Might Bite, Newbury Racecourse and Ian Williams all come under microscope in Mike Cattermole's latest unmissable weekly column.
Paddy 'jocking off' not the end of his world
I don’t know Paddy Brennan all that well but have enjoyed his company from time to time. However, there’s no doubt that he would have been furious at being taken off Cue Card following his fall at Wetherby.
Paddy simply loves that horse and no matter how you look at it, this was a bit of an affront to him and his professionalism. He would have been dying to say something but did well to keep his counsel.
It will hurt even more if Cue Card goes on and wins a fourth Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday week or, worse still, another King George. But Cue Card is rising 12 now and age is going to catch up with this legend of a racehorse sooner rather than later. What an opportunity for young Harry Cobden, though.
Meanwhile, Paddy has moved on and swiftly unearthed another star to ride in the athletic form of the Fergal O’Brien-trained Cap Soleil who is at the start of a very exciting career, if her debut hurdles win at Newbury last Thursday is anything to go by. She had won all three of her starts in bumpers last season, of course.
This Newbury race had a bit of depth to it as it also featured French import and fellow hurdling debutante Countister as well as Dame Rose, winner of the Grade Two Mares Bumper at Aintree last April, and already a winner over timber at Hexham.
From the second last, Dame Rose had been beaten off and Barry Geraghty looked to be exuding confidence on Countister. But she simply couldn’t live with Cap Soleil thereafter and the way that she came storming clear, with Paddy doing very little to encourage her, must have had the O’Brien team dreaming.
Cap Soleil, who is by the French stallion Kapgarde - the sire of Garde La Victoire, is now just 7/1 favourite with Sky Bet for the Mares’ Novice Hurdle on the Thursday of the Cheltenham Festival.
Thumbs up for modern-looking Newbury
Newbury racecourse seems to change every time I go there.
The huge housing development, based around the main entrance of the track, has shot up, seemingly in no time and looks fantastic. The next stage of the project, based further down off the home straight, is also well advanced.
The 36-bedroom hotel, The Lodge, which is a facility that is open for stable staff, was unveiled last summer and is another quality product and now they have just opened the Owners Club, which is situated right next to the pre-parade ring.
This is an extremely roomy building and stunningly kitted out with a restaurant on the ground floor that can seat up to 200. Between there and the bar lounge is a “Replay Zone” where there are two huge easy-to-use touchscreens that allow owners and their guests to “do a Gary Neville” and replay the race(s) of their choice, with freeze and slow-motion options. This facility has been provided by Racetech.
I have not seen anything like that before – at least in this country - and was most impressed. Obviously, the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival next month will see this newest addition to “New Newbury” getting a proper try-out.
I can’t imagine there will be many dissenting voices. This is the way forward.
Starters' job is not easy
I wonder, when the roster for the team of official starters comes out, whether there is an anxious look to see which meetings are Flat or National Hunt? Let’s face it, the starting stalls is the nearest thing we can get to guarantee a level and safe start – and there are a whole team of stalls handlers there to help out too.
Over the jumps, the two-man starting team looks up against it in comparison. One of them raises the yellow flag to invite the runners to walk or trot in towards the tape, while the other stands behind the field to encourage them along, Long Tom in hand.
Getting some of the bigger fields sorted before being dispatched involves big chunks of skill and patience which have to be admired. In my view the official starting duo really don’t get the credit they deserve; it’s rather like being a referee – if nobody notices you, you must be doing a great job.
Overall, the current system seems to work pretty well but, occasionally, there is an unsatisfactory beginning to a race, which can obviously have an effect on the outcome. At Sandown on Sunday, for example, Irish Prophecy was odds-on in the maiden hurdle and, with his eight rivals being reluctant to be handy early, they held back and handed him an uncontested five-length lead.
He was never headed and went on to win by nine lengths.
I am not saying he wouldn’t have won anyway but, watching on, this didn’t seem to make much sense. Should the starter have called them back and told them to line up more closely? Or is this being too fussy for a two-mile race? How far can you go to guarantee a fair start and, almost as importantly, get them off on time?
As such, the start in NH races can present a tactical opportunity and perhaps Leighton Aspell, rider of Irish Prophecy, deserves credit for taking advantage here.
Certainly, at Naas just over an hour earlier, Danny Mullins had ridden his rivals to sleep on board Icantsay, who romped home in splendid isolation after gradually building up a massive lead; the others just seemingly disregarded him.
They say that Sir Gordon Richards was mustard in the pre-starting stalls days but I can’t think of any jockey being celebrated as brilliant at the start over the jumps these days. But then again, any advantage gained would be that much slimmer with the races run over much further.
Might Bite looked all right
Might Bite’s reappearance at Sandown on Sunday provoked a mixed response but if I was lucky enough to own or train him, I would have been delighted.
Sure, the time was over a second slower than Houblon Des Obeaux (carried 4lb less) in the veterans’ chase at an hour later but it was noticeable how well he settled behind Frodon in the first part of the race and it showed that he doesn’t have to go off and blaze a trail – Nico can ride a race on him.
His jumping was pretty sound too and although he looked a little uncomfortable both times at the downhill fence on the side of the track, he never looked like falling.
It was the surge he made after the jumping the Pond Fence that impressed – Frodon had no answer to that and it was a change of gear that only the best have.
Nicky Henderson has probably made a very shrewd call in avoiding the temptation of the £1m Jockey Club Bonus by swerving the Betfair Chase next weekend.
Several of Might Bite’s rivals will be beating themselves up there ahead of the King George whereas Might Bite will arrive fresh and very ready to banish the memory of his last fence fall when miles clear in last year’s Feltham.
Well done Ian Williams
Saunter’s decisive win in the November Handicap at Doncaster last Saturday had the look of a well-laid plan coming off perfectly. Indeed, it was a brilliant 15 minutes for Ian Williams whose London Prize had just landed the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton.
The Midlands trainer consistently does well with what he has been given and is not only enjoying a great spell but entitled to be regarded, surely, as one of our leading dual-purpose trainers. Perhaps only Alan King is ahead of him?