by Tom Red
Racing this week in Ireland starts this afternoon (Thursday) at Fairyhouse with a 12 noon start. Flat racing is on the all-weather tomorrow evening at Dundalk away at 4.15 pm and at Cork outside Mallow at 12.30 pm. Navan racing is on Saturday at Proudstown Park with the highlight the Navan Handicap Hurdle – first race at 12 pm.
On Sunday two Grade 2 races form the highlights at Thurles, the first Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase and the Horse and Jockey Hotel Chase, away at 12.20 pm.
Cross-channel, the Berkshire Winter Million Weekend, run over two courses, starts on Friday at Windsor, continues at Ascot on Saturday, and returns to Windsor for the final day on Sunday. Friday’s highlight is the Grade 2 Novice Chase, Saturday’s is the first British Grade 1 of the year, the Clarence House Chase, and on Sunday the Grade 2 Novice Chase takes place.
Willie Mullins has Energumene in the Clarence House, where he will meet Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon in what looks like a two-horse race. Preference is for Jonbon who has won his last four outings, including three Grade 1s. Energumene has won his last outing, a Grade 2, after a long layoff of over eighteen months. Mullins also has Kargese in the Grade 2 Novice Hurdle.
Racing continued to be hit by the weather last week as Saturday’s card at Kempton and Wetherby joined Warwick. Kelso was called off on Sunday, and even the all-weather at Lingfield was abandoned. The meeting at Plumpton on Tuesday also fell to the weather, leaving only all-weather racing at Southwell, Newcastle and Dundalk. Racing on the track in Ireland survived but the point to point at Turtulla outside Clonmel in Co Tipperary was abandoned and is refixed for next Saturday.
There will be plenty of racing on terrestrial television this weekend starting tomorrow with eight races, four from Windsor, three from Market Rasen and one from Newcastle, all on ITV. On Saturday, ITV cover seven races, four from Ascot and three from Haydock, and on Sunday, six races with four from Windsor and two from Fakenham.
Racing review
On Saturday, racing went ahead at Fairyhouse after an inspection and Gavin Cromwell trained a four-timer starting with Sixandahalf in the maiden hurdle, The King Of Prs in the Grade 3 Dan and Joan Moore Handicap Chase, Noble Birth in the novice chase and De Temps En Temps in the bumper. Willie Mullins continued his form with a double – King Alexander and Mistergif ridden by JJ Slevin, following up with a treble in Punchestown on Sunday with Lecky Watson, Salvator Mundi in the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, and Kappa Jy Pyke, and Magic McColgan made it six for the weekend, the rest were ridden by Paul Townend.
Racing news
Welsh jockey James Bowen went through the lows and highs of national hunt racing in ninety minutes at Ffos Las on Saturday, from being trapped under Saunton Surf, over half ton of horse, when he fell at the final flight in a handicap hurdle, to winning on Keep Running in his next ride over an hour later – racing was delayed for over half an hour.
Bowen said the thought of not taking his next ride never crossed his mind. After the fall, he was trapped under Saunton Surf’s hind quarters and eventually a decision was made to lift the hind quarters and drag Bowen out. This involved sedating the horse to ensure he could not cause damage with his hind legs flailing, to either Bowen or those helping. Saunton Surf was only winded in the fall.
Looking ahead, there are 16 entries in the Cheltenham Hurdle headed by the favourite, Nicky Henderson’s Constitution Hill, one of six British entries. Willie Mullins has six entered, headed by the exciting Lossiemouth, including State Man, Kargese and Anzadam, who is an unknown quantity. Lossiemouth and Kargese are both in the Mares’ Hurdle. Gordon Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead is 2nd favourite in the ante post market and is joined by stablemate King Of Kingsfield. Vincent Halley’s outsider Senecia completes the Irish entry of seven. All The World was a surprise Japanese entry, the first from that country since 1930. Trained by Kazuya Nakatake, the 8-Y-O was third in the Tokyo High Jump, one of the country’s leading jump races.
Ten of the 24 entered in the Mares’ Hurdle on the Tuesday, and 20 of the 36 in the Stayers’ Hurdle on Wednesday are trained in Ireland. The first five in the betting for the Mares are trained in Ireland, headed by Brighterdaysahead at 2/1 with Kargese and Lossiemouth at 3/1. The 20 Irish entries in the Stayers’ Hurdle are headed by Elliott’s Teahupoo, hot favourite at 6/4, 9/1 bar one.
