What a Moment....Winner at Towcester

What a judge Ashley Farrant is, he told me What a Moment was a really nice type of horse and was great to see him win the bumper at Towcester on his Pond House debut.  Our five year old stayed on really nicely up the hill on pretty desperate ground and he looks a right stayer in the making.  He has already finished second in a Irish point to point so he can jump and he is very much one to look forward to.  Meanwhile at Wincanton our runners were a bit disappointing but it was atrocious conditions so fingers crossed we can put a line through these runs and we will see better from these horses next time.  Horses tend to either handle conditions or not and unfortunately ours did not appear to yesterday.  I did see the strangest race ever at Wincanton yesterday though, the bumper.  A horse called See the World hungs so badly left of the last bend he went right off the track and gave about 100 yards away yet still got up to win.  He must have been about a million to one in running!  He is also well named, See the World, that is what he did yesterday!  It was also great at Wincanton as an owner of ours, Geoff Thompson had a winner.  Coombe Hill is 14 years young and ran as well as ever to win the hunterchase under Darren Edwards, well done Geoff!

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There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with two jumps cards from Wincanton and Towcester as well as flat cards from Southwell and Wolverhampton.  The stable runs Courtlands Prince, Brook, Softsong, Shoegazer and Look West at Wincanton, while What A Moment runs at Towcester.  There are some promising types among them so we will be keeping our fingers firmly crossed for a winner or two.  Brook (pictured above) was a decisive winner on heavy ground at Newbury last time and while this looks to be a slightly better race, he does receive 11lbs from paper favourite Otago Trail.  Our Towcester runner What A Moment was second in an Irish point-to-point so this stiff track will be ideal for our five year old and he looks like a nice ride for conditional jockey Kieron Edgar.

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The stable continues in good form and we enjoyed another winner yesterday afternoon when Border Breaker made all to win the second division of the novices' hurdle at Taunton under a good, positive ride from conditional jockey Michael Heard.  He looks good value for his 7lbs claim and I am sure he will begin picking up a few outside rides.  Meanwhile, I was very impressed by the success of Barbs Princess on the all-weather at Southwell yesterday and she looks a certainty to follow-up if turned out again quickly under a penalty.

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The stable enjoyed another winner yesterday when Obistar obliged in the conditional jockeys' hurdle at Plumpton yesterday.  Our five year old needed every yard of the 3m1 1/2f trip and I thought that Kieron Edgar did very well to keep him going after he was headed turning for home.  He stayed on again in fine style from there and had five lengths in hand at the line.  The blinkers clearly helped and Kieron's 3lbs allowance would also have been of assistance on the very testing ground.  Obistar was yet another winner for Brocade Racing who are having something of a season mirabilis.  Meanwhile, Northern Bay finished third under amateur jockey Tom Greatrex on his first ride over hurdles - I thought he did well and he clearly has a bright future ahead of him.

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Today we have three meetings to look forward to with jump cards from Ludlow and Plumpton and an all-weather flat fixture from Wolverhampton.  The stable runs Race To Glory and Northern Bay at Ludlow as well as Obistar and Multimedia at Plumpton.  I see that the bookmakers make Obistar (pictured above, left) favourite following his good second at Exeter on heavy ground last time.  The step up in trip looks as though it will suit him well and he looks to have sound claims under stable jockey Tom Scudamore.

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Today there is only one meeting to look forward to in this country and that comes from Sedgefield. Nevertheless there is some excellent action at Leopardstown which features the Irish Champion Hurdle and a magnificent seventh clash between Hurricane Fly and Jezki. I was talking to A P McCoy yesterday and he fancies his chances of beating Hurricane Fly - it should be a race to savour.

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There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with three jump meetings from Cheltenham, Doncaster and Uttoxeter as well as an all-weather flat card from Lingfield.  It is a big day for the stable as it is Trials Day at Cheltenham and the stable has several well-fancied runners in Dynaste, Easter Meteor, Un Temps Pour Tout and Dell' Arca, while Bladoun is in action over at Uttoxeter.  It is a big day for Dynaste (pictured above) who runs in the Betbright Cup at Cheltenham over 3m1 1/2f and it should be an informative contest - if he is going to win a Cheltenham Gold Cup he will need to go very close this afternoon.  He would be giving weight away all round if this were a handicap so if he gets the trip, he will take plenty of beating and looks a good price at 11/4 with Ladbrokes.

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