HEADLINES
The crowd waiting patiently on the familiar hill in the middle of the course at Tweseldown for the opening race of the new season.
Viewers of the site would of been extremely happy after the opening race at the Tweseldown Racing Club Meeting on Sunday. After Winsley the selection of the site led from start to finish in the Veterans and Novice Riders race. The forcing tactics and accurate jumping seemed to run the other horses into the ground and after going well clear never really looked in any danger of getting caught. Brigadier Baron started to make some headway approaching the final turn and was the only danger but could never get on terms with the leader. Winsley jumped the last flight well and galloped on strongly to the line and should have an excellent chance of following up next time after recording the fastest time of the day. Although the race conditions probably got worse as the afternoon progressed, so these times could be slightly misleading. Nevertheless, you could not take anything away from this horse as this was a good performance.
Below: Winsley out on his own puts in another great jump on his way to taking the Veterans and Novice Riders Race.
Irilut was made hot favourite for the Mens Open race and was turned out as usual with the cheek pieces. Whereareyounow and owner rider John Maxse were contesting their first point to point after the horse was brought out of the Brendan Powell yard. Whereareyounow set off in the lead and was jumping well. Irilut was also jumping well and was poised about 3 to 4 lengths behind the leader with 3 to jump. It looked as if it was just going to be when would Sam Waley-Cohen press the button and take up the running, but Whereareyounow pulled out plenty more and Irilut had no answer looking to almost pull up approaching the last fence and finish extremely tired. The winner Whereareyounow produced some good battling front running tactics and looks a decent recruit to the pointing game. I believe they will be heading for Hunter Chases for the remainder of the season. Irilut may of needed this first outing of the season, but this was a disappointing start to his season.
Below: John Maxse and Whereareyounow setting a decent pace for the Mens Open Race.
In the Ladies open race Thompsons Wood and Hannah Watson played their cards late in the day but won easily in the end by a distance. Lile Na Casca and Major Blue took them along at a very strong pace but they all looked out on their feet with 3 to jump, apart from Thompsons Wood who powered through the field like a knife through butter to take it up and record a convincing victory. It was extremely sad to see French Executive pull up very sharply before the final fence and collapse and die from a suspected heart attack. Our commiserations go to the horse’s connections and also to Charlotte Tizzard the jockey. As this is also a very distressing time for the jockey concerned. Thompson’s Wood may score again this season but things will not be so easy next time around.
Below: Hannah Watson has a big smile on her face in the winners enclosure after cantering to victory in the Ladies Open race. Julian Pritchard to the right also getting in on the act.
Debbie Ewing from the Ledbury country recorded an opening day double when Milton Du Tresor won the Members race following Thompsons Wood's victory in the Ladies. A new recruit to the game Milton Du Tresor was also Richard Burton's first ride back after breaking his ankle late last season. Burton brought his mount to the front on the approach to the last fence and stayed on well to take victory. This was a good performance on his first outing over fences and should be monitored closely as further successes look assured.
Below: A jubilant Richard Burton returns to the winners enclosure after success on Milton Du Tresor. I am sure we will be seeing him making plenty more appearances here before the end of the season.
Something Small and Sam Waley-Cohen soon made amends for Irilut's defeat in the Mens Open Race. Something Small took up the running 4 from home and galloped on really strongly after jumping impeccably throughout. It was a very impressive performance and on this evidence will be making giant steps to make it to the top. Something Small's main rival Balou with Phillip York on board crashed out on the second circuit, but still had a strong challenger in Simply Smart. These 2 horses pulled well clear of the rest of the field and I would strongly recommend following both of them in their next races. I am also going to add Something Small to our IntheKnow Column as I feel this horse will register plenty more victories before the end of the season.
Below : Something Small (Brown and Orange) still cantering alongside Richard Burton and Lough Rynn on their way to landing an impressive Intermediate victory.
The concluding race of the first day saw a hefty plunge on Grey Hall from 5/1 into 2/1 .Unfortunately, this gamble never looked like being landed. After Grey Hall and Polly Gundry made a bad mistake at the very first fence and was never travelling throughout the contest. Iphar from the Kim Smyly yard was sent off favourite and this ex eventer went well clear on the second circuit only to make a couple of errors and stop very quickly. This left the race between The Tailor Carey and Millville. Millville looked to be finishing the stronger approaching the last flight but The Tailor Carey held on gamely. Blazing Guns and Declans Choice were also charging at the front two as the line approached.
Below: The Tailor Carey (Yellow and Black) look poised to hit the front through the cutting on his way to breaking his maiden tag.
Overall it was a good and quiet introduction to the season. Thankfully we were very lucky with the weather during racing.
Star of the Day : Something Small
On the betting front we held our own on the opening day of the season with 2 winners. Winsley at 5-1 and Something Small 6-4 F. So we made a small profit on the day. The selections were :
Race 1 Winsley (Royal Tir) 1ST
Race 2 Irilut (N.B.) (Unleash) 2ND
Race 3 Chicuelo (Nap) (Bering Gifts) NR
Race 4 Airmark (Coral Island) Not Placed
Race 5 Something Small (Lile Na Casca) 1ST
Race 6 Topol (Millview) Not Placed
Let's hope we can improve on this at the Heythrop Meeting on Sunday 16th December 2007.
All pictures very kindly supplied by Neale Blackburn of Chasdog.
Please email any comments to info@southmidlandp2p.co.uk