Midweek Round-Up

NOTTINGHAM, October 19th (FLAT)
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Rather late in the season, a third horse owned by Gwen and Peter Clarke and trained by Richard Guest made its racecourse debut at Colwick Park today. Like FIT TO FLY and ARISEA before him, the 2yo INCA SOLDIER pulled up no trees on his way to a well-beaten 10th of 11 runners in the 6f Median Auction Stakes, although a very slow start under Franny Norton wouldn't have aided his cause overly.


HAYDOCK, October 20th
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The first meeting since May at this proper jumps track saw five Guest inmates take their chances, although that figure would have been six but for UPSWING's late defection. BEAVER had all the aids he's looked to have needed in the opening Hands and Heels Handicap Hurdle, with both cheekpieces and tonguestrap fitted, yet he still managed to run out of gas under Mr J P Flavin - a completely new name to me, I must admit, and having his first ever ride in the UK here - approaching the final flight and faded into sixth. Given his hot Flat form Down Under, he is comfortably the biggest disappointment of the season to date for the Guest operation, as far as I'm concerned.

SHEM DYLAN managed just 14th place in the 19-runner Novices' Hurdle having encountered trouble in running early on. He has handled neither the good (but riding a bit faster) ground here nor the sticky stuff at Bangor first time out, and looks ordinary.

PASS ME BY wouldn't be the first animal ever to lose a Haydock chase up the long run-in, and he certainly won't be the last. Despite being bumped twice on his way round in the 2m 4f Handicap Chase he was driven into the lead by Henry Oliver after the last and looked a good thing to make it two from two since joining Guest, but Melford from the Charlie Mann yard had enough extra gears to pinch the race by three parts of a length close home. At least Pass Me By still proved too good for POLISHED, until as recently as May a Guest inmate, of course, and since then in scintillating form for Vic Dartnall.

SHANNON'S PRIDE finally got to make his debut for the yard, having been withdrawn from a Kelso race a fortnight earlier. He certainly looked in need of the outing, and blew up three out before coming in a well-beaten fifth. There ought to be better to come from him once totally match-fit again.

TOPWELL's third place in a Hexham bumper on debut didn't look the best form in the world on paper, and he probably achieved about as much in finishing 14l eighth of 20 here, having only finally been beaten off by the chief protagonists one furlong out. He might just have it in him to win a really bad bumper somewhere in the North, but probably no more than that until he encounters obstacles.


FAKENHAM, October 21st
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The Guest yard's first raid on this Norfolk idyll since the spring commenced with TIGER TALK taking in what looked like a blatantly obvious pipe-opener in the CJ Selling Handicap Hurdle. Two miles around this lightning sharp track was never going to be an adequate test for him here (his course win last Easter was over 4f further), and James "Bruce" Moorman had to settle for chugging him round in ninth. He was latterly campaigned over 2m 4f and further over fences, and will presumably return to that sphere soon enough, his mark over the larger obstacles being fully a stone lower than that off which he ran today.

RENVYLE went off the 9/4 favourite in the extended 3 mile Handicap Chase, a race the yard won three years ago when somehow getting the mare ABLE NATIVE (a specialist 2 mile hurdler, let's not forget) to stay the trip doing cartwheels. A repeat victory never looked on the cards here, however, as Renvyle hated every second of this Fakenham experience, jumping stickily and frequently too far over to the left even for an anticlockwise course. He was pulled up with fully a circuit to run.

Many eyebrows were raised when TEME VALLEY was claimed by Guest at Sedgefield a few weeks ago rising 12, and the 2 mile Handicap Hurdle here represented the horse's first chance to justify that action by the trainer. He very nearly did. Hitting the front between the last two under a quiet, patient ride from Paul O'Neill, he walloped the last and was headed again, but still found more for pressure and only went down by a short head in a desperate finish. Conversely JIMMY BYRNE, who went off the joint favourite in the same race on the basis of a solid third at Uttoxeter previously, made an early mistake and, despite being able to get near the leaders soon after, was worried out of that position by pursuers three from home and faded very tamely into a finishing position of tenth. The fast ground will have counted against him, but this still ranks as a disappointing performance.

CARIBBEAN COVE looked not to stay the three mile trip on his reappearance at Bangor nearly a fortnight ago, so 2m 5f round this skidpan circuit should have suited much better. He was put into the race by O'Neill three from home, and from there it was simply a matter of whether he had the speed to burn off his rivals. The fact he was unable to overhaul the two leaders from this position, and was eventually even done for third close home by a 57-rated 13 year-old running from 16lb out of the handicap, indicates that required speed was emphatically absent today. In litigation one could mention that he still running off a mark 2lb higher than his last winning one, when he broke the 2m 2.5f track record at Newbury in April, and he needed five runs and 14lb worth of respite from the handicapper before scoring his first victory for Guest last autumn. Nonetheless, still being only a seven year-old and effectively a second-season chaser, the hope would have been that he would progress a bit further this season without requiring that sort of time and help.