AAA The Welsh National - 1998 Preview

The 1998 Coral Welsh National will be held on Monday 28th of December and given the rain we have had in Wales lately the ground is sure to be very testing this year .
Below I have set out my preview of the runners in this years race.

1.Earth Summit 10:11:10:

Earth summit is a very high class long distance chaser who in the past has won the Scottish and Grand Nationals as well as this race last year. He excels in the mud and also at extreme distances which he will get in this years race. Last season although he was running well all season only in fact won on two occasions but given that these were The Grand and Welsh nationals I'm sure his connections were well satisfied. This year he has put up two fine performances Firstly carrying 12st in the Becher chase at Aintree where he gave another of his opponents in
Samlee 18 lbs and a convincing beating on that day. His other outing this year came a very creditable 2nd to Suny Bay over three miles at Haydock.
In last years race he had to carry 10st 13 lbs , this year he will have to carry top weight of 11st 10 lbs , however he is obviously the best horse in the race and has carried big weights to win before.
He obviously has an outstanding chance in this years race.
Earth Summit is Trained be Nigel Twiston Davies

Eudipe 6:10:12

Eudipe is a 6 year old chaser who has some good placing in the past however, it would seem that last year he lacked the killer instinct to go on and win a race, although he did win twice in 1997. On his last outing he was second to Teeton Mill who is obviously turning out to be this years class find. On that occasion he gave Teeton Mill 8lbs so I suppose second was a very good race, he also had Fiddling the Facts and Him of Praise back in 3rd and 5th respectively.
He obviously is not without a chance but will need to find a bit of improvement to win this year, but as he is only 6 yrs old so he may have a lot of improvement in him.
Eudipe is trained by Martin Pipe.

Macgeorge 8:10:10

Macgeorge is a very nice 8 yr old bay Gelding who has some useful soft ground form. He won three on the bounce last year although they could not be seen as good class races.This year he has beaten one of his rivals in Torduff Express when carrying 12 st. ( Torduff's only defeat this year ) . His most recent run this season was a second behind Tamarindo who is another smart performer and he had Unguided Missile behind him that day. He is another who could be on the upgrade and a win is not out of the question here.
Macgeorge is trained by R.Lee.

Dom Samourai 7:10:9

Dom Samourai is a classy chaser who's small size does not take away from his big heart. In last years Welsh National he was left too much to do in the race however he was 20 lengths behind at the second last, but was only just beaten by Earth Summit .
When he gets ground that is soft or heavy he always shows his best and rarely runs a poor race. The Rehearsal Chase at the start of December is usually a good pointer to the big event and this year he was second to the very classy See More Business on ground that was to firm for him ( although the official going was good ). He also has two things in his favour this year 1. he loves Chepstow Racecourse. and 2. Martin Pipe his trainer, who has a great record in this race. You should definitely not leave this one out of your considerations this year !
Dom Samourai is Trained by M.Pipe.

Fiddling the Facts 7:10:6

Fiddling the Facts is the last horse in this years contest who is inside the official handicap. She is a 7 yr old Mare who has shown some ability in the past when winning a group 1 chase at Kempton Last year but she then seemed to lose her way. She ran behind Eudipe this year in a race where Teeton Mill won and that form may show that she is on the way back.
The N.Henderson stable is running into terrific form just lately and also her jockey M.Fitzgerald is riding as good as ever so a win here would not be as surprising as here recent form figures of PPF-3 would suggest.
Fiddling the Facts is Trained by N. Henderson

Samlee 9:10:00

Samlee a 9 yr old bay gelding is again out of the handicap despite two wins last year one of which was the Becher Chase at Aintree. He also ran a creditable 3rd in the Grand National ( again from out of the handicap ) . And he Also was a good third in this race last year. Another of my favourite horses he often gets the booking of Richard Dunwoody for his races although his jockey for Monday is R Farrant a jockey who I think gets on well with this horse and who also seems to ride well at Chepstow which is a bonus as his trainer P.Hobbs and also Samlee all do well at Chepstow. I usually don't like picking horses out of the handicap but this horse is an exception so leave him out at your peril !
Samlee is Trained by P.Hobbs

Him of Praise 8:10:00

Him of Praise a 8 yr old Bay gelding is not without decent form a winner of six of his 12 Starts to date . He is a winner of the Mildmay Cazalet memorial handicap at Sandown and that race at one time was a good trial for the Welsh National and many of the winners of that race including Cool Ground, Stearsby and Run and Skip went on to win the Welsh National.
He was behind Dom Samourai in the Greenall National Trial but actually did not run badly . He refused at the 27th in the National proper in April so he must find a bit to get in the frame here but would not be a complete surprise.
Him of Praise is trained by O.Sherwood.

