Southdown &
Eridge
Godstone
Saturday 28th February 2009
by Simon McInnes
photos by Adam
Goodburn
http://www.reflexdigital.co.uk
A very decent crowd
(and more dogs than you can shake a stick at) turned out and were
witnesses to what was without doubt the strongest meeting that the
course has staged to date. Divided races have been few and far
between in the south east for a while, and for the second fixture
in a row there was a divided maiden. In the past, Godstone has been
more associated with small fields to the extent that it was an
unlikely candidate to stage eight senior and three pony races on
one day, at least without an array of matches and walk-overs. It
was as bemusing to the regulars as those episodes of 'Quantum Leap'
when Sam and Al were travelling back in time to save themselves
from gruesome fates.* Congratulations to the organisers for
attracting past doubters, and for advertising on the gate that the
admission was £25 per car, or £10 for single occupants,
rather than wait for people to ask. The main change to the course
is that the awkward, steep descent from paddock to start has gone,
and the runners go on a gentler sweeping arc to get there. One or
two horses still played up slightly, but all in all it seemed to be
a big help.
* Perhaps they had come from the future to save Godstone pointing
from itself? You never know, and if they had, they would be locked
up before you could say "Run your time travel theory past me
again."
Going: Good (Soft places)
race 1: Southdown
& Eridge 'Best Mates' Open Maiden, Div I
1: High Toby 2: Star Gift 3: Prince Rodney
Winner owned & trained: Mr E George, ridden: Phil
York
Star Gift was a warm order for this after having
finished second on his debut, in amongst horses that had
substantial racing experience. He was ridden confidently by Phil
Hall and finished strongly. The only flaw in the plan was that High
Toby, having made the running, stubbornly and unsportingly refused
to fold in the latter stages and just held off Star Gift's
challenge. With the benefit of hindsight, it can be argued that
Star Gift could have made a move earlier, but he did get close
enough to worry the winner, but it was not quite do enough to pass
him and just left the impression that High Toby performed a bit
better than anyone might have anticipated. The pair were well clear
of Prince Rodney, who was completing for the first time in points
or French hurdling, and Caged Tiger.
race 2: Southdown
& Eridge 'Best Mates' Open Maiden, Div II
1: The Last Optimist 2: Smolidor 3: Middleton Madness
Winner owned: Mrs P Glenn, trained: Guy Landau, ridden: Claire
Allen
Another short priced favourite turned up for this,
although Last Optimist, having washed up in what looked a weaker
half, possibly got the jolly's honour by default. He had pulled up
in his only run, but the idea that he will have learned some
lessons from it, and had travelled a long way for the race, as well
as having Claire Allen on board was more than enough to stand out
from the opposition, most of whom were conspicuous for their long
absences from racing. The Last Optimist proved far superior in
reality as well as speculation, although speeding clear of
Smolidor, who had not set pulses racing in the past, Midleton
Madness and Golding Hop (both inclined to stimulate cardiac
activity in their rider for all the wrong reasons - form like an
alphabetti spaghetti tin) hardly marks him out as a superstar in
waiting. Cherokee Indian was not humiliated in a bumper in 2006,
and on his comeback today appeared fit enough to be of interest.
Alas he fell at the fourth, so the jury is still out on his
pointing prospects, but it was an inauspicious beginning.
race 3: South East
Hunts Club Members
1: Letterman 2: Exodous 3: Good Vintage
Winner owned: Simon Tindall, trained & ridden: Nick
Pearce
I used to work with someone who was a dead ringer
for David Letterman. There was no stronger reason than disdain for
coincidence not to back Letterman the horse, as he was a decent
handicap chaser in Ireland, even if he did not actually win very
often. He found pointing very much to his liking, which was
unfortunate for Exodous. You can never quite be sure what you are
going to get from Exodous, and on a going day he was tackling what
may seem, in time, to be a rather stiff task, even though paddock
checking suggested that Letterman was nearly fit rather than as
spot on as the two that chased him home. Good Vintage is now
fourteen but showed that he can turn up and add to his tally of
Members' race wins. There was an odd moment in this at the seventh,
when the leader It's Showtime (an eye-catching grey that had been
off course since 2005) pulled up suddenly. He was ridden back to
unsaddle, and the stewards seemed to call for the rider. Nothing
more was heard, and the rumour went round that the cause was
'jockey fatigue.' Even though the horse was an outsider, someone in
a big crowd always backs a grey and it would have been helpful to
have made an official announcement on the topic.
race 4: Southdown
& Eridge 'Best Mates' Ladies' Open
1: Blue Business 2: Carryonharry 3: Duchamp
Winner owned: Mr & Mrs William Rucker, trained & ridden:
Angela Rucker
This was without a shadow of doubt the
pinnacle of sporting excellence at Godstone (in it's shortish
history), with quality horses appearing in numbers. And ghostly
area legend Carryonharry, now a fifteen year old, almost maintained
his winning run in points, which goes back to at least the Vietnam
War. He was narrowly denied by a very determined effort from Blue
Business, already an open winner this season. However, the pair may
have been fortunate as Glenbower Woods had taken the lead and was
still travelling well when he blundered and unseated at the second
last. He badly hampered Wain Mountain, upon whom Claire Allen had a
fight with gravity, which she eventually lost. There is an obscure
classic bluesrock album by the band Burning Tree which includes a
track "Can't Fall Off The Mountain." Not as true as it used to be,
we now know. Had that not happened, Wain Mountain may well have
played a part in the finish and these events allowed Duchamp to
inherit a third place that had seemed beyond his powers. There was
a sad footnote to the race, as the very likeable mare Scare Lotte
suffered a fatal fall at the last fence.
