The Reheasal Chase DayThe first December meeting at Chepstow usually throws up good pointers to the Welsh National later in the month and this years meeting was no exception. I would be very surprised if the winner of the Welsh National does not come out of this days racing despite my long-term view that Ackzo would win the Welsh National this year. 
The weather as we know has been dreadful over the last couple of weeks and the ground was Heavy however although the horses were finishing tied they were not legless.
The day started dry and the Welsh Track because of it's location close to mouth of the river seven does get drying wind and this often makes the ground very sticky but the frequent showers leading up to the meeting and a quick shower just as the first race got off meant that the horses were getting through the ground.
The sun came out after the first and a great day was had by all and especially yours truly, although the turnout was quite small for such a competitive days racing.
Chepstow racecourse has a new chairman this year and you can see his influence already. The race card looks better with a nice colour picture of the course with very good identity that has been missing for some time now. Inside was all the usual information plus a location map for facilities, which also had disappeared from the card in recent years.
Once in the track the difference was not immediate but in the silver ring there was an open bar and also a hot food van. This is something I can't remember seeing at Chepstow for years (If ever?) and it's good that even the silver ring punters are now being looked after again, When the stand was renovated some time ago much of the Tatts facilities were lost even though what was left was upgraded, to make way for private viewing. If this is the start then I think that as well a warm welcome from locals, visitors will also be able to enjoy more and better facilities. Well enough of the course what about the racing? --------------------------- Race 1 the horse's mouth. co . uk Novices' Selling Hurdle ( Class G )This was a 2m4f hurdle race, which looked pretty ordinary however the drama of this race came after the race.
The winner of the race was Sirinndi , a half brother to Sindar, won well by 8 lengths.
He was always up with the pace when they all went down the back for the second time Sirinndi made his way through the field and when they turned the final bend and onto the 4th last hurdle, Most of the field were riding hard sirinndi were all over them going well and cruising. He then gradually increased his lead and won easily although his jockey did keep him up to his work as the horses form has been in and out since his move to the mainland from Ireland.
As this was a selling race worth only £ 1,525 to the winner and after the race the sale was started at £2,000 for the winner but there was not the usual few bets but the bidding quickly went up to 5 then 6 then 7 thousand pounds but it did not stop there as Martin Pipe was bidding against the owners who eventually had to pay a record for a selling hurdle at Chepstow when they bought the horse Back In for £14,500 . Second was Begsy's Bullet horse trained by Red Rums trainer D McCain and who ran a good race to come second and looks as if he has improved and will win a race of this class soon. Third was Dancing Al who was the best-backed horse in the race who was backed down to 10/1 from 20/1. He ran with credit but never looked a danger to the winner. Finishing order: - 1st Sirinndi (IRE) 6 C Honour(7) 5-1 10 12 Miss K Marks 2nd 8l Begsy's Bullet 5 D O'Meara(5) 9-1 10 7 D McCain 3rd 7l Dancing Al 5 N Fehily(3) 10-1 10 12 J Moore 4th Top of The Charts 4 H Oliver(3) 8-1 10 12 D Williams 5th 114 l Montagnette 6 S Curran 4-1 10 7 M Bosley 6th nk Red Bordeaux 5 A P McCoy 5-1 11 12 J Akehurst 7th 13l Lenango (GER) 7 J Frost 7-1 10 12 R Frost Held 8th 15l Seymour of Me 5 J Tizzard 33-1 10 12 N Mitchell Pulled Up Mahout (IRE) 4 R Studholme(3) 12-1 Pulled Up The Beeches (IRE) 7 O McPhail(3) 14-1 10 12 C Popham Pulled Up Lochlass (IRE) 6 J Mogford 25-1 10 7 R Price --------------------------- The second Race was The Jack Brown Bookmaker steeplechase (Class C)This was the race that threw up last years Welsh National winner and course specialist Edmond .
This year may also have identified another good horse, Royal Tommy won this 3m 2 1/2 f race in good style if in an unconventional style as he was at the back of the field, on this course that seems to suit front runners, for quite a time.
Only when the horses were coming into the straight for the last time and all jockeys were hard at work did Royal Tommy start to move through the field. Coming to the first in the straight the long time leader and well fancied fav was Ragamuff but he brushed through the top of the fence and the chasing group were getting ever closer but at the next, 
The open ditch and possibly the most difficult fence on the course Ragamuff jumped too early and crashed through the fence and fell interfering quite badly with royal Tommy and leaving The eventual second and third Parahandy and Zaggy lane with a slight lead from Royal Tommy. Royal Tommy jumped the last 3 fences well and pulled away from his field and deservedly won the race.
