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Mr.Wilson
I’ve seen most of these trundling/bumbling/ambling/stumbling(deleate as applicable) round in races in Scotland and the North and could have done a hatchet job on all of them!
The five that ran against each other over C+D a couple of weeks back could have finished in any order. That being said Royal Glen and Bog Oak ran more or less to their relative form from that meeting …… for what that’s worth.
There was just a teensy-weensy bit of form in Lerida’s record, not that I paid any attention pre-race!
I do enjoy watching these chases, graysonscolumn would understand if nobody else does, but you won’t often find me putting money down at this level.
I’ve promised to try and cover all chases in Scotland and the North this season, so there will be an account of this particular donkey derby on North’s Notes later!
Rob
Jeremy’s not the only one Rob. As you have gathered by now Kelso and Carlisle are my racing spiritual homes. Give me a good three mile chase round one of the country tracks to the Breeders Cup any day. Come to thnk ofit give me a good days point to pointing as well. Jeremy will understand that one too.
G. Moore runs The Shy Man tomorrow at Carlisle over 2m in anovice chase.
From its form it would appear to need a bare minimum of 2 1/2m ond more than likely 3m plus.
Its 2 wins being over 2 1/2 and 2m 6 1/2.
On its reappearance it ran over 2m at Hexham and only because it was so superior to every other runner in the field it came second.
Whilst appreciating the trainer and owner can run their horse wherever and whenever they want, is this not close to schooling in public, as I will eat my hat if it wins barring accidents to virtually every other runner in the field.
they were contesting on the day. Trust me, in bottomless ground there you need a 20f plus horse to win over 2 miles – they are the stiffest tracks in the country (well, maybe with the exception of Towcester).
As someone who had his first ever days racing under rules at the Carlisle October (a Saturday then) of 1965 (I was seven), I am very familiar with the stiffness of the track. Drive along side it on the main road if you are not the fittest of people, it will show the climb.
In think the whole point is that 2 mile at Carlisle requires a horse that gets considerably further especially on the kind of heavy ground the course can get. The same applies to Towcester and that should be taken into account. Nothing dishonest in it just the trainer doing his job of trying to win a race with this particular horse for these particular owners.
If I read phrases like "Crisp winters day at Towcester" in the same context as a holistic spiritual epiphany one more time I’m going to skewer my eyeballs with a kebab stick.
The Breeders Cup is one of the world’s great racing festivals and some of my favourite memories come from there. There ought to be a thread for those memories instead of this rather dismal effort.
I actually said Towcester in the rain, but never mind eh? I do have one great memory of the Breeder’s Cup that of Lester winning the Mile (note a race on turf) on Royal Academy, but nothing else of any consequence.
Of more interest to all of us should be the Racing Post Trophy or the Old Roan Chase, or come to think of it, the Haldon Cup at Exeter on Tuesday. Let’s celebrate our own a bit more. The money might be better at the BC, but a crisp Tuesday at Huntingdon after a good lunch at the Grange in Brampton (walking distance from the track and a cracking pub) now that’s proper sport.
It sickens me that every year, European horses have to trek across the Atlantic to compete primarily on dirt for what the Americans consider the Olympics of Horse-racing.
It’s a mickey-mouse meeting serving only to pander to the American idea that dirt racing is superior to turf racing.
Then we hear the usual American bullshit about Horse XYZ being the greatest miler etc etc etc.
Let the yanks come over to Britain or Ireland or even Arc weekend every second year and lets see how they compete on turf without drugs.
Yep the Americans always seem to have "the best horse in the world". Yeah right, in the US on their favoured surfaces. Bring them to Ascot / Newmarket / Longchamp to take on our best then we’ll see how incredible they are.
With you one hundred per cent. Bring Curlin to Europe on our surface on our terms with no dope (for that is what it is) and a hill to climb. If he then wins, then and only then can he be called a great horse. In the meantime call him a Great North American Horse but nothing else.
I cannot get excited about the Melbourne Cup either despite all the news from Down Under I have to put up with in the Telegraph (I wonder why?)
Give me Towcester in the rain any day or a crisp day at Huntingdon, proper racing with proper people.
Neither do i, so unfortunately we have a boring winter of 2000G speculation with no potential star to look forward to a-la George W, Teofilo, New Approach.
