Author: Peter McNeile

The 2 week break from Jump racing was perfectly timed to coincide with the latest heatwave in our glorious summer, but it was as if it might never have happened as the leading proponents of Summer Jumping took the initiative once again for our first August fixture.

A total of 47 horses turned out for the seven race card on good ground, but it was an all – military affair that stole the riding honours for the day in the Walls & Ceilings International Ltd Handicap Hurdle over the minimum trip. Colonel Lesley, trained near South Molton in Devon by Claire Harris jumped his way into the lead two out, and held off a sustained challenge from the ranker Sergeant, from the in-form yard of Wiltshire maestro Milton Harris, winning by a neck. The pair drew 16l clear of the third, and gave the buoyant mid-week crowd a terrific buzz. Claire is only in her second full season, and already making a sound start, this her second winner of the term.

The metronomic winner machine that is Ravenswell Farm will have seen the August break as an irritating interruption of normal business. Fergal O’Brien has made a virtue of the little fish are sweet approach to early season racing and a first and last race double allowed him a short – priced advance to 49 winners. He is rapidly becoming the twenties answer to the prolific Martin Pipe back in the eighties. Eagles Realm was untroubled to follow up on his July win here in the opening Wildix Way Novices Handicap Hurdle, whilst 4 year old daughter of Kayf Tara, Leave Her To Me, had to draw on all of Paddy Brennan’s most forceful riding to get home by a length in the concluding bumper.

Eagles Realm was the first leg of a quickfire double for jockey Kielan Woods, successful 30 minutes later in the Stratford Racing Club Novices Handicap Chase with 14l winner Sea Prince, trained at Edgcote by ALex Hales. With three trainers now based at this historic racing estate, we should be seeing plenty more winners from this former home of Spanish Steps.

It’s a common misconception that Temple Guiting handler Jonjo O’Neill trains almost solely for billionaire J P McManus. That McManus has more horses in training than he can count is also another falsehood; the reality of ownership in the top flight is that you need to kiss many frogs to achieve the greatness of a Grade I winner. Six year old mare La Domaniale may not hit those dizzy heights for McManus and O’Neill, but it’s difficult to fault her development this summer with two wins at Uttoxeter and a 1 1/4l victory here sandwiching runner – up berths at Worcester and Market Rasen. She’s certainly good enough now to merit a rating for a decent handicap. O’Neill jnr has had a torrid time with injuries in recent months, but to be back among the winners is welcome.

One man who knows a thing or two about riding winners is champion Brian Hughes. Rarely is a trip south wasted, and this one was no different. Rides for Donald McCain and the Pogsons may have fallen short, but Laura Morgan provided a 58th winner of the season on all-the-way winner Tardree, who never saw another rival, in the Walls & Ceilings International Novices Hurdle, with 16l back to the runner-up and a further 70l to the third. It’s a wonder the judge hung around that long.

Longest – priced winner of the day came in the 3m3f handicap chase, when Call of the Loom reeled in long time leader Regaby to provide some cheer for Wales. Christian Williams is not best known as an exponent of the summer season, but under a busy ride from Jack Tudor, ran out a 6 1/2l winner of this Class 5 event.

A total of 39 runners faced the starter in the six races programmed on June 28 for a sunny summer evening at Stratford, in which local Cotswold trainers put in a good showing.

The evening’s most valuable race started the card, but attracted just two runners in the Stratford Supporting Racing Staff Week Novices Chase. Well thought-of Cary’s Commodity from Jonjo O’Neill’s, and Calva d’Auge, from Paul Nicholls, are both rated 135+ and until Tuesday at least, both maidens over fences, runners-up both is small fields at Uttoxeter and Kempton respectively.

The spate of small runner fields, especially in novice chases, doesn’t preclude an exciting finish in what has to be a game of cat and mouse. In this particular exercise, Calva d’Auge looked to be going better turning in, but when Jonjo Jnr asserted on Cary’s Commodity, the race was over in a matter of strides. He won unchallenged by 17l in the end, and looks well capable of further improvement.

