Amigo Bids To Do A Bonanza!

It was a good Boxing Day for the yard with two winners from our eight runners, maintaining David's excellent 25% strike rate on the season.  Batavir and Alternatif were the winners - Batavir (pictured above) stayed on gamely to beat Bears Affair by 2 1/2 lengths, then Alternatif (pictured below) won the last at Kempton in the dark by a neck - hopefully the handicapper will not be too unkind.  Even allowing for the winners though, the performance of the day from any Pond House charge had to be Dynaste's brave second in the King George VI Chase.  He put in a great round of jumping and stayed on in really pleasing fashion to be beaten only by old rival Silviniaco Conti - he picked up a handy £42,000 in prize money so owner John White must be delighted.

You couldn't help but be impressed by Faugheen in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton yesterday but has he really achieved any more than the proven form of The New One.  I thought that the bookies over-reacted by shortening Willie Mullins charge to even money favourite - there is still ten weeks to go until the Festival and anything can happening in that time...I wouldn't want even money about anything at this time.  At the odds 3/1 about The New One still makes more appeal to me.

Following yesterdays festive feast of racing we are left with a meagre five meetings to enjoy today!  There are jumps meetings from Kempton, Chepstow and Wetherby as well as all-weather flat cards from Southwell and Wolverhampton.  The stable runs hurdles debutant Good Value at Kempton and Smiles For Miles, Katkeau, Serienschock, Sinndars Man, Amigo and Shoegazer.  The big race of the day is the Welsh National at Chepstow at 2.35pm and we are represented by Amigo who will be partnered Conor O'Farrell, while Tom Scu is aboard his brother Michael's charge Monbeg Dude.

I still remember some of the vintage Welsh Nationals, back when Bonanza Boy was a dual winner of the race on soft ground - can you believe it is 25 years since the second of his back to back wins?  He was a cracking little horse who won the race in 1988 under 10.1 and was an even bigger certainty the following year when carrying 11.11 - it just goes to show that weight doesn't stop them.  Martin went on to win the race on five occasions with Run For Free, Riverside Boy and of course Carvills Hill.  Despite giving stacks of weight away all round and bunny-hopping the last, he annihilated a high class field with his head in his chest - happy days indeed!  Amigo only has 10-8 today and he ran a good second on this track in the Welsh National Trial last time - he should handle the ground and could be an interesting contender.  If you are thinking of going racing to Chepstow, be sure to give yourself plenty of time as the bridge can get snarled up with traffic.  I remember MCP and myself having to run across it one year, or should I say walk quickly!?

Champion jockey A P McCoy travels over to Ireland this afternoon.  Either he wants to take his mum and dad their Christmas presents or he fancies his chances aboard Alan King's Uxizandre.  Actually the champ is there again tomorrow when he rides Carlingford Lough for his boss J P McManus in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.

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I see that a gardener at Waldens Farm Foods in Trowbridge has quit his job at the age of 90 as he said he could see no future in it!  He started there in 1954.