Northern racing: Lewis Tomlinson with his horses to follow

Welcome back horse racing!

After having to behave, both professionally and personally, in the manner of Brick Tamland since the turn of the year, what a blessing it has been to have gone a week without checking a single weather forecast.

Of course, the looming presence of Storm Eowyn means I might be back on scorchio duty next week, but a full seven-day period of uninterrupted racing could barely have come at a more welcome time for the lads at Timeform Towers. I was hours away from having to ask the trading team to price The Traitors up (Charlotte surely long odds-on now?) so lost were my esteemed colleagues, but thankfully some equilibrium has been restored by quality action not only in the North, but also in the South and in Ireland.

You will not find a bigger fan of Jonbon than myself – I genuinely think some people decided very early into his career he was overhyped and are still trying everything in their power to not acknowledge just how brilliant a racehorse he is – and for me his Clarence House success was as close to flawless a performance as we’ve seen from “Douvan’s little brother.” It’ll be full Kevin Keegan mode come the Champion Chase.

WHAT’S HAPPENED

Last week’s column focused on where the North might sneak a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, and I rather foolishly failed to discuss the credentials of the now Albert Bartlett-entered DERRYHASSEN PADDY, who took his record under Rules to 3-3 at the Winter Million meeting at Windsor.

Okay, he’s best price of 66/1, but he’s looks a real tough lad for one so inexperienced and it’s far from the worst race to have a swing at an each-way price. He may well be done for ability at this stage in his career, long-term chaser he surely is, but his attitude looks first rate, and he clearly has bags of stamina. He’s already got a couple of Southern scalps on his belt and will be an easy one for us provincial types to get behind wherever he goes.

As mentioned, Ascot and Windsor drew the biggest headlines over the weekend, but the Peter Marsh card is perhaps one of the only post-Christmas Northern meetings that can attract horses with genuine Grade 1 aspirations, so the news of Haydock passing its morning inspection was most welcome after two years of falling victim to the weather.

The 13th fence was less welcome for the meeting’s headline act, ROYALE PAGAILLE, who found a shuddering blunder there knocking the stuffing out of him and ending any realistic chance of completed a delayed hat-trick in the race. The fine course record of Venetia Williams’ eleven-year-old is long established, but as is his tendency to belt the occasional fence, this error coming as he began to creep into the race and seeming to dent his confidence, his subsequent jumps uncharacteristically tentative.

You’d have to think the National Trial at the track next month would come under strong consideration for the veteran - realistic options elsewhere rather thin on the ground for a horse with Royale Pagaille’s rating – and I’d make him more likely than not to feature among next week’s entries for the Grand National itself.

Aintree may also be on agenda for the winner, MR VANGO, who followed up his London National success with another fine front-running display. Even without acknowledging the touching circumstances surrounding connections, I find him to be one of the easiest horses to root for in training, a stamina-laden mudlark who clearly loves his job.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sara Bradstock said post-race that heavy ground would be required for her stable star were to take his chance in the big one, though perhaps a bigger stumbling block would be his current rating of 143. I’m sure I’ll delve further into the National entries next week, but for me, the most significant drawback of the reduced field has been the increased difficulty for improving handicappers to get a run in the contest, and to my mind, a progressive type already with two Saturday staying handicaps in the bag this season should be nailed on to make the cut come April, but his participation will almost certainly be at the mercy of how many darts Messrs Mullins and Elliott fancy throwing at the race.

Undoubtedly the most disappointing display at the weekend came from ROYAL INFANTRY, who was anticipated to enhance his credentials as of Britain’s leading Supreme hopes but could only trail home in fourth at odds of 1/3 behind the Sandy Thomson-trained DEDICATED HERO.

At this stage, the winner strikes as more of a prospect for top-end handicaps than one who’ll be scaling the heights reached by the illustrious winners of the Rossington Main, such as Jonbon or Peddlers Cross, though it’s unlikely we’ve seen the ceiling of Dedicated Hero’s ability yet and he’ll surely appreciate the additional two furlongs when returned to Kelso – a track where he currently boasts a flawless 3-3 record – in the Premier Novices’ Hurdle next month.

BERTIE’S BALLET landed a good pot for the Dianne Sayer yard by taking 10k 2m handicap hurdle, whilst the meeting concluded with further Northern success courtesy of PRAIRIE WOLF, who capitalised on the drop in grade to defy top weight in the 2m handicap chase for Smith & Parkinson.

Patrick Mullins’ quest to ride a winner at every British jumps track has meant that havens once safe from his old man are now directly in the crosshairs of the Champion Trainer, and JARRIVE DE MEE made the yard’s first trip to Catterick worthwhile by landing the odds in the 2m3f novice hurdle on Wednesday, though not without scare from the Greenall & Guerreiro-trained GENTLEMAN BILL, whose final-flight blunder put pay to his bid to concede a double penalty.