The horse was carrying 11st 1lb in this race and although he will have to improve still further to Win the Welsh National he has only got a 9st 7lbs (he will have to carry min 10st) handicap mark in the big one, if you add to this the fact that he has won at 3m6f I think he looks a very good prospect for the Welsh National. Second Place went to Parahandy Ran well but did not have the finishing power of the winner. Third was Zaggy Lane ran better than he has of late but was 712 length's behind the winner and carrying 2lbs less. The Finishing order: - 1st Royal Tommy (IRE) 8 R Thornton 5-1 11 1 R Buckler 2nd 5l Parahandy (IRE) 10 F Keniry(3) 4-1 11 2 J Mullins 3rd 7l Zaggy Lane 8 S Burrough 14-1 10 13 P Rodford 4th 212 l Bullens Bay (IRE) 11 Mr M Foley(7) 25-1 10 0 D Lloyd 5th 16l Galapiat du Mesnil (FR) 6 S Stronge(3) 4-1 11 8 P Nicholls Fell Ragamuff 9 P Flynn 5-2 10 0 P Hobbs Pulled Up Honey Mount 9 A Thornton 16-1 12 0 R Alner Pulled Up Juyush (USA) 8 J Tizzard 9-1 11 11 P Nicholls --------------------------- The third race on the card was The Keyline Builders Merchants Handicap Hurdle Race (Class C)
This was a 2m 4f event that saw Tony McCoy riding his first race having come to Chepstow to ride after Sandown was abandoned. Tom Scudamore was due to ride this smart Martin Pipe Tensile. Tensile was due to carry top weight in this event having won his only start last season and his first this season and only having been beaten on his last outing by making a terrible mistake at the last fence. Tensile, Tony McCoy and Martin Pipe were out toady to put the record straight and this they did. Saint Cecilia was also bet down in the market and was equal second joint fav of three. 
Saint Cecilia ran away and went 20 lengths in front as the horses passed the stands for the first time and the eventual winner Tensile was held up at the back.
None of the pack went after Saint Cecilia and the Chestnut mare stayed well in front until they turned for home and at the first in the final straight when she was about to be headed. And then started to die away. Tensile made up ground and was second at the next 3 from home and made a mistake but McCoy started to ride him out and recovered very well and was in the lead at the next, he rode the horse out and extended his lead after the last and was only slightly caught up by Prokofiev and won comfortably. Second was Prokofiev who ran a good race today but was just not good enough on the day. He had his tongue tied today and looked a bit uncomfortable at stages in the race. Third was Flagship Colm who ran very well and perhaps the handicapper has got his measure. The finishing order was: - 1st Tensile (IRE) 5 A P McCoy 7-4 11 10 M Pipe 2nd 2l Prokofiev (USA) 4 L Cooper(3) 9-2 11 1 J O'Neill 3rd 12l Flagship Colm (IRE) 5 V Slattery 14-1 11 6 R Baker 4th 7l Handy Lass 11 R Widger 7-1 11 1 J Smith 5th 22l Mister Benjamin (IRE) 5 S Stronge(3) 9-2 11 5 P Nicholls 6th 5l Saint Cecilia 7 Mr B Hitchcott(5) 9-2 11 5 B Eckley 7th 1l Time N Tide (IRE) 4 E Husband 20-1 11 0 G McCourt 8th dist Deymiar (IRE) 8 J Culloty 16-1 11 5 D Gandolfo 9th 12 l Disco des Mottes (FR) 9 P Flynn 25-1 11 8 P Hobbs --------------------------- The Next Race was the main event the 21,000 pound Tote John Hughes Chase (Limited Showcase Handicap) (Class A)[Registered as the rehearsal chase] Grade 2This race has thrown up the Welsh National victor on may occasions and has also had quite a few good horses running in this race.
This year the race seemed competitive there were some good horses running this year.
Edmond was back at his favourite course for the first time since his triumph in the Welsh National almost 12 months ago. Jocks Cross had some good wins behind him, Him of praise was back after a lay off of 377 days the smart Escartefigue was also having his first outing of the season, but the favourite at the off was Atavistic who was hoping to improve on his 3rd first time out.
The race started predictably with Edmond taking up the running and keeping in front on the first circuit followed closely by Gadz'art and Atavistic.
