News
326 topics in this forum
-
- 0 replies
- 4 views
Nico de Boinville navigates testing conditions at SandownNicky Henderson had pulled Constitution Hill and ShishkinNicky Henderson scratched most of his declared runners on the card on Saturday, but Jonbon, his star two-mile chaser, was allowed to take his chance in the Grade One Tingle Creek Chase and duly rewarded the trainer’s confidence, easing home nearly three lengths clear of Edwardstone, last year’s winner, after taking it up on the run to the final fence. Sent off at 30-100, Jonbon was less flamboyant than usual through the first mile-and-a-half, as Nico de Boinville took account of the testing conditions, but he was fully in command in the closing stages and rema…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 4 views
Promising novice hurdler Willmount also misses out but Jonbon is still an intended starter in the Tingle Creek Nicky Henderson has withdrawn Constitution Hill and Shishkin from the rearranged Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown. While the meeting passed a 7.30am inspection, rain was still falling throughout the morning at the track on already heavy ground on the hurdles track and conditions are being monitored. Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill was supposed to make his seasonal reappearance at Newcastle last weekend but the meeting was abandoned with the Fighting Fifth moved to Sandown. Shishkin was an intended runner at Newcastle also, in the Rehearsal Chas…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 14 views
Jockey steers 16-1 shot from last to first in £250,000 raceMahler Mission finishes second with Monbeg Genius third There are generally more setbacks than triumphs in a jump jockey’s life, but there can be moments when everything simply falls into place. Gavin Sheehan, Jamie Snowden’s stable jockey, was booked to ride at Saturday’s abandoned meeting at Newcastle but, having switched to Newbury to partner Datsalrightgino in the £250,000 Coral Gold Cup, he expertly threaded the 16-1 chance from last to first, landing one of jumping’s most valuable prizes for the first time. The three-and-a-quarter-mile trip was a long way into unknown territory for Datsalrightgino, who spent…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 31 views
Constitution Hill is set to be re-routed to Sandown next Saturday after Newcastle falls to snow and frost Racing faces the possibility of a blank weekend due to freezing temperatures and snowfall across the country, with Newcastle’s valuable Fighting Fifth Hurdle meeting on Saturday having already been abandoned on Friday afternoon and early inspections scheduled for the three remaining cards, including the valuable meeting at Newbury where the £250,000 Coral Gold Cup is due to be the feature event. The first afternoon of the two-day meeting at Newbury went ahead as planned on Friday, but temperatures are forecast to fall as low as minus 4C overnight and the cou…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 25 views
The horse’s high-profile refusal to start came just 48 hours after racing’s rulers dispensed with the hunting crop aid Royale Pagaille was a brave and worthy winner of the first Grade One race of the new British jumps season on Saturday but the abiding image of the weekend for many fans and punters was of Shishkin, the 8-13 favourite, planted at a right-angle to the running rail over at Ascot as the other three runners in the 1965 Chase galloped off into the distance. Shishkin was the future once, and not that long ago. Having fallen at the second flight on his British hurdling debut in December 2019, he racked up a 10-race winning streak that included novice ev…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 25 views
Cheltenham regular wins first Grade One at HaydockPic D’Orhy wins 1965 Chase after Shishkin’s refusalIf a six-and-a-half-length success in the first Grade One of the campaign – his first at the highest level – is as good as it gets for Royale Pagaille this season, the delight of his trainer and rider in the winner’s enclosure on Saturday made it plain that it will be more than enough. Venetia Williams’s nine-year-old has been beaten in the last three runnings of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and remains an outsider at around 25-1 to make it fourth time lucky. But he is the epitome of the big, old-fashioned staying chaser that has always been Williams’s stock in trade, and if t…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 33 views
First time up this season on soft ground at Haydock in November is the ideal scenario for the selection A four-runner field for a Grade One chase might look a little underwhelming on paper, but there is a decent case to be made for all of the runners in the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park on Saturday as Protektorat aims for a repeat of his impressive success in this race last season. Dan Skelton’s gelding faced four rivals 12 months ago and had the race won three out after A Plus Tard, the 2022 Gold Cup winner, was pulled up at the top of the straight. Continue reading...
