Category: News

Brian Hughes has dominated the Jockeys’ Championship in the last two seasons in National Hunt racing, but he is unlikely to have it his own way in the 2023/24 campaign, if the opening few months are anything to go by.

The season began on May 1st with summer racing from venues like Stratford. However, from October onwards, Jump racing becomes more prominent on the calendar, so there is still a long way until the championship ends on the April 27th next year.

Bowen off to a flying start

With 67 winners from his opening 236 rides this season, Sean Bowen has made an excellent start to his campaign, and he leads the way in the standings. He has been in hot form since the season began, often completing doubles and trebles across the summer cards where his father’s yard has been a key player in that success. Four rides at Stratford today for four separate trainers are representative of his work rate and broad appeal.

The Welsh-born rider reached the 50-winner mark in July when he partnered Lermoos Legend to victory at Worcester. His half-century came 44 days earlier than it did in the 2022/23 campaign.

Last season was a memorable one for Bowen, as he had his first ride in the Cheltenham Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival on board Noble Yeats. He finished fourth in the blue riband event in the sport.

A month later, Bowen partnered with Noble Yeats again in the Grand National at Aintree. He came home fourth of 39 runners in what was another big run from the former winner of the world’s most famous steeplechase.

Bowen is likely to have another shot at winning the marathon race in Liverpool in 2024. Noble Yeats is the favourite in horse racing odds to prevail in the 4m2½f contest in April.

Hughes vying for a fourth title

With three titles in the last four years, Hughes has dominated the Jockeys’ Championship in jumps racing. A regular at Stratford during the summer months courtesy of Donald McCain’s summer runners and a few choice ones from Charlie Longsdon, he has got off to a good start to the defence of his title, but this is the first season for a while where he has trailed as the autumn approaches.

Hughes added his name to the history books in the 2021/22 campaign, becoming just the fourth National Hunt jockey to ride 200 winners in a season. He joined Peter Scudamore, Tony McCoy and Richard Johnson with that feat, three of the legends of the sport, all prolific winners. However, unlike the aforementioned, Hughes’ trainers are largely Northern-based, and rides at marquee fixtures like the Festival have been few and far between.

The Northern Irish-born rider was set to ride Corach Rambler in the Grand National last April as it was thought the horse’s regular rider Derek Fox was going to be out of the meeting through injury. Fox was able to pass a late fitness test and he went on to ride the Scottish-based horse to victory in the race at Aintree. Hughes will be hoping to get another chance at becoming a Grand National-winning jockey next April in the marathon contest.

Cobden is best of the rest

Harry Cobden is in third place in the early stages of the 2023/24 National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship. He has had 34 winners from his opening 149 rides, but summer rides have been fewer and further between than his leading rivals; Cobden’s strength is among winter and Spring trainers with Saturday horses.

Cobden has been in the running for the jockeys’ title in each of the last three seasons. He will be hoping he can stay with Bowen and Hughes into the second half of the latest campaign, and the support of the champion trainer could be a decisive factor. It made all the difference to fellow rider Harry Skelton in his championship when his brother’s powerful yard at Alcester rowed in behind him.

This season could be set to be one of the most fascinating battles for a while, and it could go right down to the wire on the April 27th when the trophy is handed out at Sandown. Fixtures at Stratford next March may well play a leading role in the destination of the prize.

Steeplechasing runs a tightrope between managing safety and a daredevil adrenalin rush of jumping big fences at speed; two opposite ends of a spectrum forever in conflict one with another.

In the UK, standardisation of fences, with the almost wholesale adoption of uniform fences, seems to be the norm. Other racing jurisdictions, perhaps under less threat from the likes of Animal Rising, still illustrate considerable variation in the composition and scale of the obstacles.

In France for example, the variety of obstacles in a cross country chase cover orthodox steeplechase fences, bullfinches, railed ditches, rails, and banks. Some even have water obstacles. For the best example of this, visit Craon in the Mayenne region of Western France. Craon’s Grand Cross in early September is the highlight of a three day festival of flat, trotting and Jump racing that attracts around 15,000 spectators.

