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Cottenham 27/11/11 |
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The fields of Cottenham were lit by a bright autumn sun again. This is the second time that this meeting has seen this happen in recent years, and it has to stop. Nobody asked for it, and the whole vibe seems wrong when it is not a grey and gloomy day. There was a very brisk and chilly wind, but that is just not the same. Obviously the ground team would have been happy with some rain, and an overnight drizzle was too little, too late. There was a nice covering of grass on the course, and there did not seem to be many complaints from those taking part. The counter argument would be that three riders, Stuart Higgins, Freddie Mitchell and Alice White, were shipped off to hospital from falls that all looked fairly innocuous. The effect of an impact on hard ground seems a likely culprit. From a personal point of view, the belated finish made the journey home horrendous, as it meant crossing from east London into south-east London just after dark on a Sunday evening. At this time, a strange race of people emerge, taking to the roads with no knowledge of where they are going, what lane to be in, what a road sign is, what speed they should be driving at, what a traffic light is for, etc etc. In fact they have all the time-related limitations of vampires combined with the brainpower limitations of zombies, and none of the benefits. Just what are they up to? Going: Firm Race 1: Toad's School of Driving PPORA Club Members 1: She Is A Cracker 2: Nothing's Easy 3: Sykee Savage Winner owned & trained: Caroline Gorman, ridden: George Gorman The runners rattled this off in a lickety-split 5 minutes, 57.5 seconds, so had Black Forest Lodge not unsportingly kicked off an hour earlier, George Gorman could have had a couple of minutes undisputed lead at the head of the jockey's table. She Is A Cracker: Turned this into a rout, having stalked the front-running Nothing's Easy with great confidence and the style of an 80s psychological thriller, eventually cruising clear from the fourth last. She was only rated 80 over hurdles, but pointing has really been her thing, now having won four of eight tries. Nothing's Easy: Did the donkey work, and once headed, he nearly threw away all the hard work with a blunder three out. Fatigue then took it's toll and he was a long way back at the finish. But this pointing debut was a big step up on some dismal hurdle form since he gained his win back in 2009. Sykee Savage: Did not jump especially well, and thus struggled to stay in touch. He plodded on for a place, and will at least be fitter next time. Stroom Bank: Won this last year, and was keeping tabs on She Is A Cracker, until he weakened quickly from the fourth last, eventually pulling up. The overheard explanation was burst blood vessel. Timeshift: Looked the fittest horse in the paddock, and has four wins from six points, plus a place, as well as a couple of places in two runs in Ireland. That all added up to a short priced favourite, but as soon as the starter's flag fell, it all went wrong. He set off in rear and a combination of sloppy jumping and lack of urgency in the saddle saw the deficit quickly grow to fifteen lengths. With a lap completed he was pulled up, and the connections were inevitably invited to visit the steward's room. The explanation of the horse refusing to let himself down on the firm ground was accepted. Race 2: Baileys Horse Feeds Men's Open 1: Border Fusion Winner owned: Barry, Edkins, Shaw, trained: Gary Hanmer, ridden: Will Telfer Border Fusion: Was left to complete alone after both rivals departed in consecutive fences over by the farm. A nice loosener that proved nothing other than the horse can still jump nineteen fences without incident. Moonwolf: An intriguing pointing recruit, as he was a nippy two and a half mile hurdler on his day. He had fallen in his only chase, and came to the same fate here, when trying to put pressure on Border Fusion. It was not an inevitable product of consistently poor jumping, and one day he may string a clear round together. Barton Park: Last ran in the summer of 2006, and was an out and out two miler then. He had jumped well early on, but had gone beyond his stamina limit and was tailed off when he fell. Judging/predicting the failings of his two opponents, it was no shock to see Border Fusion finish alone. Race 3: Aga Ladies' Open 1: Zanzibar Boy 2: Ski Dazzle Winner owned: RL Fanshawe, trained: Karrie Fanshawe, ridden: Rachel King Zanzibar Boy: Appeared to be a strong candidate for not acting on the quick going, but the oppo was limited, and once Rachel King opted to apply the pressure on Ski Dazzle from the front, he engineered a race that did not take a great deal of winning. The time was an unexceptional (for the day) six minutes and one second, but as the winner was in control at the last, he quickly slowed to a canter after the last, with no danger lurking. Ski Dazzle: Went a long way keeping Zanzibar Boy in his sights, but when he needed to burst into life, mistakes were made at the fourth last and third last. After that, he did not seem to fancy it much, and Zanzibar Boy soon had him defeated. Alrafid: Used to win every so often for Gary Moore, but the marker in the sourness jug was always rising and the chilled out atmosphere of pointing has not fixed that. He has won, may sneak a weak race again, and will cost his followers (if any remain) dear along the way. Good For Blue: Won a two and a half mile hurdle, and got rated 110 in that discipline. This was his first point, without any rules chasing experience either, and he shed his rider at the fourth. He does have the credentials to make a mark in points, if this is not the shape of things to come.