In the evening’s other novice chase, a handicap 90 minutes later, the handicapper could afford to give himself a pat on the back. Five of the six runners were still in close contention as they approached the last, with Smith’s Bay, Cremant and Tigerten semmingly holding the advantage. From an unpromising position, Luca Morgan conjured a great run from the Ben Pauling – trained On Springs to win by 2 3/4l, so ensuring Pauling’s thirteenth winner of the term from his new yard at Naunton.

Kielan Woods notched a 16th winner of the season on D J Jeffreys’ Reams of Love in the following maiden hurdle at 20/1 in a performance that belied his starting price. DJ is yet another product of the Cotswold racing scene. Formerly assistant to Charlie Longsdon, he originally set up near Stow, but has now moved to Hinton-on-the-Green, just south of Evesham. There’s little of not yet in the yard, but smart placing is ensuring the Jeffreys name is appearing in winners’ lists and attracting attention.

If there is one trainer you can be assured of following successfully in the summer months, it is Gary Hanmer. French-bred Sir Tivo made it seven wins over fences in this Watch on RacingTV Handicap Chase over the minimum trip, leading from the off until briefly headed, before rallying again. Runner-up Admiral’s Sunset trained by David Weston near Marlborough, was close enough to suggest a win will not be long coming. Hanmer has now passed the £100k prize money marker for the season, this being his 12th winner since the start.

Another making the best of a season where the big stables are largely absent is Laura Morgan, not far behind Hanmer in the trainers’ list. She maintained her healthy 22% strike rate with her 11th winner in the concluding bumper where debutant Illusion of Time, impeccably bred by Sea The Stars, recouped a little of that breeding cost in his 1 1/4l victory.

Old Radleian Jamie Snowden has made the most of his alumni status at the Oxfordshire college by persuading the Alumni association to indulge in a racehorse, and they received just reward in the 2m 6f handicap hurdle when College Oak made all and won by 4 1/4l from in-form Milton Harris’s Mr Yeats and favourite Justified.

The attention of sports fans was perhaps centred more on events at Trent Bridge and Ascot than Stratford yesterday, but the six race card in beautiful early summer sunshine provided some highly entertaining sport nonetheless.

Appreciate is showing the form of Joe Root as he notched up a hattrick in the opening Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle for Milton Harris and Mitchell Bastyan. Showing good pace to pick off the leader Kolisi at the last, Appreciate was following up on wins here in May, and a short head victory at Newton Abbot 4 days previously, which clearly hadn’t left a mark. And whilst the standard of this race is hardly on a par with England’s talisman batsman, there would appear to be more in the tank from this improving four year old.

The ensuing Mares’ Novices hurdle over the minimum trip provided an eventful finish. Turning in, Symbolic Spirit led, with Lunar Shadow not making much of an impression, and Quiet Thunder in third. The first two fell independently of each other at the last, allowing conditional Chris Ward to pick up an unexpected 50/1 winner for Sarah Hollinshead. Both fallers were none the worse for their tumbles. This was Ward’s first winner of the new term, and 38th in total.

Alan King, trainer of faller Lunar Shadow, exacted compensation later in the afternoon in a very exciting further Novices hurdle over the minimum trip, in which Rafiki, given a forceful ride by Tom Bellamy, got up by a head to beat Tardree and Olly’s Folly. Just five ran in this race, but any one of four could have won a furlong out, proving that small fields can often make for great finishes.

Sarah Humphrey’s small West Wratting yard in Cambridgeshire enjoyed 9 winners last term, and courtesy of Glimpse of Gold, winner of the RacingTV free for a month Handicap Hurdle, she is already a third of the way to levelling that score with just seven weeks of the season behind us. This was the eleven year old’s third consecutive win following victories at Fakenham in April and May and the gelding lacks nothing in enthusiasm. Conditional Jay Tidball was in the plate.