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 34 views
Having left the Professional Jockeys Association amid fallout of Robbie Dunne bullying case, Paul Struthers is coming back Nearly two years after his departure from the Professional Jockeys Association amid the toxic fallout of the Robbie Dunne bullying case, the PJA announced on Monday that Paul Struthers, its former chief executive, will return to the role full-time in the new year after proving to be the “overwhelming choice” of a selection panel. “Even without his previous time at the PJA,” Nick Attenborough, the association’s chair, said in a statement on Monday, “he would have been the strongest candidate given his regulatory knowledge, leadership experien…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 22 views
Race favourite beats Edwardstone by nine and a half lengthsIberico Lord wins dramatic Greatwood Handicap HurdleLast month’s news that Energumene, the winner of the Champion Chase in March for the past two seasons, had sustained an injury that is likely to rule him out for the season was a bitter disappointment at the start of the winter campaign, but it has left a vacancy at the top of the two-mile chasing division and the race to fill it started on Sunday, as Jonbon registered his first career win at Cheltenham in the Shloer Chase. Few punters were holding Jonbon’s 0 from 2 record here against him, as his two defeats had been inflicted by exceptional rivals: Constitution…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 38 views
Irish trainer is in front of high-profile handlers Mullins and Elliott when it comes to winners at the home of UK jump racing Reflect for a moment on Irish stables’ dominance at Cheltenham in recent years and Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead may well be the first trainers that spring to mind. In terms of their strike-rate at the home of jumping, though, all three are several lengths adrift of John McConnell, who trains a significantly smaller string in County Meath but has still saddled an impressive nine winners from his last 41 runners at the track. That total includes his first winner at the Festival meeting – Seddon, a 20-1 shot, in the u…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 27 views
The 5lb claim of the tip’s jockey may make all the difference in the first major betting race of the jumps season at Cheltenham Two Grade One novice chase winners at the Festival meeting in March top both the weights and the betting for the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday, and there is every chance too that The Real Whacker and Stage Star will take each other on at the head of the field from an early stage. Both chasers made most of the running on the way to victory in the Brown Advisory and Turners Novice Chases respectively, and they are clearly the class acts in Saturday’s field. Whether they will be able to dominate, and concede weight to, a h…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 52 views
Grand National winner’s injuries and Luca Morgan’s shock retirement show the urgent need for jockeys’ voices to be heard Both the risks and hardships that jockeys face on a daily basis to ensure that we all have a sport to follow and enjoy have been brought into sharp relief by events over the weekend, as racing hopes for some positive news on Graham Lee after his fall as the stalls opened for a race at Newcastle on Friday evening. The Injured Jockeys Fund said in a statement on Sunday that Lee, a Grand National-winning rider over jumps before a successful switch to ride on the Flat, had “suffered an unstable cervical fracture causing damage to the spinal cord, …
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 41 views
Andrew Balding’s gelding has not run since mid-August but is two-from-four on all-weather tracks Flat racing on turf in Britain concluded a week early due to waterlogging at Redcar and Doncaster this week, but the code’s traditional final card at Town Moor has been salvaged by a switch to the synthetic track at Newcastle and a competitive field of 14 runners will go to post for the £70,000 November Handicap on Saturday afternoon. Local Dynasty is the early favourite to extend Charlie Appleby’s strong finish to the campaign and has performed with credit in all three of his starts this year, but he will be making his debut on an artificial surface and Teumessias F…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 66 views
Steve de’Lemos determined to ‘sample all the candy’ after getting the golden ticket to America’s biggest race meeting “We got the Golden Ticket,” Steve de’Lemos, who owns the aptly named Live In The Dream with his wife, Jolene, said here on Monday, as he looked beyond the palm trees in the Santa Anita infield towards the San Gabriel mountains that loom over the track. “I feel like Charlie Bucket at the Wonka Factory and we’re going to sample every bit of candy that Santa Anita has got to offer. Look at it. It’s just incredible.” It is a typical response to a first experience of Santa Anita, a racecourse which has few, if any, equals in terms of its setting and h…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 49 views
The progressive Nicky Henderson chaser is the best bet on the card as National Hunt action returns at Cheltenham Officials at Doncaster remain optimistic that Saturday’s card, including the Group One Kameko Futurity Trophy, will beat the weather despite the loss of their card on Friday and will hold a precautionary inspection of the track at 7.30am ahead of the final Group One contest of the British Flat season. The return of racing at Cheltenham, though, may prove more appealing to punters given the likely ground conditions at Town Moor, and Nicky Henderson’s Quick Draw (2.25) could be the one to beat in the most valuable event, a £60,000 handicap chase. C…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 51 views
King Of Steel provides Italian with perfect send-offJockey also wins the opening race on Trawlerman“I thought I would cry,” Frankie Dettori said here on Saturday after bringing down the curtain on his extraordinary career in Britain – for this year, at least – with a preposterous, last-to-first flourish on King Of Steel in the Champion Stakes that completed a 39-1 double on the day. “But I’m too happy to cry, to be honest. I didn’t expect it, it’s fantastic. What a day.” Win or lose, this was always going to be Dettori’s afternoon, but in the end, he made sure that it was his from start to finish. Continue reading...
