BrancepethFan

October Fest

2006-10-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

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.

Brancepethfan is active once more

2006-10-09T02:44:00.000-07:00

Good morning all,

Not been much on here for the last year or so, or from me on sites such as Neigh or Jumpingforfun either, come to that, largely as I felt honour bound to offer all my intellectual copy to the Sportsman for as long as I was employed there.

As you may have heard by now, that particular publication sadly ceased trading rather suddenly last Thursday evening - certainly more suddenly than those of us at the coalface had anticipated, given the generally encouraging signs there had been regarding ongoing funding of the paper.

Doubtless more details of the demise, its causes, and how, if at all, it could have been avoided, will all come to light in the coming weeks and months. In the immediate term, though, I am once more a totally free agent, and shall endeavour to get some more material on here in the immediate term.

Mr Guest's last twelve months have been even more up and down (mostly down, alas) than my own, of course, and catching up with everything is going to take some time. Suffice it to say that he's not had an especially bountiful season to date, with eight winners and a strike-rate somewhere in the region of 5%. Further, the Paul Beck / Andrew Flintoff article in the Racing Post the other day confirmed that Sobers, the subject of that controversial Ayr hurdles run in March, has now been moved to Nick Gifford after Beck befriended him over games of cricket. There were no further indications as to where Pass Me By is currently residing, but the likelihood that Beck has withdrawn totally from Brancepeth now must be growing by the day.

No wins to report for the yard in the last week, and most of the performances wouldn't offer too much hope for the immediate future. However, Cash On Friday did put up a most encouraging show on his first run for a year and hurdles debut when a staying-on third in a 2m4.5f Hexham maiden on Saturday. His owners, messrs Dixon, Hunter and Roche, could certainly use a change of luck - Cash On Friday has stood no racing at all in his 18 months at Brancepeth, and another horse, On The Verge, managed just a circuit and a half of a 3m hurdle at Southwell in the summer on his first run since October 2004 - Roche had moved him from John Jenkins - before going wrong.

Cash on Friday isn't bred to be much, having cost 1,000gns as a yearling and being out of a selling hurdle winner, but he should find a small handicap at 2m4f or beyond on Saturday's evidence.

Why The Big Paws took the mother and father of falls when still disputing the lead two out in a Southwell chase in July, but thankfully doesn't appear to be bearing any lasting mental scars judged on her run at Carlisle on Friday. Having Strong Resolve taking her on for the lead in that 3m chase wouldn't have been ideal, as she is happiest bossing it on her own up front, and she was ultimately a well-beaten fourth, but she only really made one small mistake on the way round and seemed happy enough.

This then rated a fairly encouraging effort as much from a wellbeing point of view as a form one, but realistically one or two pounds may have to come off yet for her to go in again, as she's still 3lb above her highest winning mark and not really finding significant improvement rising nine.

It won't have been mentioned previously, but the mare has run in the colours of Andrew Bell since reappearing in early Spring, the involvement of the Blaydon Racers Partnership with her and other animals in the yard appearing to have finished.

Four months of fun

2006-04-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

Been away from the blog for quite some time, owing to job and house moves, so a month-by-month synopsis of December through March will follow in this space shortly. Suffice it to say, it hasn't been the easiest of periods for the yard, with fitful form and the loss of most of Paul Beck's string, but at least Our Armageddon's Uttoxeter win and Larry McGrath finally riding out his claim have provided some highlights. MORE TO FOLLOW.

Shotgun on the cusp

2006-04-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Following the latest forfeit stage of the Grand National, Shotgun Willy is just the wrong side of the cut-off point for the maximum field, in position 42. Ross Comm and Spot Thedifference are set to carry the same weight as him, 10-5, but I think I'm right in saying he got drawn out before them.

With Ground Ball ultimately more likely to run over the Mildmay course than the big fences, especially is there is more rain, this leaves Richard Guest effectively looking for just one more defector in the next few days to get his charge a run.

Shannon's Pride in the Topham is his only intended runner during the first two days of the meeting, Our Armageddon presumably not sufficiently over his pre-Cheltenham setback as this has been his ultimate target for most of the season.

Carpe Momentum - where the result really didn't matter

2005-11-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

18th out of 23 having shown very little on the way round is never usually much of a cause of relief, or celebration, even. However, the fact that CARPE MOMENTUM was even able to make a racecourse appearance has seemed very unlikely on at least two occasions in an already eventful past.

Previously known as Cast The Net and trained by Simon Magnier for one Richard Aylward, he appeared in the 2002 Derby entries as far as the second - £9,000 - entry stage, his owner adamant that his racecourse debut should be in the Epsom classic. That ambition was crushed when, three weeks before the race itself, the animal was gelded by mistake at Magnier's yard. Aylward was spared the compulsion of having to pay the second entry stage fee by the BHB, but became a disqualified person some time later for not having paid the initial entry fee of £9,000 either.

Cast The Net had come into the ownership of Seymour Reed by the spring of 2004, and, having been remaned Carpe Momentum and sent to Richard Guest, was entered in a Market Rasen bumper on May 9th. It was given that the horse would need a sound surface, and the projected good to firm seemed alright. However, the Lincolnshire track was lashed by heavy rain during the meeting, and another of Guest's inmates, the similarly fast ground-loving BOLTON BARRIE, was unable to cope with the increasingly skiddy conditions in the classified chase on the card, crashing through numerous fences on the way to a remote last place finish. Presumably pulled about physically by the experience, he has not raced for the yard since. Guest's response to the deteriorating conditions was to withdraw Carpe Momentum from the bumper and to save him for another day - a day which didn't come for another eighteen months.

Carpe Momentum appeared in no further declarations for the yard after the Rasen episode, and nothing more was heard until articles in both the News of the World and Racing Post in April of this year. Aylward had decided to sue Guest and Reed for unlawful re-sale and ownership of Carpe Momentum, despite his being banned effectively removing his right to the title (in all senses of the word) to the horse. Reed, it is claimed, had acquired the rights to the horse by repaying all outstanding training fee monies still owed to Simon Magnier by Aylward, and had sent the horse to Guest once everything - as far as these parties were concerned - had been cleared up money-wise.

The non-appearance of the horse even in declarations since May 2004 was, according to Guest, due to him not being ready to race after that, so Reed had taken him home to recuperate. Aylward had put in an allegation of neglect against Reed and Guest subsequently, Carpe Momentum having allegedly been found in a Northumberland field in an advanced state of neglect, but the RSPCA had quoshed that claim in their own invesitgations of February 2005.

The latest postings in the Racing Post, dated April 2nd 2005, stated that Aylward would have to answer a request for further information from Guest and Reed's lawyers by April 29th, with a court hearing to follow on July 18th - 19th. Whilst I have found no details of this to date, it looks as if, as expected, the court found in favour of Guest and Reed, as the horse is now back in training without Aylward's name anywhere near it. Reed's name is also absent, so I wonder if he had had enough of the whole affair whatever the ultimate outcome. Guest is, for the time being at least, both trainer and owner.

More prosaic runs from the Brancepeth string resulted in fourth places for the returning SCONCED over 2m 5f at Sedgefield on Tuesday, and for ASSUMETHEPOSITION back over hurdles in a conditionals' race at Wetherby today.

Smashing Shannon's

2005-11-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

SHANNON'S PRIDE proved himself further to be an honest, if one-paced, galloper of some merit when clinching third place in the Grand Sefton Chase over the fearsome Grand National course at Aintree, thereby beating the best finish Richard Guest has managed over the "big 'uns" as a trainer - MR BOSSMAN got fourth place in the Topham in 2003. Shannon's was kept close to the leaders but fairly wide throughout, Larry McGrath making doubly sure the horse encountered as little trouble in running as possible, and was rewarded with a very clean round of jumping. Guest had been quick to point out the horse's jumping prowess in the Post earlier this morning, and there was indeed no semblance of an error the whole way round.

A return visit for the Topham must clearly rank as a major target now, although it'll need a soggy Aintree for him to take his chance.

The soft going at Aintree would have counted against TIPSY MOUSE in the same race, ditto the shortish trip of 2m 6f, but for all that the horse didn't seem to enjoy the challenge one iota, not taking a cut at any of his fences and sulking round in a tailed-off 13th position. His lack of obvious progress up the weights so far, plus his apparent dislike for the Aintree fences, to my mind have put paid to any aspirations of a Grand National run for him, and I don't think having run in over the more suitable 3m 3f of the Becher Chase would have made any difference in his present form. Back to the drawing board with this one now....

Amazing Admiral!

2005-11-19T07:25:00.000-08:00

ADMIRAL is a serious racehorse. He has not had his prefered good ground in either of his hurdles races so far this season, yet he defied a 14lb rise in the weights to grind out a victory in the Free Hurdle at Chepstow, and today at Haydock shrugged off another 11lb hike in a hugely gutsy performance in the 4yo Nerak Hurdle. He'd done all the donkey work up to the last flight, was headed by Nicky Richards' equally promising Faasel on the long run-in, but would not be denied in a desperate finish to get the verdict by a short head.

Richard Guest's eulogising that the horse could become a legend is clearly premature, but the facts are that the horse is now the highest-rated hurdler he's ever trained - SPECTROMETER was also mid-140s, but Admiral's victory here will result in another hike to put some distance between him and that one - and his winnings over hurdles for Guest and Willie Mackay have swollen by another £17,000 to around £54,000, all attained in this calendar year. A swift reappearance in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle is now likely.

This also represented, of course, the first Brancepeth victory for over three weeks, but none of the other three runners at Haydock could add to that. St PIRRAN offered grounds for optimism in the opening Flat versus jump jockeys handicap hurdle, being sent to win his race by Flat's Dean McKeown turning for home but tiring into fifth on the unsuitably soft ground after the last. He finished well clear of the remainder, and should be getting close to the sort of fitness level from which he could start worrying rivals again in good-ground two mile chases.

Speaking of chases over the minimum trip, JERICHO III had his fourth run in quick order and for the second time this year didn't prove especially keen on the Lancashire track - odd, really, for a generally fearless jumper. He led until the seventh before deciding to give Patrick Merrigan some bother, cocking his jaw and proving the young rider with no help at all thereafter. He came home last of eight, and is starting to look a bit ungenuine again as well as high in the weights.

Finally, STORMY BAY made his racecourse debut in the concluding bumper for Bard Entertainments and Richard "Desert Orchid" Burridge, with JP Flavin sporting new Bard & Burridge colours of red and blue rather than the famous Dessie dark blue and grey. The horse looks a dour stayer, having got left behind in the early exchanges before staying on in the last half mile for a 12l ninth place. 2m 4f NH novices' hurdles are going to see him in a better light.

Re-run of last year

2005-11-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

For the second year running, a fairly successful October for Richard Guest has been followed by weeks without a win stretching well into November. Doubtlessly some of this will be attributable to a lot of the real "winter" horses coming back in for their first or second runs of the season, and still needing it; but just three second places from 32 runs in the last 12 days does indicate some animals are not running up to their best at present, and at a time where some of those stables below Guest in the trainer's table are starting to take great lumps out of the deficit, this is not helpful.

Also of interest is that Henry Oliver has not ridden for Guest since falling off TIPSY MOUSE at Kelso a week last Saturday. I am not aware of him being injured of late, and whilst he did pick up a whip ban recently, that was just for one day (11/11). Ian Williams and Tracey Barfoot-Saunt both gave him rides last weekend, so I wonder if something has happened that hasn't been made public as yet. If this is the case, once again, this is not going to aid the yard's cause as the season cranks up another few notches.

SEDGEFIELD, Tuesday 8/11/05
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Three of the four runners sent out here offered at least some promise. TANMEYA consented to settle much better than on her debut at Towcester and was actually on the tails of the leaders approaching two out in the novices' hurdle before tiredness crept in. Her eventual fifth place offers enough encouragement that a small handicap could be within her compass.

NORTH LANDING was having his first run since winning at Bangor last August in the 2m 5.5f non-handicap selling hurdle. His hurdling technique was rather tardy early on, but he stayed on better over this new trip and softer than ideal trip than may have been expected (albeit at the one pace), and he should be spot on for his next assignment after this. There is no reason why he cannot continue to ply his trade at this sort of trip rather than 2m from hereon in.

TEME VALLEY was also experiencing a step up to 2m 5.5f in the Betfred Poker handicap hurdle series qualifier and was ridden to stay the trip. Paul O'Neill threw him into the race four out but the horse has to be hard ridden to keep up two flights later and simply plugged on at the one pace into a still respectable enough fourth place. Easier assignments await at this, his favourite track, in the near future.

TOPWELL was the one animal not to show much, his 55l seventh place of 11 in the closing bumper comfortably his worst performance to date. A switch to obstacles now would seem more prudent than hoping his fourth and final bumper run will reverse his fortunes.

LUDLOW, Thursday 10/11/05
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A disappointing non-runner here was DURBA, whose form in novices' / maiden hurdles in mid to late summer had been absolutely diabolical, but who had attracted a lot of paper support running off a commensurately meagre rating of 74 - and the application of lots of headgear - for his handicap debut.

READY TO RUMBLE and TIPSY MOUSE DID run, however, with Paul O'Neill in the plate for both. The former failed to respond to first-time blinkers and being kept in mid-division, and sulked into pulling up three out in the novices' handicap chase. Tipsy Mouse, yet again running over an inadequate trip on a shapr track (3 miles here), was predictably run out of things late on in finishing fourth in the handicap chase. Richard Guest said in the [i]Racing Post[/i] that morning that he had found the key to the horse now, but his hands were being forced by the absence of good ground on suitably testing tracks. There may be the usual poetic licence of a canny trainer in there somewhere, but given the deluges we've had in recent weeks - such that even Cheltenham is running soft, for heaven's sake - he's probably quite right. The removal of quick-draining Doncaster from the jumps calendar due to refurbishment has removed the most obvious likely source of fast winter ground for galloping types this winter, so he could be a bit hard to place if things stay soggy.

NEWCASTLE, Friday 11/11/05
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Panto time came early here as APADI - having his first run for the Fly By Night Syndicate after Anne Kenny let him go - tried to refuse to race in the closing handicap chase, gifted his rivals 25l, showed no interest in the job once he did get going, and pulled up after just three obstacles.

It capped a day on which three out of four Richard Guest runners showed little or nothing. SHEM DYLAN was once again walloped in the 2m 4f novices' hurdle, J P Flavin's 10lb allowance - reducing the horse's burden to 10-1 - aiding the cause not one iota as he trailed in 112l last of 12 finishers. He'll get some patience from Guest and Paul Beck, being another New Zealand horse likely not to have acclimatised fully yet, but he is light years away from winning anything on all UK form to date.

TIGER TALK was stepped back up out of selling company in the 2m 4f handicap hurdle but failed to justify the move, beating home only one rival home in 15th position. He also proved unusually difficult for "Bruce" Moorman to settle on this occasion - had he and Apadi been on the Es and Whizz the night before, one wonders?

RED PERK was the highpoint of an unsatisfactory day, running a sound race under Kenny Johnson to finish 1.25l second to a Ferdy Murphy horse already due to go 10lb up the handicap the following day. He remains in good heart and ought to find another small event before too long, as long as the ground does not tend to extremes.

WETHERBY, Saturday 12/11/05
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Two horses possibly being turned out again a bit too soon posted below-par performances here. The maiden hurdle TANMEYA contested had no strength in depth about it, but she still went off at 66/1 and trailed in tenth, although in fairness she did bring herself almost to a stop when getting four out all wrong, scuppering her forward charge entirely. ASSUMETHEPOSITION only faced four rivals in the 2m 4.5f novices' handicap chase on what looked like perfect ground for him, but he emptied five out and only got fourth place prizemoney when one rival tipped up late on. He's yet to replicate his best hurdles form over fences.

UTTOXETER, Saturday 12/11/05
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Two runners, two second places, and an autumn's best from JERICHO III, although he still gave the impression of being a few pounds too high judged on how easily Dangerousdanmagru - trained, ironically, by Norman Mason's ex-assistant (and therefore Guests's predecessor at Brancepeth) Alan Jones - picked him off in the home straight. Former Brancepeth favourite NEPHITE (seven times a winner for Mason / Guest and twice more for Venetia Williams in the summer) trailed in back in fourth.

SOBERS was one of only two fancied in the bumper, and he duly contested the finish with the other, a Richard Phillips mares' bumper winner. Paul O'Neill gave him first run on the leaders 3f out, but was unable to quicken when the mare came to challenge in the final furlong and was 1.5l adrift at the end. Having run here and at Aintree previously, a stiffer test may be necessary to pinch one of these.

LEICESTER, Monday 14/11/05
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The first jumps meeting of the season at the East Midlands track produced the usual differences in going, with the hurdles course - also the Flat course - riding soft and the chase course good to firm. On that basis it was questionable why MAGICO was allowed to contest the handicap chase; the course will have been stiff enough, but he was outrun by horses much happier on the fast ground than him in finishing fifth.

More disappointing was GHADAMES in the handicap hurdle. Not far off two stone better off over hurdles than fences, and with a proven record of going fresh, he was entitled to do much better than a 21l sixth place on his first run for six months. Chances are his next run over hurdles will tell us more about whether he is, purely and simply, destined to remain a better chaser than hurdler. Easier to assess ni the immediate term is ROAN RAIDER, who remains in rotten form both on the Flat and over hurdles. His eighth place finish in the seller represented a closer finish than at Kelso last time, but he still looks impossible to win with.

FAKENHAM, Tuesday 15/11/05
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Granted her favourite good ground and a lightning fast 2 miles, CERESFIELD would have picked up and carried the opposition in the Class F handicap chase in her pomp, but she trailed in a sad last of nine finishers this time round. The first-time visor which replaced the cheekpieces did not suit, not did the hold-up tactics which connections have persisted with for some time now. Why is this? Why are they not content to let her try to win from the front, which worked so very well on numerous occasions in the past?

