JULY 2011 HORSES

COURT RED HANDED     (Sarah Humphrey)

6 year old chesnut gelding     (Flemensfirth – Desert Gail)     7324/6412-1

A winning Irish pointer, it took him a bit of live action practice to get to grips with hurdles, but Court Red Handed did win a two and a half miler at Ludlow on good, which was in utter defiance of his developing bias towards longer distances and softer ground. The chase debut came very recently at Stratford, and he somehow won. This was despite the fact that he had not run for a few months, got outpaced quite early on against speedier horses, made one or two slightly scruffy jumps as a result (tending to adjust himself right-handed) and never seemed to be travelling all that well. It did help change the race outcome when the horse which led round the final bend decided to idle a bit in front, but Court Red Handed did catch him a few yards from the line rather than in the last two inches. The runner-up was rated only 115, so Court Red Handed should be able to avoid a handicapping nightmare and thus grind out another ugly win or two. An ugly win is still a win.

Handicap chases, over 3m or more rated up to 125, monitor a possible right-handed preference

DEAN’S GRANGE     (Colin Tizzard)

6 year old brown gelding     (Alflora – Bobupandown)     5468331/02545-033

On the whole it is a bit surprising that Dean’s Grange has only managed to win once so far, as he has demonstrated enough encouraging days to think that his score so far would have been a touch higher. In his early days he performed really creditably behind some decent horses (or they were at the time) and he has only rarely let himself down. After a winter off, and a warm-up run over hurdles, Dean’s Grange has recently switched to chases. His first bid for glory, in a fast run race, swiftly degenerated into a gentle search for survival, but it fared a bit better when third at Uttoxeter recently in a tougher and saner race. The real scope for building on this is that he was better going right-handed over hurdles, something he is yet to enjoy (for surely he will) over fences. And now he his older and stronger, perhaps a slightly longer race than two miles is helpful as well.

Handicap chases on a right-handed track, up to 2m 5f, rated up to 120

QUE VIVO     (Arthur Whiting)

7 year old bay gelding     (April Night – Kalynne)     737

If racing never works out for Que Vivo, one thing that cannot be blamed is impatience on the part of his owner/trainer, as it was May of his seven year old year before he set foot on a racecourse. That was at Plumpton, and although beaten 36 lengths in an OK race, the winner has 23 lengths back to the second, so Que Vivo was not that far off gaining a place. He did manage that in his next race, beaten 21 lengths at Fontwell, although the race did not look as strong as the one he ended up debuting in. He returned to Fontwell for race three and was going reasonably again, until he blundered at the seventh flight and was not given a hard time afterwards. Handicaps beckon, and whilst chases would be another option, Que Vivo will need to be a bit more careful in his jumping to make that work.

Handicap hurdles or handicap chases over 2m 3f or more, rated up to 100

SMART FREDDY     (Lawney Hill)

5 year old bay gelding     (Groom Dancer – Smart Topsy)     065/6425-1

A horse that did not really catch the eye in four bumpers, the evidence now seems to suggest that three of them were on the wrong sort of course, so Smart Freddy can take a little more credit for what he did than the bare results imply. He was similarly inconvenienced on his hurdle debut, and there were one or two fair horses in the race, although perhaps not strength in numbers. Since that he has managed a reasonable second and a comprehensive win. The latter was especially impressive as a strict line against the previous winners in second and third suggests that Smart Freddy ran about twenty pounds better than his 115 rating. Either the handicapper shows no mercy, or queries just how well the placed horses performed – it appears he is now on 127, which is a reasonable compromise. The two best hurdle results were at Southwell and the best bumper race at Worcester, which suggests he will be suited by level, left-handed tracks, and should he not handle the raised hurdle rating, the runs at the former could be a nice stepping stone to a chase career.

Handicap hurdles or handicap chases on a level, left-handed track, up to 2m 3f  

A shiny Smart Freddy at Stratford

STORMYISLAND AHEAD     (Evan Williams)

6 year old bay gelding     (Turtle Island – Queen’s Banquet)     65F/1232355-3

After he started his career performing without lustre in bumpers, some may have wondered whether Stormyisland Ahead was in fact going to find adverse conditions in whichever direction he headed. A fall on his hurdles debut would not have provided much comfort either, but he immediately bounced back with a win at Clonmel. After that he switched to his current yard, and stuck to novice hurdles for his next five runs, even when he was awarded a handicap mark. Stormyisland Ahead never managed to be quite good to win one of them, and when eventually given a go in handicap hurdles, he did no better. After having the winter off, he recently made a competent chase debut, not having the pace for two and half miles, and not given a hard time to try and defy that inconvenience. Better should be possible when asked to go over three miles or more.

Handicap chases over 3 miles or more

Post chase debut at Ffos Las, and Stormyisland Ahead is still trying to work out what exactly he has just experienced.

VINOMORE     (Shaun Lycett)

5 year old bay mare     (Grape Tree Road – Sillymore)     40-21

All four of Vinomore’s races to date have been bumpers, and apart from a listed race at Cheltenham in which she looked out of her depth, she has been pretty effective in them. Apart from herself and third placed Divine Folly, the runners from her debut race have been a notably unsuccessful bunch, but the participants in the two recent runs have too little racecourse experience to tell – Worcester in June is not associated with elite bumper runners, but this site does not seek them. However, the manner in which she ran in both races suggests that she can make in impact in minor staying hurdles, as Vinomore probably would have won both of them had she not gone a-wandering all over the run-in when runner-up. That may have been due to fatigue after her winter break, as there was no sign of a repeat last time. She seems a solid plugger in the making.

Hurdles over 2m 5f or more