Weekend racing review: Trackside Takeaways from Ascot

All change, please, all change. The car that was originally bound for Wetherby will now be departing for Ascot in approximately 10 minutes, once I’ve found the right glasses for driving in. Breakfast will be served, probably at Greggs, in around an hour’s time. Please enjoy the journey, and have a think about what you want for tea tonight whilst you’re on the way down.

Firm. It's a good word, firm. (Stop that sniggering at the back.) Stand firm. Take a firm stand. Firm up a date. Keep a firm hand on the tiller. All positive phrases that make you feel safer, steadfast. People like firm.

Jump racing doesn’t like firm. When it creeps into a going description, runners start to seep away. And so it was at Wetherby, my original destination for the weekend. As much as it rained last week, the wind dried it up in a heartbeat and despite their best efforts, quick ground at the Yorkshire venue saw a distinct lack of runners. The date I had firmed up with Wetherby, namely Charlie Hall Chase day, quickly turned from “yes, darling, of course I’ll be there” to “well, I’ll see what else I’ve got on” to hiding behind the sofa and pretending I wasn’t in when it came knocking on Hallowe’en.

Ascot to the rescue, then. Yes, it’s further away and oh dear, I’ll miss some Breeders' Cup races due to the drive back but I don’t mind driving and I could not give a tinker’s cuss for the Breeders' Cup so that’s those issues sorted. Let’s go to Berkshire.

The drive down is all over the place, weather-wise; half of it spent in fog, half of it spent with the visor down as the sun blinded me. By the time I get to Ascot, we’re in bright sun. And it’s warm. Almost November, and I don’t need a coat. Madness, I tell you.

Ascot is full of families enjoying the late autumn sunshine, which is lovely to see. I give my spare racecard to a young man who is enjoying watching them in the paddock, and picking his favourites out. His Mum and Dad thank me for the gesture, but I feel I’m merely doing my bit for the lad’s education. This is what they should be teaching them in school. Who needs woodwork these days anyway when you’ve got IKEA?

The opening novice handicap hurdle goes the way of the favourite, Media Mogul, but back in fourth Jammy Jay catches my eye. A little keen, but very fit, she’s bang there to two out before the classier sorts take over. “We thought we’d give her a go here, we knew we were up against it somewhat”, said trainer James Evans afterwards. “We had to plead with the handicapper to drop her after Chepstow…. she’s too consistent for her own good.” Would you think about dropping her back in trip, I ask? “Well, Benjamin (Macey) thinks that might be an idea, we need a race where they go a good clip and they come back to her.” Surely they can find a 0-100 on this showing.

I catch up with Anthony Honeyball after race three as both Dance And Glance and Brookie were eyecatchers in their respective races too, both looking like they would come on for a run. “It was despair with Brookie again until that last thirty seconds”, says Anthony, Brookie having run on like a train in the latter stages.

“We’ve still got him in the Haldon Gold Cup…. but it’s the Desert Orchid that’s his aim”, he tells me. As for Dance And Glance, he gives him “an eight, eight and a half maybe” for his debut run over fences. “Rex said he gave himself a fright at one down the back, he took a bit of time to warm up again after that. He stuck on well enough.” No specific targets were given, but he’ll win more races for his syndicate this year.

And then we come to the novice hurdle. For most, a chance for a cup of tea but for me, the most important race of the day.

The reason for this? I have a vested interest, of sorts. Every year my good friend Mr Andy Weller asks me to cast a beady eye over the Goffs Horses In Training catalogue to see if there’s anything I’ve seen on my travels that he might be interested in. Normally I’ll WhatsApp him half a dozen horses, he’ll take a look, thank me for my input and promptly ignore everything I tell him. But not this year. Because Seven Airs, who I saw in a bumper at Uttoxeter, is making his debut for him and Lawney Hill. Bought (partly) on my say-so. I can feel the pressure mounting as he walks around the pre-parade ring.

Seven Airs is so keen he has to be saddled behind closed doors, but he behaves a lot better once the saddle is on, almost Christian by comparison, and jockey David Bass gets his instructions. He’ll need the education, but if some prizemoney is on offer, then go get it.

Seven Airs finds it all too much but his jumping gets better as the contest goes on and it’s a pleasing introduction. The jockey comes back in with an “he’s alright, this one”, which is promising. “I was in top gear pretty much throughout”, he tells us. “But look, all he’ll want is a trip and soft ground.”

“Are you telling me he’s slow?” asks Andy.

“He wants a trip, and soft ground.” We all laugh at David’s diplomacy.

A nice lot for the concluding bumper and the two that jump out are Joe Tizzard’s Colombe D’Or, not quite your typical Tizzard, perhaps a bit more athletic at this stage, and winner Saint Argente, a similar sort but a lovely size and with scope for hurdles.

It sounded like he’d already had a school, listening to assistant trainer Olly Kozak afterwards: “...it was good to see him relax, first run back he was always going to be gassy…. his work isn’t flashy but he stays and jumps well, he has lots of ability.” No specific targets were given but Trackside like him a lot, and this was a decent bumper on paddock looks.

One good thing about the drive home in early November is the number of firework shows you get to see as you pile back up the M1. Or at least would have done if it wasn’t for the fog. Next stop, Warwick, then onto Chepstow.

More Trackside Takeaways

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