Still on the subject of inappropriate tasks, MOSCOW LEADER - back from over a year off and now representing Gryffindor (www.racingtours.co.uk) - has been pencilled in as an Eider horse this season given his apparent staying capabilities and love of soft ground. That being the case, being sent around 2m 5f of Fakenham on good ground could only have ever counted as a pipe-opener (or just daft), and he was never closer than his eventual sixth here. Conversely DARGAVILLE, another having his first run after a lay-off, would have appreciated things a bit better than the gluepot he encountered at Cartmel last time out, but he has not impressed with his consistency since joining Richard Guest and he petered out tamely into sixth here as well. Sharp tracks and fast ground have brought about his best performances (Musselburgh here we come, then), but he has also disappointed on them and he does not look one to trust fully.

HEXHAM, Wednesday 16/11/05
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This was a well above-average card for the track, with the centrepiece, the inaugural Northumberland National, given a Class C rating and a top prize of over £13k. Richard Guest sent the in-form PASS ME BY into battle in this four mile slog, and, having run close to the pace for the greater part, found himself in the lead from 3 out to the last. Here, however, his stamina gave out, and he was demoted to fifth on the run-in.

This was certainly a punt worth taking, with the horse having finished a staying on third over the even more severe Carlisle track in heavy going over 3m 2f last time out, and connections still got £500 for their pains, but on this evidence he needs just a shade shorter than this trip - some of the 3m 6f chases at Newcastle would probably suit.

This was not the only encouraging run of another blank day, as debutant MR IRONMAN showed up well for a long way on his racecourse debut in the concluding bumper before weakening into fourth in the last couple of furlongs. He looks nothing special on breeding, being out of a poor 2m 4f novices' hurdler, and I think that, like TOPWELL, he will struggle to feature in better bumpers away from Hexham, but connections will doubtless find him low-grae hurdles in the fullness of time.

One of last year's lesser lights, PAPAWALDO, made his seasonal bow in the National Hunt novices' hurdle and once again showed nothing, trailing in last of ten finishers. He has now registered four duck-eggs from the same number of races, beating only penny numbers of horses in so doing, and whilst he now qualifies for a handicap mark, the early signs are that this campaign is going to be as unfulfilling for connections as last.

ISELLIDO, another of the NH-bred contingent, is being kept over hurdles for the time being, it would appear, although another comprehensive defeat here suggests she is not able to defy a current mark 9lb above her last winning one. In fairness she did seem to respond to the first-time eyeshield here, and was still leading until 3 out, but the chasing pack were able to overwhelm her pretty easily. I presume she is going to be aimed at mares' novices' chase series qualifiers at some stage soon, if the ground remains swampy enough, but she wouldn't be taking on that assignment in the greatest of heart on this evidence.

MARKET RASEN, Thursday 17/11/05
============================

ASTRONAUT looks like a horse who will not stand much racing, so opportunities have to be grasped whenever he does step onto the racetrack. The 2m 6f selling handicap hurdle did not appear to be one such opportunity, as for all that the contest was not a great one, the ground was also much stickier than ideal. It became even less of an opportunity at the fifth flight, when the horse gave Paul O'Neill no chance of staying in the plate.

Better luck for O'Neill later in the afternoon, as he got a clear round in aboard BERGERAC in a fair return from nearly six months off in the 2m 4f handicap chase. It was basically a clear round and an altogether more convincing display than on his chasing debut in a beginners' race at Cartmel, but his hurdling mark of 107 was awarded primarily for winning a poor maiden race at the same track only five days earlier, and it looks a tad high for him to be running off over fences at present.

Claire Metcalfe has been in blinding form in the saddle aboard ex-Guest inmate LONGSTONE LASS, now happily ensconced at Tracey Waggott's yard with Metcalfe herself the owner. The lady riders' handicap hurdle had previously been run as an amateurs' novices' event, and Metcalfe had come second in it two years ago when giving a UK racecourse debut to some minor creature called OUR ARMAGEDDON. She occupied the same berth here in the race's new guise, giving UPSWING a nice waiting ride to propel the horse into second place two from home, only for him not to pick up as necessary from that point on. Mind, the 2.5l beating from a horse and rider combination - Parisienne Gale and Caroline Hurley - successful together several times over hurdles and in point-to-points represented a sound effort, and it is only to be hoped that the handicapper does not take the result too literally, as there was 11lb between them on the book before the tapes went up.

0 / 4 over the weekend

2005-11-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

Three animals went to Kelso on Saturday and one to Ayr on Sunday, with JERICHO III's fourth place at the latter venue the best result of any of them. As suggested last time, he still needed the race having suffered a slipped saddle early doors at Wetherby previously, and once again he didn't have a trouble-free ride round this time as Paul O'Neill lost his reigns during the middle section of the race. It wouldn't hurt him to get dropped a pound or two for this effort, as he's still 12lb above his last winning mark.

TIPSY MOUSE is being strangely campaigned by Guest at present, being raced at 3 miles around sharp tracks such as Kelso on Saturday (where his winning form is over 4 miles, remember) when a stiff 3m 4f+ looks the optimum nowadays. All academic this time round, however, as he lasted just eight fences before binning Henry Oliver. ROAN RAIDER's Flat form has been dire since joining Guest, and a beating of at least 80l when seventh in one of the worst novices' selling hurdles of the season so far hardly inspires confidence of better over jumps. As on his first run for the yard at Uttoxeter three weeks earlier, VALERUN skulked around near the back in the 2m 6.5f handicap hurdle and doesn't look in danger of winning the Racing Club any money in the immediate term, although in mitigation he is intended as a novices' handicap chaser primarily, so will be judged more on those exploits once connections turn their attentions to that sphere with him.

Puff, Pant

2005-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

JIMMY BYRNE's stamina has looked suspect on one or two occasions at even the minimum jumps trip this autumn, hence a return to the Flat at Wolverhampton on Monday afternoon. He went off the outsider of the 13-strong field in the 9f Class 5 handicap and sadly ran exactly according to that analysis, finishing last of all. Up with the leaders until 3f, he once again emptied very quickly indeed and is proving hard to win with.

Lung-busting activity came in a very different form this afternoon, with four Richard Guest animals having taken the short trip to hilly old Hexham. No winners, but READY TO RUMBLE ran his second fair race inside of a week in coming third in the novices' handicap chase. As per his Carlisle run he responded positively to being at or near the head of affairs throughout, and although the leaders tried to give him the slip up the hill entering the straight, he was able to stay on again close home. This was only a Class F, and, if no superstar over jumps, he should be able to pick up one of these on this evidence.

Prior to that, ASSUMETHEPOSITION lasted only four fences in the opening conditional jockeys' handicap chase before giving J P Flavin no chance of staying on. This was Flavin's second ride in the country, following that on BEAVER at Haydock a short while ago, and his first as a conditional. Moreover, he claimed 10lb in the race which, given that "Bruce" Moorman did the same on TIGER TALK later on the same card, indicates that Ciaran Eddery's latest tenure as one of the Richard Guest's two conditionals has come to a very abrupt end.

For the record, Tiger Talk was brought to the tails of the leaders turning for home in the 2m 4.5f selling handicap hurdle by Moorman, but could only find one pace from that point and came in 7l adrift in sixth. He continues to be a good schoolmaster for inexperienced jockeys, which is probably why Guest kept him when Paul Beck decided to relinquish ownership of him following his Fakenham run; however, he is still 3lb higher than when scoring last, and further assistance is probably still required before resuming winning ways.

UPSWING finally got to make his debut for the Guest yard in the concluding handicap hurdle over the minimum trip, and with Kenny Johnson reinstated in the plate as always intended. Not surprisingly after 11 months off, he blew up turning for home and was not given too hard a time back in sixth. At the July Open Day Guest insisted Upswing could be the best improver in handicaps the whole of this season - off a meagre current rating of 79, there is certainly plenty of scope to race up the handicap if proving adept enough, and his next run will tell us much about how well-founded a boast this could be.

Weekend action - hello again, swamp donkeys

2005-10-31T12:43:00.000-08:00

Only MAGICO turned out for Richard Guest on Saturday, in the 2m 4.5f novices' handicap chase. He was thrown right into the race four from home but could once again only continue at the one pace on ground which was pretty much ideal. However, he put in a perfectly tidy round of jumping on this, just his second outing over fences, and I wonder if, with his absence of extra gears pretty evident now, he should be stepped up to 3 miles where this is potentially less of a problem.

There were no winners from Guest's seven-strong raiding party to Carlisle on Sunday, but there were some pretty encouraging runs in the main on ground barely raceable. SHEM DYLAN is not included in that statement, as he emphatically failed to win the 2m 4f novices' hurdle for Paul Beck and Guest for the second year out of three (ONE DAY took this on debut in 2003). He has now run enough times to get a handicap mark, but his pulled-up effort here offered no encouragement that he'll be scoring once moved into that discipline.

WHY THE LONG FACE's form in handicap hurdles has been ordinary to say the least this time, but he seemed lit up by the desperate ground and ultra-stiff 17f (a distance simply too short for him on fairer tracks). He was never going to rein in the winner, an easy 12l winner, but his second place guaranteed over £2,200 for the Richard Guest Racing Club, and therefore the biggest payout yet to Carrie Humble's Throughbred Rehabiliation Centre. ISELLIDO was a well-beaten ninth in the same race under top weight, but this was always going to be about getting a race into her after the summer off back at her owners' place, and she'll doubtless be back novices' chasing before too long.

Anyone who had SHANNON'S PRIDE and PASS ME BY in their forecast for the 17-runner Class C feature race will be thanking the Guest yard, as they came in second and third. Shannon's Pride went with the leaders early on, and simply never let any of them bar eventual winner Ross Com get away, whilst Pass Me By's third place came from screaming through tired horses late on. In so doing, both advertised their claims as potential long-distance chasers this season - 3m 2f on bottomless going here will have raced like much further - and I'd like to see them trying something like the Tim Molony Chase at Haydock next if they can get into the handicap proper.

READY TO RUMBLE (3rd) and ASSUMETHEPOSITION (5th) made up a third of the field in the novices' handicap chase. The former made a bid for victory from halfway which was only finally beaten off completely in the run-in, whereas the latter was sticky at his fences on his first outing since June, and would have prefered a longer trip anyway. He'll be better for his next run.

Hurdles win for Red Perk

2005-10-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Probably more through accident than design, RED PERK is one of the very longest serving animals left at Brancepeth, having made his racecourse debut back in April 2002. With the departure of TYNEANDTHYNEAGAIN and sad demise of XAIPETE, only RED STRIKER and of course NOSAM have been running for the Mason / Guest franchise for longer now (and I can only think of OUR ARMAGEDDON, CERESFIELD and COLLEGE CITY as other remaining animals to have run when Norman Mason held the permit, although some clever bugger out there may be able to remind me otherwise).

I digress. Red Perk is now into his fifth season at Brancepeth (2001-2 onwards), yet a lot of viewers of this blog will probably not be that familiar with him, as he's only raced 20 times to date and mostly at a very low level and without great distinction, so herewith some details of his career to date;

- he was one of the horses involved in that notrious novices' hurdle at Wetherby two years ago, where Meggie's Gamble slipped the field at the start, raced into a distance lead, and was left to stay there until the end, unchallenged,

- he broke Kenny Johnson's ribs, lungs, collarbone, and lord knows what else in a horror fall at Uttoxeter in June 2004, yet - barring appearances in conditionals and amateurs' races - remains one of Kenny's guaranteed rides at Brancepeth,

- he was reacquired by Guest at the Doncaster sales a couple of weeks ago, previous owner Dennis Tate - formerly owner of noted 90s marathon chase plodder Majic Rain - having decided to let him go,

- he has run in the last two renewals of the four-mile chase at Hexham in March, finishing second and third in each,

- his one career victory prior to today was in a Kelso handicap chase over 3m 1f last winter, where he got what looked a slightly fortuitous verdict in a desperately close finish.

He has usually required a run or two to get him straight of a season, so I was not overly optimistic of his chances in the conditional jockeys' novices' handicap hurdle he ran in at Wetherby today, his first show since Cartmel in May, and I would not have taken the 4/1JF about him. However, he turned out to be bang on for this reappearance, responding to the urgings of Robert Stephens - picking up a useful spare as Paul O'Neill appeared not to be at the track in time - and his cheekpieces to grind down the other joint jolly Potts of Magic in a protracted battle down the home straight. The winning verdict was a short head.

Stephens hadn't ridden for Guest since partnering ISELLIDO in the Mares Final at Newbury in April, more through other commitments and geographical location than anything more sinister. He has, of course, scored one victory for Guest before, getting NORTH LANDING home in a Bangor handicap hurdle last August whilst still an amateur. Red Perk, meanwhile, is currently on the same mark over both hurdles and fences (88) and really ought not get walloped for such a slim victory over a rival also rated 88 over timber. Whether he is punished too much or not, I suspect he'll be sent back chasing before too long. His new owners, incidentally, are messrs Chorzelewski, Davies and Hodgkinson, for whom, as far as I can, Red Perk is a first venture into ownership. Easy money, this racing lark.

O'Neill did manage to get to the track in time to honour his ride on JERICHO III, a horse on whom he managed to run up a hat-trick inside 15 days last January. Things are bound to be tougher for Jericho this season, starting it as he does fully 12lb above his last winning mark. He could have done without a start as inasupicious as the one he had in Wetherby's two mile handicap chase today, though. Pulling fearsomely, as he has been known to do in the past, of course, Jericho belted the first fence and the saddle slipped after the second, leaving O'Neill no option but to pull up. Basically the same thing happened early on in a Hexham handicap in winter 2004, on one of his very first runs for the yard. I am putting this down to over-exuberance on the horse's part, rather than the first signs of any reappearance of his lunatic behaviour from a year ago and beyond, but he'll still probably need his next run after this now.

Surrey to Disappoint You

2005-10-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

LES ARCS has had an excellent twelve months since his wind operation, landing three victories at Wolverhampton, Musselburgh and Chester and seeing his rating rise 21lb in the process. His fourth place in a big handicap at York last time, where he was staying on best of all over the inadequate 6f, entitled him to joint-favouritism in the really tight 7f Class 2 handicap on Lingfield's Polytrack today.

In the end the real winner was the handicapper, as barely 6.5l covered the entire field as they crossed the line. Les Arcs finished eighth, having been propelled into the leading couple with a furlong to run but then being swamped in the blanket finish which ensued. High class handicaps over an adequate trip are going to be few and far between for him from now until the Spring; I don't know if the plan is for him to resume hurdling now, but he would equally have earned a rest from racing full stop for a few months.

INCA SOLDIER came down to Lingfield as well to contest one division of the colts and geldings maiden stakes, and in the end did much more than keep one of the horseboxes warm on the trip there and back. Once he'd stopped fighting John Egan early on, he settled into midfield before looming as a serious challenger with around a furlong to run. He stayed on rather than scorched forward from that point, but his fourth place finish offered immeasurably more promise than his debut at Nottingham a week earlier, and as these maiden contests inevitably get a little weaker as the autumn days draw in, he could quite conceivably nick one next time out.

Donovan pops up - Larry needs just one more!

2005-10-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

It's taken the thick end of a decade to get there, with a couple of spells as a pro, one as an amateur, and the requisite number of injuries along the way, but Larry McGrath is now only one ride away from riding out his claim following his victory on DONOVAN in the novices' handicap chase at Towcester yesterday. It was a tad streaky, as Donovan - raised 4lb for finishing third at Bangor previously - looked to be losing the argument with his nearest pursuer Lord on the Run before that one demolished the second last fence and lost all momentum. A win is a win, however, and Larry now stands at a career tally of 79 wins and could easily get that landmark 80th with a likely large complement of rides at Carlisle this coming Sunday.

This is already the fourth winner for Richard Guest at this singularly steep Northamptonshire track this season, having landed a treble with FLINTOFF, POLISHED and PEQUENITA at a May meeting. Donovan's first chase win takes his tally of wins for Guest to five, and his career prizemoney to date in to the £30,000 bracket. That was the sum total of wins for Guest at Towcester this time around, however, as Racing Club newcomer TANMEYA pulled like stink before falling halfway round in the mares' novices' hurdle, and READY TO RUMBLE ran no sort of race under Tommy Malone - his first ride for Guest - before pulling up a long way out in the 2m 3.5f handicap chase.

Sobers it is!

2005-10-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

That horribly expensive Epervier D'Or 4yo bought a few months back was revealed to the world as SOBERS last weekend, when he made his racecourse bow in the bumper which concluded Aintree's two-day meeting. Not surprisingly for an operation with a poor win record in this sphere, he went off at a price - 20/1 - larger than his price-tag or breeding would otherwise have suggested. He acquitted himself quite well for a debutant, bustled up to chase the leaders just after halfway, and then finding more when outpaced turning for home to be a staying on again fourth. Despite not having reached the top three in a race like TOPWELL or CASH ON FRIDAY yet, he looks the likelier of the bumper horses seen so far this season to win one of these races before season's end.

Apart from Sobers, there were two other attempts at breaking the Brancepeth operation's long losing run at Aintree, which stretches back to the late XAIPETE's victory in a chase there in May 1999. That run is remained unbroken, however, as neither WHY THE LONG FACE nor DAGGY BOY popped up in their respective races on the Saturday. Richard Guest is convinced that Why The Long Face is going to land a big Saturday afternoon handicap hurdle sometime this season, but even with the softening ground to his advantage, the lightning fast 2 miles he encountered here was always going to be far, far too sharp for him and he pulled up having barely passed another horse on the way round. Daggy Boy trailed in eighth of 11 in the novices' hurdle and was never a factor. He has now qualified for a handicap mark, but I wouldn't have thought it would be much above a plater's initially.

In a similar vein to Why The Long Face, running serial galloper ONE DAY around Kelso's twists and turns seemed an odd choice of assignment, and, on his handicap bow over fences, he duly spluttered round the 3m 1f event in seventh. He nudged a few on his way round, and would really be better suited to somewhere better suited to his style of running such as Haydock or Wetherby next time. Having had a rough introduction to fences at Uttoxeter last time out, MAGICO ran a fair race back over hurdles and was only outpaced from the last. Confidence duly restored with this third place finish, he could turn out back over fences at a longer trip than the 16.5f here at Wetherby later this week.

Midweek Round-Up

2005-10-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

NOTTINGHAM, October 19th (FLAT)
============================

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
==================

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
===================

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.

Ta-ta to T.A.T.A - Tyneandthynegain sold!

