Easy Double For Byron Blue

It’s very unfortunate to be in a position where you have to buy back a horse that you already own for as much as 13,000 guineas. Hopefully however, Pippa Gillard, owner of promising youngster, Byron Blue (pictured) feels that it was worthwhile to do just that. Byron Blue is a diminutive flat bred gelding by Dylan Thomas and he won a 2 mile 4 furlong selling hurdle at Worcester by 26 lengths at the end of July. Such was the interest in the horse following his impressive victory, that the owner had to go to 13,000 guineas to keep him in the subsequent auction. Tried back over our brush style hurdles over a longer distance of 2 miles and 7 furlongs last week, the horse made short work of the extra distance and won by 21 lengths with plenty in hand from former Worcester winner, Merrion Square, trained by Paul Nicholls.

Alvechurch trainer, Ian Williams had his first success of the summer season at Worcester when Drumlang justified favouritism and beat Martin Keighley’s Kyles’s Faith, also a winner at Worcester back in May. Drumlang was giving plenty of weight away to the second horse and obviously relished the quick ground.

Another recent Pitchcroft success story at the end of July was Panache, who stormed to victory at a price of 100-1 under the female trainer/jockey partnership of Angela Clarke and Jodie Hughes. This was clearly no fluke as the horse continued his current run of good form by winning again at Ffos Las last week, this time returning a price of just 11-1.

Champion jockey, Tony McCoy has recently been chasing a further milestone in an attempt to beat his own record set in 2002 of the fastest 100 winners in a season.  It was touch and go as to whether he would achieve it at Pitchcroft last week, but despite 2 triumphs, it was at Newton Abbot on Thursday that this amazing feat was reached. Of those 100 wins, 18 have been at Worcester since May, during which period McCoy has also been placed second on 9 occasions.

There are signs that autumn is approaching. The evenings seem to be drawing in rapidly as the temperature drops. Some of the stars of the winter National Hunt season are progressing well in their training, having enjoyed the summer sun out in the field. We learnt in the week from Nicky Henderson that his stable stars Sprinter Sacre and Simonsig are doing well back in training, giving us a hint of things to come over the coming months.

Tomorrow is the last of the 9 evening meetings at Worcester this summer and the first race is due off at 4.35pm.