There was more scrubbing going on in the closing stages of the Join RacingTV Now Novices Handicap Chase than you will find on HMS Pinafore. Three were in contention coming out of the back straight, all three under pressure to maintain their position. Eventual winner Boston Joe, for Rebecca Curtis’ South Wales yard, was locked in battle with Invincible Wish from Sarah Jane Davies, with School For Scandal in hot pursuit. Conor Ring conjured a terrific late run from Invincible Wish, but the winning post came just in time for Paul O’Brien on Boston Joe. The winning distance was a neck.

The excitement was far from over however, as the golden hour from 3.20 – 4.30 was punctuated by winners by a neck, a head and a neck – enough excitement to challenge Trent Bridge, where Stokes and Bairstow were in full flow after the tea interval. As the two England batsmen made short work of the 299 run chase with overs to spare, the appropriately – named Ahead of Schedule, long time leader in the closing Watch on RacingTV Handicap Chase over 2m 6f scarped home from Wavecrest. In stark contrast to Trent Bridge’s final result, the neck winning distance was, to paraphrase Wellington, ” a close-run thing”.

The action returns to Stratford on June 28th, when we may be basking in a third test win by our boys in white at Headingly, but Stratford spectators will be most royally entertained by our six winners.

It’s not uncommon for National Hunt horses to switch codes in the summer and feature on the Flat. There is lucrative prize money on offer in the leading stayers’ division.

Here is a look at some of the best jumps horses who are likely to appear on the Flat this summer and what their main target will be.

Earlofthecotswolds

Hurdles and chase winner Earlofthecotswolds showed how effective he can be on the Flat when he won one of the biggest races on All-Weather Finals Day at Newcastle. He was successful in the All-Weather Marathon Championships Conditions Stakes, getting the betting of a smart horse from John and Thady Gosden’s yard by a neck.

Nigel Twiston-Davies’ runner is now being prepared for a shot at the most prestigious stayers race in the sport. Given how tough he was at Newcastle last time out, he is likely to be one of the Royal Ascot tips for the day three contest this year, where he is 16/1 in the betting.

It is going to be very interesting to see how the National Hunt horse fares against Trueshan, former winner Stradivarius and Kyprios in the feature race of the Royal meeting. It is being billed as one of the strongest renewals of the Ascot Gold Cup in a number of years, so he will need to be at his best to land the spoils.

Proschema

Dan Skelton is a regular trainer here at Stratford, as this is one of his local tracks. The Lodge Hill man had an excellent year in the 2021/22 National Hunt campaign. One of the horses who gave him success last season is Proschema. The seven-year-old also finished second in a Grade Two contest at Wetherby.

The talented hurdler is set to appear in the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle this year. The heritage handicap contest takes place over the extended 2m trip at the northeast racecourse. It is a real stamina test, which the seven-time winner should relish.

If Proschema can come out on top, Skelton will join the likes of Jonjo O’Neill, Donald McCain and Martin Pipe as National Hunt trainers who have won the “Miners’ Derby.

Vauban

One of the stars of this year’s Cheltenham Festival meeting was Vauban. Willie Mullins’ juvenile prevailed in impressive fashion in the Triumph Hurdle. He then followed that up with another Grade One victory at the Punchestown Festival.

Connections of the gelding have indicated they are keen to enter their horse in some of the big Flat races this year. His first target could be the Ebor Handicap at York in August. The Irish trainer won the valuable handicap contest in 2009.

If everything goes well at the Ebor Festival, the four-year-old then may head Down Under for a shot at the richest 2m handicap race in the world, the Melbourne Cup. That’s a contest Mullins has had entries in before but has yet to win so far.

Hopefully we see all three of the above horses back over obstacles in the 2022/23 National Hunt season following success on the Flat.

The highs and lows of being a racehorse trainer were amply illustrated on Sunday as Warminster trainer Milton Harris, formerly of this parish, notched a double but endured an empty berth in the horsebox for the third of his runners on the way home.

The regeneration of the Harris story is one of endurance over adversity. A man who at the turn of the century was among the higher echelons of the mid – size stables found financial stability difficult to secure. The ignominy of bankruptcy was followed by a spell in the doldrums before finding new premises at Sutton Veny, outside Warminster. Last season proved a breakthrough year, with 56 winners and nearly £600,000 in prize money, including a first Grade I winner in Knight Salute, perhaps a fortuitous sole winner of the Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree after the demotion of dead-heating Pied Piper.

