By means of backing up
the Kent National (four mile mixed open) with a Men's
Confined and a Ladies' Confined, the
effect was to stage a card that had, by the south-east standards, three races of open quality
scheduled, although the Ladies
race held up in numbers rather than strength, and the Men's
race vice versa. The advance
weather co-operated in full, leaving the course good, with easier patches, and totally unfrozen or
snowbound. However, the weather
on the day was less kind. A strong wind, with ever increasing
rain, kept the crowd down to
start with and saw many depart early. Even the bookmakers gave up the uneven struggle - although
as their boards were facing the
wind and rain, actually displaying any prices was an
achievement in itself - and by
the last only three hardy layers survived. The number
board operators showed solidarity with
their board brethren by declining to show anything other than the numbers of the runners after
the second, and relying on the
announcements for changes and additions. For a brief moment
after the third, the microphone went
into Norman Collier mode, but the potential farce was cured in a sadly short time. And after all
this discomfort, the surviving
spectators were given a small tribute for their endurance by the commentator during the seventh
race, which made us feel appreciated, if no less foolish.
Kevin Ferrett Memorial Hunt
Race Not the one-sided cakewalk that the members races in
the area can often degenerate
into, but winner Phar Afield did succeed cosily enough. Jody
Sole waited until the second
last to deliver the challenge to long time leader
Lord Of The Flies, and did not have to
exert much to get the verdict. This was assisted by the fact that Lord Of The Flies had not run in
aeons, and was only an average
handicap chaser when he did. Fatigue was a definite
factor as he lost second on the run-in
to Ocki, despite that rival being half a length down when blundering and almost unseating at the
last. Perhaps after this,
connections will pitch Ocki in at a more realistic level
than hunter chases? Winward
dropped out of contention from six out but held fourth from Amanda's Fancy, who, for the second
straight year, was tailed off by
the second and ridden with no intention other than completion.
She jumped better at the task
this year, and it was job done.
Cluttons Mens Confined
Just four lined up from a good entry, but it was a race of solid
quality. The betting saw three
runners competing for favouritism, and the nimble and
alert may have got in a situation where
they had backed Pendle Hill, Real Value and Tricky Trevor with a guaranteed small profit -
assuming Oxendale would not win.
For steady, unrelenting ploddery, Oxendale is one of my
favourite horses, but even allowing for
personal bias, the three rivals posed him a big challenge. Which he rose to, despite being
fourth. He stayed in touch a
long way, and was probably no more than twelve lengths behind
the winner at the end. Despite
being ridden along four out, as was Real Value, Tricky Trevor made his contribution to Philip
York's championship challenge, with Pendle Hill getting the better of the declining Real Value
for the minor spot. Pendle Hill,
who has already won an Open this season, stuck his
nose in front two out, but Tricky
Trevor seems a different character since being Yorked, and more success must be on the
cards.
Gerald Lukehurst Ladies'
Confined An unusual event, in that the prize for the
winning jockey was a candelabra, which is the Peggy Burden Perpetual Memorial Trophy. It can
only be assumed that it was
dished out by a confused executor, who found one will item
left to execute, one possession
left to dispense, and decided to ignore the lack of correlation between the instruction and the
object. On reflection, I am considering leaving my Old Mid-Whitgiftian RFC B XV Player Of
The Year Tankard (1994) as a
perpetual challenge trophy for the open maiden at
Catsfield, if only to bemuse the
winners. As for the actual race, it was the most one sided affair all day. After his good
third at Charing last week, Sarah Ashby rode a more aggressive race on Dick McCarthy,
leaving most of the field
toiling in his wake. Uncharacteristically (at least compared
to the last couple of seasons),
Dick McCarthy enjoyed every minute and only a slow jump at the last, when fifteen lengths or
more ahead, spoilt it. The only
one to take him on for the lead was Jack Of Kilcash, who needs
faster ground, and faded from
the thirteenth. Teach Altra stayed on from miles back
to nab second from Stylish Dave. A flat
winner in New Zealand, Stylish Dave had been an encouraging fourth on his pointing debut, but this
run suggested that he may need
quicker going to see out the trip.
