the race did yesterday – it identifies beautifully with the dream that is at the heart of racing.
You now have a fascinating problem in finding suitable races for Flipper, as his handicap mark is going to be revised to a level that eliminates most such races, and 2M conditions chases are a rarity.
The Game Spirit at Newbury is the ‘obvious’ race, but that’s almost certain to attract Master Minded. One alternative for you to consider (I hope you don’t mind being offered advice) would be the Kingwell Hurdle on Feb 14th. That’s a sharp 2M on a r-h track and you’d have no penalty to carry for the chase win – and it’s worth £80,000, so even if Henderson sent one of his contenders (they’d have an 8lb penalty), there’s still good money available.
Congratulations to the whole team and an extra word of praise for “Stall Jenny“ (Owners) , without them i don`t think their would be a jumping scene in Germany.
I`ve always considered the trainer the Martin Pipe of German racing, his horses always seem to be a tick fitter and he`s very talented in scouring the racing book for the right type of opportunities!
With regards to the horse, its an amazing success story, from sprinter to chaser,from scraping home in a moderate race in Baden Baden to landing one of the majors yesterday,full congratulations to the jockey, ive never seen FIEPPES fight back once headed and that was as good a round of jumping as ive seen from him.
How refreshing it is to see the likes of Darren opening his heart up to the racing forum , obviously an emotional person who enjoys life, good-on-yer!
First of all, I just want to say that I’m REALLY overwhelmed at all the lovely congratulatory messages and postings on this and the other thread, and a huge thank you to you all. Yes, that was me, sweating away in my dark blue suit complete with man-bag (it goes to all the courses with me)!!
You could say that Flipper has ‘outgrown’ his racing back home. We’ve always thought the world of him, but he’s always been ridden in an eyeballs out style. This time however, Jamie thought it would be an idea to restrain him a bit. I disagreed – we’ve always been of the opinion that if Flipper isn’t left to have his own way, then he loses interest. However, perversely, I think the fall in the Tingle Creek may have done him some good. He’s a lot more careful at his fences, but Jamie said he did get close to a couple today. Somehow, he settled when Jamie tried to pull him back a bit. In Germany, he’s always been flat out from the word go, but although I was ready to give the usual command in the parade ring, we decided to try something different.
What evolved was a Flipper that none of us had even seen before. Somehow, and I don’t know how he’s done it, but Jamie kept Flipper restrained, something his German jockeys have never done. This meant that Flipper had some reserves in the home straight. In the past, when Flipper had been challenged for the lead, he’d just given way quite tamely. This was different. Very cleverly, Jamie made sure he was at least level throughout most if not all of the race. I mentioned this to a journalist after the race, to which he replied with a puzzled look on his face ‘What? You’ve had him four years, and you’ve only just found out how to ride him?’. I think that’s a bit harsh, as eyeballs out has been successful in Germany.
Since I joined this forum, I’ve been waffling on regularly about Flipper, and I apologize if anyone thought ‘Why doesn’t he just shut up about this Flipper?’. But deep down, I knew he was special. Very special. I did. Christian did. We all did. What it just needed was possibly the best tactical ride seen on a racecourse in years by one of the best young jump jockeys Britain has to offer.
When Flipper passed the post in front, I took off like I was on fire, and ran across the concourse in front of the main grandstand. Apologies to any people, children or animals whom I may have accidentally belted in my frenzied sprint to get Flipper!
So what next for Flipper? Well, I mentioned to Christian about the Victor Chandler and Game Spirit, however, as we were celebrating Flippers victory, someone from Kempton Park told us that they have a graduation chase there over 2 miles on February 8th, so we’ll have to consider that.
Just to explain exactly who I am – I’m not the owner of Flipper. Basically, I work as the owners representative for those owners of Christians who cannot make it to the UK when their horses run. I should have picked up the trophy today, but I was shaking so much that Christians wife, Claudia, went up to collect the trophy. Afterwards, it was off to a champagne reception, where, regrettably, I hade a few glasses too many. After posting on the forum earlier, I decided that I needed a lie down – half a bottle of champagne coupled with 8 rum and cokes on an empty stomach isn’t a good idea at the best of times!
I got congratulations from some really great people today. Nicky Henderson was really gracious in defeat, and although you could tell he was disappointed that Petit Robin hadn’t won, he joined us for a drink in the bar with the delightful Henry Ponsonby, owner of Fleet Street. Several other well known racing personalities offered their congratulations, most notably Barry Dennis – a great character and a great guy.