2005-10-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Monday) saw a Brancepeth presence at day one of the Tattersalls Doncaster October sales, and it was notable for a couple of reasons. Firstly, apart from buying back two horses (see below), Richard Guest managed to keep his hands in his pockets throughout. Secondly, and more significantly, landlord Norman Mason brought eight of his animals to Doncaster and found buyers for all of them. Six of them were unraced homebred 5yos, but the other two were no lesser names than TYNEANDTHYNEAGAIN and RED STRIKER, between them winners of a Great Yorkshire Chase, an Eider Chase and a Peter Marsh Chase and his prime Grand National contenders for a few seasons now.

One can only speculate what has prompted their sale - economic necessity? Increasing loss of appetite for racing following the death of XAIPETE in August? - but the departure of these horses leaves only the wonderful 15yo NOSAM still knowingly in training for Mason, although presumably with mares Mighty Fly, Southend Scallywag, Marsden Rock, Radical Lady and Able Native still believed owned by Mason the breeding-for-sale operation will still continue to operate for a while yet.

We've not seen the last of Red Striker at Brancepeth, however, as Richard Guest forked out 3,500gns to bring him back to Brancepeth once again. He's always believed in this horse, bad legs and lord knows what else notwithstanding, and made it clear at the July Open Day that he had far from given up on him. Conversely, he must have given up patching up Tyneandthyneagain, and he was prepared to let him go to Bobby O'Ryan in the end for 10,000gns. The other Mason horse Guest has opted to bring back to Brancepeth is a 5yo bay Alflora gelding out of Southend Scallywag.

The message from Brancepeth nowadays seems to be clear; unlike in the past, if a homebred hasn't set the gallops alight (and certainly some or all of these were in the "in training" paddocks at Brancepeth during the Open Day, so will at least have been through some rigours of training), they won't get a run for the trainer. Christ knows Guest doesn't want to risk having a stable full of RED MARSALAs or CLAUDIA'S RAINBOWs.

Away from Mr Mason's offloads, the first Paul Beck horse to be released from the yard was sold on Monday as well. It will surprise very few of you to learn that the identity of that horse is YORK RITE, whose capitulation at Hexham a week last Saturday - despite the fitting of a first-time visor - was clearly the last straw. He leaves with just 2 wins from 33 runs for the yard, both gained within his first four runs and both over timber despite nearly twice as many runs over fences as hurdles. He earned £15,245.75 in win and place money in those runs, which doesn't amount to a hill of beans considering the effort invested in him.

Another Beck animal, ASTRONAUT, was withdrawn from sale and could actually reappear on the racecourse at Kelso this Saturday instead. PRIVATE JESSICA was also withdrawn from sale and will presumably be back on the racecourse for Guest and the Blaydon Racers before too long. However, PRINCE ADJAL's short tenure at Brancepeth is over, with Jim Andrews opting to sell him and Guest not putting in a winning bid (if any) to bring him back.

The full list of transactions concerning Brancepeth animals is as follows;

ch, g, 5-y-o, Alflora — Mighty Fly (Comedy Star)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Alister Whillans 1,400

b, g, 5-y-o, Gunner B — On Golden Pond (Bluebird)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Tom Best 5,400

b, g, 5-y-o, Alflora — Southend Scallywag (Tina'S Pet)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Richard Guest 4,500

b, g, 5-y-o, Alflora — Marsden Rock (Tina'S Pet)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Group Captain John Prideaux 9,200

b, m, 5-y-o, Gunner B — By The Lake (Tyrant)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Guy Stephenson 3,000

ch, m, 5-y-o, Gunner B — D C Flyer (Record Token)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Guy Stephenson 3,600

ch, g, 11-y-o, RED STRIKER Gunner B — Cover Your Money (Precipice Wood)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Richard Guest 3,500

b, g, 10-y-o, TYNEANDTHYNEAGAIN Good Thyne — Radical Lady (Radical)
Property of Mr N. B. Mason
SOLD to Bobby O'Ryan 10,000

ch, f, 4-y-o, PRIVATE JESSICA Cadeaux Genereux — Rose Bay (Shareef Dancer)
Property of Mr R. C. Guest & the Blaydon Racers Partnership
WITHDRAWN FROM SALE

b, g, 5-y-o, PRINCE ADJAL Desert Prince — Adjalisa (Darshaan)
Property of Mr Jim Andrews
SOLD to Joules Bloodstock 1,200

ch, g, 9-y-o, YORK RITE Grand Lodge — Amazaan (Zamazaan)
Property of Mr Paul Beck
SOLD to Mr Smith 3,800

b, g, 8-y-o, ASTRONAUT Sri Pekan — Wild Abandon (Graustark)
Property of Mr Paul Beck
WITHDRAWN FROM SALE

Another Saturday, another Class B...

2005-10-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

Following on from ADMIRAL's exceptional performance at Chepstow the week before, it was BILL'S ECHO's turn to step up to the plate at Huntingdon on Saturday and land the biggest prize of his career in the extended 2 mile Handicap Chase, reversing Carlisle form with stablemate WET LIPS in the process. Held up in last by the increasingly impressive William Kennedy, Bill's Echo was produced to challenge between the last two fences and won cosily by 7l.

There is a sense of closure about this victory, as Bill's Echo's first run over fences was in a handicap over C&D eighteen months ago. Timmy Murphy employed very similar tactics to Kennedy's, a really lovely ride, and it looked like it was going to pay off until the horse capsized when going best of any at the last. Where today's race is concerned, Bill's Echo was improving on his fifth place finish in it last year, when it was run at its usual home of Kempton. Wet Lips did nothing wrong in second, and I don't think the 6lb rise for his defeat of Bill's Echo was prohibitive; rather, the sharper track played into the winner's hands and out of his. He is clearly a better stayer over fences than hurdles, and an ultra-stiff 2 miles like Carlisle's is an optimum for him over the bigger obstacles.

The only other Richard Guest runner on Saturday was CERESFIELD, making yet another comeback over the C&D (Stratford, 17.5f) where she went wrong and pulled up a year ago. Since then she has only raced once every four months before disappearing again - this was her first start since a remote fourth in thick mud at Uttoxeter in June. She sulks when not being allowed to lead, yet connections must clearly be worried about her abilities to lead from the front any longer, as she was held up here again as per the Uttoxeter run. In the event she emptied completely from 3 out and was beaten out of sight in seventh place. She has been a fabulous servant to connections since her arrival from New Zealand three years ago, landing six chases, but she has already had ample help from the assessor to get competitive once again; she raced off 96 here, and all bar one of her victories have come off this mark or higher. Rising 10, I do wonder whether retiring her to the paddocks rather than pursuing small pots (despite her being increasingly difficult to train) would be the most sensible option now.

Drought over

2005-10-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

Chances were that if the Richard Guest yard actually got a few more runners out, and more of the jumps horses at that, that the long wait for another winner would be ended. Sure enough, there's been four winners in the last fortnight, although with so many runners being given their first outing since before summer (and / or their first for Guest), the strike-rate is nothing about which to write home.

The highlight of the fortnight was undoubtedly ADMIRAL winning the Class B Betfair Handicap Hurdle, that famous old 4yo Handicap Hurdle race at Chepstow formerly known as the Free Hurdle, last Saturday. As well as being the first Class B the yard has won this season, it also represented the first win for Guest as a trainer at the South Wales track, although admittedly he'd only had a couple of attempts previously (it seemed a long way to go just to stick FIDALUS in a Selling Handicap Chase and an out of sorts BERNARDON in a workaday Handicap Hurdle, and they both duly flopped). Admiral had had a nice pipe-opener on the Flat at Pontefract a fortnight previously, for all that he eventually finished last in that race, but the 14lb rise in the weights since his Ayr win in April and the softening going looked to have cost him his chance before the tapes even went up. He managed to dispell both doubts in really impressive fashion, however, leading or prominent throughout and staying on very well indeed to give Paul O'Neill the 24th - and comfortably biggest - win of his short career.

Guest is confident the horse can withstand a step up in trip to around 2m 4f, and on this evidence there is little to dispute that assertion. For the time being, connections can enjoy the fact that the £20,000 first prize won here takes Admiral's earnings for Willie McKay and Guest to around the £37,ooo mark - not bad from just eight runs for them.

Apart from Admiral, the wins for Richard Guest have come from;

- COLLEGE CITY in a Market Rasen Handicap Chase which cut up really nicely for him through defections. This is his third chase win of the season and fourth win for the yard in all, although, having followed this up with a fair second in a Hexham Novices' Chase last Saturday, his subsequent well-beaten fifth back in handicap company at Uttoxeter yesterday would indicate the assessor is back on top of him again (with another 5lb rise in the weights due tomorrow).

- PASS ME BY in a Carlisle Beginners' Chase seven days ago. Formerly a useful bumper horse for Tim Walford, he had lost his way last season and apparently came to Brancepeth a very nervous horse indeed. First-time eyeshields appear to have had a positive influence.

- WET LIPS in a Handicap Chase on the same Carlisle card, ridden to victory, as was College City, by Patrick Merrigan. Guest had the first two home in this race, with Wet Lips pinching it from BILL'S ECHO after the last. He will attempt to defy a 6lb rise (to 125) in a Class B event at Huntingdon tomorrow.

Other runners since our last update are as follows;

HEXHAM, September 30th
====================

FREE WILL ran keenly in his Selling Hurdle and weakened from 2 out. Despite having gurgled last time, a tonguestrap was not fitted, which may have made a difference. The problematic BEAVER was fitted with one, and was able to plug on to the line this time rather than capitulate when asked for an effort. He still found three too good for him in his Novices' Hurdle, though. ASTON looks onepaced but plugged on for third place on his first attempt over fences for Guest, and looks likely to be kept to 3m+ wars of attrition on good ground from hereon in. HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW was outpaced easily enough two out and came home in fifth in the Handicap Chase. First time blinkers did not work the oracle. Finally, TOPWELL, whose ownership had changed from the Racing Club to Malcolm Penney by the time he got to post, offered some encouragement for future runs when third in the closing bumper. He ran a bit green and will know more about the job next time.

SOUTHWELL AWT (Flat), October 1st
============================

Two runners at this Saturday morning matinee meeting of Banded filth, but even Class 7 racing is too hot for ROAN RAIDER to get competitive, and he beat only three of his 13 rivals home in the 7f Stakes race. FIT TO FLY went off the 5-1 joint favourite in the Mile, but had to settle with a 5.5l fifth position in the end. He refused to settle under Ambrose Reilly early on, and then didn't go on quite enough when asked to from 2f out.

KELSO, October 2nd
===============

12 intended runners across the three cards cut up to six following ground-related defections, and only two horses took their chances here in the end. YORK RITE took part in the 2m 6.5f Novices' Handicap Chase for the second year running, and for the second year running cost himself any chance of winning with a bad mistake late on. His rooting of the third last fence cost him enough momentum to temper the effort he was making at the time, and he trailed in seventh. Kenny Johnson was asked to apply the hold-up tactic on APADI on his return to hurdling, but the horse fought him enough this time to have insufficient left when asked for an effort four out, and a fifth place was as good as he was going to get in the circumstances.

MARKET RASEN, October 2nd
======================

As well as COLLEGE CITY's victory, there was a first outing under Racing Club ownership for WHY THE LONG FACE in the 2m 1.1f Handicap Hurdle. He was never a factor back in seventh, but then he rarely is over such a short distance nowadays and this run would doubtlessly have been intended to give him a sharpener ahead of other assignments.

UTTOXETER, October 2nd
====================

STAN had won his first chase nicely at Hexham in May (his most recent run) and his future ultimately lies back over the bigger obstacles. This run in a Class C Handicap Hurdle was therefore partly pot-hunting and partly a sharpener, and the fact he got a few hundred quid here for finishing fourth will probably be irrelevant to connections in the wider scheme of things - although he was still leading when belting the last. MAGICO was upped in trip to 2m 5f for his chasing bow but never really got a chance to shine, being badly hampered four out and not given an unnecessarily hard time after that in finishing fifth. Softer ground may have suited better anyway.

CARLISLE, October 7th
=================

PASS ME BY, WET LIPS and BILL'S ECHO have already been dealt with above. DRUMOSSIE sported first-time blinkers for his handicap debut in the 2m 4f hurdle, but found no extra gears after being rousted to the leaders two from home. The step up in trip will have suited, but he does look slow. ASTON hit a couple on his way round in third in the 3m Handicap Chase, but it didn't represent too bad an effort having been stepped up two classes to D here. HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW trailed in sixth in the Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle despite all the headgear you could imagine, and he is still 6lb higher than registering the second of his two wins over timber in late spring. Chances are he could use a rest as much as respite from the handicapper, though.

YORK (Flat), October 8th
===================

Richard Guest sent out a staggering 15 runners across four cards today - it would have been 16 had PASS ME BY turned out 24 hours after his Carlisle win - with LES ARCS's run in the Class 2 Coral Sprint Trophy here being the only one of those on the Flat. He has never won over a trip as short as 6f and has suffered more at this trip for missing the break than at others. He was away on terms here, though, and was produced well by the very promising youngster Greg Fairley - having his first ride for Guest - to be screaming home in fourth at the end. He only had about one length to find on the winner Borderlescott at the finish, and would probably have given owner Willie McKay an incredible across the card double (along with ADMIRAL) had the race been over 7f, so well was he travelling.

CHEPSTOW, October 8th
===================

ONE DAY was Paul Beck's first horse with Richard Guest, although it's easy to lose sight of that given how long he has spent on the sidelines. He was always only ever going to be sent chasing if and when he reappeared, and notwithstanding ADMIRAL's appearance elsewhere on the card, Chepstow looked a wise choice of venue for this big-striding animal to start his steeplechasing education at. There were at least three significant mistakes on the way round, and he understandibly tired close home on this first run for 18 months, but the fourth place here is something on which to build, and he'll strip a hell of a lot fitter next time.

HEXHAM, October 8th
=================

COLLEGE CITY and PRINCE ADJAL filled in the second and fourth placed berths in the opening Novices' Chase here, the former only outbattled up the run-in having come off the pace the latter had set. RENVYLE looked ready to collect when sent to the head of affairs two out in the 2m 4.5f Handicap Chase, but found little for Larry McGrath - enjoying his first day of action since the fall from DIKTATIT at Cartmel in August - and faded to third in the end. Similarly, YORK RITE held the lead two from home on his return to hurdles and in a first-time visor, but capitulated to sixth and looks hard pushed to exploit even his lowly mark in this discipline nowadays. BEAVER was backed off the boards to 15/8 in the 2m 4.5f Novices' Hurdle, but the tonguestrap wasn't on today and he predictably (to me) emptied up the hill before the home turn.

BANGOR, October 8th
================

STAN always looked one of the more likely of last year's crop of New Zealand animals to be pitched into classy novices' chase company this season, and the Class C contest he took part in here was rammed with really exciting prospects notwithstanding even the much-discussed Iris's Gift. His starting price of 25/1 reflected the quality of opposition on show, and he never truthfully looked like landing the spoils here as Iris's Gift won more cosily than the official margins might have indicated, but he was certainly staying on best of anything on show here and was anything but disgraced in third.

Notwithstanding the fact the ground might have been a bit more rain-softened than he would have liked, I think ultimately he lacks the gears to trouble the really top-class animals in the same way OUR ARMAGEDDON does, but there is still going to be, I think, a very good chase (novices' or handicap) for him somewhere this term. More immediately, he is likely to be entered in the Class C Geoff Hubbard Memorial at Fakenham on October 21st - a race Our Armageddon finished second in on his chasing debut two years ago - and ought to make a good account of himself, although whether 2m 5f on such a skidpan track represents his favourite sort of race is debatable.

Elsewhere on the card, DAGGY BOY and newcomer SHEM DYLAN both finished unplaced in the 2m 4f Novices' Hurdle, the former looking a bit lary when passing the stands first time round. Brian Crowley, picking up his first rides for Guest on the afternoon, reported he didn't like the softened ground. DONOVAN, meanwhile, looked an absolute shoe-in in the Handicap Chase, assuming his jumping held up (which it comprehensively didn't in the object lesson in terror which was his only other chase outing at Hereford 18 months ago). He was much better this time, but not totally fluent, and he certainly had a good look at the ditch on his way over it. He was battling well at the end, and didn't fail to overhaul the front two by too much. Still over 20lbs lower over fences than hurdles (notwithstanding any reassessment which may result from this run), he remains of interest over the larger obstacles and ought to nab one or two of these if he can get himself footperfect. READY TO RUMBLE appeared in the same race and won the best turned-out prize - a real rarity for this yard! He would have needed this after 150 days off, and blew up a bit in the home straight after being asked to take closer order. His fifth place was an alright first effort over fences, and he too could just be good enough to land a novices' handicap this season. Rising nine already , however, he has less scope for improvment than some of the yard's other imports. WHY THE LONG FACE tried his luck in the opening televised hurdle, attempting to win a nice prize for the Racing Club, but he was never sighted in seventh on ground which ought to have been about right for him.

WETHERBY, October 12th
===================

ST PIRRAN was an eye-catching purchase for the yard in the summer, although only three runs since winning the Grand Annual at Cheltenham in March 2004 tells you all you need to know about how easy he is to train nowadays. That he came eighth in his comeback hurdle race here is utterly, utterly secondary to whether he came back in one piece, which unless anyone tells me otherwise he did, and connections can now look towards pointing a fitter animal at some of the classy two-mile handicap chases in the autumn program. I'm sure there's one back at Cheltenham at the end of the month he might try.

UTTOXETER, October 12th
====================

Racing Club horse VALERUN was never a factor in his three mile Handicap Hurdle but, like so many others mentioned in this post, this represented a much-needed blowing away of the cobwebs after well over a year off. Richard Guest was adamant there'd be novices' handicap chases to win with him this term, so presumably this will be what we see him attempt next. JIMMY BYRNE tried to do a pillar to post in the closing Handicap Hurdle, and got away with so doing until two out. Nothing left with which to repel attackers, he had to make do with third place. COLLEGE CITY's laboured effort has been mentioned already.