By the time they had gone up the hill and onto the second in the back the race had changed slightly and although Edmond was still in front of the field Gadz'art fell away quickly and it was Atavistic still in second place but Jocks Cross was now in third but the three times winner this season Moral Support was closing in forth place.
They turned into the final straight and Edmond was now being challenged by Moral support and at the second fence (the Open Ditch) Edmond was looking tired and did not jump the fence fluently and Moral Support jumped the fence well and easily.  He then went on and put more distance between him and the rest of the field and was going very easily the two closest horses were now Jocks Cross and Edmond who were both tired and not jumping so fluently.
Moral support on the other hand was jumping very well and went on to win by 3 1/2 lth but pulling up but could have won by 5 times that distance. This was a very good performance by him. Moral Support was installed as the 7/1 fav now for the Welsh National.
Second place Jocks cross Ran really well here today and looks spot on for his chance in the Welsh National. Third placed horse Edmond was beaten for the first time at Chepstow but this was an improvement on his runs to date this year and is sure to run better next time out. Finishing order: 1st Moral Support (IRE) 8 N Fehily(3) 7-1 10 5 C Mann 2nd 312 l Jocks Cross (IRE) 9 B J Crowley(3) 11-1 10 9 Miss Venetia Williams 3rd 5l Edmond (FR) 8 A Thornton 3-1 10 12 H Daly 4th 15l Ambleside (IRE) 9 J Mogford 7-1 10 5 Mrs S Williams 5th 15l Atavistic (IRE) 8 A P McCoy 11-4 10 5 P Hobbs 6th 8l Escartefigue (FR) 8 J Tizzard 12-1 11 7 P Nicholls 7th 5l Him of Praise (IRE) 10 J A McCarthy 12-1 10 8 O Sherwood Pulled Up Gadz'art (FR) 6 R Thornton 20-1 11 12 K Bailey Pulled Up Sunrise Special (IRE) 7 S Burrough 40-1 10 5 P Rodford Unseated Rider Arlas (FR) 5 S Stronge(3) 10-1 10 7 P Nicholls --------------------------- The Next Race was The Severn Bridge Novices' Steeplechase ( Class D )The favourite was the Paul Nichols horse Ask the Natives This horse had some good form in the past but this season had failed to complete on both times he had started.
Today he made a very big mistake at the open ditch (the second fence) and jumped badly throughout the race and never looked comfortable however he did make up ground on the long runs at each end of the course.
The winner was Jolly Green Giant who is a giant parading in the ring he looked very like Party Politics who was also a very big horse. This Paul Webber trained ex-pointer had scored once out of his four runs last season at that came at Sedgefield . Today he was kept up with the pace throughout the race and took up the running at the 10th of 16 fences and was then not headed until 2 from home when Spring Grove took the lead and looked to be going well but never got away from The Jolly Green Giant and was caught before the line. Second Place went to Spring Grove the second Fav. He ran with credit here today. He will be winning again soon. Third place went to Pateley Ran well but was perhaps just a little below this class. Finishing order:- 1st Jolly Green Giant (IRE) 7 A Thornton 20-1 10 12 P Webber 2nd 1l Spring Grove (IRE) 5 Mr R Walford(5) 15-8 11 4 R Alner 3rd 6l Pateley (IRE) 6 R Widger 9-1 10 12 P Hobbs 4th 6l Ask The Natives (IRE) 6 J Tizzard evens 10 12 P Nicholls 5th 7l Nearly A Score 8 S Burrough 20-1 10 7 P Rodford 6th dist Crystal Centauri 6 J Culloty 16-1 10 12 B Millman 7th 11l Ronans Choice (IRE) 7 E Husband 50-1 10 12 G McCourt --------------------------- The last race on the card was The December Maiden Hurdle Race ( Class D )Although this race was run at 3:45 the clouds were rolling in and it was getting really murky and the rain was back by the time the race was off.
The well-backed fav was Iznogoud another Martin Pipe Tony McCoy runner and also backed in the race was Sharakapour who was well-bred flat winner in France.