It’s actually taken me hours to post this. Why? Simple. My PC is so old and shot that it keeps rebooting itself and crashing. Not any more. Tomorrow, thanks to the winnings, I’m off to the sales to get a brand new laptop, so I can finally post things on the same day that I started!!
So, to sum it all up, it really has been the most astonishing day. I mentioned to Christian before racing that, if any of our horses were to finish in the first 3, it would be a good result. What happened really was beyond our wildest dreams. Saturday 27th December was the day that German steeplechasing changed for good, thanks to Flipper – and one of the best rides from a jockey you’ll ever see on a racecourse! Thank you Flipper – and thank you Jamie!!
PS: I only had the Channel 4 coverage taped (I don’t have satellite), so if there’s anyone from Racing UK reading this, I’d love to get a tape of me leading Flipper in – I did see a camera on us all the way to the winners enclosure, and it would be great to see the footage if possible.
Darren – AngloGerman hi darren and the whole team! first of all, big congrats to your achievement. in a way, i am a compatriot of you and especially christians, because i live in germany. but in all honesty, since i specialized on british racing years ago, i dont care a lot about german racing, only for the live experience, when i am able to get to a course. but maybe, that might change a bit now, as i saw, what good horses we have in germany! once again, i wish you all a good "jump" into 2009, most important health to you all and the horses, and who knows, we might meet somewhere next year. see you soon,
stefan
________________________________________
Well done Darren
Lets hope you get Flipper to Cheltenham come March and he runs as well as yesterday because if he does he must have every chance of winning the Queen Mother.
Never be scared of just one horse, Master Minded, as anything can happen and on yesterdays performance he must have a great chance.
Good luck.
I am pleased for you Darren,I hope the hangover is bearable.
I feel like I’ve been kicked in the head by Twist Magic!!!!
Darren – AngloGerman
________________________________________‘The Hungarian’s going hell for leather’ – Jim McGrath
Looking further ahead Darren; the Celebration Chase in which Flipper was 3rd last year (25th April at Sandown on "Whitbread" B365 day), 2m on usually good or firmer looks taylor made for Flipper.
Mark
Value Is Everythingsomeone from Kempton Park told us that they have a graduation chase there over 2 miles on February 8th, so we’ll have to consider that.
Darren,
You’ve been misinformed by this ‘someone from Kempton’. The meeting on Feb 8th is a flat one – there is a graduation chase on Friday Feb 6th, but it’s over 2M 4F and in any case, Flipper wouldn’t be qualified, as it’s limited to horses that haven’t won more than two chases.
Apart from that, it’s ideal!
You’ve been misinformed by this ‘someone from Kempton’. The meeting on Feb 8th is a flat one – there is a graduation chase on Friday Feb 6th, but it’s over 2M 4F and in any case, Flipper wouldn’t be qualified, as it’s limited to horses that haven’t won more than two chases.
Apart from that, it’s ideal!
It would appear that through all the excitement, we misheard what was being said to us. It transpires that the race is on the 28th February, not the 8th. Sorry, I only heard ‘8th February’!!
However, maybe he IS eligible for graduation chases!! Quote from Andrew Scutts in todays Racing Post:
‘Bookmakers, however, took the opportunity to introduce him into the Irish Independent Arkle Chase Betting at around the 20-1 mark’.
Arkle Chase?? Ok, then, our seasoned campaigner will take on the novices at Cheltenham!! And while we’re about it, can he be given 10 stone 5 lbs please? Ta!
Darren – AngloGerman
________________________________________‘The Hungarian’s going hell for leather’ – Jim McGrath
The Game Spirit at Newbury is the ‘obvious’ race, but that’s almost certain to attract Master Minded. One alternative for you to consider (I hope you don’t mind being offered advice) would be the Kingwell Hurdle on Feb 14th. That’s a sharp 2M on a r-h track and you’d have no penalty to carry for the chase win – and it’s worth £80,000, so even if Henderson sent one of his contenders (they’d have an 8lb penalty), there’s still good money available.
Thanks for that. I’ve passed this on to Christian. However, we feel that with hurdles, Flipper would adopt his ‘bull at a gate’ mentality. He doesn’t respect hurdles – anyone who saw him literally tear down the back straight at Baden-Baden in October will know what I mean. Flat right handed courses are the way though, although he’s won left handed enough times. As for the Kingwell, Nicky Henderson mentioned that Punjabi will probably go for that. Hopefully, Wincanton will have a 2 miles graded chase in the near future!