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 57 views
Bad weather means three races on the lucrative Champions Day card will be run on a track normally reserved for hurdling Ascot racecourse bowed to the inevitable on Friday morning and moved three of the contests on Saturday’s Champions Day card – Britain’s richest day at the races – to the tight, inner turf track that is normally reserved for hurdling during winter. Announcing the move on Friday gave punters and an anticipated crowd of around 30,000 racegoers more certainty as they start to plot a path through the Champions Day card. Last year’s turnout of 23,872 was the second lowest in the event’s 12-year history, but the prospect of (possibly) seeing Frankie D…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 53 views
The question of whether colt is ‘as good’ as a horse that raced a decade or more ago is the least interesting thing about him It was inevitable that someone would drop the F-word after City Of Troy’s devastating success in the Dewhurst Stakes on Saturday, but quite the surprise that it was Michael Tabor, City Of Troy’s co-owner in the Coolmore syndicate, who got there first. “He really is our Frankel,” Tabor said after the colt’s three-and-a-half length win, effectively ensuring that similar comparisons will be drawn whenever City Of Troy sees a racecourse or, at the very least, for as long as he remains unbeaten. It is a significant weight of expectation to han…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 53 views
Sovereign wealth dominates the market and is not going to struggle, but the concern is what it means for racing in Britain For the first time since the socially distanced sales in the autumn of 2020, the key numbers at Tattersalls’ Book 1, Europe’s premier bloodstock auction, last week were all down. Turnover dropped by 24% from last year’s record of 126.7m gns (£132m), to 95.3m gns (£100m), at least in part because the total number of lots sold was down from 424 to 391, but the average and median sale prices were also down, by 18% and 10% respectively, to 243,977 gns (£256k) and 180,000 gns (£189k). These are still, of course, very big numbers and, in the midst…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 54 views
Noel Meade’s dual-purpose gelding has been in the form of his life this year and could be in the mix at Newmarket Ireland’s increasing supremacy in National Hunt racing has extended to the Cesarewitch, the Flat’s most historic stayers’ handicap, in recent seasons and runners from top Irish jumping yards dominate the betting once again before the 2023 running at Newmarket on Saturday. Pied Piper, third in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2022 and a close second in the County Hurdle under a big weight at last season’s Festival, is the best of them over timber and the booking of Ryan Moore for Gordon Elliott’s gelding should ensure that he sets off as favourite …
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 97 views
In-form Mqse De Sevigne is capable of springing a surprise in the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday Frankie Dettori has two booked rides at Newmarket on Saturday as he looks not only for the single victory required to reach 500 at the home of Flat racing, but also a first success in the Sun Chariot Stakes since it gained Group One status in 2004. A win aboard Inspiral, the favourite, would leave the July Cup as the only current British Group One missing from Dettori’s career record. It would also offer a measure of compensation for missing this year’s July Cup, due to a whip ban for his ride on Inspiral at Royal Ascot. Continue reading...
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 89 views
Cristian Demuro hails winner’s acceleration in home straightAce Impact may go out to stud after only one year’s racingThe key question before the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe here on Sunday was whether the explosive finishing speed of the favourite, Ace Impact, would be as potent in the unknown territory of a mile-and-a-half, two furlongs further than any of his previous runs. The answer was emphatic and incontestable, as Cristian Demuro brought Ace Impact with an electrifying run from the back of the field, chasing down Westover inside the final furlong before crossing the line nearly two lengths up, and still unbeaten after half a dozen starts. Only two of the 15 runners –…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 91 views
Despite the absence of Equinox all may not be lost for his country’s passionate – and patient – fans at Longchamp For nearly 20 years, Japanese fans’ dreams of a first win for their country in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe have been turning to dust in the Bois de Boulogne on the first Sunday in October. Deep Impact, El Condor Pasa and Orfevre, twice, have all hit the woodwork, but the bottom line is that untold billions of yen have left Japan in hope but only found their way into the coffers of the pari mutuel urbain, never to return. There was huge optimism too a few months ago too, when Equinox strolled home in the Sheema Classic in Dubai to establish himself as officia…
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 87 views
Favourite Greek Order looks thinly priced at Newmarket while David O’Meara’s horse has been running well The betting for the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket on Saturday revolves around Harry and Roger Charlton’s improving three-year-old Greek Order, who could well be the only horse in a 34-strong field to set off at single-figure odds. The recent history of this historic handicap is littered with market leaders with similar profiles that came up short, however, and the last six runnings have featured winners at 50-1, 40-1 and two at 25-1, with Lord North, a subsequent Group One winner, the only favourite to reward his backers. Continue reading...
Last reply by RacingNation, -
- 0 replies
- 108 views
Horses of prominent owner have again been suspended from competing at racecourses with immediate effect The “now-you-see-them, now-you-don’t” story concerning horses linked to the former owner John Dance took another turn last week, when the British Horseracing Authority issued a brief statement to confirm that runners under the banner of Coverdale Stud and Titanium Racing Club would be suspended from competing with immediate effect. From racing’s point of view, this appears to be the final chapter in what has turned out to be an tarnished turf career, as James Horton, who trained all but a handful of the horses concerned at a yard in Middleham, has since quit h…
Last reply by RacingNation,