AUGUST 2011 HORSES

7 year old black gelding     (Tragic Role – Florencebray)     666

Most people are going to look at his form figures and flee in terror from Comrade Bob, but they are overlooking two things. Firstly, he ran in eleven points as well, winning three times, and thus invalidating the doominess of the numbers. The other is that the earliest documented number of the beast was 616. What also requires to be borne in mind is that none of these rules runs are especially good. The initial hunter chase was the usual mixed bag of craziness. His first hurdle saw him well beaten by a bunch of horses rated around 115. That was two miles, and he looked definitely a bit more at home last time over half a mile further. And let us never be cynical enough to think that the search for a helpful rating would result in him contesting races that are designed not to play to his strengths. Handicaps at three miles or more are on the cards.

Handicap chases and handicap hurdles over 2m 7f or more, rated up to 100

Comrade Bob extremely nonchalant at Worcester. In fact, too nonchalant, and he must therefore have been up to something

FONT     (Lawney Hill)

8 year old bay gelding     (Sadler’s Wells – River Saint)     542/11024420/122/063-10

Any of Font’s loyal ultras who have been hanging on waiting for him to develop some consistency should by now have learned not to hold their breath. It is not that he is win shy (except perhaps by the standard of his old yard's expensive array of talent) – four from nineteen jumps runs is not a bad tally at all – although it would be nice if all but one of them were not so distant… What you get with his key preference, which is for a galloping trap is not certainty but a tipping of the balance in his favour. The win at Fontwell in May was a complete aberration (and thus a condemnation of those behind him) as on a sharp track Font usually lacks the acceleration to challenge when the speed picks up off of the final bend. The argument for the defence may, with some justification, point to his usually suffering that against stronger oppo than the Fontwell race. They may be overlooking the Ludlow seller defeat intentionally, just as we will have to grin and bear the days when he runs a stinker in apparently ideal circumstances. There is a hint of him being best after a month or more between races, but it does not happening steadily enough to narrow the conditions further.

Handicap hurdles or handicap chases on a galloping track, over 2m 3f or more

FREDDIE BROWN     (George Charlton)

7 year old bay gelding     (Missed Flight – Some Shiela)     34/15435-3

In some perspectives, Freddie Brown may be considered an under achiever, as despite his yard doing well in bumpers, it took him three attempts to win one, and he is also 0/5 as a hurdler. As it happens, none of the hurdle runs have been disastrous, and it is looking as if he is just a bit more of a slow developing, physically backward type than is normally associated with the operation. After posting the obligatory three hurdle runs (losing them by margins between 11 and 19½ lengths), he went into handicaps rated 105. This seemed a fair average of three performances open to very mixed interpretation, and the horse responded by losing the races by just under seven and just over four lengths. So unless he comes back from a summer break as an improved horse, the Freddie Brown future success likely lies over fences and longer distances, although spotting preferences is not easy as his career is made up of six runs at Kelso and two at Ayr, so we have no idea what he would make of right handed and/or undulating tracks. 

Handicap chases over 2m 3f or more

JUST VICTOR     (Paul Webber)

6 year old bay gelding     (Revoque – Villian)     0/45545/2260-94

One obvious cause for concern with Just Victor, that even a diffident ostrich may have noticed, is that he has not yet managed to win a race. We can take some solace from his two second places – a nose at Stratford and a length and a half at Uttoxeter. He led into these with a decent show at Southwell, and in the course of all these jolly adventures in the giant continent of failure Just Victor did show that distances around two and a half miles suited quite early, and decent ground was right up his alley. And so to his chase debut. He took on some much superior hurdlers in a two miler, and they made sure that he would never match the pace of the race. So Just Victor had an educationalish scoot round, nabbed the best possible placing late, and left us waiting for him to be upped in trip.

Handicap chases, over 2m 4f or more, on a left-handed level track, on good or good to firm.

SALFORD ROSE     (Tony Carroll)

5 year old chesnut mare     (Salford Express – Toppagale)     U32356-6

After blotting her copybook really quite badly on her bumper debut, by unseating at the start, Salford Rose went on a mission to recover her reputation, posting two thirds and a second in her subsequent tries. After her steering had been gradually improving with experience, it became time for Salford Rose to try her luck over hurdles, and in two attempts last autumn, she was scuppered by some woeful jumping. After the winter off, she did not reappear until July, and from a new yard. She only made one early mistake, but pulled a bit hard and faded late on, which will have done her impending handicap mark no harm whatsoever. She has avoided soft or heavy, and runs unlike a horse shaping to be a stayer, so long distances and mud will probably be left well alone.

Handicap hurdles rated up to 110, up to 2m 3f

THE CHAZER     (Richard Lee)

6 year old grey gelding     (Witness Box - Saffron Holly)     17607/423218-

In addition to a couple of bumpers and nine hurdles, The Chazer also had a bit of a sighter about racing in Irish points, so for his age he is not lacking in experience. With form in the amateur field of FF2P, there was always the danger that all the things he learned would be detrimental to his future career. However, he dismissed the historical faux pas by winning his first bumper, at Killarney, and has mostly run well over hurdles, eventually winning one at Newbury. One oddity to date is that despite being a bumper winner, he has looked perfectly happy at two miles or so up to now - his one attempt at an extra half mile produced the worst performance so far. The time is probably nearing when he switches to chases, and a summer off plus the slightly more sedate pace there ought to help his stamina be a touch more enduring. With both wins coming left-handed, and one instance of hanging left at Towcester (despite other perfectly solid runs going right handed), it will be necessary to monitor whether he will show an anti-clockwise boas over bigger obstacles.

Chases up to 2m 4f on soft or heavy