France is of course a country where jump racing is thriving, underwritten by a breeder class seeking to grow a market for top class chasers. And as we know very well, exporting them to compete under British ownership has been a trait of the past 20 years here in the British market.

Reverting to the style of obstacle, the town of Bad Harzburg in Germany enjoys a reputation for the deepest water crossing in international racing. the 20m wide river laps the riders’ calves as the horses slow to a trot and wade across. yet in contrast to France, Bad Harzburg relies on a domestic population of just 15 chasers to populate its races. Without competitors from abroad, the race has a limited shelf life.

Timber plays a leading role in the US steeplechasing scene, where alongside portable hurdles, chasers compete over the sort of fencing you might find adorning Sussex; timber rails up to 4ft 8 in height. The mother of all timber races is the Maryland Hunt Cup, held at the end of April, serving as a copycat Point-to-Point of yesteryear, over 4 miles and 22 fences. Unique among the world’s top flight races, it is solely open to amateur riders.

The race has a typically quaint Victorian heritage. Created as a contest between the Elkridge and Green Spring Hunts in 1894, the race set out to mark out the best hunter from the two packs, but was subsequently opened to other hunts in North America, and eventually any restriction was removed. And whereas only around 100 attended the first running, now many thousand enjoy the Spring scenery of the Worthington Valley, the race’s modern permanent home. This is a race with a niche following that breeds an intense loyalty. With a $100,000 purse, it’s no small prize either.

This is a race meeting like no other, insofar as the obstacles are uniquely Maryland, but also there are no supporting races! If you’re in the loo for 8 minutes, you could miss the whole purpose of the afternoon.

Like much about steeplechasing, it’s also gloriously politically incorrect. Even by US standards, the race was slow to admit women riders, only allowing them in the 70s’. The list of winning owners and riders reads like an old western from first winner John McHenry through Jervis Spencer Jnr, the billionaire Paul Mellon, five time winners D Michael Smethwick and Charles Fenwick Jnr, whose Ben Nevis used the Hunt Cup as a platform to win the Grand National at Aintree in 1980.

This is a race which lends itself to course & distance winners. Several have won it three times, notable among them Jay Trump (1963, ’64, ’66), another who used the success as a platform to Aintree glory in 1965. Since 2016, allowing for a pandemic-induced break in 2020, there have been just 4 winners, including three time winner Senior Senator, ridden by Eric Poretz, and Irish-bred Vintage Vinnie, winner in 2021 and the following year.

the 2023 winner, Withoutmoreado is a nine year old with virtually no previous steeplechase form, and certainly not under Rules. The 12l winner of an open maiden at Charm Park back in 2019, he didn’t win again until breaking his timber maiden in the US at the Genesee Valley meet in autumn ’21, since when the penny dropped, and he’s rarely been out of the frame. In the specialist world of long distance timber racing, he’s a firm favourite to hold on to the race in 2024.

Quirky races like these may be an anomaly, but you only have to see the crowd that flocks out to watch cheltenham’s cross country races close up to a fence to know they touch a part of the soul other races cannot reach. Their unique nature defines the sport more than any orthodox race – however valuable – can. They need to be nurtured and protected to salve the sport’s heritage.

Put these three venues on your racing bucket list. You won’t regret it.

Whilst the jumpers take a two week mid-summer break, we’re looking into how to get the maximum enjoyment from your flutter on the horses. Amidst the current industry talk of affordability checks, it’s easy to forget that for 99% of the racing audience, a bet on the horses is an irregular addition to an occasional day out.

Horse racing and betting induce a thrill unlike any other. You never know which horse will get to the finish line first, even if the market tells you there can only be one winner. While there are crowd favourites and best performers that have a higher chance of finishing first, you never know if an outsider will surprise everyone at the last minute. Horses make fools of us all, including their trainers and riders.

