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Martin, you may have to find yourself a new hero as I believe Arctic Times has been retired.
Martin, you may have to find yourself a new hero as I believe Arctic Times has been retired.
There’s only one Arctic Times. I’ll take Juveigneur, same colours, trainer etc. then
(no i’m not in denial).Thanks for letting me know about AT HJ
. Will get to a point-to-point one time and find a new hero Wasn’t Earthmovers jumping always a bit iffy?..only a general impression I got at the time.
Wasn’t Earthmovers jumping always a bit iffy?..only a general impression I got at the time.
He could get very low, but actually jumped Cheltenham’s stiff fences well as a rule, winning five times there. He was totally unsuited by Aintree, however.
For the record, the most potentially interesting and / or well-known horses engaged to run in Opens across the country this weekend include;
ALNWICK
========
Amicelli
Beauchamp Oracle
Charming Knight
Heritage
Le Passing
Lou Du Moulin Mas
Rayshan
Robbers Glen
Sleeping Night
Sonevafushi
Torche
Unjust LawBANGOR-ON-DEE PTP
==================
Amicelli
Another Joker
Enitsag
Heritage
King Killone
Le Passing
Little Big Horse
Lou Du Moulin Mas
Mad Victor
Maurice
Pirate Flagship
Shady Anne
Silver Jack
Sonevafushi
Steppes of Gold
Stoway
Unjust LawCHIPLEY PARK
============
All in the Stars
Ask Again
Fool on the Hill
Garryvoe
Kingscliff
Little Ed
Magico
Saint Romble
ZabenzDUNTHROP
=========
Blue Business
Bowdens Lane
Mister Bertolli
Moscow Court
Sharp Jack
Spiers Peace
Step and Run
Swifts HillHIGHAM
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Chilling Place
Coat of Honour
He’s The Biz
Quid Pro Quo
Silver JackLARKHILL
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Distant Thunder
Gaelsbob
Golden Jack
Jimmy Tennis
Kingscliff
Petit Lord
Swifts Hill
Turthen
Who Else Knew
ZabenzTHORPE LODGE
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Ask Bobby
Ballylusky
Montreal
Pass It On
Silver Jack
Yann’sSo, lots of old favourites for you to catch up with wherever you go. And as I said, these are just some of the ones entered in Open races – plenty more besides!
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
As I recall he made a right howler in Kingscliff’s Foxhunters and jumping let him down the final time he ran there too.
I do have an abiding memory of him being more than capable of putting in some sloppy ones, and I think that rather than him being not suited to Aintree he simply was caught out by the big fences with some of his characteristic jumping. As I recall he blundered at the first in Papillons race, and fell at the 4th. He unseated at the same fence the following year – I think a total of 8 out of 60 potential obstacles is a rather small sample to be concluding he was unsuited by the place. He was a big horse so maybe he simply got away with it on most courses but Aintree was his undoing.
Don’t get me wrong, Earthmover had a sketchy jumping record, but my point is that he never fell or unseated in fifteen runs at Cheltenham, which is remarkable enough for a horse with jumping frailties. He could put in a great round though as when zipping over the fences to win his first Foxhunters. His style of jumping was very low and with no margin for error which was great to watch when he was on song but was clearly not a style suited to the National fences. He wasn’t sampling the fences at Aintree btw, he was falling at them ~ two catastrophic non completions should be enough to draw a conclusion that returning was a poor idea.
I can’t wait to see All In The Stars. He’s reported to be in fine shape. Wasn’t he fav for the Scottish National at one time?
ALNWICK
========
Amicelli
Beauchamp Oracle
Charming Knight
Heritage
Le Passing
Lou Du Moulin Mas
Rayshan
Robbers Glen
Sleeping Night
Sonevafushi
Torche
Unjust Lawgc
Robbers Glen and Sleeping Night figured on my radar in Scottish Hunter Chases last season.
I was impressed with Robbers Glen’s effort against Natiain at Kelso in March and he could challenge that one again up here this season.
Sleeping Night saw off Cornish Rebel in a battle of the elderly at Kelso last season and retains his enthusiasm.