Nothing boring about the winter. Let’s all go jumping or point to pointing ( season starts 30th November) and forget about the flat.
Tremendous perfomance in record time. Not his fault that the opposition is not strong with all this obsessesion with the Breeders Cup.
dfinitely a good quality Derby Winner and a tremendous job by Jim Bolger. A singular man who believes there are two ways to do things. His way and the wrong way. Good Trainer of men too, Aiden O’Brien and Tony McCoy haven’t done too badly working with him have they.
I was re-reading my copy of "Tom Dreaper & His Horses" by Bryony Fuller last night and thought it appropriate to add the name of Fortria to this thread.
Two Queen Mothers; an Arkle; two Mackesons off 12 stone (split by a runners up berth for good measure in 1961); an Irish Grand National also off 12 stone; and runner up twice in the Gold Cup to such equine luminaries as Mandarin and the mighty Mill House.
Like most of Fortina’s (ironically the only entire ever to win the Blue Riband) progeny he probably didn’t stay a truly run Gold Cup (especially against Fulke Walwyn’s massive relentless galloper in 1963) but he heroically gave his all trying.
Like several Greenougue inmates of that era, his achievements have been overlooked due to the complete dominance of Arkle. Fortria was in his own right a seriously top class steeplechaser.
I bought a copy of that at Detling Point to Point for a tenner Firefox and they mentioned Royal Approach who won the Irish National in 1954, got injured during the summer and never got right again. It was said he was brilliant. No one ever seems to mention Arkle’s contemporary Flyingbolt who ended up with Ken Oliver at Hawick. He won the 1965 Queen Mother Chase on the Tuesday and the following day almost won the Champion Hurdle, finish a close third to Salmon Spray.
I see your windy Eyton-on-Severn, and raise you a storm-lashed Ystradowen (or more or less any other South Wales pointing venue, come to that)!
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)I think you have me trumped there Jeremy – and like my namesake, I may just have to graciously accept defeat.
And I’ll slam both of you with Mosshouses in the rain. Larkhill takes a bit of beating for freezing, though and I went at the end of May!!.
Mention of cross Country races. Not all of them are over jumps. Go on the Market Weighton website for news of The Kiplingcotes Derby a flat race over four and a halfmiles in the Yorkshire Wolds. Reckoned to go back to 16th Century.
No mention of Towcester in any of this given it’s long uphill drag. Okay Iknow it is downhill to the back straight but that side is not as steep or as long and what about Kelso with it’s long run in and uphill finish both hurdles and fences.
Excellent – am really glad you enjoy them too Graysonscolumn. :D
I love the cross country races too. I would also love to go to Flagg Moor for the High Peak Harriers members over stone walls. Jumping for fun and the Big Green Annual (john Beasley’s publication) have great photos. Looks great fun.
The Ledbury Hunt ran a race called the Golden Button ride a couple of years ago and that was a proper cross country race as well. Don’t know if it is still being run but there were some photo’s and a film around on the net but I’ve lost the link.
JA McGrath, in today’s Telegraph, calls the news ‘welcome’.
While most of us can understand the reasons why she’s been retired, for those racing fans who have no vested interest in her stud career there is no logical reason why one would ‘welcome’ the news that a horse whose continued participation would hve been a huge point of interest in 2009 has been retired.
Yes Cormack, I entirely agree with you. I could not believe that he welcomed the decision and thought it was entirely the correct one. For the Aga Khan’s breeding interest fair enough, but for the promotion of racing as a great sport and a spectacle a complete non-starter.
I would have liked some explanation as to why he thought it was welcome news. Frankly a pretty poor bit of journalism what with it’s heavy emphasis on the Melbourne Cup which is a trait of the Telegraph at this time of year. I have to say it is a race that does nothing for me at all. Can you see the Australians getting that excited about the Ascot Gold Cup or even the Northumberland Plate?
A stack of retrained horses are making their name in the show ring, eventing and even dressage.
They make paticularly good eventers and Tina Cook has quite a few either ex track horses or bred for the track horses. Underatandably really since she is the sister of Nick Gifford and daughter of Josh. Many top eventers take more than a passing interest in racing and Mark Todd even trained a classic winner in New Zealand.