Nada

2005-09-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

One fourth (in a race with prizemoney for only the first three home), one seventh, one ninth, two tenths, an eleventh, a thirteenth and a fifteenth was the sum total of the Guest yard's endeavours last Saturday. WET LIPS and DONOVAN were burned off when the pace was cranked up at halfway in the Class B Handicap Hurdle at Rasen, with the going (just a little slow) and class (wrong at weights) ultimately proving the respective undoing of each. The attentions for the latter will probably now turn back to chasing, judging by his engagements this week, and he might be seen back at Rasen in a 17.5f Handicap Chase on Sunday. Wet Lips could carry joint top-weight in a Class D Handicap Hurdle at Kelso on the same day. In both instances, these represent much more realisitic targets.

LES ARCS, turned out again quickly after his good reappearance at Ayr seven days earlier, found the company in his Class 2 7f Newmarket Handicap a bit too hot, and he was left for dead with two furlongs to go under French pilot C-P Lemaire. The 4lb rise for the Ayr run won't have helped, and he's now 10lb in total higher than when last winning.

So those were the good horses in good races. Disappointingly, it was the ordinarty horses in bad races who weren't able at least to put some prizemoney on the board, all bar JIMMY BYRNE falling way short of the target. He came fourth in the modest Novices' Handicap Hurdle at Rasen, beaten only 2l and a short head on ground which had come better for him, if still not totally ideal. PRIVATE JESSICA was last of nine finishers and seems to have gone backwards again since her third in the mud there last month. The good-yet-slow ground was still too soft for BEAUGENCY to take his chance, so PEQUENITA alone ran in the 2m 6f Handicap Hurdle. As has often been the norm, she cut out the early pace, but actually folded tamely herself fully four flights form home this time rather than have the chasing pack leap on her in the final straight. She ran, frankly, like an exhausted horse, and a break following this busy summer mustn't be too long in coming, surely.

In commenting on their defection from Haydock on Friday, I had overlooked the fact that both Tidal Jets horses, BELLA FIORELLA and YASSOOMA, were still engaged at Ripon on the Saturday after all. Not that they made it worth anyone's while, finishing last of 15 and 10th of 12 in their respective 2yo heats. They are two of 54 horses still in the Redcar 2yo Trophy this coming Saturday, and even if they get a run, I cannot picture them a) starting at anything other than huge odds, b) not getting walloped.

GABLA is the only Guest horse to have run since the weekend, although again with hugely unimpressive results. Trying 2m 5.5f for the first time, he was rushed up the field with four hurdles left to jump, but once more proved himself to be a complete softie by weakening into an eventual last of 10 runners two obstacles later. It is no secret how much this horse, an 11-time Flat winner in Australia, let us not forget, has disappointed Guest since his early promise in Novices' Hurdles around two years ago, and a return of two wins from 26 UK starts is clearly not what he had hoped for.

The next few days could prove to be very busy for Richard Guest's yard, with many horses pencilled in for their first runs of the autumn, or their first ever for Guest, and no fewer than three jumps courses all within the usual Guest operating compass (Rasen, Kelso, Uttoxeter) peppered with engagements this Sunday. Before that, however, five horses line up at Hexham tomorrow; FREE WILL in the 4-7yo Non-Handicap Selling Hurdle, ASTON - possibly the liveliest chance of a winner of all the runners - switched to fences as widely anticipated and pitched into a poor Class F 3m 1f Handicap Chase; the hitherto disappointing - and breathing-impaired - BEAVER in the 2m Novices' Hurdle; HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW back over fences in the Class F Handicap Chase over an extended two miles; and newcomer TOPWELL - bought twice by Guest in recent months after original recipient Peter Girvon put him up for sale shortly after initial acquisition - in the Intermediate Bumper. The last-named starts his racing life as a Richard Guest Racing Club horse; two others bearing that banner, VALERUN and WHY THE LONG FACE, are among scores of entries for the weekend;

SOUTHWELL, 1/10/05 (FLAT);
=======================
Fit to Fly, Roan Raider

REDCAR, 1/10/05 (FLAT);
====================
Bella Fiorella, Yassooma

KELSO, 2/10/05 (JUMPS);
====================
Apadi, Aston, Beaugency, Magico, Shannon's Pride, Stan, Upswing, Valerun, Wet Lips, Why the Long Face, York Rite

MARKET RASEN, 2/10/05 (JUMPS);
===========================
Apadi, Beaugency, Beaver, College City, Donovan, Free Will, Gabla, He's Hot Right Now, Magico, Prince Adjal, Why the Long Face

UTTOXETER, 2/10/05 (JUMPS);
========================
Aston, Beaugency, Magico, Stan, Wet Lips, Why the Long Face, York Rite

Juicy Rasens

2005-09-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

The big Saturday card has attracted no fewer than six Richard Guest declarations, two each in three races, although - as per the Summer Plate meeting - it is the smaller races on the card in which most of them appear. Ultimately, I guess, Guest has not wanted to dent some of his brighter young chasers for this season during the summer months, unlike last season, when LIK WOOD POWER, SPECTROMETER and WHY THE LONG FACE all contested some fo the big summer chases. No matter, there are bound to be nice opportunities for the likes of PAGE POINT and - when the ground gets a little easier - ONE DAY and STAN in comparable quality events as the autumn wears on.

Some things don't change all that much, however. WET LIPS was a staple in the big Rasen hurdles last summer, and - despite having already registered a novices' chase win this summer - tries his luck in the 0-145 Class B Handicap Hurdle over 2m 3.5f for the second year running; he was ninth in this last year. He is joined by DONOVAN, and both should be available at temptingly big odds over trips still probably a bit beyond their best over timber. Owners Concertina Racing have no fewer than three horses in the race, with the other being SPECTROMETER, until the start of this year a Richard Guest inmate as well, of course. He lost it completely over fences towards the end of 2004 - this after having put up a good show to finish fifth in the feature Handicap Chase on this card, just failing to last home enough to keep third - and was moved by Concertina to Ian Williams, for whom runs over the Flat and back over hurdles have been taken in over the last couple of months. Henry Oliver rides Wet Lips, and there's a first ever ride for the Guest yard for Patrick Merrigan, who gets the leg-up on Donovan.

It's timber all the way for Guest at Rasen, with the other four runners all being over hurdles as well. BEAUGENCY returns after exactly 50 days off to carry topweight in the 2m 6f Class E Handicap Hurdle, and having run up a hat-trick in July, life is going to get trickier off his revised mark of 110. Paul O'Neill's 5lb claim will help a bit, but that will still leave him 11lb above his last winning mark. Henry Oliver partners PEQUENITA in the same race, this then becoming her 12th run of a busy season. If things pan out as they have been in her races of late, one fears she will be obliged to cut out the donkey work again before getting mugged in the home straight. Poor thing. Finally, JIMMY BYRNE and PRIVATE JESSICA try their luck once again in the 2m 1.5f Novices' Handicap Hurdle, the former sidestepping a chasing debut over nearly 3m at Worcester today in favour of this! Both would arguably appreciate a bit more cut than they're likely to get here, but Henry and Kenny Johnson will do their best to effect a positive outcome in what is not a strong heat. However, Ben Pollock's course specialist Game On just looks too good to resist returning to timber over a mark around a stone lower than his chasing rating right now.

So what of the last couple of days' worth of runners? Well, rainfall up in Perth changed the ground to good to soft and caused the defection of BILL'S ECHO and HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW from their respective races. Henry Oliver was jocked back onto APADI as a result, and managed to get him home a very respectable third in that good Class D chase at nice odds of 20/1. As a point of fact, he might even have had a closer hand in matters had he a) not pulled fearsomely as Henry tried - and eventually successded - in holding him up, b) not got the fourth last wrong. Many miles further south, ADMIRAL's reappearance in a Pontefract Flat handicap saw him trail in last of nine, a performance the Racing Post's analyst identified - probably quite rightly - as little more than a pipe-opener for a hurdles campaign.

Both of the two Tidal Jets 2yos, BELLA FIORELLA and YASSOOMA, were supposed to run at Haydock today; certainly the latter still needed to run to qualify for a handicap mark with which to gain a weight for his projected - and optimistic - tilt at the 2yo trophy at Redcar a week tomorrow. Both, however, were withdrawn, and with neither taking up their other intended engagements at Ripon tomorrow, one of them isn't going to qualify for the Redcar race, let alone make the cut. ASTON, however, did make his debut for the Guest yard, finishing an encouraging second in a low grade 3m Handicap Hurdle. He was thought by his previous trainer Charlie Swan to needtop of the ground and extreme distances; he certainly had the former here, and it could be interesting to see him contest, for example, 3m 3f+ chases at places like Sedgefield and Kelso once they start to appear in the calendar more voluminously. But what of BILL'S ECHO? Having been taken on an abortive trip to Perth the day before, he was trucked down to Worcester for the 2m Handicap Chase... only to unseat Henry Oliver at the first.

Gadzooks! Runners!

2005-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

During this most quiet of months for jumps racing, runners from the Richard Guest yard have been particularly thin on the ground; and, with the big southern trainers mostly mopping up the races which HAVE taken place, Guest has now slipped to fifth in the jump trainer's championship;

M C Pipe............. £ 334,345.37
P J Hobbs........... £ 258,791.55
P Bowen.............. £ 220,091.43
J J O'Neill............ £ 206,051.07
R C Guest............ £ 190,018.25

Paul Nicholls and Evan Williams both have Guest in their sights, and Saturday's big Rasen meeting could see some more movement near the top of the table.

Only five runners have been sent out in the last fortnight - one of those being the same horse twice - and all on the Flat. There have been no winners to break the losing spell now stretching some six weeks, but both EUROPEAN DREAM and LES ARCS put in nice runs. European Dream was a staying-on fourth in a decent Class 4 7f Nursery at Doncaster on St Leger day; he seemed to enjoy the heavy ground - a real rarity for Donny in September, this - and gave every indication of being able to stay further yet. There are options opening up for him now as he gets older and stronger. Les Arcs, meanwhile, came back from a two-month break to land Willie McKay over four grand when a clear second in a 7f 50yds Class 3 Ayr Handicap. He is on a career-high mark of 88 at the moment and is not guaranteed to improve that much more on the Flat rising 6, but he has now won around £ 31,000 for McKay / Guest - more or less what they shelled out for him at the sales - and hurdling still very much remains an option if he can see out the minimum trip.

MYCENEAN PRINCE has now had three runs in Maiden Stakes races, including two well-beaten finishes at Catterick last Saturday and Redcar yesterday. His mark for the move to Nurseries isn't going to be awfully high on evidence to date. GENOA STAR, meanwhile, moved into Nursery company for the first time at Carlisle a week last Sunday. Off a mark of 47, and stepped up to Class 5, she predictably got beaten hollow, finishing last of 15.

Today's Perth card, the last at lovely Scone Palace until the Festival there in late April, sees the first Guest jumps runners for what seems like ages. Still without the recouperating Larry McGrath upon whom to call, the rides are shared out between Henry Oliver and familiar Guest outside associates. BILL'S ECHO and APADI both line up in the Class D 2m Handicap Chase, which looks a tough race on paper, and even if the latter is allowed his head to front-run in his prefered fashion, it's tough to see either him or Bill landing this. Having put in his first decent effort over fences at Uttoxeter last time, HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW reverts to hurdles this afternoon, but is still on a career-high mark over the smaller obstacles and the general impression of his summer output has not been of a horse improving race by race. Henry rides him, whilst William Kennedy and Kenny Johnson partner the two chasers.

In addition to these, ADMIRAL, one of the stars of last jumps season, has his first outing on the Flat since trailing home in fifth at Newmarket in May. He's been found a pretty competitive 1m 2f event at Pontefract for this return, although as a Royal Ascot handicap winner just over a year ago - and handicapped accordingly - the chances of finding any soft race for him on the Flat were never going to be too great. He can only improve for this whatever happens today, and there ought to be a race or two more like this for him on the level before the big handicap hurdles - surely his main target this season - home into view. John Egan rides.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

2005-09-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Being a fan of the jumps all year round, September is comfortably my least favourite month of the entire racing calendar, and thus entirely deserving of the Green Day song title I've pinched for my heading this time.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, it occupies that curious transition period between the official summer jumping season (which officially always finishes with the meetings before Bangor's July Friday meeting, no matter what anyone on C4 might try to tell you during the coverage from Rasen this coming weekend. "The big climax to the summer jumping season", they bleated last year. No it ain't....), where races are contested between a mixture of the summer jumpers who by which stage aren't as fresh as they were, plus the first few of the autumn campaigners among whom are plenty still in need of their first race or two. It makes for some pretty muddling racing, all in all.

Secondly, as the summer fixtures are left behind and more courses recommence racing, you would hope the racing calendar represented this by introducing a gradually increasing number of jumps meetings as the month wore on, building up to around mid-October when most courses are racing again. Not a bit of it. Just 18 jumps meetings will have taken place this September by its close, compared to 22 in August and 19 in July. One week of the month is, of course, given over as a Flat-only week as some kind of holiday to jumps stable staff, but why this is deemed to be any more appropriate a time of year than, say, June or July, is something I cannot fathom.

Thirdly, as the courses holding meetings in September do not have to follow the strictures applied in June and July meetings to guarantee safe jumping ground (no firmer than firm and certainly watered if in danger of riding faster), there aren't half a number of dodgy surfaces in operation. I took in both Uttoxeter Sunday meetings at this time last year; notwithstanding the less than successful drainage work which had been undertaken which had caused the dolling off of several obstacles, the going was on the rough side of good to firm to say the least on both occasions.

Things have finally improved a bit this week, with the last two days of racing at Perth until the spring yesterday and today, Fontwell also racing today (and with more than one steeplechase this time, unlike their shameful card from earlier in the month), a Worcester meeting tomorrow and of course the big televised meeting at Rasen on Saturday. Notwithstanding this, however, there is a disparity about the month which makes for some less than wholly satisfactory racing, and is something which I wouldn't have thought especially hard to remedy if the will was there.

Bobbins week

2005-09-04T04:35:00.000-07:00

With no winners from around 40 runners in the last three weeks, Richard Guest is now officially on the Cold Trainers list again. I've never been too big a fan of that particular table in the Racing Post, especially in the summer, where a predominately jumps-oriented yard is bound not to have too many runners out during the table's catchment period (last 14 days), much less be able to win any of the very few races available. That said, the fact that the best anything managed for Guest this week was a well-beaten fourth in a Selling Handicap Hurdle does indicate his horses are just going through a bit of a quiet period just now.

That fourth place went to FREE WILL at Cartmel, one place ahead of stablemate MERSEY MIRAGE. The horse was having his first run for nearly 13 months and was actually going better than anything in second place at the penultimate flight, but lack of race-fitness told as he blew up approaching the last, and he was not given too hard a time thereafter. The stewards were more than a little interested in the horse's performance, but the stories of jockey Dominic Elsworth - deputising for Henry Oliver, who was stood down after being unseated from GLENVIEWS SURLAMI in the opener - and Richard Guest's representative tallied; the horse was not to be produced until late on as he finds nothing off the bridle, and he also gurgled late on.

Another - hopefully short - spell on the sidelines could be on the cards for the Free Will, as in addition to the other problems, he was struck into on his near hind during the race. Mersey Mirage's run was much less eventful, and having been held up early on he terminated his own forward charge with a bad blunder three from home. He was ridden by Kenny Johnson, deputising for Larry McGrath; sadly the fall from DIKTATIT two days earlier was not as innocuous as I'd believed, and he will miss a month of action now with a broken collarbone.

Away from the jumps action, and not previously picked up by me, Richard Guest also had two runners at Newcastle's Flat meeting. EUROPEAN DREAM had won a Median Auction Stakes race over 7f at the track last time out, and confirmed his liking for Gosforth Park when finishing around 4l fifth in the Class 3 Nursery (2yo Handicap) which now bears the Blaydon Race name. He had the lowest rating of anything here (69, compared to the favourite's 85) and was available at 25/1, so this had to count as racing above himself, and as such ranks as the most satisfying of any Guest runner of the last week. In fact, it was probably only a lack of gears over the final, extra furlong which prevented him taking even closer order. The 2yo filly ARISEA, like FIT TO FLY an animal moved by Mr and Mrs Clarke to Guest from Jennie Candlish in the last few weeks, had only beaten two horses home in her two previous racecourse outings, and was left behind from 2f out (rolling about a bit didn't help her cause) in finishing 16l sixth of eight runners in the 7f Maiden Stakes.

Sedgefield on Tuesday should have seen the return of TIGER TALK, with Bruce Moorman once again claming 10lb as stable conditional. A friend informs me that both he AND Ciaran Eddery are listed on Weatherby's site as holding that post, so presumably more than one person can do that, but only one of them ever be able to claim on a given day. If anyone can confirm or contradict that that is how it works, you'll save me having to write all sorts of incredulous posts every time the claim passes from one rider to the next at a day's notice! As it was, he was declared a non-runner on what had become very fast ground by the time racing started, so he got to enjoy his three-month break from the track (which came after posting TWENTY-EIGHT starts in eleven months) for a little bit longer.

YORK RITE did still take his chance at Sedgefield, and he was not on a going day this time, alas, the returning Henry Oliver unable to get him any closer than seventh over the same course, distance, going and handicap rating as that with which he'd finished second three runs ago. He has now had 31 runs for the Mason / Guest franchise - one of just over 20 horses ever to have done so - but has not scored a victory since the fourth of them, back at Bangor 25 months ago. One wonders whether connections' patience will finally run out this time around and he'll find himself being offered as a point-to-point proposition at the autumn sales, as he's not showing many signs of improving at nine.

Thursday and Friday saw four further Flat runners sent out from the Guest yard, all of them well beaten. Eyeshields and first-time blinkers failed to galvanise BOUMSONG in the 6f Nursery at Carlisle on Thursday, and having hung badly left at Catterick last time out, he hung badly the other way in the latter stages before trailing in last of 13 runners. He was dropped 9lb by the assessor after the Catterick run to a mark of 53, but realistically he is not straightforward enough to be able to ascertain his precise level of ability. No such questions marks with ROYAL PARDON, who has twice acquitted herself well in finishing placed in handicaps since joining Guest, but who couldn't cope with the severe Carlisle hill when sent on her late surge in the 7f Handicap, and trailed in eighth as a result.

