A typical Monday, with poor racing at three tracks, two over jumps and also on the all-weather from Wolverhampton. The most interesting races there are the two maiden races, with 8 runners each, the biggest fields on the card. The race for 3 and 4yos over an extended mile at 16.10 CET looks to be between Pater Chapple-Hyam´s Might be Magic (Adrian McCarthy) and Jamie Osborne´s Nags to Riches (Tom Queally), both of whom finished runner-up last time out. The 6 furlongs maiden at 17.10 can go to Young Gladiator (Julie Camacho/ Phillip Makin), who finished a creditable third on his debut at this CD and can defeat the more experienced JalMusic (Ron Harris/ Kevin Ghunova), who has finished in the money on his last 3 starts, but is clearly no star.
Kempton Park stages its second best card of the year today, with the Racing Post Chase, a 3 miles handicap at 16.15 CET as the main event, backed up by 3 Grade Two races. The big handicap has attracted a high class field of 15 runners, with top-weight Gugadu likely favourite to continue the excellent Saturday run of trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Ruby Walsh. He can certainly be expected to run well, buht is not certain to confirm the form of his recent Sandown defeat of Burntoakboy (Dr. Richard Newland/ Sam Jones) on these revised terms. Simon (John Spearing/ Andrew Thornton) won this last year, but the drying ground is not in his favour. Ungaro (Keith Revely/ Tom O´Brien) comes down from Yorkshire in excellent form, while Wee Robbie and Bagan are also reportedly strongly fancied by connections.
Front-runner Dream Alliance (Philip Hobbs/ Richard Johnson) fell last time when going like a winner and will make sure it is a true-run race. There could well be a German-bred winner of the novice hurdle at 15.05, with Donaldson (Jonjo O´Neill/ Noel Fehily), Stellino (Nicky Henderson/ Mick Fitzgerald) and Quartano (Carl Llewellyn/ Tom O´Brien) all in with a chance, but Numide (Gary and Jamie Moore) looks the one to beat. Big owner J.P.McManus reportedly paid a large sum to buy Hobbs Hill, unbeaten in 4 races this season, and this front-runner can make a small contribution to this outlay by winning the noivice chase at 15.40 for trainer Charlie Egerton and jockey Paddy Brennan.
The 4yo hurdle at 16.50 sees several Triumpoh Hurdle hopefuls in the line-up, including Binocular (Henderson/ Fitzgerald) and Furmigadelagiusta (Karl Burke/ Barry Keniry), both impressive winners of their only hurdles start, and Pierrot Lunaire representing the Nicholls/ Walsh team
My first post in my new home and I thought I’d take a look at French racing for the first time. There’s no flat racing in France today, at least not on the PMU tracks but trotting from Vincennes featuring the valuable Prix de Paris over the marathon distance of 4125 metres at 14.45 CET, and N.H. racing from Pau (4 hurdles races, 3 steeplechases and one cross-country). If anybody has an interest in French racing please let me know and I’ll do a regular feature.
Easily the best racing today comes at the Irish N.H. fixture at Navan, featuring three Grade Two races with several Irish hopes for Cheltenham taking part. The 2 mile novice chase at 15.10 could go to Edward O´Grady´s Clopf (Andrew McNamara), who did not quite come up to expectations as a hurdler, but could still make the grade over fences. Willie Mullins´ Scotsirish (Ruby Walsh), who fell last time out, looks the danger. With Noel Meade´s stable still out of form, one must be cautious about the chances of German-bred Aitmatov in the Boyle Hurdle over 2 miles 5 furlongs at 15.40. On his best form he would win this, but under the circumstances the Bowe family´s tough Earth Magic (Tom Doyle), who has won 3 of his last 4 races and is still improving, might be preferred.
The other novice chase, this time over 3 miles at 17.10, looks booked for Pomme Tiepy (Mullins/ Walsh), a most impressive winner of all her 3 starts in Ireland. She should confirm her latest Leopardstown form with runner-up Kilcrea Castle (Peter Doyle/ Davy Russell) on 3 lbs worse terms.
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