So is betting on horse races all about picking one horse and hoping he or she will secure that winning ticket? Or are there true strategies and tactics behind racing betting? While there is no specific science to horse race betting as it is still all based on chance and other factors affecting horse race performance, there are a few strategies that individuals use to enhance their chances of beating the bookies.

Below we describe the three top strategies for betting on racing:

1. Doing the Yankee strategy increases the chances of winning by selecting four favourite horses from different races, but there is usually a lower pay-out than other betting strategies.
2. The key technique is betting on a specific horse, whether it is the best-performing one or when you want to do multiple wagers for races in a row.
3. Dutching is like the Yankee strategy where multiple horses are selected to enhance winning chances. However, the horses are selected in one race rather than four different ones.

Check out the latest horse racing odds before you place your bets. Analysing the odds will help you to make a more informed bet. While winning is not guaranteed whether you use one of these strategies or not, they can get you on the right track.

Yankee strategy

The Yankee is fabled to be named after an American GI stationed in England who placed a successful accumulator bet – the eponymous Yankee. This comprises a four selection wager comprising six doubles, four trebles and an accumulator.

The Yankee strategy involves selecting four top-performing horses across separate races. This increases the chances of winning if at least one or two of these horses win. Whilst it can be the case that it’s difficult enough to find one winner, the loading of winnings on to the next horse sustains interest. The golden ticket of all four winners with an accumulator is enough to keep regular punters interested throughout.

Key technique

Using one horse as the basis for many bets is known as the key technique. From there, you can do multiple bets with the key horse as the first-place contender and then select other horses that may finish in the placings. Choosing a key horse will keep starting prices low so you can include different horse order sequences to increase your chances of winning.

Usually, when a punter uses one horse as the key, it is best to make a trifecta or an exacta bet. An exacta bet means selecting the first and second-place horse in the correct sequence. A trifecta bet means choosing which three horses will finish first in the correct sequential order.

Dutching

Dutching means selecting multiple horses who could be the winner of one horse race. Most punters like to choose the three best horses that could win in a race. Others may choose four or more if they desire, but of course the more horses you stake, the more bets you have to make so your margin is diminished.

Choosing too many horses in a Dutch bet will not bode well if they all lose. Hence, weigh your options accordingly. This is the sort of bet that’s appropriate to a big handicap with plenty of runners and a wide disparity of odds displayed, like the Grand National.

What’s your strategy?

The average horse race in the UK allows no minimum field size up to a maximum of 40. In the USA, these parameters tend to be within 8 – 20 runners. The Kentucky Derby for example allows 20 horses to race every year on the first Saturday in May whilst the Grand National always achieves a maximum field of 40. The amount of horses depends on the individual race track regulations, the length of race and track configuration.

Self-evidently, some of the permutation bets are not possible in small fields. Choose a strategy that you are comfortable using and see how it works for you. And remember, bet safely.

Tom Dascombe is a name more familiarly associated with Ascot or York. In fact, his runners over obstacles these past five years can be counted on the fingers of one hand. But in Gifted Angel, he found the longer distance and breathers permitted by jumping enough to score a maiden victory under either code at the fifteenth attempt in the Betting.Bet Free Tips Juvenile Hurdle at Stratford yesterday under Gavin Sheehan.

This does not herald a new favourite for next March’s JCB Triumph Hurdle however. Some sketchy jumping, even in a slowly-run race, gave no indication of precocious talent, but he was evidently well-fancied from the 13/8 favouritism.

One of 45 runners to grace the Stratford turf at our first August fixture held on unseasonally Good to Soft ground, the Dascombe winner was one of three short odds favourites making a happy day for punters amid the showers.