Meanwhile at Redcar, JORDAN'S LIGHT contested another Nursery - this time over 7f - but was thrown into the race too late by Robbie Mills (son of Chris Mills, owner and breeder of horses with Richard's brother Rae) and was never better than his fast-finishing seventh place. Finally, Friday afternoon saw YASSOOMA, having his first run since his Vicky Haigh-trained debut in May, lead the field of 12 in a 1m 30yds Maiden Auction Stakes at Haydock until the 2f pole, whereupon he capitulated totally and trailed home last. He was entitled to need this, of course, but at this stage his entry in the Listed Totepool 2yo Trophy at Redcar on October 1st looks hopelessly optimistic. His owners Tidal Jets have also entered their other Guest horse, the similarly limited BELLA FIORELLA, for the race.

Just three

2005-08-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

The battery of entries for Cartmel and Huntingdon mentioned yesterday has boiled down to just three actual overnight declarations in the end, all of them back at Cartmel. GLENVIEWS SURLAMI was not disgraced when fourth in a non-handicap Selling Hurdle at Market Rasen on her hurdling debut last time out, but that was on bottomless ground and without anything in as good early-season form as Ostfanni in the line-up. The 2m 6f of the Novice' Hurdle ought not be a problem, but that opponent and the likelier livelier ground might be.

The Selling Handicap Hurdle over 17.5f sees the likely return of FREE WILL, who showed a modicum of form for owners the Blaydon Racers Partnership at this level last summer. This, however, represents his first racecourse appearance for 13 months give or take a day or two, and although he was absolutely flying on the gallops when seen at Richard Guest's open day in July, he's entitled to need this. MERSEY MIRAGE is also engaged, and running this stamina-challenged animal at this ultra-sharp track is an eminently sensible ploy. His best performance over timber to date, you may remember, was when finishing third at Fakenham, possibly the only track in the country sharper than this one. He comes here in just moderate form from the Flat, however, and regular partner Larry McGrath is evidently still nursing injuries sustained in his fall from DIKTATIT yesterday. Kenny Johnson deputises, whilst Henry Oliver takes the rides on the other two horses.

Shock horror - no Cartmel winner

2005-08-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

The Richard Guest operation had been in imperious form at Cartmel so far this season, with six winners at the four days' racing there before today - that basically equated to one in every four races being landed by the Brancepeth operation. The luck ran out today, however, as BALLYBOE BOY's third place was the best Guest's charges could muster in what's generally been a week of rather mixed results.

As previously, DIKTATIT pulled like stink in the first division of the Juvenile Hurdle, such that, having moved confidently into third place approaching two out, he had little to offer when the pace of the race was cranked up a gear at the final flight, where he took a fall. As far as I am aware he is alright, although Larry McGrath had to step down from his intended ride for Sue Smith in the Beginners' Chase. In that race, PAGE POINT, who had had the summer off after his first two attempts over fences had yielded place finishes, was much too keen and like Diktatit used up all his energy too soon. He was beaten 21.5l in sixth.

HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW continues to disappoint majorly over fences. Following a sixth, seventh and eighth in three previous attempts over the larger obstacles, he jumped stickily again here and trailed in a well-beaten last of ten finishers in the Novices' Handicap Chase. A return to hurdling may suit the horse better, but he is higher in the weights for that discipline and is looking for all the world a difficult horse to place right now. As mentioned above, Ballyboe Boy was the most successful animal on the day, bringing home £ 642.00 for the Fly By Night Syndicate with a 2.25l third in the Novices' Handicap Hurdle. He was closest at the end, having been hard ridden for most of the race, and the combination of slightly slower ground and a 7lb hike in the weights ensured he never looked entirely likely to repeat his success in an identical race to this at the July meeting. Finally for Cartmel, GOLDEN FEATHER faded badly after halfway in the other Juvenile Hurdle after - guess what - pulling hard early on, and only had one behind him in finishing nearly 50l adrift in eighth. Not the most distinguished day at the South Lakeland track for Guest, then, but there'll certainly be other opportunities to put that right back there on Monday, with eleven different horses (of whom none ran today) entered at the five-day stage for the six races on that card.

As I mentioned at the start of this entry, some runner have come closer to hitting the target than others in the last three of four days, with a spirited run by BILL'S ECHO at Perth on Wednesday ranking as the best effort of anything. I called the race as being a matter of whom could get second from Rajam last time and was proved right, although I hadn't expected Bill's Echo or anything else for that matter to get to within 1.5l of that one, so well done to him. Of the other Perth runners, ASTRONAUT offered plenty of encouragement when a decent third in the Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle (under Ciaran Eddery) over an extended 3 miles, and if he can be found genuine good ground with no jar in it throughout the autumn, he ought to land one of these. GABLA once again put in a soft effort when sixth in the Handicap Chase, jacking it in rather after hitting four out when prominent (but still winning £ 139.80 of prizemoney, owing to Perth's generous policy of awarding money down to sixth for many of its handicaps, even Class Fs like this one) , and PRIVATE JESSICA didn't seem to see out 2m 4.5f in the Seller, fading into eighth.

Thursday saw four Richard Guest runners try their luck at Bangor, and it gives me no small amount of pleasure to report that NOSAM, 15 years young, managed to run into second place in the 3 mile Handicap Chase under Larry. No-one should be kidded into thinking he ever looked like winning, and there were 18l separating him and Heather Dalton's Fearless Mel at the end (a rival rated only 5lb better), but this still represented an enthusiastic and successful run from this grand old pro - scoring his first second place since October 2003 - which netted Norman Mason £ 1248.00 in the process. More importantly, of course, was that he came back sound, and after losing his other faithful old warrior XAIPETE a few weeks ago, this was always going to be the most important thing.

NOSAM aside, JIMMY BYRNE flopped in ground which might have gone a bit tacky for him, and he was last of seven in the CJ Novices' Handicap Hurdle which DONOVAN had won for the yard last year. COLLEGE CITY, now a stone higher than when recording the first of his two chase victories in July, predictably found the company in the 0-125 Handicap Chase far to hot, and trailed in seventh. As per at Uttoxeter a couple of runs ago, PEQUENITA had to cut out all the donkey work from the front in the 2m 4f Handicap Hurdle, and had nothing left to offer when headed after three out. She boxed on for fourth place prizemoney, but could probably use mud and a return to fences to regain the winning thread.

There were three Flat runners spread over Thursday and Friday. Having looked promising when running on in a 6f event at Hamilton on Monday, ROYAL PARDON was again produced late by Billy Cahill in a 7f Handicap at Musselburgh, and once again found the line coming a bit too soon. She was only done by a half length and a head in third, and confirmed the promise of that first run for Richard Guest of the other day. FIT TO FLY, latterly tried over distances of between 8f and 14f by Jennie Candlish but with winning form over 6f, was returned to that distance by Guest on his first run for him, and got to within about three lengths of the winner in finishing seventh in first-rime blinkers in the Apprentice Handicap at Newcastle. Again, there should be a win in him on that evidence. No such obvious promise from ROAN RADIER, however, who faded from halfway in the 5f dash on the same card at Gosforth Park, and Ambrose Reilly could only bring him in 14th of the 19 runners. He's shown nothing in three runs for Guest to date, is yet to score after 32 career starts, and looks like he is going to continue to prove hard to have any success with.

Back with a whimper

2005-08-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

No joy for Ciaran Eddery on his first ride back for Richard Guest as stable conditional, as PRINCE ADJAL finished well down the field in thirteenth place at Worcester yesterday. His recent win over fences had been on soft / heavy ground, but as a go-on-anything sort of horse (judging by his winning a Juvenile Hurdle on firm two years ago, at least), this has to rank as a disappointing run. DURBA came 12th of 13 in his Maiden Hurdle race, his fourth stinker from as many starts in this country, and he is beginning to look something of an expensive flop. Bad or selling handicaps really do look the only immediate hope for him.

The ground ended up riding really fast at Worcester, and PEQUENITA was duly withdrawn from the Handicap Chase. She is due to run at Bangor back over hurdles tomorrow instead, and the unsettled forecast offers encouragement for her chances of running.

Four animals are due to take their chances at Perth this afternoon, as Richard Guest tries once more to break a losing run at the Highlands track now stretching back two years. Poignantly, the Claiming Hurdle run yesterday was both the last race a Guest horse won at Perth, and was also the last race the late, much lamented XAIPETE landed. Good ground would aid the cause of at least three of the yard's runners. ASTRONAUT is scheduled to run in the CJ Handicap Hurdle with Ciaran on board, but don't hold your breath if the ground has dried up too much overnight. After one alright run back over hurdles and one bad one in the last few weeks, GABLA returns to chasing in the 2m Handicap Chase. Giving weight all round to all bar a Tony Martin dark horse, he doesn't leap out as an obvious winner. BILL'S ECHO was run off his socks around Bangor's sharp 17.5f last time out, despite the ground being alright for him; and over a similarly sharp track (and 1f less) today, with a fast improver in RAJAM lining up against him (Rajam, of course, being briefly a Guest horse when owned by AA Bloodstock 18 months ago), a place looks the best for which he can hope.

Selling Handicap Hurdle entrant PRIVATE JESSICA, meanwhile, would probably prefer a bit more give, but in any event the prime point of interest will be to see whether she can stay 2m 4.5f at the first time of asking, something which seemed unfeasible in her early runs for the yard.

Return of Ciaran

2005-08-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

The position of stable conditional jockey at Brancepeth has passed through any number of hands over the years, with at least seven different people having held the post since the yard went public thirty months ago alone; Declan McGann, Richard Spate, Paul Griffiths, James Halliday, James "Bruce" Moorman (twice), Darren Harold and Jim Clare. There may be one or two more - I can't remember exactly off the top of my head.

When Bruce Moorman reappeared on GABLA's back at Stratford the other day claiming eight, I presumed he had wrested the mantle back from Jim Clare, who had had just one ride claiming eight - albeit a winning one on HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW - at Sedgefield earlier in the Summer. However, a glance at the Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle at Worcester tonight indicates that Bruce, who originally appeared against PRINCE ADJAL, has now been jocked off in favour of CIARAN EDDERY, thereby representing a return to Brancepeth after a gap of two and three-quarter years. I had reckoned that was that for Eddery Guest-wise when he was released from this very position in the aftermath of taking the wrong course on RED RAMPAGE in a CJ Handicap Chase at Hexham in November 2002 (I think it was due to some verbals afterwards, rather than the incident itself, which led to the release), and he has since ridden primarily for the Alan Moore / Dave Thompson franchise, Harriet Graham, Bob Johnson, Alan Swinbank and - incongruously given the location of the others - Bob Buckler. Reconciliation of some description appears to have occurred, then (remember that he had spent three or four years at Brancepeth before the Hexham incident), and he has a booked ride today and tomorrow.

In addition to PRINCE ADJAL, Richard Guest has PEQUENITA in the 2m 7.5f Handicap Chase. The ground may be a bit fast for the mare to be entirely happy, but the field has cut up to five and there should be some prizemoney to be got from this run granted a clear round. DURBA, meanwhile, is one of 14 to line up for the concluding Maiden Hurdle, and on the basis of his three runs to date, there aren't any particular grounds for optimism. He is crying out for low-grade handicaps to get competitive. At least his owner, Billy Maguire, got some prizemoney yesterday when his other horse, ROYAL PARDON, came home third on her first run for Guest in a 6f Handicap at Hamilton, beaten half a length and a neck staying on best of all under Billy Cahill. She remains a maiden after eight runs, but did enough here to suggest a small race could come her way.

A third place for TIPSY MOUSE was the best any of Richard Guest's runners managed at Southwell on Sunday, this out-and-out stayer finding even 3m 2f too sharp on this track. He'll be better for this first run for a while, although I'm a little mystified as to what connections are trying to gain by starting his campaign a good couple of months before any of the serious stamina tests he likes appear in the calendar (short of getting him dropped a few more pounds). There is, admittedly, a Sunday meeting at Hexham in September, but I'm pretty sure there's no 3m 1f Handicap Chase in it, unless the executive there has changed the programme of that meeting.

REEDSMAN and YORK RITE finished sixth in their respective races, both performances having to rank as rather disappointing against moderate opposition. ASTRONAUT was once again pulled out before racing. Where non-appearances are concerned, he is rapidly becoming the yard's new NORTHERN FRIEND!

Southwell this Sunday

2005-08-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Once again the riches of Newton Abbot's burgeoning two-day August weekend meeting have failed to interest Richard Guest sufficiently for him to want to send down any horses to compete, and so the first, and indeed only, runners out of Brancepeth this week will be four animals lining up at Southwell's jumps fixture on Sunday.

Not that some of these aren't without interest. TIPSY MOUSE, who was intended to make his first appearance for Guest at Uttoxeter back in June, is back in from a short summer break and carries top weight in the 3m 2f Handicap Chase. This distance over a sharp track may not be enough of a test for him, but with hardly any races beyond 3m 4f between now and November, he has to start somewhere. CARIBBEAN COVE, who enjoyed such success late on last season, was scheduled to make his reappearance in this race, but is kept for another day instead.

A friend reminded me that since Tipsy Mouse's acquisition, Richard Guest now trains the full brothers of two Grand National winners, RED STRIKER of course being the other. Wonder how many other trainers have ever been able to boast the same?

Maddening old YORK RITE is scheduled to reappear on the same card too. The 2m 5f Handicap Chase in which he is entered looks well within his compass, and he comes here off the back of two reasonable enough placed finishes, but it'd be a brave punter to expect him to oblige in this race when other, easier opportunities have been flunked in the past.

Conversely, REEDSMAN looks to have been found a truly appalling 4-6yo Selling Hurdle which on paper really ought to grant him his first ever win over jumps. Ela Re would have picked up Reedsman and the rest of the field and carried them home last year, but seems to be struggling badly for form, whereas the rest are either coming back from lay-offs or have shown recent form which is below the standard of Reedsman's not-beaten-by-much efforts back on the Flat in the last few weeks.

Finally, ASTRONAUT is scheduled to run in the 3m 2f Handicap Hurdle which rounds off proceedings, in preference to the Claiming Hurdle over the same distance for which he and York Rite also held 5-day entries. This trip ought not inconvenience a winning pointer, and the French hurdles at Southwell should suit as well. He's also been ready to represent the Guest yard on the track for some six weeks now but has had the ground go against him late on a few times, so he ought to be wound up like a watch spring for this.

Henry Oliver takes all four rides.

R.I.P. Xaipete 1992 - 2005

2005-08-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

This has been an unusually protracted absence from updating the Blog, well over three weeks in fact. Truth is, I hadn't taken the sad, premature end of dear old XAIPETE particularly well. For those of you who may have missed it, he had his final ever race at Sedgefield on Friday, August 5th. Having finally been dropped into the mid-90s by the handicapper, he looked to have a fighting chance in a weak Class E Handicap Chase, especially having been given a good tow round by stablemate YORK RITE going up the back straight for the last time. However, as the field reached the top of the hill, and prepared to swing into the straight, with Xaipete just behind York Rite and going better than anything in the field, tragedy struck. He broke a hind leg and had to be pulled up. The diagnosis was as bad as it could be and the only fair option was for him to be put down on the spot.

An abrupt and terrible end, therefore, to a career which had taken in 130 runs and 17 wins (123 runs and 16 wins being for the Mason / Guest franchise after they'd acquired him from George Moore during the 1996 / 7 season), and which had realised £ 143,063 in win and place prizemoney. For a horse whose career rating stayed mainly in the low 100s / 110s for most of his career over hurdles and fences (bar a temporary over-reaction from the handicapper about 5 years ago), and never won a race of higher Class than Class D, this was no small feat. Indeed, of all the horses Mason / Guest have been associated with in an owning or training capacity, only RED MARAUDER currently stands above him in the all-time prizemoney list.

It was the intention of Norman Mason and Richard Guest to let the horse see out his days in luxurious retirement at Brancepeth Manor Farm once he'd finally lost the appetite for racing (something which, despite his advancing years, he was still showing no sign of doing). What a crushing blow for both concerned that he will not be taking them up on that offer now, although at least one small consolation of him dying at Segdefield might be that he could be taken home to be buried relatively easily if that is what connections wanted.

Rest in peace, Xaipete, old friend.

Both ends of the racing spectrum

2005-07-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

The two meetings at which Richard Guest has had runners so far this week could hardly be further apart in terms of class, with three runners' participation in a pretty grim jumps card at Sedgefield on Monday followed by a trip to Glorious Goodwood yesterday. I know which of the two I prefer (clue: not Goodwood!)

BEAUGENCY gave Guest his 28th winner of the campaign when, for the second race running, having a strong pace off which to come. He was perhaps a shade fortunate, as Kippour, a runner from Spud Clark's burgeoning permit operation, was well clear when going wrong two out, but William Kennedy had such a lot of horse under him at that point that Beaugency would have at least served up a challenge to that rival if he'd not met with that misfortune. Beaugency has now recorded his first UK wins over fences and hurdles in successive races, and, as this was a Conditional Jockeys race, he will go unpenalised for this. On account of this - and due to the fact Gryffindor's website states the horse is only guaranteed to stay in their ownership until August unless the members decide to keep him on beyond that - Guest is likely to try to find another hurdle for the horse very quickly indeed. A probable next outing will be in a hurdle at Market Rasen on Sunday.

Apart from that, DAN DE LION came home seventh in the Selling Handicap Hurdle, beaten 33l by a horse rated 7lb worse than him. He is entered again at Stratford tomorrow, in a 4-7yo non-handicap seller which looks any number of times worse than this race, but he still doesn't look to me like a potential winner of even that. YORK RITE, meanwhile, blotted his copybook by dislodging Henry Oliver at the first fence of his race.

The heavy rain in Sussex came just in time for OOH AH CAMARA to take her chance in the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Glorious Goodwood yesterday, and her 3l seventh place was a fine effort considering she was run off her hooves in a blinding pace until one furlong out. She was finishing to really good effect under John Egan at the death, and had this been a 5.5 of 6f race rather than the minimum trip, she would have been nailed on to finish high up the prizemoney. She remains one to keep in mind for autumn 2yo sprints (sprint handicaps if there be any?) as long as there's mud.

Richard Guest is clearly hedging bets where tomorrow's Stratford card is concerned. Seven horses have been declared, although some are unlikely to appear if the going tends to one extreme or the other (it's overcast here in Brum at the moment, but not significantly wet). DURBA, DAN DE LION, ASTRONAUT (novices' handicap chase this time), DONOVAN (timber again), lily-livered old GABLA back from his hols, XAIPETE, and hat-trick seeking COLLEGE CITY are all engaged.

