Rain doesn’t stop play at the
racecourse. The meeting last Wednesday
was one of the wettest for some time and yet we were very pleased to see the
maximum possible number of horses declared to run (94) for the first time this
season. National Hunt racegoers are a
resilient lot and a drop of rain simply means donning a waterproof coat and a
flat cap for the show to go on.
Last week we worked with the
charity Racing Welfare to celebrate National Stable Staff week. It was a chance to highlight the very
important job done by the sometimes unsung heroes of the racing industry and we
were delighted to be involved.
Gathering together a luxury
hamper, we organised a prize draw, inviting all the stable staff attending the
meeting to take part. The winner was
Laura Wright (pictured below with Jenny Cheshire) from Kerry Lee’s Herefordshire yard, who led up Definite Future in
the handicap chase.
The £10,000 feature handicap
hurdle was won by Newton Geronimo (pictured below), trained at Bourton-on-the-Water by Ben
Pauling, a former assistant to Nicky Henderson.
The Brian Boru 7 year-old has previously been a monkey at the start,
refusing to race on a couple of occasions, however there was no such antics on
Wednesday, and defying a 7lb rise for his recent Fontwell success, the horse
won going away by 16 lengths.
Those who listened to Radio 4 on
the morning of racing will have heard an unlikely tipster recommend a horse on
the Worcester card that day. Absolutely
Fabulous actress, Joanna Lumley was asked who punters should get behind and
with her usual aplomb, she recommended Sporting Milan in the novice handicap
hurdle. The five year-old, who ran into
fourth at the course earlier in the month on Ladies Day, rallied near the
finish to win by a neck.
Noel Fehily has been out of
action for a few weeks following a bad fall at Newton Abbot in early May. His first ride back from injury was at
Worcester last week for trainer, Harry Fry in the mares’ bumper. Fehily was just touched off into second aboard
Raveloe. The well-bred Midnight Legend
filly is out of Over Sixty, formerly trained by Alan King to success in a
number of races including a fourth place in the Cheltenham mares’ bumper behind
the legendary, Quevega.
Peter Bowen has long time been
known for his success with summer jumpers and this year is no exception. Winning the opening handicap chase last week
with Kinari has propelled him into second place in the Worcester trainer’s
table, just 3 points behind Nicky Henderson.
A mere 8 points separate Sam
Twiston Davies, Sean Bowen, Tom Scudamore and Richard Johnson in the jockey’s
list this week, and the Troubled Pink Partnership, John Nicholls and JP McManus
are still tied on 20 points for the owner’s honours.