Shepherd Neame Kent Grand
National, 4 Mile Mixed Open The feature event of the area,
and Jenny Gordon won it, retaining the Slottie Dawes Perpetual Memorial Trophy for the successful
pilot. And it was hard work too,
as the persistant attention of Dixon Varner (last year's
runner-up) was only beaten off halfway
up the run-in. The winning horse , Robbie's Adventure, had not shown much under Rules since
winning three years ago, and
fared little better in points. The only possible reasons for
the dramatic improvement would
be the effect of the jockey and the benefits of the marathon trip. Tell The Nipper was third, just
holding the rally of Brackenheath. These four had pretty much dominated the race,
and despite the early pace
looking strong for the trip and conditions, nothing else got in
a blow. Nubro was never
travelling well and at the back until pulled up and
veteran Prime Course unseated at the
eleventh. Favourite was Nomadic Star, and he also was loitering around in the rear, but when
asked to make progress, did so
only slowly, until he unseated Zoe Lilly by thumping the
fifth last at a stage where his
prospects of success looked slim.
Restricted If anyone
thinks that horses have never been cloned, a mere glance at
Asthefellowsaid and Kilvoydan standing
next to each other in the paddock would immediately arouse suspicion. However, once the race
starts it would be laid to rest.
Asthefellowsaid is a young, unexposed horse of some
potential. Kilvoydan, on the other
hand, is a known dodgepot. Today, Asthefellowsaid won in handsome style and Kilvoydan failed to
get beyond the first fence. The
winner sat at the back, and did not appear too comfortable
in the fierce crosswind, especially in
the jumping department - safe, but not 100% sure. However, when Andrew Hickman asked him to attack
in the back straight, there was
plenty of fuel in the tank, and in the end, the spoils
were comfortably landed. Mares maiden
winner Kayleigh* was second best on the day, but she was not too far ahead of Red
Square Prince, whose success had
been in a two runner race, and the expense of the generally
unexalted talent that is
Glenmont. Since then he had pulled up every run, so he does
not act as a great endorsement for the
form. Overheard comment of the day came when Tonrin unseated Jody Sole. The horse walked through
the fifth and the hapless pilot
was cartwheeled over the horses head, depositing the
accidental acrobat on his bonce. A
droll voice behind observed that, 'he's done a Sean Fox.'
* It is horrendous how many people
named their children after that infernal Marillion song, but inflicting it on a horse is beyond the
pale. I did suggest once a
friend called his son Market Square Heroes, but this advice
was inexplicably
overlooked.
McCabe Ford Williams Open
Maiden Under the circumstances, the maidens seemed likely
to become trials of survival
rather than raw skill, but there were more finishers than might
be expected, especially in the
Confined Maiden. Although second last week, Royal Cruise had been only tackling two and a half
miles, and he did not run on
strongly at the death, and definitely a false favourite today.
The stamina doubts proved to be
valid, as he faded in the last quarter mile from what had been a good lead, and was only third. The
winner was a five year old
debutant, Balau, who looked absolutely fantastically fit and well
in the paddock, but drifted in
the betting. In the circumstances, he may have been
worth a betting risk, as the
limitations of his rivals were fairly transparent, but when conditions are bad, I always wonder
whether the best interest of
youngsters in their first race is to have a bit of an
educational. Gut feeling is that Balau
could be a fair pointer in the making. Gale On The Lake made it two non-completions in eight
days, but again did well enough
whilst in the race to think he has the engine to win a
maiden if he can get round. Another
paddock pick was See Red Billdan. He has never finished a race but he led, jumping well, until
running out through the wing of
the sixteenth. Like Gale On The Lake, there seems to be some
raw material to work on, but
plenty of elbow grease is going to be needed. I actually did him each-way on the Tote, as just
before the off he was showing 32-1 for the win (about 10s on the remaining boards) and no
place money on him at all.
Dreams of scooping the pool were confounded again.
The Castle at Oare Confined
Maiden Having achieved 100% clothing saturation by this
stage, the race did not have my
undivided attention, as I was unpeeling the racecard from my
pocket. The winner was Street
Smart, who defied one or two moments of uncertain
jumping to continue the progressive
form since the start of the season - U621 is now the record. Second was Rumour Has It, who
showed that he had learnt a bit
about getting over the fences since blundering round on his
debut, just holding the late run of No
Reward. The third has a fairly inconsistent record, but he ran an odd race here. In the back
straight, he was under pressure
and making no progress on the leaders. Having disappeared
off of the radar, he made up a lot of
late ground and did look less exhausted than the other finishers as he came home. Certainly
No Reward was given too much to
do, but he may not be fully co-operative with the pilot
either. After pulling hard at Charing
last week, Master Chief was allowed to bowl along in front. He loved it, and jumped soundly for
two and a half miles, but tired
very quickly when hitting the wall. He is not yet a lost
cause.
The last four points I have been too
have now seen a battering by gale force winds, with hail and icy rain; frozen to the bone; strong
winds and rain; stronger winds
and heavier rain. It's getting harder persuading potential
attendees that this is all part of the
fun of it!
|