- Monday, 01 January 2018 12:33
- Written by David Pipe
A couple of winners at Newbury and Uttoxeter on Saturday and Sunday was a nice way to bring 2017 to a close. It has been something of a frustrating year for the team – the obvious high point was the incredible back-to-back victory of Un Temps Pour Tout in the Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival back in March, while the low also came at the Prestbury track when we lost the wonderfully talented Starchitect with victory in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup last month. All in all I will not be sad to see the back of 2017, but the pieces are in place for 2018 to be considerably better and I am looking forward to getting started.
The performance of Daklondike (pictured above) in winning the Mandarin Chase at Newbury on Saturday was quite incredible considering he was still only a five year old at the time. Carrying 11-10 over 3m2f on heavy ground to victory was quite an achievement, especially considering that the further he went, the better he seemed to go. A half-brother to my Paddy Power Gold Cup and Cheltenham Festival winner Great Endeavour, it is not difficult to see him becoming a force in all the good staying handicap chases and could end up being a National contender in the future.
Queens Cave also looked a lovely prospect for the future when landing the last race of 2017, a mares’ bumper at Uttoxeter on Sunday. The winner of an Irish point-to-point on soft ground in November, she always looked to be in command on her rules debut, winning with the minimum of fuss. With such a good program for mares these days, there should be no shortage of opportunities for her over the coming weeks and months and she is an exciting horse to have around the stable.
There were other notable performances last week, including River Dun who put up a good first effort for the stable when a narrow runner-up at Fontwell on Boxing Day, while Vaniteux picked up some good prize money for finishing runner-up in the Desert Orchid Chase. This was his best effort since joining us, while he will certainly appreciate the return to a sounder surface.
We have five runners at Exeter this afternoon (Monday) and it would be wonderful if we could keep the momentum going. Friday Night Light, Tigger Two, It’s Obvious, You Say What and Mrs Miggins will be bidding to do just that today. Friday Night Light looks a most promising young novice hurdler (of whom I still have 50% available for sale, further details of which can be found here), while the testing conditions should certainly suit You Say What, who was a good runner-up at the track last time.
With Ffos Las already abandoned ahead of their Tuesday meeting, the next runners from the stable are could come at Bangor on Thursday where Red Square Revival and Miss Tynte feature among the entries, although they also have alternative engagements for later in the week.
Later in the week, the rescheduled Welsh National fixture is due to take place at Chepstow on Saturday and we will be confirming Rathlin Rose in the big one (while he will also receive an entry for the Sussex alternative at Plumpton on Sunday). Promising staying chaser (and course and distance winner) Ramses de Teillee will be given an entry in the novices’ limited handicap chase. The meeting has already been abandoned once and the forecast for the week ahead does not look great – let’s hope the fixture does go ahead, but one thing is for sure, conditions are going to be extremely testing.
Tobacco Road, Shaama Grise and Taj Badalandabad all hold engagements at Wincanton on Saturday, while we will also have entries at Newcastle’s rescheduled meeting on Sunday and Plumpton. We will have to keep an eye on the skies before deciding who runs where, so do keep up to date with Chester’s Daily Chat for all the latest news.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the stable during the past twelve months. I hope you will continue to enjoy following the fortunes of the yard and I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
