One At Each

     Pachacuti Debuts Over Fences Today

Today we have two runners at two meetings, providing Chepstow passes it’s 7.30am inspection, which it has!  Pachacuti makes his chasing debut in the 1.50pm novices handicap chase with Jack Tudor in the saddle.  He is a lovely big chasing type and we have always been looking forward to seeing him over the larger obstacles.  He was due to debut over fences at Lingfield last week but that meeting was abandoned due to Storm Ciaran so it is good to get him out this afternoon.  It will be his first try at three miles but he is bred to stay and I think this step up in distance combined with fences will be the making of him.  He is a horse that has always gone very well at home but I am not sure we have seen him at his best on the racecourse yet. 

He was a winner at Fakenham last season over hurdles and can be forgiven his last outing of last season where he returned home having pulled some muscles in the race.  Hopefully he can jump well and be involved in the finish.

King Turgeon makes his seasonal reappearance in the opening race on the card at Chepstow, the conditional jockeys handicap chase over three miles and Gearoid Harney rides at 12.55pm.  It is fair to say he took a little while to acclimatize when arriving from France last season but he did win over fences at Fontwell.  The ground was not soft enough at Ffos Las on his last run before a summer break but he should relish today’s conditions.  He is still only a five year old and he is a big scopey horse with more improvement to come and I think he can run well fresh.  The Venetia Williams trained Eceparti looks the one they all have to beat under a seven pound penalty having scored easily at the track last time out.  Fingers crossed we can give that horse something to think about.

Yesterday at Warwick, while we weren’t thinking we were going to win the juvenile hurdle I had hoped both Marrakushi and Kauto Kawai had shown a little more.  The latter now qualifies for a handicap mark so we will see what the handicapper gives us next week and go from there.

There are actually three jumps meetings today as well as Chepstow and Warwick, they race at Musselburgh.  There is all-weather action at Kempton this evening and in Ireland they have flat action at Dundalk.

Last night in the Champions League football Manchester were easy winners at home to Young Boys 3-0 and have now qualified for the next stage of the competition.  I didn't see that match but all the talk seems to be about the Young Boys captain asking Haaland if he could have his match shirt at half time - this is a new one for me!  Newcastle lost 2-0 away to Borussia Dortmund and while they still can progress through to the next round, things certainly look a little more difficult.

Tonight it is the turn of Manchester United who are away to FC Copenhagen and Arsenal who are at home to Sevilla.  Both matches are an 8pm kick-off.

I hurt my bottom after shaking it at the office party.  It was a twerk-place injury!  Have a good Wednesday!