ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN
Well, this game loves to come back and bite you in the ass and that is pretty much what happened last weekend at the Breeders’ Cup. Having decried it a little (World Championships – really?) they came back at me with a swift set of combination punches that left me reeling and on the ropes.
Firstly, British racing fans need to look back and realise just how lucky we have been over the last decade or more to have, quite frankly, the best jockeys in the World riding here on a daily basis. First up, anyone who feels Frankie Dettori will not be sorely missed only needs to sit down and watch a replay of his ride on Inspiral in the Filly and Mares turf over a mile and a quarter. For anyone who didn’t notice, this was her first try at the trip on her 13th start and although we all know this track is less stamina testing than the European ones, she was stepping into unknown territory. Frankie rode her to perfection, switching her off early doors and switching her wide to run them all down close home to win by a neck, though the result was never in doubt once she hit her stride over a furlong out.
That was a quite masterful ride, but William Buick was just as good on Master Of The Seas – even if he did beat my selection into second, by a nose. With impeccable timing he sent the five-year-old after the leaders once they entered the straight to catch his Godolphin compatriot on the line in a photo finish, destroying most of my multiple bets in the process.
Just when you think you have seen the best on offer from the saddle, step forward Ryan Moore – not everybody’s cup of tea I grant you, but in my opinion the best jockey in the World and one of the best of all time. His ride on Auguste Rodin was described by fellow jockey Neil Callan as the best he has every seen which is some praise, and in my book he walked away with ride of the meeting. After being blocked and having to snatch up the Derby winner after three furlongs there was zero signs of panic from the plate as he closed on the leaders from two out, before Ryan spotted the smallest of gaps up the rail shortly after which he quickly burst through to put the race to bed. Yes the runner-up was closing late on, but the damage had already been done as the son of Deep Impact added another £1,733,333 to his prize fund, and perhaps another zero to his value at stud.
Back to the UK and they say you should never go back – someone needs to be brave enough to tell Henrietta Knight that, and it won’t be me! She officially retired from training in 2012 to look after her husband, but he sadly passed away 10 years ago and she has kept her hand in with a pre-training yard ever since, as well as being available for advice to many of her local trainers. Now aged 77 she is looking for a new challenge (good on her, I say) with up to 30 horses in her care, and although she may never find another triple Gold Cup winner like Best Mate (2002, 2003, and 2004), I doubt she will be short of willing owners with deep pockets. With ex-jockey and trainer Brendan Powell as her assistant I doubt it will be too long before we see her back in the Winners’ Enclosure, and at a time when others are leaving the sport, I for one will be welcoming her back with open arms.
Lastly for this week, where have all the punters gone? As you may (or may not) know Nevin Truesdale, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, has started a petition on behalf of the British Horseracing Industry titled “Stop The implementation of betting affordability/financial risk checks” here https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/649894, but as a write it has less than 80,000 signatures from the millions who bet on racing, go figure? If they reach 100,000 it has to be debated in Parliament but my deepest concern is one of punter apathy. Even 100,000 is a drop in the ocean, but all I can do is urge you to sign individually, and to share this with all of your friends on social media to make sure we get to the biggest number possible, and send out a signal to those in power who think we simply don’t matter.
Fancy a listen? The podcast link is here https://theworldofsport.co.uk/2023/11/09/breeders-cup-hen-knight-returns-and-have-you-signed-the-petition/ for the musings of myself and Ron Robinson of Post Racing fame…
Saturday Racing
1.50pm Wincanton
A Grade Two Novice Chase over two and a half miles starts our racing this weekend, but with the possible exception of Frodon, we haven’t really seen any real superstars win this over recent years. If we are looking for early Cheltenham clues then Doyen Star is very much the one that catches my eye. Over hurdles he would probably have to give way to Knappers Hill here with the Paul Nicholls trained seven-year-old rated 13lb his superior, but although he arrives unbeaten, those in the Evan Williams yard were delighted to see him win over the smaller obstacles as he has always been seen as a chaser in the making. He does need to take a big step up hence his price in such a small field, but if they all stand their ground we would get paid out each way for second, and everyone knows how difficult it is to knock any horse who is yet to taste defeat.
2.05pm Newcastle
On to the all-weather next with a Listed race over six furlongs won last year by Fast Response for Karl Burke, at odds of 8/1. This year the card has been switched after the abandonment of Doncaster so past race stats are pretty irrelevant, but we still have a strongly fancied contender in Sense Of Duty. William Haggas sends the four-year-old to this weaker contest after his two runs this season saw a third in a Group Three on heavy ground at Newbury where he ran on well over the five furlongs, followed by a tenth to Art Power at Ascot on Champions Day over this trip, a Group One where once again the ground was on the very soft side. He drops in class significantly now, and will be far better suited by this quicker surface having won the Group Three Chipchase Stakes over course and distance in June last year. Lightly raced we may not have seen the best of him yet, and on official ratings he has 5lb or more in hand on all of his rivals.
2.45pm Aintree
The Grand Sefton Chase has always been a brilliant early season spectacle. As a handicap it makes sense to look back at past runnings for any useful clues, and over the 20 runnings the following facts came to light: No horses aged five, seven, or 12 have won this despite 61 runners from those age groups. None had run in the last seven days or hadn’t run for more than a year. Only one who completed last time out failed to come home in the first seven, and only one had run in the last 15 days. Not much to go on, but it does suggest new shortlist of seven to work with – Fantastic Lady, Nassalam, Born By The Sea, Cooper’s Cross, percussion, Half Shot and Yccs Portocervo. The last named has to be of some interest for Dr Newland who won this in 2020 with Beau Bay, but the cold hard fact is that only one of these is within seven pounds of their highest winning mark, and that is Gary Moore’s Nassalam. Still only a six-year-old, he has won three times over fences at Ascot over two miles three furlongs, Newbury over two and a half miles, and Fontwell over two miles three and a half furlongs, the last off a mark of 144 in February 2022. He races off 2lb lower now so he is well-handicapped if he can be brought back to form, and although not at his best when 10th at Cheltenham in the Ultima Chase at the Festival or when seventh here in April, both those starts were over three miles plus, and this is a much more suitable distance for his return to action.
3.00pm Wincanton
This has always been a popular starting point for those hurdlers just a fraction short of top-class, and this year is no different with the likes of West Balboa and Hansard looking to bring down likely favourite Rubaud, though they do look up against it. Unlike many of the Nicholls horses in recent weeks he didn’t look as if the run was needed at Kempton when making all to score by close to three lengths last month, but there is every chance he may strip even fitter for that start, giving him a huge advantage over his market rivals who are both having their first starts in over 200 days.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Sense Of Duty 2.05pm Newcastle
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