Since that memorable April day, there has been no let-up in the Harris momentum. The season is not yet a full month old, yet 18 runners have yielded 3 winners on a 17% strike rate.

And so to Sunday’s eventful programme. Harris’s first runner, Achy Breaky Heart had contributed 3 winners last term to that 56 winner tally, and four out looked set to add to that tally, leading into the final fence whilst pressed by Princess Midnight. However, both horses fell independently, leaving Jamie Snowden’s Howdilyoudo to break her chase maiden tag.

There’s an old adage in racing that you have to jump round to win, and this was one example, but also one in which the game Achy Breaky Heart paid the ultimate price.

No winner can compensate for losing a horse in a race, but the Harris – Mitchell Bastyan combination were quick to make amends. Not half an hour later, Appreciate won the Allen Vs Ford Selling Hurdle by 3l in a competent display that saw him bought in for 5,200 guineas.

Stratford is one of very few racecourses who nowadays persist with selling races. Perhaps it’s because there are so many opportunities to buy at auction, from Tattersalls in Newmarket and Cheltenham, to Yorton Farm or Goresbridge, but thee seems little doubt that bringing the theatre of the auction house to the track adds to the drama around racing. Is there a brave racecourse out there prepared to turn the concept on its head and stage a valuable seller rather than one catering solely for the lower reaches of the sport? Step forward you innovators!

Milton Harris’s second winner to alleviate the loss in the second race came courtesy of 4/5 favourite Copshill Lad in the closing bumper, appropriately enough sponsored by Milton Harris Racing. The dark grey gelding had the race well under control and the 2 3/4l winning distance in no way describes the ease with which the winner put his rivals to bed. Look out for more from this Middleham Park Racing – owned gelding.

Two other Wiltshire trainers have endured contrasting fortunes these past 12 months. Neil Mulholland has consistently proved his worth in the top flight of those yards without big money owners, finishing last season with 62 winners and £588,000 in prize money, none of which accrued from big race winners. In the course of so doing, he responded to his owners’ requests, including several innovative and great fun trips to Les Landes Racecourse on Jersey, where the prizes make UK racing look like Hong Kong by comparison, but where the craic is good.

Mulholland is another on fire at present, and a 30% strike rate in chases means only a fool ignores his runners presently. Ragamuffin, under a resolute ride from Sam Twiston-Davies, probably had the upper hand when his main rival Above Suspicion from the Tom George yard fell at the last in the catchily titled Fantastic Roasts at Riverside Novices Handicap Chase, to offer up the race at a 9l winning distance. Nevertheless, with six winner in the past week alone, it would be a brave man to oppose Mulholland runners just now.

Neil King’s fire has not been burning quite so brightly these past few months. Last season was in no way a failure, but the 15 winners had to be grafted for, and he will have been glad to start a new season with a little more momentum. In 2/1 joint favourite Give Me A Cuddle, he will have been glad to welcome his seventh winner of the new term in the Riverside Restaurant Stratford Open To All Maiden Hurdle. The winning owner was Andrew Cohen, former owner of Suny Bay and Uplands, the training yard made famous by Fred Winter.

You can never rule out the West Country in seeking winners during Stratford’s summer months, and Sunday proved the rule once again. Philip Hobbs produced a winner in Shantou Sunset, perhaps not one of the yard’s leading lights, who lacked nothing in determination to wear down the Mulholland – trained Viking Sunset, who looked the stronger at the last, in the Live Music at Riverside Mares Handicap Hurdle, under a robust ride from Jack Martin.

And 25 miles away in Wellington, David Pipe is a man you ignore at your peril. His may not be the big punting yard of his father in his heyday, but he learnt his trade from a master of the profession, and winners they come aplenty. Vernon Subutex, a winner of seven of his 24 starts in France, made a winning debut in the 2m 6f Stratford Parks Thank you to Owners Handicap Chase.

