- Monday, 03 October 2011 20:44
- Written by David Pipe
Well, what started as a quiet week built up to crescendo with three runners at Fontwell on Saturday and a runner at Huntingdon on Sunday as well as a trip across to France for the Arc Sales on Saturday evening and a visit to Longchamp for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday.
I was thrilled to register a double on Saturday with Arab League and Vertige Dore both scoring hard fought victories. It was good to see them both display real courage under pressure and they received excellent rides from Tom Scudamore and Timmy Murphy respectively.
- Monday, 26 September 2011 21:30
- Written by David Pipe
I was greatly saddened to hear that another great former trainer passed away last week. Michael Jarvis, who trained at Newmarket from 1968 until February of this year, passed away at the age of 73 following a long battle with cancer. Michael was a wonderful trainer and won countless big races with the likes of Carroll House, Rakti and Ameerat, but more than that – he was a great man who will be missed by the entire racing community.
- Monday, 19 September 2011 15:55
- Written by David Pipe
Firstly, I couldn’t start this week without saying how saddened I was to learn of Donald “Ginger” McCain’s passing this morning. Ginger was a legend of the training ranks and he has done so much to raise the profile of our sport, most notably through his expert handling of Red Rum and more recently Amberleigh House to win four Grand National’s.
- Monday, 12 September 2011 19:34
- Written by David Pipe
Chester Cup winner Mamlook will miss the Ces
It was the first forfeit stage today (Tuesday) for next month's Cesarewitch at Newmarket and unfortunately we have had to scratch Mamlook. The seven year old son of Key Of Luck went for a racecourse gallop last week and came back with a bit of heat in a fore leg and the vet has confirmed that he is going to need some time off. Mamlook has twice finished in the frame in the Cesarewitch (third behind Caracciola in 2008, and second behind Darley Sun in 2009), as well as landing the fiercely competitive Chester Cup in 2010, four hurdle races (including the Grade 2 Victor Chandler Handicap Hurdle at Ascot) and a couple of chases. He has been a wonderful servant and this setback is a blow to everyone concerned, but he will be given everything he needs to assist his recuperation and get him back onto the racecourse. His absence means that we now have three remaining in next month's Cesarewitch - Big Occasion, Beyond and Tasheba.
- Monday, 05 September 2011 17:38
- Written by David Pipe
It’s been a week of rather mixed fortunes with American Art’s success at Huntingdon last Monday being the obvious highlight. Conor O’Farrell gave him a very confident ride and he clearly gets a good tune out of him as he is now unbeaten in two starts on the gelding. An official rating of 113 means that he is going to continue to struggle in handicap company, but he is in good form and will continue to pay his way in this type of race.
- Monday, 29 August 2011 17:41
- Written by David Pipe
Once again, it seems to me that the powers that be are trying their best to shoot racing in the foot with the latest debacle surrounding the fixture list as Britain’s newest racecourse; Ffos Las in South Wales faces the prospect of losing nearly half of its fixtures. Is this really how the BHA supports new racecourses? If so, it is hardly surprising that Ffos Las is only the second racecourse to open in the last 84 years (the other, Great Leighs went to the wall shortly after it was opened in 2008).
Dai Walters, owner of Ffos Las is a great supporter of racing in Britain – not only was the racecourse his brainchild, he is also a prominent racehorse owner and he supports a number of trainers up and down the country. Dai has warned that if the track loses these fixtures then he will have no option other than to close the track and will be so disenchanted with racing that he will sell his substantial string of horses. Such a loss will have wide reaching consequences, not least at the grass roots of our sport where job losses among stable staff are likely to result.
- Tuesday, 23 August 2011 13:40
- Written by David Pipe
How time flies…I was reminded only yesterday that it was the anniversary of my first winner as a jockey under rules. It was an amateur rider’s handicap hurdle at Hereford and I was aboard a horse trained by my father and owned by the Martin Pipe Racing Club called Passed Pawn. He was a cracking little horse in the right grade and he looked after me to oblige by a comfortable four lengths at odds of 2/1. That was NINETEEN(!) years ago and digging through the Pond House archives I found a black and white article from the now defunct Sporting Life newspaper commemorating the achievement. There is a picture of us in the winners’ enclosure with Chester (no more fashion sense then than now!) on one side and my father (holding a “mobile” phone the size of a brick) on the other.