Downside of Brancepethfan....

2005-07-24T01:23:00.000-07:00

...is the catching up to do if I've been nowhere near a PC for a week! Here goes...

SOUTHWELL, HAMILTON & PONTEFRACT 15/7/05
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The grand old boy NOSAM only managed sixth place in his Handicap Chase, beaten 15l by a horse rated 2lb his inferior. The sluggish pace wouldn't have helped his cause. COLLEGE CITY, however, had enough of a decent pace off which to come, and, having made good headway turning for home, ghosted into the lead two from home and registered a 1.5l victory under Larry McGrath. A most pleasing aspect of the race was that he was evidently able to handle good, good to firm here, having prevously struggled to do so, but Richard Guest still thinks him a happier horse in mud. Whichever, having gone three seasons to register his second victory for the trainer he is now two from two, and might just be getting the hang of this game at six.

LES ARCS' race in the Scottish Stewards Cup at Hamilton was over almost as soon as it began, him having fallen out of the stalls under Tony Culhane and leaving himself too much to do over a trip already short of his best. He was staying on best of anything at the end and nabbed fifth, but was never in any danger of winning. At least he picked up a few hundred quid for his endeavours - ROAN RAIDER's first run for Guest in a handicap at Pontefract resulted in a listless 13th place of 14 runners.

MARKET RASEN, RIPON 16/7/05
=========================

The Richard Guest team was out in force at Rasen, as one might expect for the Summer Plate meeting, but with the feature race iteself now a 0-150 Class A handicap, he wasn't going to be able to smuggle a couple of just-into-the-110s-rated animals into the race. As it was, PEQUENITA, with her 120 rating, missed the cut by a couple.

The only chance of scooping one of the two big prizes therefore lay with DONOVAN, who missed his chasing engagement at Worcester on Wednesday on account of the firm going but squeaked into the Summer Hurdle with bottom weight. And a fine race he ran too at 40/1, finishing only 8.5l adrift in sixth place of a winner rathed 20lb his superior. A first-time visor certainly helped, and had he not demolished the second-last flight when making his charge through the pack he might have made the frame. He is unquestionably in good heart right now and demands a look whether he is turned out over hurdles or fences next time.

BILL'S ECHO looked the likeliest of Guest's sextet to score a victory today, but came off worst in a three-way tussle for victory in the 17.5f Handicap Chase. It was a good performance, just missing out to a race-fit Pipe 5yo who was winning her third chase since March, and an Irish import lit up by his move to Malcolm Jefferson, so compensation should not be too long in coming.

Three Guest animals lined up in the Novices' Hurdle Series Qualifier; none of them impressed especially, although in fairness they had had one run over hurdles between them prior to the contest. DRUMOSSIE, who only beat one home at Perth on debut, earned Concertina Racing a few hundred pounds with his remote fourth, 25l clear of REPENT AT LEISURE in fifth who in turn had fellow debutant DURBA a further 56l behind him. Guest must think plenty of the last-named to have dared to put a £50,000 asking price on the horse, but this run did not give much encouragement that new owner Billy Maguire will be winning any of that back on the course any time soon.

There was one victory to report for the Guest operation, BEAUGENCY finally putting in a good, clear round over fences to give the trainer his third winner in as many days and the horse his first win over jumps in 12 tries over here. Paul O'Neill got after Beaugency on the turn for home and got a good tune out of him up the straight. His recent non-completions make him a less than convincing tool to follow up, but here at least was a bit of a reward for the perseverence of both Guest and owners Gryffindor with him.

Over at Ripon, the latest ex-Vicky Haigh animal to reappear, GENOA STAR, put in a career-best performance to date in the selling stakes, beaten the curious distance of a length and four necks back in sixth. She was done for pace a couple of furlongs out but ran on again, suggesting a slight step up on today's 6f trip might not go amiss.

CATTERICK, 20/7/05
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With all these Flat horses suddenly at his disposal, Richard Guest made two sorties to Flat meets during wb 18/7 with an actual proper team of animals rather than just the one. Not that GENOA STAR, FIENNES or GLENVIEWS SURLAMI made the effort particularly worthwhile, all finishing out of the money. Genoa Star, quickly turned out again four days after her good Ripon run, was only about 1.5l adrift of the third placed horse here in a blanket finish for the minor honours. Her struggling to overhaul these rivals at the death probably had more to do with Fran Norton making too much use of her early on rather than a failure to see out the extra furlong her Ripon run suggested she'd appreciate.

His lowly rating precluding him from most handicap opportunities, Fiennes managed to get a run in the claiming stakes instead, and duly got walloped in ninth place by horses rated - in several cases - over three stone superior to him. Banded racing has to rank as a more credible option for him until he can get his rating up; as a point of fact he was due to go down another 3lb on Saturday 23rd, exactly the opposite of what connections wanted.

Incredibly, Glenviews Surlami had already had three trainers in her five races prior to this first appearance for Richard Guest - Miss I T Oakes in Ireland, Alan Berry and Vicky Haigh. Off a mouldy rating of 30, she is going to prove every bit as hard to win with outside of Banded company as Fiennes, although as a 4yo already campaigned at up to 1m 4f, maybe Guest is keeping her ticking over prior to a try-out over hurdles. She finished fifth of seven here, beaten barely five lengths and still on the premises until 1f out, but the form in this very poor Apprentice Handicap is proabably ultiamtely of very little value.

UTTOXETER, 21/7/05
=================

Richard Guest's one and only jumps raid of the week - can someone explain to me why we had seven jumps cards in five days last wek, and only two in total this, incidentally? - yielded a second, two fifths and two eighths from five runners. BILL'S ECHO acquitted himself best of all in the conclusing 2m Handicap Chase, outbattled over the last two fences to miss out marginally to Tonic du Charmil, a hitherto accident-prone Martin Pipe 5yo which has suddenly remembered how to jump. Your favourite and mine, XAIPETE, was weighted to get a bit closer to the winner than he ultimately did (18l behind in fifth place), and, having dropped to a double-figure rating for the first time in aeons only recently, may still need to be helped a couple more if that elusive eighteenth career victory (and seventeenth for Mason / Guest) is to be realised.

Earlier in the day, YORK RITE was left with too much to do from early on for the second race running, although in this instance it was his own mistake at the fifth fence rather than a slippery bend which undermimed his chance. PEQUENITA led until two out in the 22.5f Handicap Hurdle but was then simply picked off by rivals with more left in the tank. Her hurdles rating is now in the region of 20lb below her burgeoning chasing one, but I maintain she still needs to be campaigned on ground easier than today's good to fim to exploit this.

Finally, BALLYBOE BOY failed to build on his Cartmel victory of a week earlier when well held in eighth in the 2m Handicap Hurdle. Having to cut out the pace, the effects of last week's run, his 7lb penalty and a bad blunder halfway round all conspired to defeat him this time.

NEWCASTLE 23/7/05
================

For the second race running LES ARCS has misfortune at the starting stalls. At least at Hamilton he got a run, though. Today, in an £11,000+ first-prixe contest being shown live on Channel 4, he reared in the stalls, getting himself upset (was the first-time visor not helping, perhaps?) and William Cahill's feet momentarily pinned to the walls of the stalls. A withdrawal without coming under orders ensued.

Prior to this mishap, EUROPEAN DREAM and JORDAN'S LIGHT had offered little sign of promise in finishing eighth and eleventh in a 15-runner 7f Maiden Auction Stakes. Two of the Racing Club horses, FIENNES and REEDSMAN, contested the 7f Apprentice Claiming Stakes. FIENNES actually led until 3f out; were this a ploy to set up the race for his stablemate, it worked until 2f out, for having chased the leaders handily enough Reedsman could only find the one pace from thereon. He still managed a sixth place, though, his second-best ever finish in a Flat race in what ws his first run back over the level for just over a year.

Busy day, if they all run

2005-07-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

Ultimately neither DAN DE LION, DONOVAN nor ASTRONAUT ran, the good to firm ground with firm patches at Worcester ultimately judged too jarring to risk the last two named. BELLA FIORELLA did take her chance at Haydock, but was left behind in the last furlong and finished seventh of the 12 runners.

Safe jumping ground was to be had at Cartmel, however, and BALLYBOE BOY finally came up with the goods to win the Novices' Handicap Hurdle under Larry McGrath, although he might have been a bit fortunate as Richard Ford's Parisienne Gale flattened the last flight and came to a near halt when leading. A win is a win, though, and this was Richard Guest's sixth from 16 runners at the Lakeland track this season alone.

The first appearance of a Richard Guest Racing Club horse proved anticlimactic, however, as FIENNES practically fell out of the stalls and trailed in 18th of 20 runners in the Apprentice Handicap at Doncaster. Without the benefit of a rise in the weights that a win or above-par run might have effected, he is going to go back to struggling to find opportunities, you would have thought. Guest scholars will have noticed that JAHIA, one of the few complete flops from his New Zealand purchases - largely because she could barely stay 6f, never mind a hurdles trip - came home second in this race, only her second start for P T Midgeley since leaving Michael Madgwick. Ouch.

Today should see another appearance from the wonderful NOSAM in the 2m 5.5f Handicap Chase at Southwell - the same race, I believe, Richard Guest won with GATORADE on his first appearance for the yard two years ago - as long as the ground doesn't get too fast. It was down as good, good to firm in places last I looked. COLLEGE CITY is also engaged to run in a 2m 1f Handicap Chase, trying to defy a 7lb penalty for his win last time out, but I personally don't expect to see him take part unless the heavens open or the track has watered a bit too freely.

There's a nice purse to be had at Hamilton tonight, with the latest renewal of the Scottish Stewards Cup over 6f. LES ARCS, now up to a career high mark of 88, takes his chance in this really competitive handicap, the £18,000+ first prize an obvious lure. He won't mind the going as long as it doesn't go to extremes, and he won over a mile here last June. Tony Culhane, who should have been on EUROPEAN DREAM last week before her defection, takes the ride tonight.

Ten minutes before this race over at Pontefract, and a few rungs down the ladder, well-exposed sprinter ROAN RAIDER tries his hand at a trip of a mile for the first time in two years in this, his first outing for Richard Guest. Formerly one of the large number of animals in owner Paul Dixon's portfolio and trained by Mark Polglase, he has been moved to Guest by Mike Tomlinson - latterly a co-owner of the horse but now seemingly totally in charge of him - and he's been doing some nice pieces of work at home (including during the Brancepeth Open Day). Fran Norton has the ride.

Uttox and Cartmel and Donny

2005-07-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

I've just noticed that DAN DE LION did not take his chance at Uttoxeter today after all; no idea why not just yet.

As regards tomorrow's racing, Richard Guest has a runner at both Cartmel over the jumps and Doncaster on the Flat. BALLYBOE BOY will be looking to build on his slight improvement last time out when lining up in the 17.5f Novices' Handicap Hurdle which opens Cartmel's barbecue meeting (for which, incidentally, it has never yet not rained!). It's only a Class F and the opposition isn't great, so there could be a place finish in the offing if he takes to this singular racecourse. Larry McGrath rides.

Unfortunately REEDSMAN missed the cut in Cartmel's Selling Handicap Hurdle, a maximum field of 16 having been declared for which the bottom weight is rated 77 - Reedsman currently runs off 74. This would have represented the first outing of a Richard Guest Racing Club horse since the Club was re-ignited a couple of weeks ago. However, the delay is only temporary, because - praise the skies - FIENNES has finally managed to get into a race! He is one of a maximum field of 20 to line up for a pretty grisly 0-55 Apprentice Handicap at Donny, and for once there have been enough defectors from the original entry to let him in with his very lowly rating of 37. Time to test Richard Guest's assertion that this is as ludicrously low and totally exploitable a mark as he says it is.... the horse will be blinkered for the first time, but no jockey has been declared as yet.

Shoe-in at Worcester?

2005-07-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

It has been chalked in for some time now, but tonight DONOVAN finally has a second attempt at steeplechase fences in a 2 mile Handicap Chase at Worcester, and I personally think it's barring accidents for him and Larry McGrath. He gets into the race off a mark of 84, compared to a current rating over timber of 109. That rating was given to him on the basis of one solitary run over fences in a handicap chase at Hereford fifteen months ago, in which he jumped awfully and was pulled up at halfway. However, this New Zealander had not fully acclimatised to UK conditions at that stage, and was having a pop over fences to try to salvage something from a very poor first season under Rules over here. Can't argue too much with the form he's shown since then, however, racking up four victories over a variety of surfaces and collecting over £25,000 prizemoney in so doing. In short, he hasn't run in as lowly a race as a Class F over hurdles for some time now, and after tonight I don't think he'll be getting into any further Class F chases either.

ASTRONAUT also makes an appearance tonight, his first since being acquired in a selling hurdle at Uttoxeter a short while ago. It will be much the best race he has lined up in for years, being a Class D Handicap Hurdle, but the going and 2m 4f trip should be alright. Henry Oliver rides him for Paul Beck.

Earlier in the day at Uttoxeter, DAN DE LION has yet another attempt at breaking his duck, this time in a CJ Selling Handicap Hurdle which looks no better or worse than most of its kind. Paul O'Neill takes the ride and 3lb off his back. The horse's owner Malcolm Niall Imray, incidentally, appears to be one of the Brancepeth staff, along with his relation (wife? sister?) Jane. Malcolm was doing a lot of the guiding-people-away-from-under-horses'-feet at the Open Day.

Finally, Richard Guest also has one runner under The Other Code at Haydock, with another ex-Vicky Haigh 2yo, BELLA FIORELLA, lining up in a Median Auction Stakes. No obvious reason to suspect she is going to improve on four well-beaten efforts to date, but Frankie McDonald - good value for his 3lb claim - is a useful jockey booking.

Catch-up

2005-07-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

It occurs to me that the Brancepeth results of the last ten days or so have not been reported in these pages, so herewith a necessarily quick run-through;

WORCESTER and PERTH, 29/6/05
==========================

The ground was officially good but probably running a bit softer than that, which should have played right into the hands of JIMMY BYRNE in the CJ Novices' Handicap Hurdle. Unfortuately he belted one of the French hurdles (never a good idea) when making his move down the back straight the final time, and could never finish closer than fifth in the end.

HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW and WHAT'S A FILLY both contested the Novices' Handicap Chase, the latter making her debut over fences. She showed no immediate aptitude for the larger obstacles, pulling up at halfway, whilst her stablemate was a well-held seventh. The ground may not have been as fast as he liked.

PEQUENITA did have her ground, but she pulled up halfway round in the Class C handicap hurdle, and looks to have done quite enough for the time being after seven runs since the end of April.

Meanwhile up at Perth, BALLYBOE BOY put in his best effort since joining Richard Guest in the 2m 4.5f Novices' Handicap Hurdle, although a 10.5l beating in a Class E event is hardly world-beating form just yet. The stable dodgepot YORK RITE was comfortably beaten on his first run for three months, although in fairness slithering badly on the bend after just four fences did for him before the race had begun in earnest.

PERTH, 30/6/05
=============

DRUMOSSIE, now evidently part of Concertina Racing's ever-increasing portfolio, pulled up no trees at all in finishing last of fourteen finishers in the novices' hurdle (his UK debut). Mark you, Concertina had to endure a thin first season with DONOVAN as well and, four wins and a sack of prizemoney later, that seems to have been patience well rewarded. Having won a classified event at Worcester in May when uncharacteristically held up at the back, Larry McGrath attempted the same tactics on APADI in the Handicap Chase here but was done for speed on this much sharper track and came home well held in fifth. The rain-softened going would not have been entirely suitable.

UTTOXETER, 5/7/05
================

Once again advertising the virtues of keeping some of your swamp donkeys on the go during the summer months in anticipation of occasional deluges, heavy rain turned Uttoxeter's fast ground into good to soft, and with it gave COLLEGE CITY and WHAT'S A FILLY a much greater chance in the 2m Handicap Chase. This College City duly took with both hands, although his stablemate was arguably going better when firing Henry Oliver out of the saddle two from home.

Despite being in his fourth season at Brancepeth, this was only College City's second win - the other being in a heavy-ground selling hurdle at Newcastle - and Guest's first win at Uttoxeter since CERESFIELD landed a CJ Handicap Chase 21 months ago, despite dozens of attempts since. Doubtless the winner's none more sporting connections the Kenny family - a large assortment of husbands, wives and kids all decked out in versions of the horse's yellow and brown silks - will have enjoyed victory as much as they always do. It also gave Barry Keniry a first win for Guest with his second ride (the first was on LORD DUNDEE at Rasen last summer). Although good mates for a long time, opportunity has not presented itself for Keniry to ride too often for Guest, and he only got the call here after Larry McGrath fell sick.

DONCASTER (Flat), 7/7/05
====================

EUROPEAN DREAM and JORDAN'S LIGHT were both due to have their first runs for Richard Guest since being acquired with the Vicky Haigh operation, but the former failed to line up (circumstances unconfirmed). Jordan's Light finished 6.75l back in sixth place in this 7f Novice Median Auction Stakes for 2yos, but never looked like landing a blow at any stage. Mickey Fenton was the rider, his first ride for Guest. Tony Culhane was supposed to have partnered European Dream.

STRATFORD and PERTH, 10/7/05
==========================

Two runners at opposite(ish) ends of the country, but no joy with either. HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW found nothing for pressure when asked to go on in his 2m Handicap Chase at Perth, eventually finishing 21.25l adrift in eighth on ground which should have suited. He does not look as promising over the bigger obstacles as he did over timber earlier in the season. BEAUGENCY, meanwhile, made it two failures to finish on the spin over the fences when falling at halfway in his 2m 5.5f Novices' Handicap Chase at Stratford. He's been out of the contest too early on in these last two races to say how he would have fared, but with no wins from 11 in this country now, he's becoming expensive to follow.

Tom Halliday

2005-07-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

Brancepethfan is shocked and saddened to learn of the death on Sunday of Tom Halliday, the 20 year-old conditional jockey attached to Sue Smith's yard. He was killed after his mount, Smith's inmate Rush 'N' Run, appeared to roll over him in the immediate aftermath of a fall at the third last flight of a hurdle race at Market Rasen. He never regained consciousness after the incident and news of his death had already filtered back to the jockeys' changing rooms before the end of racing, leaving all present totally devastated.