Brian Hughes has an excellent record at Stratford, and added to his tally in pursuit of Riders’ Championship leader Sean Bowen with Sophie Leech’s Arcade Attraction in the 2m 3f handicap chase. It’s been an excellent week for the Leech stable with a winner the previous day at Perth, when ridden by daughter Roisin, who has taken a role as stable amateur to Lucinda Russell.

Leading most of the way, Arcade Attraction made little of top weight, and is likely to defy a penalty and run again in this class.

One of the charming aspects of the cadre of small trainers gracing our sport is their patience with horses in their care. The cynical among you might consider this is because an empty box earns no fees for the yard. I like to think it’s because they always look to find talent in any thoroughbred, however hard to find.

One such thoroughbred masking his latent talent could be Justshortofabubble, trained by Grace Harris, who bizarrely found himself elected favourite for the 2m 6f handicap chase, despite a lack of familiarity with the winner’s spot stretching to 21 previous races. However, as is often the case, Stratford brought out the best in the six year old, who kept on well under a low weight to beat Dindin from the Pipe yard by 1 1/2l under Ben Jones. Let’s hope the next winner doesn’t require another score of blank runs beforehand.

Mares races have proved an excellent device for the sport’s governing body to extend the horse population, and there are certainly signs that these are fostering a fresh generation of quality broodmares in British breeding, already financially disadvantaged against Irish and French competition.

Pillar of Steel, now with Henry Oliver after the sad death of John Spearing, notched up her sixth victory in the mares handicap hurdle over the minimum trip, her first win since a similar contest here at Stratford in October ’21, Jamie Moore in the plate this time.

This was a rare day without a winner for either Fergal O’Brien or Milton Harris, normally bellwethers of these summer meets. Another who has made it his business to field a summer jumping team is Ben Pauling, who opened the card with his 17th winner of the term with hat-trick-seeking Mole Court, the first leg of a Ben Jones double. Wins at Worcester (twice) meant he was sent off at 85/40, one of those bizarre prices that happen irregularly, whilst favouritism fell to Richard Newland’s Tiger Orchid, also a recent Worcester winner. The Naunton challenger prevailed however, keeping on to put 4l between him and Charlie Hammond’s mount at the line.

Sy Hosie is getting to know the road between Sherborne and Stratford pretty well, having sent Hunting Percival to three of our last four fixtures. That judgment looks pretty sound after the 8 year old son of Derby winner Sir Percy notched up a second course victory in the staying handicap hurdle that concluded the card, and relegating Milton Harris’s Mr Yeats to a 1 1/4l second. In so doing, he broke James Best’s seasonal bow at the belated 75th attempt.

Remember an old TV advertisement from the 1990s for the conglomerate Hanson? The catchline was “a company from over here doing rather well over there”. There, of course, referred to the USA, the world’s richest nation, where every company hopes to break through. Hanson, of course, was the first sponsor of the Epsom Derby through its Ever Ready brand of batteries.

If we include Ireland in the “over here”, Belfast Banter is the latest equine personification of the Hanson byline. The winner of a maiden auction hurdle at Galway in October 2020 burst on to the UK scene when winning the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in March 2021 at a long-priced 33/1 for Peter Fahey. He returned a considerably shorter price of 11/4 when following up 3 weeks later in the Betway Top Novices Hurdle, his first Grade I success, at Aintree. 

Returning to graded company the following November, he was no match for Sceau Royal in Wincanton’s Elite Hurdle, a race Alan King’s charge had made his own, before becoming the first Grade I winner to be sold in an online auction by the UK’s leading proponent of online bloodstock vending, Thoroughbid. Having been touted as a potential Champion Hurdle horse though, the Fahey charge was sold westward to the USA, going under the virtual hammer at £130,000. 

The US Jumps scene is considerably smaller than its Irish or British equivalent, yet the right type of horse can excel there. And in recent years, the attractive prize funds have been luring a succession of British and Irish-trained horses on raids to plunder the greenback. Brain Power, Hewick, and others have trodden a path to Far Hills and other east coast marquee fixtures with considerable success, fuelled by US – based riders who are British or Irish by birth, either using the summer months constructively or emigres achieving more success out west than might have been the case in the UK or Ireland. 