The Retraining of Racehorses website has a lote of good information.
Frankie in place of Fortune is a big plus.
Quite how you can say that is beyond me. Jimmy Fortune is a fine rider and Frankie, good though he is does not seem as hungry these days. However it is all academic as she is finished for the season.
It’s like the "dilemma" on the 18th October – Champions Day at Newmarket or The Showcase at Cheltenham.
I should really be at Newmarket for the last big weekend of the flat season but the allure, the siren call, of Prestbury Park is far, far greater.
I think of the Chepstow meeting as being the hors d’oeuvres to the main course of Cheltenham’s Showcase meeting which I still think of as the real start to the jumping season.
Bring it on!!!
Paul, surely it is no contest – Cheltenham. Another way to do it is to do what I am doing and staying at home to watch it on the telly.
I’ll add my best wishes to you as well Gareth. Looks like good land which they will enjoy and I am sure you and they will have a lot of fun. Well done.
I go back to the sixties when as a boy, the son of a jumping and point to point mad father, I became hooked on the winter game. There is one horse who will always stand above them all for me, already mentioned several times. The one and only:
ARKLE
My other great favourites over the years have been
Freddie, second in that 1965 National Phebu ran in and from the same Scottish Border country as me.
Red Rum saw him in the flesh twice, beat both times
Golden Gygnet, was at Ayr when he was took the fall that led to hid tragic early death – ah what might have been
Persian War, the greatest hurdler of all time? Discuss.
Edredon Bleu, saw him win his third Peterborough Chase and had a tear in my eye when the little battler won the King George
Sea Pigeon
Night Nurse
Viking Flagship
Moscow Flyer
and last but not least, the great Scottish Hunter Chaser/Pointer, Flying Ace whom I saw many times especially in his early races including the only time that Doreen Calder did not win on him (I think this was the case) at Lockerbie when the late great Charlie McMillan rode him.Obviously you are a lover of great horses and like you I was a huge fan of Persian War who I idolised. I was so taken by the horse I stupidly had my wages on him when he won a handicap hurdle with top weight at 10/1. I say stupidly as he was apparantly only 85% fit and his trainer said he had no chance…..so pure luck on my part.
As far as I was concerned there is no way on earth he could lose when going for his 4th Champion Hurdle win but lose he did. Looking back I hve no doubt in my mind he was beaten by a better horse and for me the greatest Champion Hurdle winner I ever saw.
Bula for me was the perfect hurdler, not only was he a great jumper of hurdles he had the best turn of foot I ever saw. I will never forget him jumping the last at least 10 lengths behind the front 2 in a group one hurdle and Paul Kelleway taking him from 6th place to first like he had sprouted wings.
Persian War was brilliant and as much as I loved the horse I am convinced had Bula, winner of 21 from 26, been around earlier he would have beaten him at any stage of his career.
I too thought he could not be beaten that day but the horse changed trainers more often than I change me socks as his owner was a business man who new nowt about racing and the horse had some serious mouth and sinus trouble. I can see your point about Bula, but the Persian War that beat Drumikill would have beaten Bula that day, he just was not the same horse. Try and get a copy of The Persian War Story, long out of print but a good second hand dealer will know how to get one. Mine is neither for loan nor sale.
I go back to the sixties when as a boy, the son of a jumping and point to point mad father, I became hooked on the winter game. There is one horse who will always stand above them all for me, already mentioned several times. The one and only:
ARKLE
My other great favourites over the years have been
Freddie, second in that 1965 National Phebu ran in and from the same Scottish Border country as me.
Red Rum saw him in the flesh twice, beat both times
Golden Gygnet, was at Ayr when he was took the fall that led to hid tragic early death – ah what might have been
Persian War, the greatest hurdler of all time? Discuss.
Edredon Bleu, saw him win his third Peterborough Chase and had a tear in my eye when the little battler won the King George
Sea Pigeon
Night Nurse
Viking Flagship
Moscow Flyer
and last but not least, the great Scottish Hunter Chaser/Pointer, Flying Ace whom I saw many times especially in his early races including the only time that Doreen Calder did not win on him (I think this was the case) at Lockerbie when the late great Charlie McMillan rode him.