race 5: Highfields
Farm Men's Open
1: Bee An Bee 2: Valley Henry 3: Noakarad De Verzee
Winner owned & trained: David Robinson, ridden: Stuart
Robinson
Even though only six lined up, four had won
this year or last so it was not a bad race, and it was enlivened by
another front-running triumph for Bee An Bee, who goes from
strength to strength, and clearly felt no after effects of a
hardish race six days earlier. Noakarad De Verzee, reputedly having
a last minute stab at Cheltenham qualification, was outpaced and no
longer contending before they had been two miles, and Valley Henry
tried to keep up, but just found his talents exceeded by the winner
in the last half mile. Armoury House was unable to repeat the
effort that worked for him at Tweseldown.
race 6: Gordon Racing
PPORA Clun Members mares' Maiden, 4-7yo, 2m 4f
1: Say Grace 2: Present Love 3: Trenley Lawn
Winner owned: Simon Tindall, trained & ridden: Nick
Pearce
This was much more like the normal Godstone, with
only five runners and all of them presented with a chance of a
lifetime to notch a win, and one that will not be repeated until,
erm, this race in 2010. That said, they did manage to serve up an
exciting finish, with Say Grace just outrunning (outspeeding would
be a misleading description) Present Love as they bypassed the
last, with Trenley Lawn snapping at their heels. As it was Present
Love who damaged the omitted fence, she only has herself to blame
for not taking advantage of the situation that she created.
race 7: Hazeley Estate
Property Management Company Restricted
1: Iphar 2: Parzando 3: Reymysterio
Winner owned: D Maxwell & S Angel, trained: Kim Smyly, ridden:
David Maxwell
Anyone familiar with the horses in the
frame will be able to anticipate the entire story of this race.
Iphar looked set to make a career of being a beaten favourite last
season, until accidentally winning race. In the interest of
balance, his defeat to Glenbower Woods has been smiled upon by
subsequent events, but there were no real excuses for the rest.
Parzando? He was the usual Parzando, a bounce back to his
not-winning best for his new yard. Reymysterio won a four runner 2m
4f maiden at this very course, beating Iphar in the process. Unless
Iphar is a reformed character, this is a race to regard with deep
suspicion - rather like the labrador that today tried to pick a
fight with two rottweilers (who were impeccably behaved). The one
lightly raced horse that may have been able to rise above the
morass of indecision in which most of the field were trapped was
Sironi, but he foolishly unseated at the third.
race 8: Wellingham
Members
1: Jack's Present 2: Winters Beau 3: Daretobedifferent
Winner owned: Simon Tindall, trained & ridden: Nick
Pearce
An even more Godstonian event than the mares'
maiden. A four runner members, two in serious contention four from
home and the Tindall horse wins it. Both the first two home have
won at Intermediate level, but Jack's Present is a progressing
youthful mare and Winters Beau, who was not given a hard time once
the winner opened a gap on him, is finding living up to that level
a bit tougher.
Plus Points
Star Gift (race 1): Worth another chance, but perhaps not at very
short prices.
Mad Genius (race 2): Ended up beaten a long
way, maybe pulling up, but he stayed in contention for much of the
distance despite having not raced since September 2002 (yes, 2002,
not a typo). If he made a bit of progress with the run under his
girth, who knows???
Letterman (race 3): Should be up to open
class, and although not proven to get three miles in a decent
standard of race, the Tindall team overcame that hurdle in no
uncertain terms with Fiery Ring a couple of years ago.
Glenbower Woods (race 4): Was running the
race of his life and looked the likely winner when he unseated.
Being only eight, there is no reason to think that this was a
fluke, and he could be poised for an outstanding season, having
worked his way through the ranks in 2008.
Wain Mountain (race 4): Had a run of pulled
ups in handicap chases, but pointing seemed to have returned him to
peak enthusiasm, and he was very unlucky not to end up in the
frame.
Winters Beau (race 8): Two of his three wins
have come in Members races, and he showed enough to imagine that he
is not a spent force in that area.
Down Arrows
Caged Tiger (race 1): Did enough for Charlie Mann to think a maiden
in the south-east would be eminently winnable, but he is not even
getting close at the moment.
Little Saltee (race 3): Probably was not a
potential winner, but should have been in the mix for a place
instead of dropping away steadily after the thirteenth fence.
The Bandit (race 4): What's in a name? he has
all the credentials to be a good pointer but was a law unto himself
under Rules, and set out his stall the same way today.
Attorney General (race 4): Once a top staying
handicap hurdler, he posted a second lacklustre pointing run and
has a bit to prove in the case for his defence.
Armoury House (race 5): Could not get
competitive in this better race, and will be hard to place to find
winning opportunities.
Present Love (race 6): Has been placed in
every pointing run, but the two that have been witnessed were not
the sort of races that only been placed would merit boasting
about.
