Folkestone 19/01/10

It was still a bit soon for spotting which yards were held up by the weather and which had not, but there were clues. Neil King had posted a couple of winners, backing up the talk that Newmarket had kept on the go, and reigning UK-Jumping trainer of the year Neil Mulholland was on a run which read 2123213 - the risk today was some indifferent jumpers in chases, where they might just throw away any fitness edge. Paul Webber had two runners do very well in being placed in novice hurdles a day earlier. On the other hand, Oliver Sherwood and Venetia Williams' first runners back had been less sparkling and Alison Thorpe's had done no better - although a run of one winner from fifty-five tries since the start of November edged blame away from the snow. The other bonus was in the bumper, where the site's former favourite horse, Little Bud, had her first offspring running. 

This was a meeting where one of jumping’s strangest phenomena was witnessed in abundance. No, not sunshine (in fact, today’s weather threat was fog – at least where I set off from), but the tendency for horses with the same shortcomings or foibles to congregate like sheep in races that have no real reason to be closed to their little clique. Why do all the bad jumpers turn up in the same race, or the manically in-form horses? The two mile novice handicap chase was a good example, as four of the six runners were so used to running over much further, it warranted a double check to make sure that the trip had not been read wrongly. Does the Racing Calendar have a flag against the race saying “Good option for running over the wrong trip?”

Going: Heavy, Soft places (hurdles), Soft (chase)

Race 1: Betfair conditional jockeys' Training Series Handicap Hurdle [2m 1.5f]

1: Ban Uisce     2: Charlotte Street     3: One Step Closer

Winner owned: The Don’t Tell Daddy Partnership, trained: Neil Mulholland, ridden: Mark Quinlan

In a race populated by horses that were hard to enthuse about on the day (Doctored’s tendency to save his best runs for Folkestone was about the only positive, and he had still only managed to actually win here once), the result was still a major upset, even with an SP of a mere 14/1. Ban Uisce was in his first handicap, after three novice hurdle runs over longer distances. Those novices had been conveniently well populated with horses that had already gained a handicap mark, and it can be judged that Ban Uisce had runs to marks of 0, 37 and 6 in defeat. So his win from a clearly guessed at rating of 85, and in comfy fashion, was at worst an improvement of 130% and at best an infinite one. Charlotte Street, who can run in fits and starts, did seem to enjoy ambling along in front, and at least was miles clear of the third.

A trawl through the mud and Ban Uisce does not even compliment his opponents by looking tired

Race 2: Saga Home Insurance Novice Handicap Chase [2m]

1: Rince Donn     2: Black Ven     3: She’s Humble

Winner owned: RP Behan, trained: Roger Curtis, ridden: Mark Grant

Bushwacker's relatively short lead is still enough for him to go out of focus, whilst Black Ven (1), She's Humble and Rince Donn (5) remain better defined

Race 3: Saga Personal Finance Juvenile Maiden Hurdle [2m 1.5f]

1: Diktalina     2: Open Day     3: Blue Tango

Winner owned: The Cartmel Syndicate, trained: Alison Thorpe, ridden: Daryl Jacob

Diktalina demonstrates to all that she is ready to run as if her life depended on it, or fight the horse in front of her

Race 4: Saga Motor Insurance Handicap Chase [2m 5f]

1: Mr Floppy     2: Wadswick Ben     3: Honour’s Dream

Winner owned & trained: Alison Batchelor, ridden: Daryl Jacob

Form to be wary of, as although Mr Floppy won fair and square, the events unfolding behind him suggested that it was an achievement of limited merit. Even the winner had previously struggled to put one foot in front of the other in muddy ground before today, so defeat was akin to being violated by a sloth - the sloth is morally in the wrong, but minimal activity would have enabled the victim to avoid it. Wadswick Ben had shown just about zero ability in his short previous career, and unlike the first winner of the day, a switch to handicaps had initially brought about a 77 length defeat. This was a massive improvement, although Ban Uisce’s infinite one set an unmatchable benchmark. Honour’s Dream had been badly out of form, and seemed set to pull up on the far side, only to charge past the tired Tytheknot for third late in the race, in a style that accused his attitude of letting down his ability. Tytheknot, who led more or less until two out, had been beaten by Star Galaxy last time – who was winning his first race at the thirty-ninth try and celebrated by refusing next time. It takes many degrees of separation to bring good form into this!