Belfast Banter is the latest of these success stories. After a series of placed efforts in largely graded company, the 8 year old gelding topped up his Grade I tally at Saratoga last weekend with a win in the $150,000 A P Smethwick Memorial Steeplechase, a confusing title for a Grade I handicap hurdle. Held up, and scratching the paint on the inner all the way round, Brian Foley took it up with 2f to go to win by 6 1/2l. 

Trainer Cyril Murphy remarked, “I believed, coming here, we would win. But I didn’t think he would do it like that. It gives you something to think about moving forward, but today was to be his day from my perspective. What happens going forward, we haven’t even determined. 

There is no shortage of options, with lucrative prizes on offer back at Saratoga and Belmont over the next two months before the autumn season takes Jumping regionally across Virginia and Maryland. 

In these days of stretched finances and poor returns from the UK scene, it’s a constant surprise that more trainers are not thinking outside the box. Business models like those of Willie Mullins, Tom George, Sophie Leech and Shark Hanlon, not afraid to travel good quality horses to win the world’s best Jump races, are diversifying and allaying the risk from remaining solely in the UK racing market. This is no pipedream for trainers enjoying success at Stratford’s summer fixtures. Horses rated 130+ are a feature of our chase and hurdle programme, enjoy top-of-the-ground conditions, and would do well in the US scene.

Everyone loves a winner, all the more so if it’s a big race abroad. Time to spread your wings, lads.

Rain on Saturday ensured Stratford going softer than the norm for mid July, and plenty soft enough for the high heels displayed by the enthusiastic ladies enjoying the races on the annual Ladies Day for those venturing off a hard surface. Nevertheless the 44 runners produced some sparkling racing, including a 38/1 treble for man-in-form, Gary Hanmer that brightened what had promised to be an overcast day, but which proved a sunny if breezy afternoon.

And were it not for being obliged to ride for father Peter, champion jockey contender Sean Bowen would have picked up a treble for Cheshire-based Hanmer. Let’s start, then with the day’s feature handicap chase over nearly 2m 1f, in which multiple winner Sir Tivo completed his second victory of this term, and 10th overall, picking off Ewan Whillans’ Cracking Destiny, a winner here early in the month, by 4l. Sir Tivo has been a bellwether of the Hanmer yard’s success, winning 10 times in 29 races since joining the stable in mid-summer 2020. Sir Tivo is unlucky this race was not the final leg of a hat-trick; wins here yesterday and at Southwell in May sandwich a short head second at Uttoxeter earlier this month.

Half an hour earlier, Hanmer had led in Bright Sunbird to the winner’s enclosure in the Allan Atkinson Memorial Handicap Hurdle over an extended 3m, this time ridden by Tabitha Worsley. Money in the ring had been for the Sean Bowen – ridden Saxon Queen, trained in Wales by Peter Bowen, but she showed some mare-ish tendencies under pressure, and the Hanmer inmate was more than able to prevail by 1 1/4l.

Winner number 3 is arguably the most exciting prospect of the three. Minella Rescue made a winning British debut in the concluding bumper, having been purchased for £55,000 after running third in a Drumahane point-to-point and a Tipperary bumper. Hanmer has his eye on the valuable Listed Bumper at next April’s Aintree fixture, a considerable step up, but a consideration after the 10l demolition of this field.

All in all, a pretty good day’s work.

Along the way, there were, of course, some crumbs for other licensed trainers, among them Donald McCain, whose partnership with Brian Hughes is always to be respected. There was no great surprise in their subsequent victory with Titanium Moon in the Ladies Day Novices Hurdle over the minimum trip. This was Titanium Moon’s fourth consecutive victory which included a similar contest here a month previously, and a brace of wins at Cartmel. There is nothing to suggest that winning sequence cannot continue, given the authority of her 8l margin here. Her 8/15 price may look generous next time out.

