October Fest

It's a bit early to start pronouncing him as being back with a bang, and there remain concerns over the strength in depth of his string as a whole after the last season's succession of blows, but there is certainly no denying that Richard Guest has had a most bountiful ten days since the last post on this blog, gaining five wins from fifteen runners (5-13 over jumps). Having had ready use of Warren Marston in the last few weeks (only Richard Phillips has also booked him to any particular extent) has afforded a degree of continuity and stability to things, although Marston does have a few other irons in the fire (Pam Sly for one) which may divert him back away from Brancepeth more as the autumn progresses.

Nobody should be kidding themselves that European Dream's Wetherby juvenile hurdle win, which started the sequence, marks him out as Triumph Hurdle material, for all that he beat a large field with a few reasonable types behind him - to put it in context, his best Racing Post Rating over hurdles to date trails that of Katchit by all of 40 points. It was, however, a most pleasing performance, which seemed to allay fears regarding how well his stamina would hold when sent over a more exacting course than the Bangor of his debut and indicate his owners You Trotters - assorted Bolton Wanderers personnel - can expect a bit of fun with him in the coming weeks.

Handicaps and novices' handicaps in which 3yos get a stonking weight allowance are starting to appear more and more at this time of year, and I'd have no particular fear of him taking in one such contest.

As with European Dream, Red Scally's previous hurdles run had been around Bangor, and saw him break his duck at the seventh time of asking in a National Hunt-bred 2m1f novices' contest. The view at the time was to take a fairly dim view of the form, as he had only a neck to spare over a 75-rated rival at the death and a David Pipe odds-on shot ran well below expectations, and the 16-1 he went off at Carlisle last Sunday reflected both those facts and that of the very different test he faced - a stiff, soft ground 2m4f versus the sharp 2m1f of Bangor on top of the ground. He had this contest won at the last, however, ghosting to the front after a quiet ride round and finding more than adequate reserves to last out up the hill.

It seems he has needed to get to six years of age to start coming to hand, like so many of Norman Mason's other homebreds before him. He also seems to have picked up some of the aptitudes of both his dam and half-siblings. Mum Southend Scallywag bagged her share of hurdles in her time from Perth two-milers to Hexham contests over half a mile further, but she absolutely needed fast ground to prosper. Red Scally's half-brother, the ill-fated Red Imp, meanwhile, was effective granted a test such as 20f around a Leicester or a Newcastle, but was as reliant on very soft as his dam had been on fast. Red Scally's versatility might yet see him achieve a bit more than either.

He represented the first leg of a double for Richard Guest on the Carlisle card, with Why The Big Paws destroying allcomers by 46l en route to a second C&D victory (and fifth of her career in all) in the 3m handicap chase. Having stated that she wasn't finding significant improvement rising nine in the last Brancepethfan post when a well-held fourth at the same venue previously, I notice that that effort has been accorded an RPR of 125, a career-best by five points. Horses do indeed make liars out of saints!

It is worth reiterating the point of last time that she is clearly none the worse physically or mentally for her skull-rattling fall at Southwell in mid-summer; and on the basis of the confidence that success breeds - plus the likelihood that an inevitable big raise for this will take her back to a career-high mark - the plan to turn her out again under a penalty this coming week is eminently sensible. Why The Big Paws' entry at Taunton on Thursday is intriguing, as there hasn't been a Brancepeth runner there since Norman Mason sent Damza down around seven years ago, but her bulldozing of most fences at Musselburgh even in victory a couple of years ago should serve as reminder enough that she's not at all keen on sharp tracks; Wetherby the day after rates the better engagement to honour in my opinion.

Blushing Prince's surprise 25-1 success at Fakenham yesterday serves to remind us what two of Guest's greatest skills have always been, but which have arguably been lost sight of a little by the trainer in recent times (in the pursuit of sexier stock for more demanding owners):

- buying cheaply,
- bringing back problem animals from lengthy lay-offs in his own time and with positive results.

An 800gns aquisition from Linda Stubbs' yard two and a half years ago, Blushing Prince made one appearance in the Paul Beck colours in a Newcastle selling hurdle at the start of 2005 (43l seventh) before disappearing again completely until this July. There didn't look to have been enough promise in two Flat runs (one a seller) before yesterday to suggest this win, but they must have been enough to blow away the cobwebs, and as a winner of five Wolverhampton Flat races at up to 1m1f, a sharp left-hand track such as Fakenham was never going to hold any terrors if ready to do himself justice.