Tytheknot leads over the first from Honour's Dream (1) and Majic Moments. Colonial Jim (striped cap) opts for a low jump and takes out his disappointment on Wadswick Ben (red cap). Mr Floppy weighs up the pending buffoonery in front of him.

Race 5: Saga Health Insurance Handicap Chase [3m 1f]

1: Rapid Increase     2: Aces Or Better     3: Topless

Winner owned: Mrs Gay Smith, trained: Jonjo O’Neill, ridden: Tony McCoy

He may be a poorly named horse, as nothing he really exudes urgency, but Rapid Increase followed up his win in a modest race at Hereford with another success and again appeared to have a bit up his sleeve. A few niggles in the back straight appeared ominous, but they took him from the rear to the heels of front running Aces Or Better, and he settled there for half a mile before pouncing at the final fence. After being a bit lacklustre for a while, Aces Or Better was this time Better, jumping well in the lead, until Rapid Increase outdid him on the run-in. High Jack did not run up to his last effort in finishing a distant fourth, but all his wins have been at Towcester, and the going was a bit on the easy side for him as well.

Race 6: Saga Travel Insurance mares' Maiden Open National Hunt Flat Race [2m 1.5f]

1: Annimation     2: Ballestra     3: The Hon Tara

Winner owned: Dr R Jowett, trained: Seamus Mullins, ridden: Jimmy Derham

The rule for this race is that to run you had to be a newcomer or have been beaten 12-15 lengths and finished in midfield on previous runs. The dissident was favourite Black Annie, who went down by only five lengths on debut, before complying with the norm, but she seemed to find this too much of a slog, as did Twin Bud. Annimation had been just ahead of the promising Silver Kate on her first run, but done no better next time. Debutant Ballestra refused to give in easily, but experience and ability slog it out in bad ground was in Annimation's favour.

Plus points  

Rince Donn (race 2): Jumps well and deals with most things put in his way, up to two and a half miles, so could resist a rise up the handicap.

Black Ven (race 2): Pulled up in both previous chases, but they came on the back of a long absence, and this hard working second (looked well before hand) might turn out to be the norm. As a hurdle winner over half a mile further, a rise in trip will do no harm.

Blue Tango (race 3): After drifting into ennui on the level, he has run two OK races over hurdles, and could liven his ideas up further in handicap company.

Wadswick Ben (race 4): Showed signs of being on the upgrade, albeit from a monumentally low starting point.

Aces Or Better (race 5): Was very promising, and usually in the first two, in his hurdling and bumpering youth in Ireland, and after some presumably enforced absences, he looks to just be recovering a semblance of his old skills.

Down arrows

Chiff Chaff (race 1): As is the norm for a horse debuting for Jim Best, she was favourite, but ran worse than her last couple of runs before Christmas.

Mister Pink (race 2): A notoriously awkward hurdler who managed one win – a three miler at Kempton. There was always the possibility of his chase debut being a glorious success, with him bounding carefree from fence to fence and accidentally building a winning lead without realising that he was deviating from his core beliefs. Slightly more predictably, he hated every second of it and pulled up.

Lively Fling (race 3): Needed fast ground and blinkers on the flat, and had neither here, which is something to be wary of should that circumstance be repeated.

Honour’s Dream (race 4): Has not been running well, but just looked cantankerous today.

Colonial Jim (race 4): Does not yet seem at home over fences. When he ran in a terrible looking four runner race at Fontwell, and was pipped on the line, no sane person could have forecasted that the first and third would win two each afterwards, and neither did Colonial Jim, whose confidence has not been at all boosted by that surprisingly promising run.

Topless (race 5): This edged her completion rate in chases over 50%, which is cause for concern itself, but she also seems a bit too ready to settle for a place when getting round.