May is a busy month at Stratford, and we look forward to starting all over again on Saturday.

David Christie was the toast of Stratford on Friday night, capturing two of the sport’s most prestigious prizes for the Point-to-Point community on the country’s most valuable night of hunter chases. The County Fermanagh trainer showed a clean pair of heels to his British counterparts in the last of the three British Foxhunter chases and the Novice Championship.

As if to re-inforce the fixture as the Go-To event for aspirant pointers, Vaucelet, winner of last year’s Pointtopoint.co.uk Champion Novices’ Chase John Corbett Cup, stepped up a grade into full open company to displace David Kemp’s Law of Gold, the previous year’s winner, in the Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunters Chase.

A muddling pace early allowed Vaucelet to take a leading position with Le Breuil and Dandy Dan, winner of the Ineos Grenadier Intermediate Final at Cheltenham last month, Law of Gold taking the shortest route. In truth, the slow pace made for plenty of jumping errors, which diminished as the pace stepped up on their final circuit, when Law of Gold pushed Le Breuil for the lead.

Three out, Le Breuil had given way to Law of Gold, Vaucelet, Solomon Grey and Downtown Getaway, but the first two, with Stratford form already on their record, had drawn clear, and Vaucelet asserted at the last to run out a 4l victor.

Half an hour earlier, Christie’s other runner, Ask D’Man, had looked an improbable winner in the Champion Novices Hunters Chase, hunting around the first circuit, and only showing his hand 4 out, when making some headway. Turning into the straight with one to jump, Ask D’Man still had 7l to make up on long time leader Go Go Geronimo, but despite a less than perfect jump at the last, showed some good speed to take the inner berth and get up by 3/4l.

Both winners were ridden by Barry O’Neill.

The double allows Christie the admirable position of three of the UK and Ireland’s leading hunter chasers, given he also trained Winged Leader to be second behind Billaway in the Cheltenham Foxhunters.

The three runner Nimrod Veterinary Products Ladies Championship Hunters’ Chase produced another close finish despite the small field. The Waley-Cohen team, represented by father Robert and recently retired Sam, watched Igor just come off worse against dual hunter chase winner Fumet d’Oudairies, representing the Ellis-Andrews partnership that dominates the amateur division, and the drop in class from the heights of the Cheltenham Foxhunter allowed the Tom Ellis-trained gelding to regain a winning thread over regulation fences.

The White Swan Hotel Handicap Hunters Chase is the only handicap in the hunters calendar, but Zamparelli, trained by Victoria Collins in Broadway and ridden by leading Novice rider Freddie Gordon, made the race into a procession, extending a 7l lead at the final bend to over twice that distance at the line.

The long trip from Devon proved well worthwhile for connections of Say About It, qualified with the Torrington Farmers, whose Point-to-Point fixture is the traditional closer to the season in a fortnight. Only 4 of the seven declared faced the starter, and that field was down to two by the closing stages, where Say About It was pressed by Spanish Jump, trained by former rider and At The Races presenter Luke Harvey. Three lengths separated the two at the line for a delighted winning rider Vincent Webster.

The opening PPSA Chase over the minimum distance had spectators with their hearts in their mouths as locally-trained Azzuri, trained by Nick Pearce, assistanct to Dan Skelton and Clerk of nearby Shelfield Park point-to-point course, teamed up with stable amateur Tristan Durrell, but just failed to hold on against Across The Line, trained by Syd Hosie in Dorset. Syd enjoyed success at Cheltenham’s hunters’ evening, but his current crop of Rules horses are back with Joe Tizzard after running his own training operation with Nick Mitchell, then Ralph Smith.

There’s plenty of evidence that British Point-to-Point owners are buying in Ireland. Three of the five runners in the concluding Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Champion Point-to-Point Bumper are Irish-bred, and in keeping with the theme of the evening, it was the Irish-bred Patanita, confidently ridden by Peter Bryan, who took the honours for Georgina Nicholls and the splendidly-named G & T Partnership.

Little need to relate how they would celebrate their success.