Neither of the other two winning handlers has much of a reputation for the summer branch of the sport, but their select runners are always to be respected. Emma Lavelle produced Gold Link to win the Marion Wright Memorial Novices Handicap Chase over 2m3f. This was an improvement on his last run at Worcester a week back when he ditched Tom Bellamy after a bad mistake early on. Don’t expect many runners from the Lavelle yard this or next month however; she’s never run more than a handful in July or August over the past 5 years with the exception of 2020, when everyone was anxious to get horses running again after the first pandemic lockdown was lifted.

Also on the scoresheet was Kim Bailey, another whose powder is also generally kept dry until September. However, five year old mare Lady Gwen is fit from runs in the Spring, and transferred from another stable, found enough improvement to win a moderate mares hurdle that opened the card, under some forceful riding from David Bass.

A rare day dominated by Jumps fixtures produced some fine racing at Stratford on Sunday where 55 runners from 61 declarations filled the six race card handsomely, unlike at Perth the same day where just 26 faced the starter on soft ground unwanted by a majority of summer horses.

The feature handicap hurdle produced a heart-in-the-mouth finish as the Milton Harris – trained Aliomaana showed enough of the flat speed in her breeding to hold off a sprinting late challenge from Enthused, under a driving ride from Harry Cobden. A short head marked the winning distance, but another stride might well have seen Cobden prevail.

Aliomaana has a physique is typical of the horses Milton Harris enjoys such success with during the summer. Light-framed horses purchased off the flat dominate so many of his winners, and Stratford’s tight circuit favours their nimble frame. Aliomaana is a Shadwell cast-off, and at this level, and off this racing weight, will win more similar contests. She is now a course and distance winner twice at Stratford, having won here last October too.

Harris is also a course and distance winner many times over. Following his horses at Stratford achieves a rare feat: a profit to a £1 stake consistently over 5 years, bucking a trend of trainer faith which almost never pays a dividend. Seven of Harris’ 19 winners this term have been with us – endorsement of suitable going and races best suited to his current class of horse. Only Newton Abbot comes close among other tracks.

The hot streak the stable has enjoyed to date appears to show no sign of easing either. The opening Conditional Riders’ Handicap Hurdle saw another flat-bred, Nadim, justify favouritism under Bradley Harris to give the stable a double and their 17th winner of the term. Bradley Harris had to work hard to get ahead; Nadim ran about a bit under pressure but had enough speed to win a 2l advantage over Zafar under Abbie McCain.

The Harris stable was represented in the following juvenile contest carrying their name as sponsor. However, it’s an unwritten convention not to win your own money back, and Swiss Money under Harry Cobden had taken the cue, keeping a respectful 20l distance in 5th from winner Vitani, from the Adam West stable, who made just about all the running to see off the other 10 runners. Lee Edwards, riding the winner, is unjustifiably short of rides; this was only his fourth this month, despite 12 fixtures. The likes of John Groucott, Alistair Ralph and Dave Roberts, who supply most of his rides, are not yet in full gear.

Steel Wave and Hunting Percival locked horns a second time in the Ladies Day is 23rd July Handicap Chase over 2m 6f. Each is a course and distance winner, Hunting Percival most recently at the start of this month when beating Pink-Eyed Pedro in a handicap hurdle here, Steel Wave winning here in May. Steel Wave had the edge turning in from the final bend this time round, reeling in the eventual third Conceal, and immediately putting distance between him and the rest of the pack to win by 4 1/4l.

Willie Mullins might offer a wry smile for releasing Steel Wave back in the autumn of 2018. The 13 year old doesn’t know how to run a bad race, and 10 wins, including this third at Stratford, mask a string of runner up positions too. Five of those have been under the guidance of Tabitha Worsely, a dream ride if ever there was one for a claiming rider.