What we learned today. If changing the setting on the camera to something not suitable for moving animals, try to set it back before race three. Also, Zanzibar Boy is the grey, Ski Dazzle is the flaky bay one. Race 4: Zyklene Equine Restricted 1: Bedrock Fred 2: Gentle Jim 3: Tushana Winner owned & trained: Miss EJ Tanner, ridden: Rob Jarrett With the medical team attending to fallen riders causing delays to the previous two races, there was an odd lack of urgency about getting on with this, but the race turned out to be no cause for hysteria, with the winner strolling to success as two stablemates battled out the minor honours. As an aside, the sponsors were advertising a natural ingredients product to calm horses in stressful situations. Surely choosing a name less similar to the one used by the Nazis for the gas used in the holocaust would help the marketing? Advice provided free of charge. Bedrock Fred: Came into this with pointing form of 124, but the win was at 2m 4f, and with both rivals looking like they would come on for the race, this did not entirely erase stamina question-marks, although he did not appear to have gone beyond his limits as he cruised home. Had he been very tired, errors at the third last and second last could well have stopped him quickly. Gentle Jim: The outsider of the three, he looked set for third as he got outpaced on the first lap, but he plugged away with a bit of heart to nick second. Trouble is, he is now only one win from nine races, and is in the statistical zone where the maiden success is beginning to seem like the anomaly. Tushana: An import from Ireland, who had won once in ten races there, she displaced Bedrock Fred as favourite, with any price longer than evens being snaffled rapidly. She tried to make a race of it, but faded from the fourth last, eventually losing the runner-up slot at the last fence.
A lap to go and Bedrock Fred has a useful edge on Tushana. Race 5: Cowley Road Garage Open Maiden, 6 year olds and up 1: The Recovery 2: Mr Maybe 3: Aconitum Winner owned: Mrs Joanne Williams, trained: Gary Hanmer, ridden: Josh Hamer The delayed start combined with a cloudless sky to force fences two, three, eleven and twelve to be bypassed due to the low sun. Some of these decisions can look a bit dodgy, but nobody could really query this one. Standing by the bank overlooking the first fence in the straight, it was almost impossible to look directly at the fences by the horsebox park. The Recovery: Enjoyed a strange Irish career, running well at Punchestown and Fairyhouse, but usually getting stuffed at less high profile venues. This was his first pointing or chasing attempt, and he strolled through it with aplomb. The record book will show that he won a weak race by margins of 3 and 2 lengths in a time of 6 minutes dead, but he was far more dominant than the bare facts tell, taking the run-in on the bridle. Mr Maybe: When he began pointing, the jumping befuddled him completely, but he has now a hit a run of making the frame in small fields, and he seems to try. One day that might be enough. Aconitum: Failed to win a race under rules in plenty of tries, but he did finish third in a staying hurdle in the spring, and was a close third in a three mile chase a year ago. He will be fitter for this, and will also prefer a stiffer test than a sprint around Cottenham offers. A horse with a rules rating hovering about 100 should be able to win a maiden. If he wants to. Send For Tim: Began racing in May 2007, and has not yet won a race, struggling to even keep his completion rate above 50%. He had moved through to threaten his own recovery against The Recovery when he hit the deck three out. His entire career in microcosm. Cue the O-Level English Literature nostalgia. Precious Bay: Pulled up in all three runs last season, and it was the same again. Poor jumping had got him tailed off at the time, so nobody quite noticed where he belatedly threw in the towel.
Aconitum commits himself to the front, whatever his rider may think of the idea, chased by The Recovery, Mr Maybe and Send For Tim Race 6: Finesse Brightwells Open Maiden, 4-5 year olds, 2m 4f 1: Bobowen 2: Tomstar 3: Celtic Ballad Winner owned: DP Constable & Miss V Hodges, trained: Zoe Hammond, ridden: Dave Mansell The solar difficulties led to fences seven and eight being missed out here. The biggest field of the day produced what was the sole genuinely tight finish of the day. Bobowen: Had jumping problems in Irish points, but showed over hurdles that he can run a bit. Perhaps the omitted fences played to his advantage, and maybe three miles would give him a problem, yet the overall impression was of a horse that makes the effort, and he looked as if the exercise will bring him on a bit more. Tomstar: Showed dribbles of potential in French bumpers and a Fontwell hurdle. He made a race of it and found Bobowen a mere 3/4 length faster. He also may not yet be ready to go over three miles, which would make a win a bit of a mixed blessing this early in his career. Celtic Ballad: The paddock pick for wellbeing, but not as fit as ideal, he ran a decent race under the circumstances. He has twice lost hurdle races by a head, but had been far less convincing in a couple of chases. Maybe he is getting his act together, as he contributed the fewest jumping errors of the six that lined up. Paragraph: A hard puller, he failed to settle at the off, and quickly forced his way into a clear lead. Late in the race, when the first three joined him, he ought to have quickly wilted, but instead showed a bit of determination to hang in there and was not far behind Celtic Ballad for third, despite getting the second last fence wrong. Sorse: A four year old making his racing debut, his jumping early on left plenty to be desired, and he got himself detached from the main quartet. The penny dropped after a circuit and he gradually gained ground throughout the last half mile, without being given a hard time. One to note, as improvement is likely. Flying Fawn: Also unraced, she suffered the same technique issues as Sorse. She also got the hang of it with time, and was also closing the deficit late on. Nothing better than sixth was on the cards, and then she spoiled it with a last fence fall. |