Given his history of problems and his rising nine you'd not expect him to attract too much attention if turning out quickly in and doing well in a 2m1f Sedgefield seller this Tuesday, although the penalty for that win would compel him to lunk 12st 2lbs around the Co. Durham course and there may have to be recourse to one of the 10lb claimers in the yard - for the record these currently appear to be Jonathan "Bruce" Moorman (not James as we've been calling him on here by mistake for a while) and John Willey.

College City hadn't won at all since landing three chases from five just over a year ago, and not over hurdles since taking a Newcastle seller in February 2003 (one of Guest's first handful of winners as a trainer), but his best timber effort for an eternity had been recorded when second in a Cartmel seller over 2m6f in August, and he appreciated this first step back up to the same trip since in recording a 1 1/2l success at Kelso this afternoon. This constitutes his first win beyond 2m1.5f and he simply can't live with them all over a short trip nowadays, even in the lowest grade, so there doesn't seem to be a terrific amount of point to him honouring his entry in the same Sedgefield race as Blushing Prince is entered in.

Although still only seven, College City is one of the very longest survivors in the Brancepeth string, having made his jumps debut for Norman Mason in December 2002, just a couple of weeks after Our Armageddon. They would be the only two Mason-era horses definitely still in training with Guest - Red Perk (debut April 2002) was sadly killed at Hexham in May whilst chasing a quickfire hat-trick of wins, Vulcan Lane has disappeared off the radar completely since his run in a Catterick seller in March, and the chances of good old Nosam ever making another competitive appearance can't be too high as the old boy approaches his 17th birthday.

College City represents continuity in a yard which has had less of that commodity than before in recent times - he is no star, but he has won five races for the yard now, is yet to sit out a season, and has been in the same ownership, that of Anna Kenny who does the catering at Brancepeth, from the moment the yard went public.

In addition to the winners, two other horses gave grounds for optimism in defeat as jumps action returned to Haydock for the first time this autumn on Thursday. Neven, rated just 69 and running from 7lb wrong, ran the far higher-rated Flake to 3l under youngster Richard Killoran in the 2m "hands and heels" contest, recording his best finish in 16 jumps starts in the process (and also beating two former Brancepeth inmates, Drumossie and Golden Feather. A third old boy to run on Thursday was Jamorin Dancer at Ludlow, but Steve Chadwick has not as yet been able to arrest a decline which has seen the gelding slump to a rating of 52 over fences - he pulled up on this occasion).

Neven's performance may encourage connections to give both horse and rider an extended run in the "hands and heels" series, but the point to consider should be that whilst the next heat at Taunton on Thursday is run over nearly half a mile further, Neven got significantly outpaced at a crucial stage at Haydock before running on again, and they might just not all come back to him the same way around the speedy Somerset circuit.

Formerly owners with Lucinda Russell, the White Horse Racing Club switched Neven to Guest during the summer. By that stage Jendali Lad, who realised just 550gns as an eight month-old foal in late 2001, had already run in two Perth bumpers for White Horse / Guest with little distinction. Given that that one's dam was winless beyond 7f, and never off a BHB rating of more than 40, it's hard to see Jendali Lad cutting much of a dash in the winter game.

Aside from Neven, Haydock elicited a welcome return to form from Shannon's Pride, who was always having to do too much to overhaul the winner of the 2m4f handicap chase but boxed on well enough up the long run-in to take second prize on his first start since late June. Third in last year's Grand Sefton Chase over the big Aintree fences, this proper galloping type's mark started to drop significantly late in the spring, as Guest kept sending him out around whichever of the less sharp tracks were still operative only to see him get outpaced time and again on ground a bit lively for him. He consequently entered Thursday's race off a mark 21lb lower than that off which he'd contested the 3m chase on the same card a year earlier, and the hope will have to be that running a rival rated 17lb superior to 3l doesn't see too much of that leniency rescinded upon reassessement.

Now, as previously, he remains a very good jumper, and if he could talk he'd probably have had a thing or two to say about the new portable fences at the Lancashire venue (possibly) compromising that greatest advantage he'll always have over some or most of his rivals.

So, there have been many positive indicators of the form and wellbeing of the Brancepeth string in the last week and a bit, but before anybody gets too carried away I feel duty bound to report that Aston's jumping has gone the wrong way again in the last few starts (he lasted just two fences at Fakenham on Friday), and the evidence of two recent outings is that Spirit Guide remains utterly hopeless under both codes.