Mullins Jnr also ticked off Wetherby from the list on Thursday, CHART TOPPER supplementing his wide-margin win at Downpatrick in the summer in straightforward style, whilst the preceding juvenile contest looked an informative affair. Winner MELON was flagged in this column – I promise to not to bore readers about German pedigrees again – after his successful hurdles debut and I was pleased to see him get back on track with a tidy defeat of a similarly promising type in NARANGANSETT and impressive Catterick winner BUST A MOVE. Though his defeat in the Finale over Christmas proved that he’s a couple of notches below the very best in his division, he’s a horse I’m convinced will continue to improve across both codes for a while yet and will remain in the My Stable tracker into the Flat season.

A more familiar Irish raid came earlier in the week at Ayr, with two of Gordon Elliott’s four-strong plundering party returning with reward. TIMMY TUESDAY justified favouritism to make a winning handicap debut in the 2m4f hurdle on Tuesday afternoon, though perhaps the more notable winner of the pair was UNDENIABLE ALIBI, who hadn’t cut much ice in his 3 qualifying runs over shorter trips in Ireland, proved himself thrown-in from an opening mark of 118 to get the better of the resurgent ILIKEDWAYURTHINKIN in Monday’s 3m chase.

Still only 6 and completely unexposed as a stayer, the winner would be a most interesting candidate off a low weight if aimed at a valuable contest such as March’s Leinster National over the same trip, whilst the runner-up has to remain towards the top of the shortlist for next month’s Eider Chase and plenty of credit must go to Ben Haslam for how well he’s managed to sweeten the old boy up this season, his jumping again looking a major asset despite meeting with defeat.

Mention also must go to Nick Alexander’s improving chaser HOMBRE DE GUERRA, who found plenty after the last to overhaul GALUNGGUNG and notch his second Ayr win of the month earlier this week. Both victories have come in small-field affairs but the seven-year-old appeals as a straightforward sort who shouldn’t mind the cut-and-thrust of a more competitive environment. His sole outing away from Scotland’s West Coast came when following home Caldwell Potter at Carlisle on his chasing debut and it would perhaps be no surprise if connections were working back from the valuable Scotty Brand Chase at the track on Scottish National day, with the C&D novice handicap in late-February perhaps the perfect stepping stone.

Even the Flat lads were treated to some high-quality action at Newcastle on Friday night, the track playing host to one strongest all-weather cards of the winter. Five of the seven winners achieved a Timeform ratings of 100 or higher, the best of these coming from MARSHMAN, who enhanced his fine record fresh and dropped into handicap company for the first time and achieved a figure of 112.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

The centrepiece of Donny’s jumping season takes centre stage in the North this weekend, with the Great Yorkshire Chase supported by a brace of Grade 2 contests. A seventeen-strong field has been declared for the feature on Town Moor, with THE CHANGING MAN favourite find his own luck changing, having finished runner-up on eight occasions since his most recent success back in November 2022. Some may question the mental fortitude of an animal with such a serious case of seconditis, but I thought he displayed a willing attitude when just edged out by Victtorino at Ascot last month and The Changing Man’s temperament wouldn’t be of concern to me.

His chief market rivals include last season’s likeable runner-up FORWARD PLAN, TIGHTENOURBELTS, who aims to complete a hat-trick for the in-form Emma Lavelle yard and perhaps surprisingly IDALKO BIHOUE, who hasn’t come close justifying shortish odds in a pair of outings this term and is beginning to look more miss than hit for Nigel Twiston-Davies. It would take a more forgiving man than myself to be going in at a single-figure price in such a competitive environment.

The other top handicap at Doncaster sees a clash between NELLS SON and CALICO, both of whom have recent form closely tied to Matata, now bound for the Champion Chase after his runaway Windsor success. The former is a smashing servant to connections and has returned better than ever this campaign, though he appeared to relish the emphasis on stamina at the trip when successful at Kelso last time and competes this time from a mark 14 lb higher than when fourth in this race last year. Calico, meanwhile, goes from the same mark as when finishing two places ahead of Nells Son here last season, and with the anticipated sound surface to his liking, I’d perhaps be more inclined to chance him at the prices.

Like another fancied sort in GENERAL MEDRANO – most impressive at Newbury but a flop last time at Sandown – he’ll need to bounce back after an inexplicably poor run at Cheltenham, but I think there remains some wiggle room from his mark of 142 and the reapplication of cheekpieces can only be a positive.

An additional half mile very much changes the dynamic of the Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle – chances of an Epatante or a Vroum Vroum Mag taking part in the future surely slim – but KATEIRA sets a good standard on the back of her creditable fifth in the Long Walk, with Irish raider JETARA and recent C&D listed winner WYENOT the principal opposition.

And whilst the River Don doesn’t boast a roll of honour perhaps befitting of its Grade 2 status, it should prove an informative affair even if a shade light on quality, with six of the eight novices in the line-up possessing the Timeform 'p'.

Most eyes at Cheltenham will surely be on Constitution Hill, but I’ll be equally keen to see how friend of the column WHISTLE STOP TOUR fares down in trip for Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase.

Prices of around 10/1 are probably a fair reflection of his chances in a competitive contest where others might be proved better suited by this mid-range trip, but I’d still hope to see enough from the Lucinda Russell-trained gelding to keep the Ultima dream alive.

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