EAST ESSEX

A first visit to the course, whose meetings tend to clash with rugby or be called off when it was possible to go. The bright sun and brisk, cold wind into the faces of those on the mound (the best viewing point) reminded me of snow boarding, except for the lack of snow, mountains and in my case the absence of crashing into rocks and snow cannons. But the was a spirit of living on the edge.

Going: Good?

race 1: Birkett Long Members

1: Baron Bernard     2: Halcyon Times

Winner owned & trained: Aubrey Chinery, ridden: Rose Chinery

The course bookmakers here do not have the greatest of reputations for exciting pricing, but this was an exception, as the outsider of three was up at 5/1 and at various stages the other two could be nabbed at 11/10. A PA malfunction meant that the announcement that Hilltop Harry was putting up 18 pounds over weight was delayed - cure sinister sound effects - and once the race started he was tailed off within the first furlong. Did anyone in the know snap up odds against on both possible winners? The two kept each other close company until two out, when Baron Bernard hit a narrow lead. His superior jumping merited the win.

race 2: Barry Byford Memorial Open Maiden, Div I

1: Nomadic Blaze     2: Lord Of The Knar     3: Sounds Good

Winner owned: Mrs M Martin & Mr M Ward, trained: Martin Ward, ridden: Harry Fowler

On face value this seemed the stronger of the two divisions, but the times were only a second apart and Nomadic Blaze's form up to this point was nothing to get too excited about. He and Lord Of The Knar put plenty of daylight between them and the third. The six year old runner-up also has a bit more time and scope to improve compared to the eleven year old winner. Sounds Good looked very well in the prelims and with two places since returning from a long absence, he is not a forlorn hope either. Former UK-Jumping selection Edgar Wilde, whose career has been blighted with illness and injury was fourth. He has all the physical ability for the job, but needs to brush up his jumping.

race 3: Barry Byford Memorial Open Maiden, Div II

1: Lunch Was My Idea     2: Parzando     3: Onyx D'Ace

Winner owned: The Jigsaw Racing Partnership, trained: Chris Lawson, ridden: Jody Sole

An eventful unfurling of the result, as after Parzando went five lengths clear rounding the far end of the course, he again found a way to lose, being pipped on the line by Lunch Was My Idea after the main challenger Onyx D'Ace ground to a halt with a blunder at the last. The winning rider will have been familiar with Parzando's antics from the runs in the south east, and did not throw in the towel when the propects looked bleak.

Parzando needs a bigger lead at the last than this from Onyx D'Ace (left) and Lunch Was My Idea (right). Shilgrove Lad in the distance was fifth, ending a run of non-completions

race 4: Hiscox Confined

1: Rydal Park     2: Another Dude     3: Alittlemoreaction

Winner owned: The Oak Partnership, trained & ridden: David Kemp

Yet again, two horses battled out the finish, this time the seeds of the result having been sown at Higham. On the same card that Rydal Park had won a duff maiden in a canter, Another Dude had been second to Kjetil in the Mens Open. Rydal Park again began to jump right as the race progressed but Another Dude made key errors at the third last and the next, which left the Rydal Park looking like a rising force in the area. 

race 5: JS Wright & Sons Ltd Men's Open

1: My Best Buddy     2: Snob Wells     3: Tallow Bridge

Winner owned: Mrs C Aldridge & Mr R Juleff, trained: Gerald Bailey, ridden: Richard Barrett

There was an unfortunate end to this as Bel Ombre took a fatal fall at the second last when he had the race in the bag. It was one of those moments when horse and jockey looked all at sea on the take off, and although he did not make much contact with the fence, it made for an awkward landing. It handed the win to My Best Buddy, taking his score to eleven. Although it looked a disappointing run, being seen off by a horse whose only pointing win was a walkover, he did seem as if there was a little still to work on fitness-wise. Snob Wells made a sound debut. His last Rules win had been a seller, but in his youth in Ireland, he had suffered honourable defeats to some top class opponents, and pointing might suit his fragilities. Body and mind? Tallow Bridge kept plugging away without looking likely to overtake those in front of him.

My Best Buddy pops the last

race 6: Mercedes-Benz Ladies' Open

1: Fauntleroy     2: Va Vavoom     3: Who Cares Wins

Winner owned & ridden: Camilla Ewart, trained: Alan Hill

Every time that I have been to East Anglia lately, Alan Hill has been among the winners, so it really is rather careless of him to have chosen a yard on the other side of London and the Chilterns. A more negative signal is that while the string has been in tip-top form, Fauntleroy had posted a couple of fairly ordinary runs. After being outjumped by Va Vavoom at the last two, Fauntleroy was a bit more tenacious than his name implies in recovering the deficit by the line. The was some irony for Va Vavoom as he has fallen or unseated in three of his previous five runs. He confirmed the form of his run at Higham with Who Cares Wins.

race 7: Connolly's Red Mills Intermediate

1: Shady Minx     2: Round The Isles     3: Ifubelieveindreams

Winner owned: Mrs F Macfarlane, trained: Antonia Bealby, ridden: A Corbett

With the theme of the day having been for collateral form to generally work out, it was ominous for Shady Minx that her Ampton victim Thatmakestwoofus had made no show in the confined. As is the way of things, the trend remained predictably unpredictable, and he made it three wins on the spin in a strong looking intermediate. By this stage both of my pens were running out, and I scratched on the racecard either than she jumped left or jumped 6 ft. Of course, it could have been both... Both of the  placed horses performed creditably and can win at this sort of level.

Shady Minx has rounded off the threat of Round The Isles at the last

race 8: Granville Developments Countryside Alliance Club Members, Novice Riders

1: Dunmanus Bay     2: Nokimover     3: Galapiat Du Mesnil

Winner owned: Mrs P King, trained: Julie Read, ridden: Johnny Bailey

Some classic old schoolmasters took the field for this, with an average horse age of 13 and many of the pilots not looking that much older. Even in their heyday, plenty of the horses were not the most prolific of performers (Nokimover a notable exception), so the race was set to be a fair measure of the riding talents. Dunmanus Bay has been rather inclined to pull up of late, so there was a surprising amount of determination when he stayed on gamely under Johnny Bailey with Nokimover (Sam Vaughan-Jones) and Galapiat Du Mesnil (Penny Hacking) breathing down his neck.

Plus Points

Sounds Good (race 2): A couple of respectable comeback runs this season, and looks like he can win his maiden somewhere

Foulstons Ruler (race 3): Making his debut, mixed it up with the leaders until weakening four out, and he probably learnt a fair bit from it.

Double Illusion (race 3): Caught the eye in the paddock, but was making her debut partnered by a novice rider. She jumped off ten lengths adrift, ballooned the first and seemed a dud. However, she quickly improved her jumping in a nice schooling session. 

Rydal Park (race 4): Even allowing for Another Dude's low winning percentage, it amounted to a smart effort to beat him. 

My Best Buddy (race 5): Will come on for the race, and leave an unimpressive win behind him

Ifubelieveindreams (race 7): Posted a fair seasonal debut and should be able to build on it.

Down Arrows

Parzando (race 3): In his fifth pointing season is now 0/9, with many places. He does not stick his head conspicuously in the air, but does have a knack of applying the handbrake on landing over the last.

Onyx D'Ace (race 3): Looked well and was fit enough, but the way he faded from two out and could barley lift himself over the last gave the impression that his stamina is wanting for this job

Who Cares Wins (race 6): Has run OK this season without really shaping as if a win is around the corner.