Darren – AngloGerman
________________________________________‘The Hungarian’s going hell for leather’ – Jim McGrath
Nice one Daren. Finally got round to adding my congrats. A fine performance by horse and jockey and of course the trainer who has a good reptutation in this country already. Can’t be many who has run in a lake race and then won a big race over here. Maybe we should build a lake at one of the tracks. Come to think of it, how deep is that pond at Sandown?
Well done alround.
Congratulations to the whole team and an extra word of praise for “Stall Jenny“ (Owners) , without them i don`t think their would be a jumping scene in Germany.
Very good point Tony, and I really should have mentioned them earlier. Stall Jenny is actually just one person, Mr. Gerd Zimmermann, who, like several German owners, adopted a psuedonym, in this case taking the name of his daughter to form Stall Jenny (Stall means stable in German).
Mr. Zimmermann, along with Bernd Raber, are probably the top two national hunt owners in Germany. One horse people may remember of his was Siberion, who won a novice chase at Plumpton in December 2006 before moving to Tony Martins yard in Ireland. Mr. Zimmermann tends to share his horses between Christian and Mario Hofer, and one of Mr. Zimmermanns horses trained by Mario Hofer is a decent hurdler caller Viper, who rattled up a hat trick of hurdle wins earlier this year. He has since run in France without much success, but he is only a 3 year old, and may be one to watch out for in the future. Apart from Flipper, Mr. Zimmermann has a nice yearling in training with Christian, by Night Shift out of a Kris mare.
Although a fan of jump racing, probably Mr. Zimmermanns biggest success was on the flat with Omikron, trained by Mario Hofer. Third to Shirocco in the 2004 German Derby, Omikron won the Group 3 Preis des Deutsches Einheit in Hoppegarten before he was sold to run in Dubai, where he contested the Group 1 Sheema Classic in 2005.
A staunch supporter of racing in Germany, Mr. Zimmermann, who is based near Cologne, is the kind of loyal owner who deserves success, and yesterday, we were only too happy to oblige!!
Darren – AngloGerman
________________________________________‘The Hungarian’s going hell for leather’ – Jim McGrath
hi darren and the whole team! first of all, big congrats to your achievement. in a way, i am a compatriot of you and especially christians, because i live in germany. but in all honesty, since i specialized on british racing years ago, i dont care a lot about german racing, only for the live experience, when i am able to get to a course. but maybe, that might change a bit now, as i saw, what good horses we have in germany! once again, i wish you all a good "jump" into 2009, most important health to you all and the horses, and who knows, we might meet somewhere next year. see you soon,
Thanks for that Stefan. To be honest, with your fluent English and the fact that you’ve chosen an English jockeys name, I thought that maybe you were a Brit that had moved over to Germany!
Yes, German racing can sometimes lack quality, but yesterday we proved that the superstars are there – it’s just finding them!
I’m not sure if you live anywhere in the Dortmund area, but I’m hoping to visit Dortmund for an all weather meeting next month as a horse I have a share in is running. I think it’s the 19th January, but I’ll get the dates confirmed later.
Darren – AngloGerman
________________________________________‘The Hungarian’s going hell for leather’ – Jim McGrath
Great stuff Darren, that was a great read and congratulations. Fair play to you for sticking with the massively underrated Jamie Moore.
Great stuff Darren, that was a great read and congratulations. Fair play to you for sticking with the massively underrated Jamie Moore.
Thanks for that Cav. To be honest, I don’t think Jamie was too chuffed with me, because I got him the ride on Peredur, and I told him ‘Don’t worry Jamie, he’s only 4, but jumps great’. When he walked past me after the race, he had a face like thunder – and I thought he had every right to land a right hook on me.
Going into Flippers race, Jamies day read 2 pulled ups and 1 unseated, and he didn’t look too happy in the parade ring before the race. That doesn’t matter though, because the ride he gave Flipper was the stuff of legends.
After racing, Christian asked me to get Jamie to join us all for a drink in the Owners and Trainers bar, so I popped into the weighing room to get him. Unfortunately, he had to dash off, but he seemed a darn sight more cheerful than he was earlier in the day!!
I’ve worked with Jamie for the last 12 months when we’ve had runners. I nearly killed him at Fakenham in May, and almost repeated this with Peredur on Saturday. Despite this, he’s a really nice guy who just doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, and hopefully, after the fantastic ride he gave Flipper, I’m hoping that the racing world will finally take notice of this brilliant young jockey.
Darren – AngloGerman
________________________________________‘The Hungarian’s going hell for leather’ – Jim McGrath
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