Stratford 18/07/10

Summer jumping at Stratford is normally associated with extreme heat and overcrowding, but today was breezy, overcast and less well attended. It was much more enjoyable, and the evidence is clear - Midlanders are weather-soft and run for cover at home at the first sight of a cloud. They all probably had the central heating on. Meanwhile, the laid back summer jumps scene meanders on without them. As an example, in the last race, no jockey emerged from the weighing room outdoing Christian Williams for enthusiasm. And to ride Rescindo, who has been pointing for most of his career and in the last three seasons has not managed a completion from thirteen runs. He pulled up.

Going: Good to Firm (Good places on the chase course)

Race 1: Claydon Horse Exercisers Novice Hurdle [2m 0.5f]

1: Tout Regulier     2: Quidam Blue     3: Carhue Princess

Winner owned: GA Moore, trained: Peter Bowen, ridden: Donal Devereux

The pre-race equation for this was simple. All the best jumps form was with Tout Regulier, mostly beating poor opposition comfortably. Would hurdles newcomer Wind Star (flat rating 80) be slick enough to make a race of it? In a word, no. His hurdling lacked fluency, and he was already in a bad position when an error three out sealed his fate. Tout Regulier was thus as unflustered as expected. Quidam Blue, whose best but modest bumper form was over further, plodded on in a manner indicating he will need longer trips.

Race 2: Claydon Horse Exercisers Selling Hurdle, 4-6 year olds [2m 0.5f]

1: Douchkette     2: Swiss Art     3: Tigh Bhruadair

Winner owned: C and C Partnership, trained: John Berry, ridden: Danny Cook

This race did not have any pot hunting veterans due to the age limit, but there were no youthful previous winners lining up either. Swiss Art, recently third in a novice hurdle at Worcester, was all the rage in the betting, but he showed why he has changed yard quickly and hit the bottom tier so soon, as in a tight three way finish, he did not seem as inclined to exert himself as the other pair. Douchkette, who was poor initially over hurdles in wet conditions, has appreciated the summer ground, and although she hit the front quite late, there did appear to be a little bit in hand as they crossed the line. Tigh Bhruadair had only ever cracked the top ten when ninth of fifteen on his bumper debut. Since then a 31 length fifteenth of thirty in a handicap hurdle had been the highlight. Even if he has improved on his first UK run, it still shines a bleak light on what was necessary to win this.

Cagey stuff in the seller. London Times (2) and Tigh Bhruadair lead, with Duke Of Normandy. Swiss Art (nearest camera) and Douchkette are on their heels. Guga, Mystic Touch and Flutters House are the rearguard.

Race 3: Claydon Horse Exercisers Handicap Chase [2m 7f]

1: Sea Wall     2: Dead Or Alive     3: Whataboutya

Winner owned: JP McManus, trained: Jonjo O'Neill, ridden: Alan Berry

At the final fence this race was between the trio that ended up 1-2-3 and the excellence of their jumps at that obstacles equated to the finishing position. Sea Wall is a little bit, by which we really mean a lot, inconsistent, but two runs ago he did manage a fair third to Grand Slam Hero, which is not looking too shoddy by now. Dead Or Alive won last time in a dubious kind of race, and does not look especially well handicapped, but he gave it a good shot of things today, never looking like he had a response when Sea Wall pinched a vital length or two over the last. What about Whataboutya? A good try, but he has never won a handicap, the last success being a hunter chase. He seemed to be going just the better round the final bend, only to fade out of it rather weakly. Neither the usually consistent Midnight Gold nor recently improved Presentandcorrect could get in the shake-up at the front of the race. On another day things will go more their way.

Pairc Na Gcapall leads over the first, from Seymar Lad (for whom this was the highlight of the race) and Our Hero (10). Sea Wall is in mid-air on the left, alongside Midnight Gold

Race 4: Claydon Horse Exercisers Handicap Hurdle [2m 6.5f]

1: Mzuri Bay     2: Cubism     3: Winsley Hill

Winner owned: Ruth Tupper & Tom Fletcher, trained: Brendan Duke, ridden: Mark Grant

The race cut up to six runners, and the early pace looked to the naked eye to be unexceptional, but with two tailed off and the other quartet all hard ridden in the middle of the back straight, maybe the early impression was a false one. Mzuri Bay got first run when he kicked for home three out, and although Cubism edged into it in the straight, even the winner making an error at the last did not convince that it would affect the outcome. Given how badly she ran over hurdles four days earlier, does Winsley Hill's proximity mean that she made a massive improvement or does it put a bit of a question mark over the form?

