Old Surrey, Burstow
& West Kent
Penshurst
Sunday 28th March 2010
by Simon
McInnes
Presumably due to Easter, Penshurst opened
it's season a little earlier than usual. That allowed for better
racing ground than is often the case here, but the effect probably
amounted to an average of one extra horse per race. And despite the
changing of the clocks, the crowd was not bad, but much smaller the
the occasional massive ones the course enjoys in late April. It
looks as if the majority of south-east attendees would prefer the
sun to be out and never mind the quality of racing.
Going: Soft officially, although they were
not leaving a deep print, not going in particularly deep on the
racing line, nor were fast ground horses apparently inconvenienced,
so...
Race 1: Mr & Mrs
Gervaise Burbidge - Villagate Properties Ltd & Mrs & Mrs
Graham Addiscott Members
1: Spartan Place 2: Durante 3: George Stephenson
Winner owned & trained: Mr R Gurney, ridden: Philip
York
Sponsors outnumbered runners for this race, but
they were all outdone by a vast array of silverware that was on
offer. At some point the presentation petered out because the
recipients had run out of hands. Whilst appearing to be a good
pointing candidate based on his best form under Rules, Spartan
Place has been excellently, erm, placed to bring his tally to three
out of three for the season. He did not have too hard a time to
achieve it as Durante, himself unbeaten in two starts before today,
did not jump with the fluency he has been demonstrating. By
contrast, George Stephenson had one run, ending in a fall, to his
name, so the completion will have done him some measure of good.
Young Emma, who looked to be on the up in a modest way at the end
of last season, was reluctant to be mounted, to go to post, to use
the services of a jockey, to be involved in any real way. When she
jumped off on terms, which was not looking to be a given, her
fencing let her down.
Race 2: Warners
Solicitors PPORA Club Members, Novice Riders
1: Lord Snow 2: Latalanta 3: Super Sensation
Winner owned: Simon Tindall, trained: Nick Pearce, ridden: Tom
Garner
A race designed to confound, with the only rider
to have a proliferation of wins picking up the duties on arguably
the least reliable horse in the field. Super Sensation was the
market jolly, based on being third in a similar race on his
pointing debut. Sloppy jumping got him behind early, and the gap
between him and the pack just got wider. Meanwhile, Lord Snow (one
run in 2008, nothing since) was having quite a butting of heads
with Latalanta at the front, with the initiative changing hands a
few times. Eventually Lord Snow (the paddock pick, which is par for
the course for his yard) just got the upper hand, showing he
retains his ability and is well on course for his next appearance
just before the Olympics. After going UPF so far this season,
Latalanta showed that he can do something when he manages to
untangle his feet. Veteran nutter Reflex Blue had going spells in
this and some stopping ones, with the latter eventually getting the
nod.
Race 3: Court Group of
Cmpanies SEHC Members
1: Ambrosinni 2: Gold Heart 3: Cumbo Kid
Winner owned: Mrs KH York & JA Gillett, trained & ridden:
Phil York
Only six runners, but like the previous race,
it was exciting all the way to the end, and there was a hint of
controversy. Having ridden especially patiently, some felt that
Nick Pearce had left it too late on Gold Heart, who went off long
odds-on. However, he did nose ahead approaching the last, only for
Ambrosinni to jump better and stay better. So the horse was close
enough if good enough, and the argument might be that he needed to
have kicked a few lengths clear at that stage - but what is to say
that Gold Heart would not then have idled in front? Having won
bumpers and a hurdle for David Pipe, Ambrosinni is still a relative
youngster to have switched to pointing, and he could well turn out
to be at least as prolific winner as his victim already has been.
Cumbo Kid, who got a bit sweaty beforehand - but not on the elite
Spartan Place scale - was with the first two until the third from
the finish, and after two pulled ups in 2010, showed signs of
getting back near his best, which was only a restricted win
anyway.
Race 4: John Coldman
Men's Open
1: Master T 2: Theatre Knight 3: King Coal
Winner owned & ridden: Peter Bull, trained: Suzy
Bull
Open race purists will throw up their hands in
despair to find out that Master T, traditionally an economic
disaster waiting to happen, is odds-on for an open, but that summed
up the standard of opposition. For instance, King Coal's jockey was
returning after a ten year riding sabbatical and Ressource, who
only won one of forty races previously, was last seen attempting to
correct that in June 2006. Two of the more likely non-declarers to
have taken advantage of such a modest field are stable mates of
Master T, so few tears will have been shed in that direction. And
lo, Master T did manage to prevail, despite his best efforts to get
rid of Peter Bull at the first, tenth and second last, by which
stage he was in total control anyway. Despite being ideal for the
cliché of being "a big stuffy old horse," the huge King Coal
tended to go well fresh for Richard Rowe, so whilst his new
connections may have left him deliberately a touch undercooked,
there is reason to be wary of assuming he will come on for
this.
Race 5: Savills Estate
Agents Ladies Open
1: A Few Bob Back 2: Carryonharry 3: King Du Berlais
Winner owned & ridden: Camilla Ewart, trained: Alan
Hill
In the last couple of years there was the suspicion
that age might be catching up with Carryonharry, such as in his
defeat in 2009, but countered by his ability to come out and win on
debut this year. Obviously a rising youngster was the prime suspect
to turn him over, but the 14 year old A Few Bob Back would not have
made many peoples shortlist of possibles. There was no fluke about
it, with the grey legend clearly struggling five out, but at least
proving that his heart for a scrap is still intact, even in vain.
After many efforts in the frame in open company, it was hardly
undeserved for A Few Bob Back to finally win one again - it was
just the choice of today that was a surprise.
Race 6: Nick Finegold
Execution Ltd Open Maiden
1: Fealeside Lord 2: Search Me
Winner owned: HJ Hawksfield, C Latilla Campbell & A Knight,
trained: Ian Cobb, ridden: Tom Cannon
I had a word with
the sponsor, offering a list of people that he could deal with,
such as Jamie Oliver, Harriet Harman, Rupert Murdoch, Silvio
Berlusconi etc etc. Turns out it was not that type of execution.
Shame. The race itself was eight strong, in the loosest sense of
the word. Fealeside Lord, all over the winner when falling last
time, was the favourite and delivered. He has one proper blemish on
his record this season, a poor run at Godstone. Is that a right
handed allergy or is Godstone simply not his track? Parisien made a
race of it with him until three out, then was dropping away when
knocking an almighty hole in the second last. Fortunately horse and
rider emerged without major scathing, but the obstacle will be
needing some drastic attention. That left Search Me to be a
distant, tired second. Two of the pulled ups caught the eye, both
seeming to be not over hassled before calling it a day.
Hitsfromtheblitz went P2 in 2009, the second being in a weak race
but at least a tight finish. Either he has regressed or is getting
warmed up for faster ground. Newcomer Hiya Butt was not listed as
such in the racecard, but ran in the Kevin Tork colours and
unusually for the yard did not charge off in front. After tracking
the leaders, we called time approaching fence twelve, i.e. by the
unsaddling area (Hitsfromtheblitz did one more fence, for show).
There seems a good chance of improvement on this start.