Northern racing: Lewis Tomlinson on what's coming up and his horses to follow this week

One of the great joys of racing, and sport in general, is that champions and stories can come from the most unexpected places.

Would anyone visiting Leicester on a mid-summer Monday afternoon have expected to get the first glimpse of something as generational as Baaeed, or any Kilbeggan regulars have anticipated Shark Hanlon’s €800 gelding routinely finishing down the field in handicap hurdles at the track from marks in the mid-90s would end up becoming one of the most popular Grade 1 chasers of recent times?

And could any racing writer, perhaps even one with a specific focus on racing in the North, ever have expected to have given such prominence to a 10-year-old maiden chaser trained by Gary Rutherford?

WHAT’S HAPPENED

Having unshipped his owner/rider Lucy Turner early in the closing contest at Musselburgh, Rufio found himself a very lost boy on Monday afternoon, his daring escape from the track into the town undoubtedly the most notable event to take place on the east coast of Scotland early last week, though Nicky Richards’ SMOKERINGINTHEDARK displayed a good attitude to make a successful Rules debut in the maiden hurdle, that probably the best performance seen on the course that afternoon.

FOREST BLAZE did a favour to the column when justifying strong support to score at 15/8 in the opening handicap hurdle the on Wednesday, before NOT A LIGHT, who had mixed it with some useful types in a handful of outings back in 2022, made light of his two-year absence to provide another winner for Callum Pritchard, a rider who continues to look excellent value for his 7-lb claim.

Speaking of excellent riders, SHALLOW RIVER’s victory in the Pertemps Qualifier at Carlisle on Sunday showcased exactly why I’ve taken the sensible decision to replace the angel at the top of our lass's Christmas tree with a picture of Sean Bowen.

Matched at 1000 on Betfair when jumping the last in a modest fifth, the now Olly Murphy-trained gelding was galvanised up the run-in under a typical Bowen drive to nab Irish raider D ART D ART on the line. The man is simply different gravy.

Bangor played host to a decent Friday card to begin the weekend, where the improving STRACKAN took the rise in class in his stride to follow up last month’s Uttoxeter success in the feature 0-130 staying hurdle. Henry Daly’s gelding has fallen victim this season only to one of the progressive horses in training in the shape of Double Powerful and should remain on an upward trajectory himself for some time yet, the quirks displayed in his novice campaign also gladly yet to prove an issue this season.

A winless streak for the Kerry Lee yard also came to end in North Wales courtesy of NEW FOUND FAME’s success earlier in the afternoon. The Herefordshire trainer hadn’t been on the scoreboard since February, though Lee’s seasonal Timeform Run To Form percentage of 61.9% suggests the yard haven’t actually been underperforming anywhere near as much as that barren spell would imply.

In fact, Lee is currently positioned just outside the top 10 trainers in Britain and Ireland by this metric in 2024/25, a couple of a places ahead of the likes of Skelton and Nicholls.

Obviously, getting winners on the board is what matters most and race planning is an important part of that, but it certainly shouldn’t be framed that Lee’s horses have been misfiring this season despite the disappointing strike rate. You’d have turned a profit backing the yard’s horses blind for each of the past five seasons and it may just be an angle to bear in mind in the near future if the market takes a view of the stable form a little bit too literally.

Messrs Greenall, Guerreiro and Brooke returned from Doncaster on Friday having bagged a treble, kickstarted by MELON (no, not that one) landing the odds in the juvenile hurdle. A winner for the same yard on his final Flat outing, Melon created a fine impression in following up first time up over timber, only nudged along but beginning to assert when dragging his hind legs through the last, before quickly regaining his momentum to account for BELFRINA, the winner of a large-field Curragh maiden now with David Pipe, with a bit up of his sleeve.

Not only did I like the manner Melon’s success, he also caught my eye due to his status as a product of one of the final crops of the late German stallion Adlerflug. I’m quite an admirer of German pedigrees as a rule and Alderflug’s CV, including the Arc and King George, stamped him out as the outstanding sire of his generational in Germany, so it’s exciting to have a prospect as useful as Melon added to the handful of his progeny to go jumping in Britain, the most notable of which to this point being MAXIMILIAN, who is due to return after 20 months off the track early in the new year. It’s a bit niche, I know, but it did excite me.

Stable stalwart HOMME PUBLIC played his part by bringing up the next leg of the treble, a most admirable type but one who still staggers me every time I remind myself that a) he’s still only seven and b) won a Grade 2 last season, before the hat-trick was completed by the rapidly-ascending GENTLEMAN BILL, who made a mockery of his opening mark of 111 to take his record under Rules to 3-4. Though it perhaps wasn’t the strongest of handicaps, the six-year-old could barely have scored with greater ease, tanking into the lead 2 out before quickening clear approaching the last – he should stay ahead of the assessor for a while yet and is another to add the My Stable tracker.

Greenall & Guerreiro left Town Moor empty handed on Saturday, their favourite for the feature bet365 Handicap Chase, GABORIOT never really looking like justifying support, the prize instead going the way of CHARLIE UBERALLES. Despite racing from just of the weights, Dianne Sayer’s eight-year-old producing a fine round jumping to notch a fourth career success and will surely be trying to improve upon last year’s third place in the Great Yorkshire Chase over the same C&D next month.

The listed mares’ hurdle ended up a rather thin contest, the standard-setter West Balboa running a long way below form having been the subject of an alarming drift, but that shouldn’t detract from just how likeable the winner WYENOT is, Henry Daly’s mare completely untroubled by the step up to 3m to record the most valuable success of her career to date.

ALTOBELLI, who went off 5/1 for the Betfair Hurdle when last seen in February, just failed to reel in the front-running JUNGLE JACK in the closing handicap hurdle at Donny. There lingers an air of unfinished business about Harry Fry’s gelding and I can’t help but feel like he still should prove up to landing a good race from a mark in the low-130s, the way he finished his race off on Saturday indicating that he might be better suited now to having another crack at beyond 2m. Lanzarote in January anyone?

WHAT’S COMING UP?

Not much.

It’s a quiet week for racing in the North. Adam Nicol’s useful Flat performer WISE EAGLE should be able to defy a penalty in Catterick’s novice hurdle on Tuesday, though it’s HAWKSEYE VIEW I’m keenest on in North Yorkshire.

The Smith & Parkinson-trained chaser produced a couple of novicey errors but took a step forward when chasing home the well-treated Glory And Honour at Newcastle a couple of weeks ago, and with the yard having clicked back into gear recently, he should prove capable of getting off the mark in the 1.30.

We then go a couple of blank days until Haydock’s Tommy Whittle card on Saturday, where FAMOUS BRIDGE will attempt to make it back-to-back success in the headline contest for Nicky Richards, though the likes of CRUZ CONTROL (a horse I’m certain has more good staying handicaps in him), SURREY QUEST and the Venetia Williams-trained FRENCHY DU LARGE could prove stern opposition.

Northern Scene column

• Monday December 9

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