The race was turn with all horses in with a chance as they turned for home when three horses broke away from the pack Ibal Sharakapour and Iznogoud These three got 15 lth ahead of the pack and it was Ibal and Iznogoud that made the break from Ibal at the last and there was a close finish by the both horses but the McCoy magic was done again when he got Iznogoud past Ibal to win by a neck. Second place Ibal improved on what he had shown this year and will win a race soon. Third was Sharakapour who did well on his hurdling debut and it would not be a surprise if he was a bit better than this class in a few races time. Finishing order :- 1st Iznogoud (FR) 4 A P McCoy 2-1 11 5 M Pipe 2nd nk Ibal (FR) 4 A Thornton 6-1 11 5 Mrs N Smith 3rd 10l Sharakapour (IRE) 4 J Tizzard 5-2 11 5 P Nicholls 4th 12l Arctic Spirit 5 C Maude 14-1 11 2 R Dickin 5th 6l Chop N Change 5 J Mogford 50-1 10 11 D Wintle 6th 4l The Parsons Dingle 5 J P Byrne(3) 8-1 11 2 P Webber 7th 4l Apadi (USA) 4 S Stronge(3) 50-1 11 5 K Bell 8th 5l Saffron Sun 5 J Frost 40-1 11 2 R Frost 9th 11l Sorely Missed (IRE) 5 X Aizpuru(3) 50-1 11 2 R Dickin 10th 10l Lussino (FR) 4 R Thornton 6-1 11 5 K Bailey 11th 22l Kingfishers Bonnet 4 O McPhail(3) 50-1 11 0 S Knight 12th dist Starboard Tack (FR) 4 F Keniry(3) 100-1 11 0 R Brotherton Pulled Up Angharad's Angel (IRE) 6 L Cummins 66-1 10 11 Mrs A Thorpe --------------------------- With Young Kenny confirmed as a runner at top weight of 12st . The highest in the handicap of the runners today was Escartefigue This horse has had a sinus operation but he ran only 6th today (John Hughes) and did not show his old sparkle and it is difficult to see him winning the Welsh National on what he showed today. Next down the list would be Edmond (John Hughes). This horse needs heavy ground to show his best and he got that today, Last year he lost his way a little at the end on the season after a great start. His first run this season was very disappointing run at Cheltenham where he finished a well beaten 9th of 13 so today's effort was better it could be that he is coming back to form and his trainer seemed very happy with his3rd place, I would defiantly not could him out for a double in the race but he did look tired at the end today and his jumping was not quite as good as it was this time last year. But don't leave him out of your short list. Jocks Cross (John Hughes) comes next a very good run here today and beating Edmond another who has improved on his first run and should by spot on for December 27th. A Good each way chance I'd say. Next is Him of Praise (John Hughes) Finished 7th, this was not a bad effort after a 377 day lay off by lacked the spark that he used to have if this race puts him right then he could be a live contender on his best form. Atavistic 5th (John Hughes) finished tired today but this may be that he and Edmond did each other no favours by racing up front and constantly trying to challenge for the lead. He could improve but as he only ran 28 days ago should have been fit today so there may not be too mush improvement to come. Moral Support (John Hughes) winner today and the form looks rock solid won as he liked today and this was his four in a row since changing stables. He looked good and has a racing weight in the Welsh National despite getting a 4lb penalty for winning this race he still gets in with 10st 4lbs. He is entered to run this weekend and this would be a worry for me He has now run 4 times this year and this race although he won well pulling up 3m around Chepstow in the heavy ground and then followed by another run 7 days later in at least soft ground I would say could be a little too often to the well early on and he may not be able to recover. One not to leave out though despite this and if he does not run before December 27th then defiantly one to consider. Next is Parahandy (Jack Brown) 2nd today and ran well but could not muscle up a finish off 10st 13lbs but that could be different in three weeks time when he has 10st to carry. Another who would have to improve but he has been improving the last two seasons and should not be dismissed. Royal Tommy (John Hughes) is next a winner today and perhaps again in the Welsh National. He did not win as easily as Moral Support today but did run over 21/2 furlongs further, he finished 5lenths in front of Parahandy it is difficult to see that being overturned. He worked hard today but I feel still had a little in the tank when finishing he is a winner over 3m6f as is moral support but today he carried 11st 1 today and will carry 1st 1lb less on the day where Moral support will have to carry 2lbs more then his winning weight of 10st2lbs today. Royal Tommy loves the ground and will love the weight DON'T dismiss this horse he looks like a Welsh National winning type to me. Lastly Zaggy Lane (John Hughes) 3rd today Ran well enough today but looks out of the class of the Welsh National He unseated and pulled up in his last two runs this season so this was an improvement on what he has done this season but he would have to improve a lot to win on the 27th. |