Sail by the Stars 9:10:00

Sail by the Stars a 9 yr old bay Mare notched up a four timer at the end of last season but given this years runnings looks out of her depth in this race. On her last run she was last of seven finishers behind Eudipe, Fiddling the Facts and Him of Praise all of whom she takes on again . On her first run this season was a well supported fourth behind Samlee who was second in the race to Coome Hill.
It is difficult to see this horse running into a place this year.
Sail by the tars is trained by H.Daly.

Forest Ivory 7:10:00

Forest Ivory is a 7 yr old chestnut gelding who will love a long distance race but I feel must improve his jumping to stand any chance. He has finished 2nd in a group 1 at Kempton so he has some ability but seems to be a below these rivals today.
D.Nicholson and A.Maguire are a force to be reckoned with so I would be hesitant to say that this horse has no chance but on recent form this horse has a lot to find.
Forest Ivory is trained by D.Nicholson

Arfer Mole 10:10:00

Arfer Mole is a 10 yr old bay gelding and is very lightly raced for a 10 yr old, he has won races at Kempton, Sandown and Cheltenham in the past but is another who is not a very good jumper. Given that he has won 3 of his last 6 runs and is lightly raced he is not without a chance.
He won a Class B Handicap at Kempton last year around this time when beating Redeem Yourself and had a well supported Ciel De Brion back in 4th. Lightly raced and not without claims
Arfer Mole is Trained by J.Old

Torduff Express 7:10:00

Torduff Express a 7 yr old Bay gelding has won 5 of his 9 races to date. His latest victory was over
Calisoe bay at Ascot. He is another young horse who may be still improving However he was 2nd behind Macgeorge at Warwick in November receiving 12 lbs ( he will only receive 10 lb in this race ) and also finished behind another opponent Kendal Cavalier at Cheltenham and was in receipt of 7 lbs then ( meets him at even weight this time ), although as said he may be improving it would be some improvement to overturn these two opponents today given the weights on this occasion.
Torduff Express is trained by P.Nicholls

Kendal Cavalier 8:10:00

Kendal Cavalier is a 8 yr old grey gelding who won four of his seven starts last year. He had the beating of Torduff Express in April last year on heavy going. He also had a well supported Forest Ivory behind him on his latest outing at Chepstow on 5th of December this year. He is an out and out stayer who loves the heavy ground he is not without a good chance despite being well out of the handicap.
Kendal Cavalier is trained by N.Hawke.

Choisty 8:10:00

Choisty is a 8 yr old Chestnut gelding who when he gets his jumping right seems to do well but, inconsistent jumping is his problem, he fell at Bechers first time around at Aintree last year and was pulled up in the Scottish National. he is 23 lbs out of the handicap for this event!
Choisty is trained by H.Haynes.

See Enough 10:10:00

See Enough is a 10 yr old chestnut gelding who's hurdle form is very good but has had injury problems he only had one run last year when second to Grange court . This year he has run only once when 3rd in a good event at Lingfield but was beaten 17 and 16 lths.
He is also 32 lbs out of the handicap!
See Enough is trained by R.Buckler

OK so that's the form !
So what's going to win? Well I.M.H.O. (in my humble opinion)
Macgeorge looks as if he is getting into top gear lately and should give a good account of himself.
The McCoy / Pipe partnership looks a big Danger to me this year in Eudipe who's price of 7/1 looks too big. However My reading of the race this year is that last years race will prove to be the pointer to the outcome this year.
Earth Summit and Dom Samourai fought out a good race finish last year and the winning distance was only
1 3/4 lth now given that Earth Summit went on to win the Grand National you can't say that he hasn't a great chance but Dom Samourai is 2 lbs better off this year for that distance he was also left too much to do in the run in and this year should be nearer come the last few fences. My only worry would be that his jockey will not know the horse very well but Chris Maude is a good jockey and Dom Samourai seems to go well with any jockey
( and he has had a few )

Note ! I must say that I could see Samlee again running into a place at big odds again.

Best Regards to all who visit here...........Oh Yes Good luck You will need it !!!!!

See you at Chepstow maybe ?

Area Navigation

The Race Preview