Great Run From Queen

      Kingston Queen - Third at Aintree

It was a case of ‘third-itis’ last week with three of our five runners filling that position but Kintaro and Castle Daragh ran their best races for a while and took a step in the right direction while Kingston Queen ran a cracker in the Listed mares bumper at Aintree.  Kingston Queen has done nothing but improve all season and took another step forward to be a close third on Thursday.  She was prominent throughout, galloped all the way through the line, showing a great attitude, and was closing on those in front of her in the final strides.  She would have preferred a bit softer conditions underfoot but it was a good performance and that is it for her for the season now.  She is a lovely mare and one very much to look forward to over hurdles next season after a holiday.

With no significant rain in the last week and not much forecast for at least another ten days I have decided to take a few of the horses out of training.  Gentleman Toboot has run well in bumpers this season and he may have ran again had there been rain, but he is a horse I hold in high regard and is another to look forward to over hurdles in the autumn.  Gold in the Rivers and Jilaijone are another couple who have started their holidays while several, that include Jurancon, are just ‘ticking over’ and will only run again if we get some help from above. 

We do have a few entries this week and Kintaro will be our first runner on Wednesday at Taunton.  He ran well enough at Exeter last week to be third where the conditions of the race were not in his favour and he has come out of that race well so we have decided to let him take his chance again.  He loves the quicker ground and I am sure he will give our David Pipe Racing Club members a good day out, win, lose or draw.

On Thursday, we have Johannes and Eton Mes entered at Newton Abbot in their first race meeting of the year.  The course lost several of its meetings last year due to waterlogging, no such problems this time around and they, like many of us, would like some rain at present!  On Friday, we are likely to have runners ‘up North’ and in Scotland!  The plan is for Phantomofthepoints to run in the 2m5f handicap hurdle at Ayr.  He had a great start to the season and the handicapper put him up a fair bit so things have been tougher in his last couple of races but he did not run too badly at all last time in a competitive and valuable handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter.  He is a former course winner and his owners are all-Scottish and will be there so hopefully he can give them all something to shout about.

At Sedgefield we have three horses entered and they all carry the colours of local owners ‘Sendemon’ and the plan is to run.  Pub Crawl, Chemical Warfare and Chemical Dave are all at different stages of their careers but it is great there are races for all three of them at this meeting.  Pub Crawl, is yet to win over hurdles but was a good second at the track when last in action.  He prefers better ground and is returning from a winter holiday.  He is in good form at home and has the ability to run well.  Chemical Warfare has had a terrific season so far and ran well in the Eider at Newcastle last time but it was ultimately not quite up to that level.  He returns to action in much calmer waters and he is already a dual course winner this season.  Chemical Dave is only just starting his career and this bumper will only be the second run of his life.  He is a thoroughly likeable character, but ran very greenly in his racecourse debut at Doncaster.  He should have learned lots from that experience and I think we will see a different horse this time.

The weekend is looking quiet for us with regards to runners with the ground on the quick side of good at the majority of racecourses and no rain in the forecast.  Keep checking the Daily News on the website for all the latest news on the stable runners.

Windbeneathmywings

Windebeneathmywings is recovering well from the injury he sustained just before Cheltenham.  Thankfully, it was quite straightforward and after a period of box rest he is now on the walker twice daily and we are gradually increasing the time.  In the coming weeks he will be turned out in a small paddock before a summer holiday and we can look forward to him going hurdling next season.

Point-to-Point Update

No runners or entries coming up for our small team of point to pointers at the moment given the current weather conditions but it was a good weekend for Rian Corcoran again as he rode another winner to make it 13 for the season so far.  It was a memorable weekend for Jo Suppple, wife of our very own Gerry, who rode her 100^th career winner at Cherrybrook on Sunday.  It has been a long-term ambition of hers to reach this milestone so it is great she has been able to achieve it.  It is not such good news for Martin McIntyre however, who unfortunately broke his collarbone in a fall at Ludlow last week.  It thankfully does not require surgery but he will be out of action for a few weeks.

Aintree

Vieux Lion Rouge went to Aintree on Saturday to parade and very much enjoyed his day.  He paraded in the paddock and then in front of the grandstands before racing.  Jack and I went to Aintree on Thursday when Kingston Queen ran and we had a great ‘boys’ day out but found it difficult to back any winners!

Aintree was a great three days of competitive racing and like Cheltenham, I thought in general it was a good advert for our sport.  The starts came under further scrutiny and it is something that needs to be addressed further.  I can see things from both sides (starter and jockeys) but there must be something we can do to improve them when it comes to these big meetings at is not good when there are fasle starts in nearly every race!  It was great however that the National itself got off at the first time of asking.  The Willie Mullins team dominated Aintree, including the big race itself and things now look interesting for the trainers Championship and it certainly adds interest to the final few weeks of the season.  It also adds fuel to the fire that perhaps the trainer’s title should be decided by the number of winners trained, not by the amount of prize money won, but that has been discussed many times over the years.  It is a great achievement for father and son to win the Grand National together and you could see how much it meant to them all so many congratulations to Willie and Patrick and the Mullins family.