SOUTHDOWN & ERIDGE
GODSTONE 6th February
2005
by Simon McInnes
This constituted a much earlier
start to the Godstone season than has previously been the case and
results were mixed. The negative was that the crowd appeared, to
the naked eye, to be reduced from the norm, on a day when the
weather could not be blamed. The fact that Tweseldown, less than an
hour away by car, raced on the same day probably did not help. The
positive was that easier ground resulted in bigger, more
competitive fields than usual - although perhaps a bit lacking in
quality.
Wilkins
Family Members
A mere five entries was ominous, but all of them went to post, and
the crowd were treated to the closest finish of the day, with
Struggles Glory carrying David Robinson to victory, thanks to his
undiminished aptitude for jumping quickly and accurately. The
runner-up was six-year-old Get Off My Cloud, who was not even born
when Struggles Glory established himself as a star of the
south-eastern area. He went down by a neck, but there were bad
signs in the run, as Philip Hall seemed very anxious to avoid
hitting the front too early, staying in second on the bridle after
two out, despite the short run-in. With the horse having run out in
an Irish point, he might not be the most straightforward of
creatures to ride.
Mitchell
& Cooper Restricted
A late withdrawal left the field at eleven, but the number of
placed efforts in many of the runners' repertoires gave plenty of
reason to doubt their resolve and/or stamina, and this race started
the theme of the day, which was that the sticky ground caused many
contenders to call it a day on the steep rise to the thirteenth. As
it turned out, only three completed in this. It was probably a good
result for the bookies, as not only were they betting to a dismal
190%, but the winner was down to be ridden by Chris Gordon, only to
have a change of jockey to Alan Merriam, which may have discouraged
some possible backers (not as a criticism of the stand-in, more a
reflection of the mystical powers that the absent jock often
displays). A bookie-bonus was that the withdrawn horse was 6/1,
producing a 15p Rule 4 deduction, despite having no obvious
credentials for being that price. The winner in question was
Sanamour, an Irish maiden winner making his UK debut. It was a
smooth effort, and an impressively comfortable win, with the only
niggling doubt being the quality of the opposition. No Reward was a
big threat as late as three out but did not find a huge amount for
pressure, ending up soundly dismissed, with serial completer in
vain Jolly Jake the only other one to get home. The complexion of
the race changed five out, when Forest Fortress, who had led most
of the way, started to struggle, and he was in touch, but working
harder than the first two when falling two fences later.
Highfield
Farm Ladies Open
Ten lined up, and there were plenty of course regulars on show.
Cedar Chief was challenging The Wiley Kalmuck for favouritism, and
to make his chances easier, he lashed out at Esprit De Cotte in the
paddock, failing to make sufficient contact to force that rival out
of the event. The main hindrance, however, was an inability to
dominate a race run at a good pace, and he ended up towards the
rear, before staying on when the field thinned out to be third. The
winner was Millennium Way, placed at this level before but never
managing the win. He has changed stables this year, and based on
the impressive success recorded, he approves of the switch
wholeheartedly. Esprit De Cotte, who looked in very fine fettle in
the preliminaries, was second, but easily seen off, and he does not
have the best of strike rates. A more interesting effort was by
Gladtoknowyou in fourth, as he will come on for the run and had a
good, hard work out today. The Wiley Kalmuck was dropping away when
a slow jump at the thirteenth saw him pulled up, which was pretty
much the way it went for all of the Turner family East Anglian
raiders on the day.
Ian Askew
Men's Open
This race was in the bag a long way out for Tom Cobbler and Philip
Hall, as they only had one rival in serious contention, and that
was River Bailiff, whose stamina limitations are well proven. He
was going well until hitting the proverbial wall after two and a
half miles, and thereafter Tom Cobbler strolled clear. River
Bailiff held the second spot from Gigs Gambit, who has been absent
for a very long time and may therefore benefit from the
exercise.
Calcutt
MacLean Standen Confined
After a fairly mundane Mens Open, this race more than picked up the
slack in incident. Horses finishing alone are not uncommon to see,
but when six lined up and the winner was the sole remaining
competitor six from home, there is a certain novelty element.
Little Farmer, another Philip Hall ride, was the beneficiary of the
circumstances, although his winning form at Open level implied
strongly that he would have taken plenty of beating in any
circumstance. But what of the others? Homeleigh Mooncoin refused on
his pointing debut (as he had in his last novice chase - so not one
for the life savings to be staked upon). Castle Arrow was never
travelling and pulled up some time soon after halfway. Both
Momentous Jones and Tubber Streams ground to a halt approaching the
thirteenth, where Lord Alpha (who had made a few minor careless
errors earlier on) decanted Declan Phelan. And that was the end of
that.
Dalgleish
Open Maiden
With a mares maiden to follow, this was for geldings and horses
only, although the entries declined to field a challenger. It was
won by a formerly fair bumper horse, Jac An Ree, who put some
hurdling let downs aside to make it a hat-trick for Philip Hall.
Watching from the top of the hill by the fence that is numbers 1, 7
and 13, I did not have a great view of the finish, but going
towards the final obstacles Jac An Ree appeared to be still going
quite well. Second was Bermuda, whose form to date lacked obvious
encouragement, and casts a small cloud over the form. My personal
hero of the day was third. Hendrix took great exception to any
attempts to mount him, sweated up badly, had to be kept well away
from the other runners at the start, and then took advantage of a
delayed off to head forcefully towards the adjacent field. He did
jump away at the rear, and made stealthy progress through the field
to eventually be third. He obviously has ability, and if he ever
gets his brain in gear, he is well capable of winning. But his sire
is Henbit... A disappointing under-achiever in chases and hurdles,
Shannon Quest made it three pulled-ups in a row pointing, showing
that there was nothing personal in his earlier failures for
connections. Warren Hill had a good lead when he fell with a lap to
go. It was too far out to predict what might have happened, but he
had form in the book to think he would have been there or
thereabouts had he stood up, and his jumping prior to the fall had
been good.
Panacur/TBA PPORA Members mares' Maiden
If anyone in the area can find a half-decent mare, there is a race
waiting for them, as this event has yet to attract any top young
female horses. Today's winner was a second on the day for Alan
Merriam, and she is only six, so progress could still be made. The
mare in question is Waterliner, but the opposition did not make it
too hard for her. The only danger three out was Fond Farewell, who
fell at that fence, and her record in points of two runs and two
falls suggests she is in need of a confidence booster. That was
what Hills Of Rakaposhi, also a faller on her debut, got and she
completed for third, without ever convincing that she had faith in
herself over the obstacles. Sugar Toi inherited second late on, but
she is already nine and this was only her second run. Neither have
suggested that she is up with some of the more illustrious bearers
of the Silk family silks.
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