Halliday's first ride under Rules was for Richard Guest around fifteen months ago, partnering Red Marsala in an amateur riders' handicap hurdle at Ayr. He later turned professional and had ridden four winners in total before his untimely and tragic accident. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this terrible time.

Brancepeth Open Day

2005-07-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

I’ve just this minute come back from no lesser place than Brancepeth Manor Farm, which today saw the staging of an Open Day on behalf of Carrie Humble’s admirable Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre. You won’t have seen any mention of this on Brancepethfan before, and with good reason – I only found out about the thing when channel-hopping yesterday, and just caught an announcement during the only 60 seconds or so of Channel 4 Racing I watched! Never mind, a crowd of around 300 of us did turn up, and enjoyed the dry, sunny weather, if not the accompanying strong wind which never seems too far away in this exposed part of Co. Durham.

As usual, Richard Guest and his team proved themselves to be most congenial and accommodating hosts, with field upon field of happy, healthy horses overlooking proceedings and bearing testimony to his sympathetic, close-to-nature handling of them. It was good to see the likes of ONE DAY and LORD DUNDEE, for so long out with injury, on the list provided of horses out in the fields and seemingly back on their way to full fitness ahead of new campaigns in the near future.

A resume of the Open Day’s most significant events follows;

RICHARD GUEST RACING CLUB

Briefly operational last autumn, this has been relaunched primarily as a fundraising outlet for the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre. An initial five horses – FIENNES, MERSEY MIRAGE, REEDSMAN, VALERUN and WHY THE LONG FACE (the last-named therefore released from the ownership of Richard Guest’s former chauffeur Mike Rogers) – will represent the Club on the racecourse, wearing the same silks the Club used before, which also double up as those of Guest as an owner-trainer.

Any winnings earned at the end of each year in excess of the horses’ training costs will be passed onto the TRC. Club members won’t get any prizemoney themselves, but a number of free owners’ passes will be made available for each meeting at which a Club horse runs, allocated to members by means of a draw as soon as overnight declarations are made. The first runner for the Club will be REEDSMAN, who impressed sufficiently in the gallops exercise this morning.

HORSES FOR SALE

Although Club animals for the time being, all five horses listed above except for Reedsman are also regarded as available for sale at present, along with the former Australian pair DURBA and GUERILLA (neither of whom attracted a sale when advertised on http://bloodstock.tv , but are probably better acclimatised animals now than then anyway); the former Penny Overy-owned MOSCOW LEADER, who is fighting fit after recovering from an injury sustained at Market Rasen last autumn; the former Bob Johnson-trained UPSWING, who will be partnered by Kenny Johnson irrespective of whoever ends up owning him (an eminently sensible move); and two of the recent purchases from the Doncaster Sales, JODANTE and SHANNON’S PRIDE, who are both slated to run in handicap chases this season.

Some of these may have already gone by the time you read this, but if not, the asking prices for each are as follows;

Guerilla; £ 55,000
Durba; £ 50,000
Why the Long Face; £ 25,000
Shannon’s Pride; £ 22,000
Jodante; £ 18,000
Moscow Leader; £ 15,000
Valerun; £ 10,000
Upswing; £ 8,000
Fiennes; £ 5,000
Mersey Mirage; £ 4,000
Un-named 4yo gelding by Pasternak out of Half Irish; £ 25,000
Un-named 4yo gelding by Jendali out of Carly-J; £ 15,000

NB Please do NOT mail Brancepethfan with sales enquiries regarding these horses; this is a fan blog only and I have no means of communicating any interest in them to the Guest operation.

GALLOPS EXERCISE

Durba, Fiennes, Guerilla, Mersey Mirage and Reedsman all took in a piece of exercise, work rider Ciaran pleased enough with the last-named to confirm to Guest that the boss should let the horse take his chance at Uttoxeter on Tuesday. In addition, there were pieces of work from a trio of horses on the way back and due to feature in entries in the next few weeks, namely FREE WILL, NORTH LANDING and SOVIET SOCIETY; also from winning chaser BILL’S ECHO (after he had dumped his work-rider Bev early on, Guest’s 76 year-old father having ridden him with no such misfortune previously!); newcomer to this stable ROAN RAIDER; and two un-named 2yos (an Intikhab colt and a Swain colt).

HORSES PARADING

The two un-named 4yos, plus Jodante, Moscow Leader, Upswing, Valerun and Why the Long Face all paraded (along with a very unruly – and admittedly only half-broken – but stunning 2yo grey Environment Friend colt), but it was the mixture of stable stars and old favourites which got more appreciative gasps from the audience. Guest himself partnered RED MARAUDER, 15 years young and clearly enjoying his dotage at Brancepeth Manor Farm; followed by NOSAM, also 15yo but still in active service and an absolute gent to the child half his age to whom he was giving a ride.

LES ARCS (some race in Dubai), TYNEANDTHYNEAGAIN (John Smiths and Midland Nationals), RED STRIKER (John Smiths National), OUR ARMAGEDDON (all the big 2m 4f Cheltenham handicaps) and XAIPETE all followed, Guest describing himself as “the only person yet to have given up on Red Striker” before confirming the horses’ respective targets as indicated in the brackets.

Star of the show, however, was undoubtedly DESERT ORCHID, generously supplied for the day by owner Richard Burridge – now of course represented at Brancepeth by BLACK SMOKE and CHAOS THEORY (and previously (and briefly) by the delinquent ZAPATA HIGHWAY), though both of those horses were absent from Brancepeth today and are presumably enjoying their holidays back home with Burridge). He was kind enough to share a few memories with the audience during the chat session as the dazzling 26yo grey paraded round, describing Dessie as a “complete tart” where days like this are concerned, and the horse was still patiently allowing photos to be taken of himself with families and individuals well into mid-afternoon.

CHAT

As well as Richard Burridge’s reminiscences and Carrie Humble’s praising of Richard Guest’s commitment to the quality of equine welfare both during and after his horses’ racing careers, Guest himself confirmed the setting up of a satellite yard for his Flat horses in Bawtry, near Doncaster. Given the number of her horses now appearing under Guest’s name, it might be more accurate to describe the yard and its assets as bidded for and acquired from previous incumbent Vicky Haigh, but finer details are awaited on this. Suffice it to say that all of Guest’s Flat operations will move there in the next 12 months or so.

I must say hello to the two gentlemen from the FLY BY NIGHT SYNDICATE with whom I had a nice chat whilst touring round Guest’s stables as the Day drew to a close. I hope you enjoy an upturn in fortunes with BALLYBOE BOY soon, chaps; although he’s not covered himself with too much glory so far, his run at Perth on Wednesday back over hurdles ought to have served as a confidence booster, and let’s hope there’s a small fast-ground chase for him some time soon.

Near-miss at Rasen, no joy at Uttox

2005-06-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Two of the four runners intended to take their chances at Market Rasen on Friday did so in the end. Unfortunately DIAMOND CUTTER failed the vet before running; a shame, as the ground - officially good, but riding more like good to soft after biblical storms in the Midlands that day - would have suited him infinitely better than the good to firm he did turn out on at Uttoxeter two days later (see below). DAN DE LION was a non-runner on account of the ground, apparently - odd, as he too prefers give.

Those that did run were REEDSMAN in the selling handicap hurdle and JIMMY BYRNE in the novices' handicap hurdle. Reedsman once again did himself few favours by refusing to settle early on, and had defeated himself by three from home. He trailed in 36.5l adrift in eighth place, and the modicum of promise shown at Hexham a couple of runs ago hasn't been built on since. Jimmy Byrne, however, put in a very encouraging performance on his first run for Richard Guest since being moved by Keith Middleton from Brian Ellison. Lit up by a first-time visor, and appreciative of the rain-softened going, he was sent clear by Henry Oliver three out, and was only headed by a progressive James Hetherton mare on the run-in. He is engaged again at Worcester on Wednesday, and if the forecast rain does arrive by then and ensure going no faster than good, he makes obvious appeal.

The same rain that had doused Market Rasen on Friday took any jar out of the going at Uttoxeter today, and the Summer National meeting was played out on perfect summer jumping ground, i.e. safe good to firm. Richard Guest sent three horses into battle, and came back home with four, but alas no prizemoney - frankly none of his runners came close to scoring.

The most disturbing performance was that of BEAVER in the opening hurdle. A Group 1 Flat horse in Australia two years ago, he would have won on his hurdling debut at Southwell in January but for taking the last hurdle by - um, well, if portable hurdles had roots he would have taken the last hurdle by them, suffice it to say he blundered it particularly badly. On his only run since then, at Kelso in May, he pulled up with a breathing problem and, alas, it resurfaced today despite the application of a first-time tonguestrap. He trailed in eleventh, a comprehensively beaten favourite, and connections have a bit of head-scratching to do here.

What should be less of a problem for them to get their heads round is this; a short trip on fast ground is NOT what Pequenita needs. She ran in the Class C two mile handicap chase and put in a performance very similar to that she did on fast ground at Southwell over just a furlong further three runs ago; basically scaring herself silly on a surface she didn't like and pulling up after seven fences. This was her first run for four weeks, and I had presumed she'd been put away in anticipation of a soggy autumn. Was Guest pot-hunting in running her here? If so, why didn't something like BILL'S ECHO or LIK WOOD POWER, who would both have got into the race on their ratings and would have liked the prevailing going, even get a five-day entry in Pequenita's stead?

DIAMOND CUTTER ran as well as could be expected in the handicap hurdle, given that the ground here wasn't nearly as favourable as it would have been at Rasen. He was there with every chance entering the straight, but was thereafter outsprinted by horses happier on the surface and finished eighth in the end.

As expected, Richard Guest's lead in the trainer's championship has been overhauled now by That Bloke From Nicholashayne during this past fortnight of few runners, but at least last weekend's haul at Hexham helped delay the inevitable until a few days ago. That the big £40,000+ prize at Uttoxeter today went to Charlie Mann's Rheindross helped stop any of the big guns sprint away, as his season's prizemoney wins prior to that were still only in the low £20,000s. Up until today's racing, the table looked like this, and judging by today's results won't have altered significantly;

Pipe £156,483.21
Guest £148,565.50
Nicholls £119.869.30
Hobbs £116,619.88

Speaking of money, and going back to the £6,000 Guest shelled out today, he is now the proud owner of ASTRONAUT, claimed from Martin Pipe (who also owned him) after finishing third in today's 2m 6.5f selling handicap hurdle. Although a 3yo maiden winner on the all-weather for William Haggas in 2000, he had been of very little account subsequently until landing a selling handicap hurdle - again at Uttoxeter, but over 2m 4.5f this time - in August 2003. Pipe paid £6,000 for him that day, and the horse has improved for the discipline of hunting and point-to-pointing, winning three opens this year (since the Easter weekend, at that) having had a season off since that hurdle win. He is completely unraced over regulation steeplechase fences so makes obvious appeal as an animal to pitch into moderately-contested summer novices' chases, albeit with the caveat that he's got rotten legs and will need all of Guest's talents to keep him sound.

This coming week has started much like last with FIENNES missing the cut of yet another race, this time a 0-55 6f handicap at Wolverhampton. He was fully 9lb away from the cut this time, and it's looking increasingly unlikely he is going to find an opportunity outside of Banded Racing in the near future, with every Class 5 and 6 handicap so well patronised by trainers of moderate horses. No such problems with the jumps, however, with cards at Perth on Wednesday and Thursday and Worcester on Wednesday likely to offer Guest plenty of opportunities for the barrel-load of runners he has declared;

WORCESTER, Wednesday
====================

Entries for BALLYBOE BOY, DIAMOND CUTTER, DONOVAN, HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW, JIMMY BYRNE, PEQUENITA, WHAT'S A FILLY and XAIPETE (2).

PERTH, Wednesday
================

Entries for BALLYBOE BOY (2), NOSAM, PEQUENITA, WHAT'S A FILLY and YORK RITE.

PERTH, Thursday
===============

Entries for APADI, BALLYBOE BOY, BEAVER, COLLEGE CITY, DONOVAN, DRUMOSSIE, HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW, WHAT'S A FILLY and XAIPETE.

There are some major points of interest here. Firstly, ALL of the declarations for WHAT'S A FILLY are over fences, and would therefore represent a chasing debut for her were she to take up any of them. BALLYBOE BOY, DONOVAN and HE'S HOT RIGHT NOW are engaged in chases only as well, Donovan's return to chasing - one feeble attempt at Hereford fifteen months ago his only attempt to date - having been mooted by Guest a few weeks ago. Conversely, all of XAIPETE's entries are over hurdles; one of these in a Class C handicap, but the others in a selling and claiming hurdle. I know the chances of a 13yo with pins in his leg actually being claimed in one of these races is very remote, but I wish Guest would stop tempting fate by entering him in these races - it's not good for my nerves! Finally, DRUMOSSIE is another ex-New Zealand animal, and one whom Guest first advertised for sale to a potential owner or syndicate of owners by the innovative bloodstock.tv website last autumn. The Racing Post website, however, indicates that he will start out as an owner-trained animal.

Wednesday - Sunday resume

2005-06-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

A bit to catch up on from the last few days, then.

OOH AH CAMARA did not take her chance at Royal Ascot at York on Wednesday after all, Richard Guest apparently sharing the view of several trainers that that and Tuesday's ground at the Knavesmire - ostensibly good to firm but very loose and skiddy on top - was too horrible to race horses on. She did, however, line up in the Group 3 Albany Stakes, a 6f sprint for fillies, two days later. The ground was "proper" good to firm by then, and ultimately not to her liking, as she hung left ill at ease on it, eventually finishing about 11.5l back in seventh. She will be of interest back on softer ground, although there's no obvious prospect of her getting that for now.

The two Worcester entries mentioned last time did take their chances, however. Predictably DAN DE LION was beaten hollow in the seller, finishing 15th of 16 finishers. He is going to remain hard to win with, especially whilst the ground continues to ride this fast. Good old XAIPETE ran another sterling race in defeat, however, given the Plan A ride by Larry McGrath of being held up before advancing inside the last third of the race. He encountered some trouble in running when another rival unseated three from home and hampered him badly in so doing, but for which he would have finished even closer than a 9.5l length fourth place. Next time, Xaipete. You'll see.

Thursday evening saw a visit to Aintree, for the revival of a June evening meeting the course had hosted a couple of years ago but dropped quickly. I must say the prospect of horses pelting around the Mildmay Course - to my mind a horrid, lethal gaff masquerading as a classy track - on fast ground has always terrified me on equine welfare grounds. There were few worries on this occasion, however, as (i) earlier rain had turned the going to a mixture of good and good to soft, (ii) the only Guest runner on the card, BEAUGENCY, managed to last just two fences of the novices' handicap chase before unseating Larry. However, it was good to see Tim Vaughan, so long a stalwart of the point-to-point riders' ranks, scoring a win in that race with Lonesome Man, the first runner he has sent out from his Bridgend yard since gaining his permit to train.

And so to today's action. Three declarations at Hexham became two, as DIAMOND CUTTER was pulled out of the closing novices' hurdle on account of the fast ground, thereby depriving Henry Oliver of his first ride for eight days (well, if you won't go looking for outside opportunities in the meantime, Henry...). WET LIPS did take his chance in the extended 2m 4f novices' chase, though, and after swapping the lead with Dad's Elect (would have been an apposite winner on Father's Day, perhaps?) from the Ian Williams yard from halfway onwards, scooted clear at the last to break his duck over fences at the third attempt.

The win takes Wet Lips' career earnings past £35,000, but this was still only his second ever career win in the UK. He's not ungenuine, rather, he has been higher tried than the majority of Richard Guest's New Zealand horses over hurdles the last two seasons and has frequently found one or two too good. That one previous win was certainly worth it, however; an ingenious bit of riding from Henry saw him scoot a mile clear from flagfall in a Class C hurdle at Musselburgh, Henry wanting to test whether odds-on shot Altay - then rated 129 and the winner of the Swinton Hurdle the May before - could concede 25lb and chase him down in a sprint for home. He couldn't, and Wet Lips and connections went home £10,000 better off. He also got nearly £9,000 for finishing second in last season's Totesport Summer Hurdle, and, now his effectiveness over 2m 4f looks more assured than twelve months ago, one wonders whether Guest will be aiming him for the same Market Rasen meeting in mid-July this year, albeit fot a crack at the Summer Plate this time.

The win nudged Larry onto the nine-winner mark for the season, already within five of his total for last term, which never got going after that succession of injuries during the summer. Seven of these winners have been for Guest, the other two for Richard "Forest Gunner" Ford, for whom he's two from two on Croc An Oir. Like Wet Lips, Croc An Oir is owned by Concertina Racing, who have moved the horse to Ford from Venetia Williams this season. I wonder if messrs Tyrell, Lennon et al had a say in Larry's deployment on the horse. Ford looks keen to be exploiting Croc An Oir's lenient hurdles mark - it was 34lb lower than his current chase mark before the first of those two victories, and is still 14lb lower even after reassessment following the second of them.

Back to Guest's runners at Hexham, BILL'S ECHO got back on track - after his UR over fences here last week - in the extended two mile handicap hurdle when chasing home a Jimmy Lambe tartar to within six lengths. He has never won over hurdles and is rated over a stone lower over them than fences, the problem during his first stint over timber seeming to be an absence of sufficient speed to get truly competitive over the minimum trip. It may not be coincidental that this personal best finish over hurdles has come at a particularly stiff track - what a shame that, with no further meetings at Hexham now until September, there are no stiff tracks in operation at all now for some three months. Might need to be a step up in trip somewhere else for Bill's Echo next time up, then.