Sophie Leech runs more horses in France than in Britain nowadays, but Arcade Attraction provided her first winner of the new season when making virtually all the running in the National Racehorse Week 9-17th September Handicap Chase over 2m3f under Brian Hughes. It’s difficult to refute her decision to concentrate on France when a similar winner at Clairefontaine earlier in the month netted a fourfold increase in the prize fund.

The maiden hurdle produced more than its fair share of drama after a first hurdle fall of Queen of Hindsight. Leader Mop’s A Legend then ran out at the third, which is also usually the last, taking out 20yards of rail as well as the wing, and rendering the flight unusable. Favourite The Galahad Kid from Fergal O’Brien, was prominent throughout, easily identifiable by his giant white blaze and socks. Eight runners bunched up at what would have been the second last, and rounded the bend together but Paddy Brennan had judged his race well and asserted to run out a comfortable 2 1/2l winner, making this Irish Point-to-Point winner a five time winner from 8 starts.

Over 100 attended St Edmund’s Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds yesterday to celebrate the life of former Chairman of Stratford, Nick Lees, who died in December. There was a strong representation from the world of horseracing, which Nick had filled for well over half his life.

Fellow racecourse directors, both from racecourses where Nick had been directly involved, and from further afield, assembled in strength in the C13th cathedral, whose tower was only completed in 2005. Former Newmarket impressarios Stephen Wallis and Chris Kennedy were joined by current Clerk of Course Michael Prosser, whilst Stratford directors Stephen Lambert, George Lee and Michael Rowe also attended, with current MD Ilona Barnett, and former Clerk of Course John Ford.

Nick’s lifelong connection with Leicester Racecourse, where he first entered racecourse management by dint of an involvement with the Leicester Bloodstock Sales as an auctioneer, was a constant throughout his professional career, and former manager David Henson and current non-executive director James Sanderson also attended. John Sanderson, architect of International Racecourse Management which still oversees tracks in Yorkshire, also attended, remembering a time when major racecourses collaborated together to sell their TV rights after the (first) withdrawal of ITV from racing in the ’80s.

Godson Ben Turner gave the eulogy, in which family, horses, the Army, racing and good humour were never far away. It was a fitting end to a man wedded both to racing, and to family life.

The growing success of Scottish racing manifested itself at Stratford on Tuesday in the feature Saige Decking Ltd Handicap Chase as three of the four home nations were represented among the field.

On a drab and chilly evening, whence the rain had mercifully stopped mid-afternoon, Ewan Whillans made the 540 mile round trip from Hawick in the Borders to win with Cracking Destiny, under Craig Nicholl. It was a subdued affair even so. Ewan Whillans’ wife Louise doubles up as owner, but had stayed at home, leaving Alistair to lead up and drive.

Cracking Destiny was best-rated of all the 8 runners, but has taken a couple of runs to get fit. Handy throughout, he came to pick up leader Blaze A Trail at the last, and went on to win by 4l. That’s 2 – 2 at Stratford for the handsome dark bay gelding.

Second home Blaze A Trail is part of a syndicate run by Chepstow supremo Phil Bell, trained by John Flint. The £9,000 purchase owes this group nothing; since their purchase in autumn ’21, he’s picked up six races, including a hat-trick of handicap hurdles here last summer. Keep an eye for future runs as he’s certainly not finished yet.

Race of the evening, however, has to go to Hunting Percival under Nick Schofield in the 2m 6f handicap hurdle. Turning into the straight, the race was between the aforementioned. Pink Eyed Pedro reverting to hurdles from chasing, and Hurricane Vichi, from the on-fire Milton Harris team. At the final hurdle, the David Brace – trained Welsh runner looked to have gained the advantage on the inner, but Hunting Percival was not to be denied. Game is an adjective that might have been coined specially for this son of Derby winner Sir Percy, outstaying both others on the run-in to win by 1/2l.