Race 5: Claydon Horse Exercisers Novice Handicap Chase [2m 7f]

1: Tampa Boy     2: Local Present     3: Cherokee Star

Winner owned: GD Building Ltd, J Parsons, trained: Milton Harris, ridden: Charlie Poste

Another race that turned into a three way scramble late on, and Tampa Boy put in a solid round to out grind Local Present and Cherokee Star, who made much of the running. The winners best chase run had come here, over shorter, but he had proven his stamina last spring when winning at Fakenham. Local Present had broken a very long run of defeats at Fontwell last time, but it was back to normal today, doing some good things, but just not quite enough of them. If he was on Mastermind, he would blast through his specialist subject and implode on the general knowledge. Even though he has won a point-to-point, Cherokee Boy did not appear to stay this trip before, and it was the same again here, although if he could show a bit of restraint it would help a lot.

Race 6: Claydon Horse Exercisers Novice Handicap Hurdle [2m 3f]

1: Penyfan Dawn     2: Cool Bob     3: Elegant Olive & Kristallo (dead heat)

Winner owned: DJ Wallis, trained: Tim Vaughan, ridden: Richard Johnson

When Elegant Olive and Kristallo kicked a few lengths clear leaving the far side, the normal course of events would be for them to end up disputing the finish at this venue, but Kristallo had been niggled and cajoled from the off, and Elegant Olive was just in need of the run, so the window of opportunity was presented to Penyfan Dawn, who came through as they bypassed the last fence (helped by Kristallo swinging a bit wide and presenting a very tempting gap), and although he won by only three lengths, he had plenty left in the tank. And he got his mandatory jumping errors out of the way early on, allowing plenty of time to recover. Cool Bob is a perennial maiden, who does occasionally do something like this, and usually takes a long time to consider a repetition.

Kristallo and Tram Express lead at halfway, from Elegant Olive, Timoca, The Grey One and Risk Challenge. All but the last few yards of the race were helpfully performed in a neat, functional order

Plus Points

Quidam Blue (race 1): Will get his handicap mark and probably step up in trip to take advantage of it. He might well be able to deliver.

Carhue Princess (race 1): Debuted over hurdles in a seller (only ran once on the flat) and unseated, but she has shown a little ability in both runs since and could pick up a minor handicap somewhere.

Pairc Na Gcapall (race 3): Has only ever won five runner races at Huntingdon, but he did pretty well until the strong early pace that he set took a toll. One to look for back in small fields. The first use of a tongue tie seemed to help.

Some Craic (race 3): Did well in 2008, but has gradually been regressing since then, and did not do that well in points this year. For a long way here he ran quite well, and if he came on for the run who knows a sudden revelation might be witnessed.

Tampa Boy (race 5): Gave weight to his oppo and ran a bit more like the horse that was second here to De Luain Gorm, and not the one that was well seen off afterwards. Perhaps after a long absence two runs in twelve days caught him out. More of this sort of effort and he can win again.

Down Arrows

Tout Regulier (race 1): Has four wins on good to firm this season, and was beaten on good. She has not had to beat an awful lot, and there will be a time when she is a ridiculously short price when the oppo is a bit tougher.

Swiss Art (race 2): Will need to try harder but if he keeps losing narrowly, it will suit exchange layers.

Guga (race 2): Won a couple of mile and a quarter races on the flat since running pathetically in a juvenile hurdle last summer, but the improvement was not carried over. He looked as if he wanted to tail himself off at halfway, and only ambled into fourth because others called it a day more efficiently.

Shammy Buskins (race 3): Has been running well on fast ground, including a course and distance win. Today he needed a few reminders even to start, and soon ensured he was out of contentions. He ended up fifth because others stopped whilst he for some reason opted to liven up late in the race.

Seymar Lad (race 3): A few in this race appeared to just not have things go their way today, but he looks like he has lost the plot entirely, with form of 0P7FP before he ended up 7th here, with a much better 21 length margin of failure.

Cubism (race 4): Ran quite well, and seemed to stay the trip well enough, but there was a bit of a lack of sparkle in the last half mile for a horse that had the zip to win over two miles.

Kilshannig (race 5): Ended up favourite because something had to be in a confusing race, but lost his chance with a lack of fluency in the jumping department.

UK-Jumping Selections

Aint She The Lady (race 6): Fell before halfway, and looked to have picked up a nasty injury

Penyfan Dawn (race 6): Put an accumulating history of clumsiness behind him for a debut win, although he was not foot perfect, merely timed his errors better.

Empire

Elegant Olive (race 6): Optimism was tempered by the fact that she probably needed the run, and the trip was on the short side. She ran a blinder, and had she not been forced wide by Kristallo bypassing the last hurdle, she would have beaten that horse, and may then have also resisted Cool Bob.

Olive enters the parade ring meaning business, this time not involving a bundle with the owners or jockey