In a week where Adam Wedge apologised in the Racing Post for calling racing a "mans game" and then spent the rest of the week recovering from the injury he had prior to riding the winner of the Welsh National, we saw the Bryony Frost story grow even more. Now we know that it started at Southwell of all places when Robbie Dunne rode a faller who was unfortunately killed. He seemingly blamed Bryony for cutting him up, and that is about all we know! Some folk joined the two stories together, citing racing wasn't being inclusive and that the words of Wedge were a show of this. Now I don't think the sport is as open as it likes to suggest, but the quote from Wedge was about riding after having two falls on the card and wasn't likely to be about gender but rather "manly-ness". Either way, ill conceived words and people shouldn't be surprised that they have been picked up upon. It does beg the question about whether Wedge should have taken up his Welsh National ride, given he hasn't been seen on course since. Review Right, onto the racing itself, a week of mediocrity followed by a weekend with some interest. The top story was Envoi Allen taking on Asterion Forlonge, but that turned into a non story when the grey fell at the first and left Envoi Allen the simple task of hacking around with much inferior opposition. He jumped superbly again and does look superb. In the UK we had a three runner graded chase which was won by Paul Nicholls (surprise!) and Next Destination, who probably has booked himself a visit to the all important Cheltenham Festival. It would seem that a step up in distance is what might bring more improvement and the NH Chase might be the route they go. It was a poor turn out, but we saw a decent race with Fiddlerontheroof looking dangerous at the last fence before not wanting to go past the winner. He was reported to have bled post race, which is interesting given how well he ran. Tizzard has had an awful year, and it looks like carrying on that way for a while yet. We saw Adrimel win the graded hurdle in a game manner, staying on well after making the running. He is a talented individual who is very solid, the ideal horse for the best handicaps moving forward. It was a solid race but it didn't show anything of interest for me moving forward for top graded novice races. Notachance held off the challenge of Venetia Williams' Achille in the Classic Chase, showing himself as a progressive young handicapper in these staying races. He jumped well, travelled nicely and saw out the trip very well. He looks a national horse for the future and the Welsh National would look ideal long term target for him if things continue to go well for him. Imperial Alcazar won the Pertemps qualifier in fine style, a big win for the yard and it gives them a leading chance for the festival, albeit the handicapper will have had his say for this win. However the race was soured with two fatalities at the last hurdle, and that was unfortunately a scene we also saw at Market Rasen. We saw the demise of County Hurdle winning Mohaayed in the hurdle race at Rasen, breaking down after falling at a hurdle. He was a grand horse for connections and it was a horrible end to his life. We saw On The Blind Side outbattle the battler that is Lil Rockerfeller in the finish and it showed that Henderson can run horses regularly and for them to run well. Who knew? We saw Pam Sly win the listed bumper with Eileendover, I will leave others to comment on this as it wasn't something I was bothered about. Eyecatcher I've struggled with this, I haven't been impressed by anything in the racing I have watched but Le Breuil did run on very strongly at the finish of the Classic Chase. This was interesting because he has had a wind op, and I think this showed that he was breathing better and it could be that they have prepped him perfectly for the Grand National. Interesting to see if he runs at the festival before aiming to win the big race. And Finally Benoit has been winning - Benoit De La Sayette that is, who has ridden two winners from three rides this week, making it 3 wins from 8 rides under rules. He is apprentice to John Gosden and has had a productive career in pony racing before taking this step up, now as an 18 year old he looks set to be one of the most popular apprentices riding in the UK.
Something just doesn't sit right with me with eileendover winning these bumpers and having no intentions of going hurdling. Surely there should be some sort of rule that you can't run on the flat for a period of time if you run in a bumper?
I think we've been incredibly lucky that the best bumper horses have stayed in the sport, rather than switching to the flat, however I agree that I don't like horses running in bumpers and then switching to the flat. You probably can count on one hand the number of horses who do this very successfully, and hopefully that remains the case!!
With the success of Eileendover I look forward to her ‘relatives’ Robinorchards and Majorbumsore hitting the track.
To be fair to Pam Sly I do not believe this is some sort of nefarious plot to diminish the value of NH flat races. They obviously decided to start her in bumpers and have been pleasantly surprised - they now have a wider range of possibilities with her. The question I do have though is: You breed a filly by Canford Cliffs out of Speciality, the daughter of a 1000 Guineas winner by Oasis Dream, and yet pitch her straight into bumpers. Why? Surely the pedigree screams a mile or 10F maximum? I'll leave that to the forum's breeding experts to dissect. I'm a bit disappointed with all the talk of the NH Chase for Next Destination as he is currently 3rd fav for the RSA - do connections think Monkfish is unbeatable? I thought Next Destination did it perfectly well - he just went to sleep a little down the back straight and had to be woken up by Cobden but when he did the response was good I thought. The Leamington probably won't have much effect on the Ballymore but could potentially be interesting for Coral Cup entries. Duly noted. I put up a Triumph Hurdle thread and I thought Youmdor looked like winning very cosily at Fairyhouse on Saturday before not getting high enough at the last obstacle and tipping up - a fall which looks like giving Paul Townend a week off. I think he remains a player for the Triumph but that is looking a really hot heat this year and perhaps some of the 4YOs might even be looking at the Supreme, given the strength in depth at the moment, particularly in Ireland. That might all change if most of the top players go to Leopardstown but I get the feeling Youmdor will go straight to Cheltenham (by way of the schooling hurdles at Closutton). The Moscow Flyer was a funny old race with Echoes In Rain shooting so far clear and I think many of the jockeys completely misjudged the pace of the race. Clearly Dreal Deal has been a revelation this season and has been very well placed but I think the race just fell apart and he picked up the pieces. I can't have him improving 35 pounds since November. I thought Bryony gave old boy Lil Rockerfeller an absolute peach of a ride at Market Rasen and they were unlucky to be touched off by On The Blind Side for in-form Nicky Henderson. Great to see him still putting in such performances and a reminder of why NH is so endearing with horses coming back year after year. That point also underlines the sadness felt at the loss of Mohaayed - a great servent for the Skeltons and he kept on giving right to the end. RIP
