National Hunt racing fans up and
down the country are gearing up for the thrill of the winter season because at
last, the rain softened ground is starting to entice trainers to bring out
their stable stars. We are seeing horses to follow for the coming months, one
of which won the bumper at the most recent Worcester meeting.
It was a small but select field
of 6, of which 5 horses had already won races, 4 of those were Irish maiden point
to points. Masterplan (pictured) burst through his rivals to stay on strongly under a
confident ride by Noel Fehily for Charlie Longsdon. The horse cost 25,000 gns
at the Cheltenham May sale and is a 3 mile chaser in the making.
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Another horse for the future was the
winner of the maiden hurdle on the same card. Ballycoe was having his stable
debut for Paul Nicholls and impressed jockey Sam Twiston-Davies to the point he
commented the horse could well be a Welsh National type.
Conditional Tom Bellamy is
sponsored by Stirrups restaurant at Cutnal Green and had his first winner for
new boss Alan King at Exeter aboard Prettyasapicture. Bellamy was featured
riding at Worcester in a recent Midlands Today racing special which spanned 4
nights.
Alan King also trains Shadarpour
for a new syndicate set up by Arena Racing Company, owners of Worcester Racecourse.
Formerly with Gary Moore, the horse had his first run for King in a handicap
hurdle at Exeter which he won by 2 lengths under Wayne Hutchinson.
Another Worcester winner to watch
this season is the impressive El Namoose, trained by John Ferguson. The 5 year
old followed his recent Pitchcroft success with victory under champion jockey,
AP McCoy in a Huntingdon bumper, winning on the bridle under a 10lb penalty. He
has a quote of 33-1 for the Supreme and Neptune Novice hurdles at Cheltenham
next March.
Cheltenham’s first meeting of the
new winter season got underway last weekend, when three other Worcester winners
shone again. Valerie Lewis Memorial chase winner at Worcester in June, The
Romford Pele, who was also successful in the listed John Smiths Summer Cup at
Uttoxeter, won a novice chase under Barry Geraghty for Rebecca Curtis. Curtis
now has an eye on the Hennessy at Newbury for her future star.
Neil Mulholland has been scooping
up the prizes recently and was rewarded at Cheltenham when The Young Master
followed up his Worcester win by taking the Amateur Rider’s handicap chase. The
horse has now won 7 of his previous 9 starts.
The third Worcester winner to
taste success at Cheltenham over the weekend was Jonjo O’Neill’s In the
Rough. The 5 year old has stepped up in
trip from his 3 wins this summer at Worcester and now looks set for a 3 mile
chasing career.
Worcester’s meeting tomorrow has
attracted 181 entries, significantly more than for recent meetings when the
ground was quicker.
