Well I will start as is customary in these circumstances with a Happy New Year message, though that is the food news – the bad news is I have overindulged in both food and drink and will be sensibly keeping this short and sweet for a change with no waffle or racing news and just a few races dissected for your pleasure – though I will be back to normal (like I have ever been accused of being normal) next week with any luck.
Until then may all your wishes come true, starting with a few winners, as the countdown to Cheltenham begins in earnest and the thesaurus gets overused as everyone looks for new words to describe the performances of Constitution Hill who may well go on to be the best of all time – though in my eyes he still has to win easily at the festival to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Istabraq!
On to the racing:
Saturday
12.25pm Warwick
We have all read about how out of form the Skelton horses are, yet the stable have still had 10 winners in the last two weeks, and with all the money and facilities available to them to put things right, I am not ready to write them off just yet. One example (hopefully) could well be Kateira, a five-year-old daughter of legendary sire Kayf Tara, who made a winning debut over hurdles at Uttoxeter when strolling home by eight lengths over the two miles. She is a half-sister to El Presente, a winner over three miles and more over fences at the highest level, so we may see an even better showing upped to this trip, and with Tristan Durrell good value for his 5lb claim from the saddle, we should see a good run from her at the very least.
3.00pm Newbury
I have 23 years of winners to go to war with ahead of the Challow Hurdle from Newbury and I am rather hoping they can dig me out of a hole on a day when the racing really isn’t up to the usual weekend standards. Running through the usual list and the first thing of note is that we are yet to see a winner priced larger than 8/1, and if that fact holds form for 2022, and the early betting I am looking at is remotely accurate, we can lose a ridiculous 10 of the 14 declared! All 23 winners came home in the first three last time out (changes nothing), and they all carried 11 stone 7, which at the very least reduces the chances of Vicki Vale considerably. The three I have left if the stats are correct will be Hermes Allen, Attacca, and Irish raider Joyeux Machin, so no I need to thin those down to a solitary selection. Six of the last 23 winners has their prep race in the Hyde Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham, and that points me in the direction of Hermes Allen, who won that contest by nine lengths after making all the running, and with Paul Nicholls responsible for four winners and five placed horses from 17 runners over the years, that will be where my lucky pin will fall this year as well.
1.43pm Uttoxeter
Finding a third suggestion proved a lot more difficult than I had hoped, but in the end I have come down on the side of the lightly raced Blue Stello, though I suggest we all keep any stakes to the minimum. Trained by Nicky Henderson, the son of Spider Flight came second in a point-to-point at Boulta in Ireland before being sold for £75,000 and reappearing almost a year later at Warwick when he was awarded the race by the Stewards after finishing second to Unaswered Prayers. That form has been franked since making a mark of 118 look more than reasonable ahead of a handicap debut, though he has been off the track for more than a year so we have to take his fitness on trust. Daryl Jacob rides and I honestly think (hope) that may be the main reason he is at the track this weekend, in which case a big run is in the cards, so fingers crossed.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Hermes Allen 3.00pm Newbury
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