MAY 2010 HORSES

CALL IT ON     (M. H. Tompkins)

4 year old chesnut gelding     (Raise A Grand - Birthday Present)     848-

Call It On was an intriguing recruit to hurdling from the flat, where his handicap mark of 85 was noteworthy, but his inability to win a handicap since picking up a mile race as a two year old was a touch off putting. Another plus is his consistency, as a record of 0 from 8 as a three year old did not stop his rating edging up a few pounds, but four defeats of less than two lengths can give cause to wonder how much Call It On cares. Trapped on some sort of bizarre form see-saw the only answer was to see what he could do over jumps, and the answer initially was "just a little." The going for his debut at Doncaster was an unsuitable soft, and sixteen lengths behind the winner was not a disaster. Second placed Orsippus has done his fair share of boosting the form at Cheltenham and Aintree. Whilst Orsippus was scaling the heights, Call It On washed up at Huntingdon, enjoyed the decent ground and turned around the form with Doncaster third Group Leader. Unfortunately, Shilpa, Max Milano and Kempton winner to be Clerk's Choice had unsportingly gone on to be the 1-2-3 of the moment, but it was definite progress. Upping the ante by going next to Ascot was an odd choice, and the outcome was poor, defeat being certain before an error two out led to Call It On being eased down and losing by distances gentlefolk are too polite to mention. Based on his best run, there does look to be hurdle glory in Call It On, and he should be on a workable rating when he hits handicaps

Handicap hurdles up to 2m 2f, on good or good to firm, rated up to 120

Call It On gets suspicious of the nosy bloke with the camera, and has to be restrained from over reacting

JUSTWHATEVERULIKE     (Miss S. E. Forster)

9 year old bay gelding     (Courtship - Rose Of Summer)     76086/8P4P3/PPUU3P1/11334631453/11434-4

As the premise of this whole selection process states, it is not about what we like, it is all about what he likes. Among his six wins, there is not much of a track bias - four on undulating, four on sharp, all left handed, but that is not unusual with the prevalence of tracks that way round in the north. Nor a going bias, having won on soft and good to firm, and all points inbetween. For Justwhateverulike, it all lies in the weights. And fences. Apart from one placing on soft at Hexham, he never really showed a love of hurdles and bumpers, but once chasing was on the agenda his mind lit up like migrating goose being mistaken for a UFO in the dawn sunlight. Of twenty-two runs, he has carried eleven stone or less thirteen times, and won five - the weight being net of any claim. The best he has done with over that weight is third. His most recent run, at Sedgefield, was a first try significantly beyond three miles, and Justwhateverulike did not care for it greatly. But for the most part, his career has been a good one - and considering that the dozy buffoon managed to unseat on his first two tries, his completion rate has been surprisingly good.

Handicap chases carrying eleven stone or less, up to 3m 1f

OVERRULE     (B. Ellison)

6 year old bay gelding     (Diesis – Her Own Way )     0/1280-4

Brian Ellison has an illustrious history of producing Sedgefield specialists, and although it is early days, he has the makings of another in Overrule. Perhaps it the character of horses in the yard – horrendous couch potatoes who wanted to be home in time for Hollyoaks* mixed with ecological activists who are encouraged by minimal consumption of diesel. Other reasons could apply, but these two seem the most likely. For now, it may be fair to give Overrule a little extra credit and assume it is a sharp track that he likes. He won at Market Rasen, and has been beaten half a length and three and a quarter lengths on his two ventures out to Sedgefield. Runs at Huntingdon have seen unequivocal failures resulting in losses by fifty-nine lengths (broke blood vessel, for the only reported instance of that), and twenty-two lengths (hampered mid race) when looking well treated on his handicap debut, especially in comparison to some of the oppo. A spin at Cheltenham was met with another massive hammering – so after this year’s festival he ought to be very sympathetic to punters. All runs to date have been on good or good to firm and around 2m 1f, but he won over a mile and three-quarters on the flat, so it would seem two and a half miles will turn out be ideal, although Overrule is probably speedy enough to get away with shorter at courses with an uphill finish.

