Lewis Tomlinson reviews the action from the northern racing scene over Christmas and highlights the horses to be positive about.
It’s been a belting Christmas, hasn’t it?
A deep King George, genuinely breathtaking performances from the likes of Brighterdaysahead and Galopin Des Champs in Ireland, Sir Gino’s phenomenal defeat of Ballyburn and Constitution Hill matching Feathers McGraw for a flawless comeback; surely no one would have even heard of the Grinch if he’d been given a telly and had the bookies open on Mount Crumpit – the poor lad would have had nothing to complain about.
There’s not quite been anything of the same calibre in the North over the past week or so, but that’s not to say we’ve been without good, competitive racing, and several horses made their way into my notebook over the festive period.
WHAT’S HAPPENED?
Fog. Lots of it. And the last Grade 1 in this part of the world until April.
The move to Boxing Day has meant that the Formby Novices’ Hurdle perhaps doesn’t quite get the same billing as when it was the Tolworth and took place at Sandown in early January, but the race certainly hasn’t diminished in quality – this year’s renewal (barely) seeing POTTERS CHARM solidifying his position as one of the leading novice hurdlers in Britain when comfortably seeing off a rather deep field of exciting rivals.
Whilst not needing to improve appreciably from his Grade 2 success at Cheltenham the previous month, the manner he coped with the drop to around two miles was highly encouraging – though a return to two and a half miles, and a meeting with Challow Hurdle winner The New Lion, will almost certainly be the plan come March. Similar comments apply to placed pair MIAMI MAGIC and GOOD AND CLEVER, both of whom enhanced their reputations in defeat and can be expected to improve further when stepped up in trip.
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IMPERIAL SAINT scored on Merseyside for the third time this season and is another who should have bigger targets in his sights in the near future. He can’t have been himself when meeting with his only defeat over fences at Newbury and wasted no time getting back on track, producing a typically fluent-jumping performance from the front to prove himself an equally effective chaser beyond two miles, exactly the sort of style that might lend itself well to a tilt at the Timeform Novices’ Chase on Trials Day, for all he’s not had too much racing on undulating courses.
Elsewhere on Boxing Day, Wetherby played host to the first day of its Rowland Meyrick meeting, the feature contest won by the likeable SOME SCOPE in the hands of very promising 7-lb claimer Charlie Maggs. In all honesty, the Rowland Meyrick was probably one of the weaker Premier Handicaps we’ll see this season, but Richard Hobson’s seven-year-old very much has the profile of one who should remain competitive in similar top-level Northern handicaps across the season, though the same can no longer be said with full confidence of CRUZ CONTROL, a horse I was really bullish about this season, on the back of such a lacklustre display on his return to chasing.
The best ride of the Christmas period surely came from Kielan Woods aboard HARPER’S BROOK in the Castleford Chase, the feature two-mile handicap on December 27. The old rogue could barely have been delivered with greater precision by Woods, who cajoled Harper’s Brook into a narrow advantage at the line before his mount had any chance to self-sabotage.
It wouldn’t be overly surprising, though, if the best horse we saw on the card competed in the bumper. It’s a race which has represented some of the strongest bumper form in the North in recent years - the once-exciting Mr Glass and Grey Dawning amongst the winners – and a pair representing the Murphy/Whateley combination led them home this time. The winner, HARBOUR ISLAND, produced one of the best debuts we’ve seen in a British bumper this season and probably did so with even more authority than the two-and-a-half-length winning margin would suggest, not quite benefiting from as smooth of a passage as his second-placed stablemate DRAYTON FLYER. The winner is a from a good jumping family, a half-brother to Jon Snow out of a half-sister to Binocular, and is worth adding to the My Stable tracker, certain to take plenty of beating under a penalty next time.
Musselburgh’s New Year’s Day features often attract a similar bracket of runners as Wetherby’s Christmas highlights, with neither the Hogmaneigh Handicap Hurdle nor the Auld Reekie Chase striking as the deepest events of their type. That being said, the winners of both contests are upwardly-mobile novices who should be able to hold their own in tougher company.
Hogmaneigh winner BOLD LIGHT made a successful handicap debut for Lucinda Russell, an opening mark of 116 underestimating one who had been tried at Grade 2 level after shedding his maiden tag at Kelso. He’s not short of pace, but clearly relished the step up to two and a half miles and promises to stay further still.
BOOMSLANG was a slow burner over hurdles for Rebecca Menzies but has clearly been quick to get the hang of chasing, taking his record over fences to 3-4 in the Auld Reekie. Again, it was on the shallow side as a contest – almost half the field competing from out of the weights – but Boomslang is definitely one who saves a bit for himself and had a reliable sort in BEAU BALKO chasing him home. It’s distinctly possible that he’ll land another good pot before the season is out; the Scottish Champion Chase over the same course and distance next month surely Plan A.
SLUGGER came in for a good tactical ride under Alice Stevens to maintain his unbeaten record for Harry Derham in Musselburgh’s closing contest, confirming, if any further evidence was needed after a weekend double, that the yard has returned in flying form after an issue with a flooded gallop led to an enforced pause in the runners.
ACE OF SPADES, upped markedly in trip from his win at Cheltenham the previous month, defied a penalty in the opener at Kelso on Sunday, though the pick of the action in the North that afternoon came at Doncaster.<a href="https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/profiles/horse/1034066"> LA RENOMMEE took advantage of BRIDES HILL underperforming to make the breakthrough at listed level in the Yorkshire Silver Vase, with good performances also on the card from the fluent-jumping HURLERONTHEDITCH and FINN LOUGH, who looks a particularly strong stayer for one who has just turned six.
It’s also worth giving a nod to the pair of slogs in the Haydock mud either side of Christmas, EGBERT taking the Tommy Whittle, before SAINT XAVIER rolled back the years to land the Last Fling the following week. It’s the runner-up in the Tommy Whittle, JACKS PARROT, who I’d be keenest on with a view to similar tests of attrition at the track in the near future.
Jacks Parrott, who is trained by Oliver and Greenall and Josh Guerriero, is a relative baby for a staying chaser having just turned six, and he went through the contest in much more likeable fashion than the winner who was off the bridle from some way out and is probably reliant on such extreme tests to be of any interest nowadays. Jacks Parrot clearly handles heavy ground well - his win in a three-runner contest at Uttoxeter last spring was one of the most absurdly gruelling races you could ever see – but moves fluently enough on the bridle to think he’s not quite as one-dimensional as many of the plodders that populate similar Haydock handicaps. He’ll win a good one this year.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
It’s a quiet period for racing across the country after the madness of Christmas. Newcastle hosts a jumps card on Saturday, where PRIMOZ will aim to belatedly build on his most promising chase debut success in the feature novice handicap at 1.57.
We also could see JJ Slevin in his new role as retained rider for the Double Green partnership at Ayr on Monday as MONGIBELLO is entered in a novice hurdle won by the Crawford yard for the previous two seasons.
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