Hurricane Vichi being the third of his runners that evening, Milton Harris had no cause to be downcast, however. For starters, he was away on holiday in Thailand, but the stable had already enjoyed a brace of winners starting in the opener – cause for a Siam Sunray or two. Call Me Rocky needed the most urgent riding by Harry Cobden to get up by a neck in the first division of the Royal Equestrian Racing Club Maiden, whilst an hour later, Uggy Uggy Uggy illustrated that the speed in his flat breeding hasn’t been dulled by a switch to the winter code, this time ridden by Bradley Harris to a 6l victory over Coal Fire from the Bowen yard in the 2m 5f novices handicap hurdle.

Bowens however are difficult to keep out of the winners’ enclosure right now. Sean Bowen leads the riders’ championship with 44 winners, remarkable by any standards at this early stage of the season, and he was on the mark for that latest winner in division two of the Maiden with Sobegrand for Olly Murphy.

Shark Hanlon had despatched 3 runners from his base in Co Carlow, and Nasee had looked his best chance in the handicap hurdle won by Hunting Percival, folding tamely after being prominent throughout. Hanlon’s second runner, Lakefield Flyer, was also handy throughout in the Visit racingtv.com Novices Handicap Chase, but was no match for Chris Down’s Opening Bid, who had already asserted after the second last and ran out a comfortable winner under a 5lb penalty, this the third leg of a hat-trick following wins at Newton Abbot and Worcester.

Son Paddy was in the plate for the Irish trainer in the concluding bumper, but had to give way to Bradley Harris, this time riding for Seamus Mullins, enjoying his 8th winner of the new term on four year old filly Basilette, winning on her debut appearance on the track.

The summer Jumps campaign has long been characterized by Irish forays to Perth, taking advantage of the crossing from Stranraer to Larne. Notable among these invaders is Gordon Elliott, who sends more runners to Perth than any track bar Cheltenham. With 8 winners in the current calendar at Perth already, he is the leading trainer there by a country mile.

Sending runners to Perth has been a convenience for Ireland’s second largest trainer, no more difficult than sending a lorry to Sligo. But until recently, he’s been an outlier in despatching regular runners to small time British fixtures. This summer, however, that trend that Elliott began seems to be accelerating, and Perth is no longer the only destination.

The superior quality of Irish Jumping stock at the elite level has been a hot topic for some years, re-ignited with each big race winner plundered by an Irish stable. Time was when Irish horses visited for just the major meetings, but such is their prevalence nowadays, and such is their volume compared to the Irish Jumps fixture list, that more and more trainers are getting on the boat.

Yesterday, Elliott spread his wings to take in a winner at Uttoxeter, whilst last week, there was success for Emmet Mullins and Cian Michael Collins at Cartmel, which has rarely seen runners from the top British yards, never mind abroad, before now. Shark Hanlon fielded a bumper winner at Worcester earlier in the week, and runs three tomorrow night with us. John McConnell had a double at Cartmel last month.

Of 285 races run in May, just 3 were won by Irish trainers. Contrast this with June, when 14 of 207 races were plundered by Ireland.

The Irish have always been an adventurous nation, needing to trade to survive on the periphery of Europe. But this modern phenomenon speaks of different origins. There is simply not enough Jump racing at this time of year to satisfy the volume of Irish jump horses, and frankly, the level of competition over here is less than they might meet at home. When at least one race each card is won by the Closutton team, the pickings are meagre for others.

Running horses in the UK then is as much a displacement process as a new venture; Irish trainers marginalized by the concentration of power in few hands back at home are having to take advantage of more frequent racing in the UK, even if that means higher travel costs. But the losers in this are small British trainers outpointed by their Irish counterparts, who will only travel further afield if confident of paying their way.

The globalization of racing is not a topic for debate in a sport as essentially parochial as jump racing, but there is every indication that Irish trainers in particular are exploring every means to win races anywhere.

Have horsebox, will travel seems to be a admirable moniker, even in these times of sustainable travel.