In the Know for 2009 - 2010
These are my own personal choices of horses to follow for the 2009-10 season. If you have any horses which have taken your eye from last season or during the new season then please send them to info@southmidlandp2p.co.uk or join our discussion forum here.
Hopefully we can find a few winners to pay for our day out racing for the new season.
Limerick Leader
Limerick Leader is a very useful ladies open horse ably assisted by Gemma Hutchinson in the saddle. Limerick Leader produced an outstanding performance at Whitfield towards the end of last season and will be very hard to beat in this sphere for the forthcoming season.
Below : Mysaynoway and Hannah Watson stroll to victory at the final meeting of the season at Kingston Blount in June.
Mysaynoway
Mysaynoway took a while to settle into his new home with Alan Hill but put up a good performance to score easily at Kingston Blount at the end of last season. Following this decent performance he also took part and won a Hunter Chase at Folkestone. I think he will be hard to beat if returning back to points for the new season especially in Ladies Open races and looks likely to run up a sequence of victories for Hannah Watson or the luckless Emily Jarvis.
More Trouble
More Trouble is probably one of the most improved point to point horses of the season. Early on he was just going through the motions and looked as if he was not enjoying this racing game,but following a slip up on the turn at Kimble and then reappearing later in the day to win another of the Kimble races he has never looked backed notching up 6 victories from 9 starts and it now looks as if Rodney Mann and Alan Hill have a very decent horse to go to battle with. The most impressive attribute for this horse is now that he does seem to love the game and has been travelling with an abundance of confidence in his races. A short hunter chase over 2m 5f or 2m 7f would suit him down to the ground and if Alan Hill hasn't got to the bottom of him yet then his rivals had better watch out as another sequence of victories looks enevitable.
Impact Zone
I know we are probably quite unlikely to see this horse again running in the South Midlands area as he is based in the North with Lord Daresbury but I thought I must give him a mention following his facile victory at Kingston Blount in June. Tom Greenall who was chasing the jockeys championship gave him a peach of a ride and for a four year old looked a horse to keep on your side at all costs for the future. This victory was all the more impressive by the terrible conditions facing the runners on the day and for one so young showed a fantastic attitude and got on with the job impeccably. This was Impact Zone's 5th win of the season and it must be very likely this horse will rise through the ranks and soon be contesting under National Hunt rules. The most impressive attribute was the way he travelled so sweetly through the race and came through like a knife through butter to quickly put this race to bed. A very impressive individual who has plenty of time on his side and looks to me to have a fantastic racing career in front of him.
Below : Tom Greenall is all smiles following his victory in the Mens Open at Kingston Blount in June aboard the impressive mud splattered Impact Zone.
The Stroker
This may be a bold and rather silly recommendation but I saw something I really liked about this horse. The Stroker opened his account at Whitfield under terrential rain and very wet conditions. In the early part of the race his jumping was appauling none worse than at the second fence when David Bass almost jumped off as the horse sat on top of the fence, but as he knuckled down into the race his jumping improved considerably and although the majority of the field departed one way or another this horse looked a typical John Manners improver. David Bass gave him a good ride making his mind up by pushing him into his fences as he could of easily pulled him up in the early stages, I think this horse could be quite decent and although this was a very bad race could do no more than win. I think he has a good chance of landing a restricted if he can learn from those early jumping problems and could be good value in the future on what he has achieved so far on paper.
Babysitter
In one of the best finishes of the season in the South Midland Area saw Babysitter, Mistress Kaytee and Murphy's Fueselier lock horns up the long Ashorne Hill. Babysitter just came out on top from Mistress Kaytee and looked to show a good battling attitude. Babysitter looks sure to land further successes this season and should have plenty more improvement to come. At Ashorne he was impeccably handled by Sam Drinkwater and this could be a good combination to follow in the future.
Jewel Song
Jewel Song has been the model of consistency throughout the 2008-2009 season and always gives the punter a good run for their money, he has still got plenty of wins in him and should also be able to score again in the future.
Adam Wedge
Below : Adam Wedge returns to the winners enclosure following an easy victory at Kingston Blount last season.
Adam Wedge looks a jockey for the future we have only seen a very small amount of him in the area mainly on Jewel Song at Kingston Blount, but he looks to have a very exciting future in front of him. Adam Wedge is very stylish in the saddle and does a good job of getting his mounts to travel well throughout their races. I think he would of been a bit disappointed with only finishing 3rd in the Gentleman Novice riders championship with 9 winners by I would imagine he will be getting plenty more good rides this season than maybe in the past. This was of course no disgrace in finishing 3rd and it looks a good stepping stone for a very bright future. I am not implying he is the next A.P. McCoy but he looks good enough to one day join the professional ranks.
Definitely one to watch for the future.