* Horses like Hollyoaks, as they know that they are better actors than the cast - and more intelligent

Handicap hurdles and chases over 2m 3f to 2m 5f on a sharp track, not on soft or heavy

OXFORD CITY     (P. M. Phelan)

6 year old chesnut gelding     (City On A Hill - Bold Nora)     888-

There is an element of chance about this pick, because the best of his runs came in the same race as Call It On, and if that selection proves a dud, the possibility of Oxford City being dragged down into the mire gets stronger. And being dragged into the mire was been the issue at the start of his hurdles career, finishing miles behind in a decent novice hurdle on heavy in December. Waiting until early Spring before trying again and faring much better (eighth, but beaten only thirteen lengths) at Huntingdon. His next hurdle saw him at Kempton, where he finished much, much further behind Clerk's Choice. Having come on the back of two seconds on the flat, there was no obvious excuse, so perhaps it was the legendary Third Run Syndrome - another one of those phenomena that remains unproven by thoroughbred medical science yet exists clearly in reasonable interpretation of historical facts. The reason for expecting improvement in the summer is that Oxford City's three Irish flat wins all were on good to firm, which is coming to a jumps course near you about now.

Handicap hurdles up to 2m 4f on good to firm, up to Class 4

PAPA CARUSO     (Mrs. S. J. Smith)

6 year old bay gelding     (Kayf Tara - Madonna De Rossi)     0/214348-

From the off of his brief career, Papa Caruso has marked himself out as a staying type. Actually, that is not entirely true, as he was beaten so far on his bumper debut, that there may have been thoughts that he was not even a racing type, but after nine months off, he bounced back from the rubbish start with a narrow second at Bangor and a win at Hexham. As we all know from watching races there, the steep rise into the home straight makes every race at Hexham a stamina test, and it was a slight surprise that Papa Caruso started over hurdles at the bare two miles. Even though the winner did the job on the bridle, to be sixteen lengths fourth to a decent prospect such as Quantitativeeasing was a very respectable start. Alas, things got harder when upped in trip after that. Third at Doncaster, thirty lengths behind the runner-up (some ne'er-do-well called Menorah!) and fourth, of six runners, over the same course and distance. His handicap debut followed, on a mark of 115 - which could have been worse - and Papa Caruso was stuffed out of sight, but the heavy ground can be blamed. Expect him to make amends when the going is better, and perhaps over fences. In searching the web for possible clever puns in his name, there were too many famous Caruso's to be certain. The Victorian era tenor is too obvious, so let us plump for assuming that he is named after the founder of Dollar Rent A Car* and will generate a few dollars more for his supporters.

* To pacify the pedants (film branch), it is acknowledged that there is a character in "The Great Caruso" named Papa Caruso, but there is no blindingly obvious connection with this particular horse.

Handicap chases, on good to soft or good, over 2m 5f or more

WOT WAY CHIEF     (J. M. Jefferson)

9 year old bay gelding     (Defacto - Wych Willow)     00759/4243178613/4/1051P/4-3

Wot Way Chief is one of those likeable scamps who was so awful in bumpers that it seemed giving up on racing immediately was his best option, yet he has risen above such slander to the giddy heights of a rating hovering about 120. This is significant because of the healthy four wins that he dug out along the way, the first came on hopelessly the wrong track, but he was so well handicapped that it could not stop him. Horses in the lower reaches of the rating system rarely get a chance to seem invincible, so they must be allowed to make the most of it. Since staging that racing burglary at Market Rasen, all the wins, plus a couple of decent runs in defeat, have been on expansive, galloping courses, with the two disappointments in that sphere being blamed on soft ground (not his thing) and the generally higher competitive level he met at Cheltenham. After a spell off track following a pulled up - injury is presumed - Wot Way Chief rolled up at Market Rasen, got beaten a mere eight lengths over hurdles and pretty much set himself up for late spring/early summer, where normal service can be resumed, and given his preference and freshness, fingers are crossed that Worcester can stay untypically flood free. *** STOP PRESS *** Third at Kelso, a good step forward on the wrong course, despite the margin being quite large.

Handicap chases or hurdles on good to soft, good or good to firm, on a galloping track