The mare Anshan Spirit is one to look for later on in the season. She’s picked up a hunter chase in May for the last three seasons and always gives it a good go.
Natiain has been all conquering in Scotland in recent times. However he was found out in top company at Cheltenham and Stratford. His connections have a tendency to jettison decent riders, and I have to call into qustion their decision to ditch Mark Ellwood after Natiain’s Cheltenham failure.
When Natiain won at Perth connections were scoffing at the fact that the second placed Harlov looked as if he’d blow a house down whereas their own horse was hardly blowing. I had a wry smile when I saw Harlov had beaten Natiain in the ‘big one’ at Stratford.
Rob
Natiain has been all conquering in Scotland in recent times. However he was found out in top company at Cheltenham and Stratford. His connections have a tendency to jettison decent riders, and I have to call into qustion their decision to ditch Mark Ellwood after Natiain’s Cheltenham failure.
Agreed on all counts. If I have one criticism of Natiain as a racehorse, it’s that his running style is a bit too profligate for him to be wholly effective at the highest level in hunters’ chases. The ground was borderline fast enough for him in the Horse & Hound, but for me it was him running too freely early on (for all that he wasn’t actually a long way clear as he sometimes can be) that sealed his fate more than the prevailing surface.
If I have one criticism of the Brown family as trainers, it’s precisely the one you’ve mentioned!
When Natiain won at Perth connections were scoffing at the fact that the second placed Harlov looked as if he’d blow a house down whereas their own horse was hardly blowing. I had a wry smile when I saw Harlov had beaten Natiain in the ‘big one’ at Stratford.
Oops! What’s that old adage – "May the words I speak be sweet, lest I have to eat them another day"? In mitigation Harlov’s triumph in that race (and the handicap hunters’ chase at Aintree just before it) owed a hell of a lot to Rhys Flint’s masterful ride on the evening, but even so, that Perth gloating was just asking for trouble!
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Hello,
I am a big fan of KING KILLONE and love to see this horse line up in March.
At Cheltenham I used to (and still do to a lesser extent) target Barber related horses and Polly Gundry..probably rides under married name now…
regards,
doyley
Polly rides and trains now, and still under the Gundry name at that. In actual fact last weekend was another landmark one for her. Per http://www.pointtopoint.co.uk;
[i:25vv92r6]”Polly Gundry became just the second lady rider to notch up 250 Point-to-Point wins when Labarynth [whom she also trains] was successful in the first division of the Mares’ Maiden on the second day of the PPORC meeting at Barbury Racecourse.
Almost seventeen years on from her first winner, Polly is now just 37 wins behind Alison Dare’s all-time record of 287, and if she enjoys the same level success that she did in 2008, that record will be broken at the end of the current season”.[/i:25vv92r6]
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Hello,
Well Done Polly,
Let’s hope she is associated somehow with a runner this year at Cheltenham..
regards,
doyley
Thisthatntother i believe had a win in a Point last weekend and he could be a possible for the Aintree as he was pretty good in the 2m4f chase divison.
Thisthatandtother couldn’t win the Aintree Foxhunters last season, so surely he’d just giving someone a nice hack round this time?
Call me a softy, but I would rather see him mopping up a load of points and smaller hunter chases than emptying out at Ainree again.
First impressions would suggest that’s more or less what they’re going to do with Thisthatandtother in the immediate term at least – his win at Barbury last weekend was in a big-field novice riders’ race, and gave Jack Barber, grandson of Paul, a win with his first pointing ride.
The gelding should still be good enough to farm these races in 2009, and the rider, if not quite as prolific a winner in pony races as the likes of Rhys Flint, enjoyed a degree of success in that sphere nonetheless.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Understand from the jumping For Fun site that Kingsclif was third in the Men’s Open at Larkhill at odds on. Not much more than that but that does not strike me or the corespondent on the JFF site as Foxhunter winning form – don’t actually think he is qualified yet.
Correct on all counts, Bob. And nope, he isn’t qualified until he wins another Open. The clock’s ticking…
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
(no i’m not in denial).
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