Looking to the week ahead, there are once again relatively few engagements for Guest horses to which to look forward. 37-rated Flat sprinter FIENNES is getting balloted out of race after race; his latest disappointment is failing to make the cut in a race at Nottingham tomorrow, and he's only 39th in the list of 42 acceptors for a race at Beverley on Tuesday, so don't hold your breath for that one, either. Assuming he doesn't make it into that contest, the earliest we can expect to see any Guest runner in action next will be Market Rasen's Friday card, wherein DAN DE LION (2), REEDSMAN (2), WET LIPS, BILL'S ECHO, DIAMOND CUTTER, JIMMY BYRNE and BEAUGENCY all hold engagements. Diamond Cutter's race is one of the best of a decent card, a Class C handicap hurdle over 17.5f . It being his handicap debut, he has been alloted a rating of 107, which Guest might think is a bit excessive given how soft the race he won at Cartmel was. Jimmy Byrne is a new name to the Brancepeth ranks, having been campaigned on the Flat and over hurdles by Brian Ellison until April. A clue to his arrival here might be that his owner, now as then, is Ceresfield's owner Keith Middleton. As that mare continues to struggle for form and fitness, is Jimmy Byrne intended to run from Brancepeth as well as or instead of her?

Ooh Ah, York runn-ah!

2005-06-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

An interesting development which can only have happened in the last 24 hours or so is that owner Willie McKay - who already has LES ARCS and ADMIRAL at Brancepeth - has moved his 2yo filly OOH AH CAMARA at very short notice from his main flat trainer, Vicky Haigh in Bawtry, to the care of Richard Guest. The horse's first run for Guest? Oh, just in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot At York this afternoon!

She comes into the race with a lively enough chance - she's trading at around 7/1 - although she's had a very busy season so far, with seven runs inlcuding one in Capannelle, Italy, last time out. One big thing in her favour, though, is that her two wins to date have been on ground at least as bad as good to soft, and if it's tanking it down in York anything like it is here in Birmingham just now, this is going to aid her cause no end. John Egan, who was on board when she won a £12k+ conditions stakes at Chester, again takes the ride.

You may remember an odd 2yo race at Doncaster in March, wherein Guest's horse GARLOGS - whom he'd only claimed from Mick Channon a couple of days earlier - won a seller in McKay's colours. That horse was won at auction, but Guest then claimed the third home, PARIS ST GERMAIN, who was another McKay-owned animal in training with Haigh! Musical stables, but with cash involved. Guest has yet to run this horse.

Away from the top hats and tails, DAN DE LION is turned out again quickly in the selling handicap hurdle at Worcester, as I suspected he might. The rain in the Midlands will have aided his cause, but this is a very good event of its kind, with several of the 20 runners entering the race in winning or decent form, so I can't imagine he's going to step up on Saturday's tame effort at Hexham.

Also at Worcester today, my absolute favourite horse in the yard, XAIPETE, turns out for the 2m 4.5f handicap chase; and if nothing would give Guest more pleasure than to see NOSAM win again, then another victory for Xaipete would run it pretty close. He's still after that elusive 18th career victory (a 17th for the Mason / Guest franchise), but after a couple of below-par efforts around Easter, he's reverted to his usual honest, consistent, banker for a place finish, and the handicapper has also started to relent a little more (the horse hasn't run over fences off 101 for a while). He gets in off bottom weight here, with good reason, as it's a fair little handicap, and I wish him the very best in his quest for a first victory in 21 months (and his first over fences for 28).

Hexham disappointment and VERY quiet week ahead

2005-06-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

NOSAM didn't take his chance in the end, so it was left to BILL'S ECHO and DAN DE LION to try to add to Richard Guest's score for the season. Alas, Bill's Echo lasted just four fences before giving Larry McGrath no chance of staying on board with a major blunder. This was the horse's first non-completion over fences, but I expect we'll see him out again pretty quickly as he'd hardly had much of a race.

Dan De Lion was beaten 38.5l into tenth place in the Class F handicap hurdle, and doesn't look much like a winner in waiting on that evidence. He is next entered in a selling handicap hurdle at Worcester on Wednesday night along with Reedsman; apart from these, the only other engagements for Richard Guest animals between now and Friday are a couple of possibles for the wonderful veteran XAIPETE on the same card, one for BEAUGENCY at Aintree the following night, and a couple at either end of the week in Flat sprint handicaps for FIENNES.

Ostensibly this light week's campaign leaves Guest vulnerable to having his lead at the top of the jumps trainers' table wrested from him by any of the usual protagonists, but let's not lose sight of the fact that - much as I admire the operation - this lead is very much an inflated, false position borne of keeping so many of his early spring horses on the go for as long as he has (and plenty of the soft ground horses at that, in the hope that courses like Cartmel stayed boggy, which this time round they did). Some of them could do with a rest now, or even be put away until the autumn - the likes of Flintoff, Pequenita and He's Hot Right Now, in particular, don't owe him anything more this summer - so a quietening down for a couple of weeks is probably no bad thing.

Nosam at Hexham!

2005-06-11T00:53:00.000-07:00

Not got much time to do a preview, as I've left it rather late in the evening and I'm off to a point-to-point at Chaddelsey Corbett tomorrow. However, if you're anywhere near Hexham - or a bookies screen showing it - be sure to cheer on that grand old campaigner NOSAM in the 2m 4.5f handicap chase. At 15 he is one of the oldest animals left in training, and his rating of 88 is fuly 22lb lower than the last one off which he won at Sedgefield 21 months ago. However, his enthusiasm for the game is uttely undiminished, and he is Richard Guest's favourite horse in the whole yard, having been responsible for sorting out his headbanging ways nearly a decade ago and being his trainer or assistant trainer ever since. The race is not great, despite the large field, and the ground should be perfect. Fingers crossed that he can reproduce the form that saw him finish fourth - beaten only one length - in a blanket finish at Fakenham two runs ago.

The likeliest winner of Guest's three runners at the Northumberland track is almost certainly BILL'S ECHO, who improved dramatically for the switch to fences last year and picked up two contests at Bangor-on-Dee. His is the best race on the card, a tight little contest between half a dozen or so animals almost level on official ratings, but he ought to be bang on for this following an encouraging return in a handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter a week last Sunday, in which he finished an in-touch fifth out of a very big field.

The other runner is DAN DE LION, back for his fourth run this season. He has not really taken to steeplechase fences the last twice, finishing out of the money on both occasions, but before that he had put in a career best effort when fourth in a bad Towcester handicap hurdle over the minimum trip. This return to timber presents him with many of those conditions once again, such as fast ground and a stiff two miles, but he still doesn't leap out particularly as a winner in waiting from the 19-strong field.

May purchases and Uttoxeter no-show

2005-06-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

First things first - neither READY TO RUMBLE nor TIPSY MOUSE got a run at Uttoxeter this evening as Richard Guest was suitably unhappy with the state of the ground. He has run animals on ground faster than the good to firm of tonight's card as recently as last week (Hexham was firm), but I imagine the state of tonight's good to firm cannot have been that safe in comparison.

I didn't see any of tonight's racing, but there have been at least three occasions I know of since last September where Uttoxeter meetings have been played out on poor ground with numerous obstacles dolled off. Two consecutive meetings I attended in September were blighted by faulty drainage, resulting in false ground and fences omitted; and last Thursday, although the steady rain had admittedly turned the going to soft, the disruption to the course proper was disproportionately high, with stacks of guard rails placed everywhere to help horses avoid large areas of bad ground again evidently created in the same areas as in September. Is everyone connected with the course starting to lose the plot without the late Sir Stanley Clarke presiding over matters? Recent beefs to the press, such as the relaying of continuous adverts over the PA system, and the permitting of alcohol to be taken into the stands, indicate the course's behaviour is starting to irritate the public, and too many more rotten surfaces are going to have certain trainers thinking twice about returning to the track in a hurry too.

And relax.

As promised last night, herewith a list of all the purchases Richard Guest made at the Tattersalls Doncaster Sales from May 24th - 26th. They certainly bear repeating as there are a few particularly eyecatching buys among them, although I personally think it's asking a lot of Shotgun Willy - very much a stayer on the downgrade, rising 12, and with the silliest walk in the racing world - to justify even having 16,000gns spent on him. Watch him prove me wrong this autumn now! All bar Upswing were bought in the ring, he being a private purchase from Bob Johnson away from the action at some stage of the Sales. All prices are given in guineas;

May 24th
4yo b g Epervier Bleu - Falcon Crest (unraced and un-named); 75,000gns.

May 25th
Upswing; 3,500gns

May 26th
Chivalry; 50,000gns
Tipsy Mouse; 22,000gns
Shotgun Willy; 16,000gns
Shannon's Pride; 13,000gns
St Pirran; 10,000gns
Jodante; 10,000gns
Yvanovitch; 6,600gns

In total 206,100gns were blown on nine horses in three days, and the 75,000gns shelled out for the Epervier Bleu 4yo represents a new Brancepeth record for the most money paid for a horse by either Richard Guest or Norman Mason before him. The previous high was the 60,000gns paid for Admiral last October. Chivalry's 50,000gns price-tag installs him as the third priciest Brancepeth purchase ever. Discussion on racing forums seems to suggest Guest will campaign Chivalry as a top-class novices' chaser this term... but didn't Graham Wylie and Howard Johnson discard him primarily because it was thought he'd be too quirky to take to fences? This could be interesting...

Uttoxeter Thursday

2005-06-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Another summer week, another Uttoxeter evening meeting, and Richard Guest has two horses declared. READY TO RUMBLE made a reasonable reappearance from a winter break when finishing sixth at Kelso last month, but looks to have it all on off bottom weight in the 2m handicap hurdle. I was surprised when Guest brought him back from New Zealand, as he had far more miles on the clock than most of the animals he sources from down there - 50 Flat runs spread over five seasons and a thoroughly exposed look about him in that discpline. As he's already an 8yo, a switch to fences really ought not be long in coming.

The other runner for Guest tomorrow is far more intriguing, being TIPSY MOUSE, a full brother to 1995 Grand National winner Royal Athlete and until three weeks ago a Trevor Hemmings-owned inmate of Sue Smith's yard. He looked to have a cracking future ahead of him in marathon chases during 2003-4, but it seemed the strain of all those big runs over 3m - 4m caught up with him last season, and he was still struggling at the end of it even after being dropped nearly a stone in the ratings. No matter, he wouldn't be the first jaded animal Guest has breathed new life back into if he improves again for his handling, and his introduction tomorrow - in a 3m Class D handicap chase - seems reasonable enough. Alistair Whitehouse-Jones of the Racing Post rightly makes the point that the likely fast surface really ought not inconvenience him too much, given his sibling's preference for it (another full sibling, Lambrini Bianco, is an improving animal and landed a Southwell chase on good to firm last month) and despite him having run mostly on soft recently. I do seem to recall him landing a Hexham chase on the first day of the 2003-4 season, and it was definitely riding good or faster that day.

Tipsy Mouse was one of numerous purchases from the Tattersalls Doncaster Sales in the final week of May, and there were quite a few high-profile horses inamongst those now residing at Brancepeth - Wylie / Johnson cast-off Chivalry, former Grand Annual winner St Pirran and formeryl useful staying chaser Shotgun Willy to name but three. This seems as good a point as any for me to dig out the list of these purchases, so I'll out this in the next entry I do.

Gryffindor pair do alright...

2005-06-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

BEAUGENCY and DIAMOND CUTTER both managed to win small bits of prizemoney in their respective races at Market Rasen this afternoon. BEAUGENCY again jumped well on his second run over fences, and, having been held up in touch in the way Larry McGrath likes to ride so many of this mounts, was sent into the lead two from home. However, this proved to be a lead he could not sustain very long, and he tied up rather up the run-in to come in 6.5l adrift in fourth place. Whether it was the trip that got him, I'm not sure - this was the furthest he has run over to date, but this was a sedately run race over one of the less taxing 2m 6.5fs you'll come across. Maybe his breathing problems resurfaced close home, and if so, it could be that a tonguestrap will be added to the cheekpieces he already sports next time out,

DIAMOND CUTTER's win at Cartmel recently was a bit soft, and he probably achieved as much today in getting within 5l of the winner on ground far livelier than he has been used to thus far. As with his UK debut - and as with so many of the yard's New Zealand horses, it seems - he pulled fearsomely early on and got tapped for toe when the race sped up coming up the straight, but he ran on again up the run-in, and might appreciate just a little bit further than the 17.5f he's encountered this last twice.

Chester omission - and a win at that!

2005-06-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

One of the pitfalls of following such a heavily jumps-oriented stable is that it is easy to overlook its few Flat ventures when they take place. To that end I completely managed to miss the fact that Flat mainstay LES ARCS had a run in a handicap at Chester on Tuesday evening at the same time there were a couple of Richard Guest animals in action in the more familiar territory of Huntingdon. Not only that, whilst Reedsman and Ballyboe Boy were floundering at that track, Les Arcs was scoring his second win on the bounce and his fourth in total for Guest and owner Willie Mackay.

It sounded like an eventful race, as one of his rivals fly-jumped the starting stalls, unseating his rider in the process, and the loose horse's attentions to the field were close enough that he crossed the line together with Les Arcs, having trodden all over his hooves on at least one occasion. I don't know enough about Flat racing to know what would constitute a hammering from the handicapper following a win, but the gelding did only win by one length in the end and wasn't going away from the field.

I'll be interested to see what plans are for Les Arcs hereafter. Guest has made no secret of the fact that it is ADMIRAL, rather than Les Arcs, with whom he anticipates picking up big Flat prizes this summer - not entirely unsurprising a conclusion, that, given that Admiral was a Royal Ascot winner last year - and Les Arcs did feature in five-day declarations for a novices' hurdle at Perth last week before being withdrawn overnight when it became apparent the ground would be bottomless and thus wholly unsuitable. Les Arcs had one run over timber last season, but got stuck in the sticky toffee - sorry, sticky ground at Cartmel's August meeting and also appeared to blow up partway round on his way to a remote eighth place. This predated his wind operation, however, and it is reasonable to assume that given fast ground and a sharp track, he must be able to do better over timber if sent back over it in the near future.

Huntingdon and Rasen

2005-06-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

No joy for the two Guest runners at Huntingdon last night. REEDSMAN was reasonable well behaved on this occasion but found little for pressure when asked and was beaten around 14l into seventh place in the conditional jockeys' selling handicap hurdle. Given the particularly poor quality of the race, even by selling standards, this might have been a bit of an opportunity missed. Still, he likes fast ground so will presumably be given a few more opportunities as the summer wears on.

BALLYBOE BOY's jumping was appalling - too big at some fences, rather guessy at others, and he was down on his hindquarters at the water jump. He finished twelfth of thirteen finishers in the handicap chase, and does not look an obvious winner in waiting. This was a Class F chase, so he could hardly step much further down in grade by way of assistance.

As regards today's contests, Richard Guest has left two in at Market Rasen's afternoon meeting, and it's the two horses owned by www.racingtours.co.uk (t/a Gryffindor) which take their chances. You won't be able to miss them - Gryffindor's colours mostly consist of a stinging, eyeball-peeling magenta jacket. BEAUGENCY features in the 2m 6.5f handicap chase, his first attempt at the trip, and connections must be hoping his breathing difficulties don't resurface, as his jumping on his first attempt ovcer fences at Hexham last Tuesday was certainly sound enough.

DIAMOND CUTTER reappears in the novices' hurdle. He had everything fall his way when scoring on his UK debut at Cartmel a week last Saturday; the funereal pace really didn't call into question his race-fitness (this was his first outing for 345 days), and despite being the fastest ground he had encountered over jumps to date, the good to soft, soft places was still perfectly fine for him. How he copes with likely good to firm conditions and a weight concession today is open to conjecture, but then this is not a strong race by any means.

Huntingdon, Tuesday

2005-06-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Richard Guest's first runners of what looks like a comparatively quiet week for him are REEDSMAN and BALLYBOE BOY at Huntingdon's Tuesday evening meeting. Not one of the yard's most productive tracks, this - Page Point's victory in a hurdle over Easter was the first Mason / Guest winner there for over four years - although one that is visited frequently enough. This is the last meeting there until the August Bank Holiday, Huntingdon not really being part of the Summer Jumping racecourse roster proper (Hereford similarly shuts up shop for a few months after tomorrow's meeting also).

Reedsman runs in a conditional jockeys' selling hurdle and has the particularly capable Paul O'Neill in the plate. He's been pinging in the winners for both Guest and Venetia Williams since moving full-time to the UK in January, and won't be claiming tht 7lb for much longer! As for the horse, he is one of the most delinquent animals ever to represent the yard, with two last-minute unseatings and one crashing through a wing of a hurdle to his name. That said, his last two runs - a rather streaky second in a Fakenham seller when five horses departed in front of him, plus a fourth in an amateurs' race in the soothing hands of Claire Metcalfe - have shown a modicum of improvement, so Paul might not be in for quite the frightening experience he may have expected a few weeks ago. If the thing does win, I can't imagine the yard will be particularly diving into its pockets to buy him back at auction - it's noticeable that since Gemma Charrington withdrew her interest in Reedsman over a year ago, Richard Guest has not tried to sell that ownership on to anyone else but himself....

The extended two-mile chase is Ballyboe Boy's race, and connections will be hoping for more luck than at Hexham last Tuesday night when, in a bizarre old incident, another horse rearing whilst in the throes of refusing to race bundled Henry Oliver off Ballyboe and the partnership out of the race instantly! Henry will, I suggest, be keeping a closer eye than usual on all other participants down at the start....

Under starter's orders....

2005-06-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

....and away! This is - or will be, once I've stuck some stuff in it - a Blog devoted to the runners, riders and results of the Richard Guest racing stables based up at Brancepeth Manor Farm, Co. Durham, England. Formerly the base of leisure magnate-turned five times champion permit trainer Norman Mason, the license passed during February 2003 to Guest, forever associated with the extraordinary success of Red Marauder in the 2001 renewal of the Aintree Grand National (by common consent one of the most gruelling renewals in history, owing to the barely raceable muddy ground that day). Already over 100 winners have been sent out from the yard, one which prides itself on training horses as close to nature as possible, and at the time of writing Guest has taken an early lead in the 2005-6 jumps trainers' championship with a stupendous first six weeks of the campaign behind him.

Please keep checking this Blog for news, reviews, analysis and - if I can work out how to append them - photos and stats pertaining to this most fascinating and deserving of racing set-ups.

BrancepethFan is not as yet, sadly, endorsed by Richard Guest or anyone associated with the Brancepeth Manor Farm operation, although I'm always hopeful that this will one day be the case.

Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)