East Sussex & Romney
Marsh
Catsfield
Sunday 19th April 2009
by Simon McInnes
photos by Adam
Goodburn
http://www.reflexdigital.co.uk
"The times they are a-becoming, er , quite
different," as quoth Seymour Skinner. In this case it was due to an
untypically high number of runners at Catsfield, although it did
seem to render the betting less competitive. The ground was turned
out in good nick, and the experiment with having a mixed open was a
partial success. On the upside, there were five runners, the other
case is that none had a history of running in Ladies' races, so
there might have been five anyway. Overall, this was the best
Catsfield meeting, for both quantity and quality, in many a
year.
Going: Good (but on a sunny and windy day, it
must have been drying rapidly)
Race 1: Friar House
Antique Jewellery Members
1: No Reward 2: Major Jon 3: Kingsun
Winner owned: Mrs S Braxton, trained: Rose Grissell, ridden: Matt
Braxton
Usually this race sees a smallish field, mostly
provided by and ridden by members of the Grissell family, quickly
scattered into the expanses of Sussex, and one or two eventually
meander over the line. Of the five that turned out today, only two
were Grissell trained and none thus ridden - and the quintet
remained well bunched for a surprisingly long way. Major Jon made
the running, jumping right as is usual, but once No Reward kicked
on at the top of the far hill, that foible became the reason why
Major Jon could not get back in the race. There was not any need to
get too serious on the winner, and the runner-up held off Kingsun
quite readily. The in-form Boulliac made a bad error at the fifth
and after that did not travel well and made a string of lesser
mistakes. On a good day he is a lot better than this, even though
his wins this season have featured mid-race flat spots.
Race 2: Media
Communications Ltd SE Hunts Club Novice Riders
1: It's Showtime 2: Lord'n'Master 3: Soldershire
Winner owned & ridden: Juliet Hermansky, trained: Cynthia
Haydon
On a course that has sometimes struggled to
attract runners from outside the promoting hunt, there was a rare
long distance raider for this, Moscow Summit having travelled up
from Devon. However, it was in vain, as Lord'n'Master and
Soldershire set a manic pace and Moscow Summit was detached and
struggling from the off. The ferocity of the competition for the
lead also proved to be the undoing of Lord'n'Master and
Soldershire, who began to suffer for it when they made bad blunders
at the ninth (the Master) and the tenth (the Solder). Although
niggled to not get too far behind early on, It's Showtime sneaked
into the lead before the third last, and was soon clear. He began
to tie up on the run-in, where the early leaders slowly ate into
his lead, but found that they had burned up too much energy early
on. Congratulations to Juliet Hermansky, who has put an
inauspicious debut appearance behind her, and bounced back with
admirable determination to win on try number three. If this race
was restage, however, more patient rides on the second and third
could produce a very different result.
Race 3: Ostrich Hotel,
Robertsbridge Mixed Open
1: Letterman 2: Highland Chief 3: Honourable Spider
Winner owned: Simon Tindall, trained & ridden: Nick
Pearce
A good win for Letterman, who has been working
his way through the ranks. It was especially encouraging that the
win was such hard work as some of his earlier successes seemed to
do no more than prove he would not throw in the towel against
lesser opponents. He could be set to be a major force in the area
next season, and if tried hunter chasing, his experience under
Rules in Ireland will stand him in good stead. Highland Chief has
taken quite well to pointing and shows the Letterman effort in a
good light. On the other hand, Honourable Spider has had a below
par season, and did no better here. He had two handlers in the
paddock, which I do not recall being the norm in the past, although
there was no unruly behaviour. However, if someone had said at the
start of the season that he would run at Catsfield and be on offer
at 5/1, you probably would have written them off as a nutter.
Race 4: Charles
Stanley Stockbrokers SE Hunts Club Members
1: Jack's Present 2: Master Alf 3: New Street Express
Winner owned: Simon Tindall, trained & ridden: Nick
Pearce
All five of the runners had some reason to
entertain ideas of success in this, which meant that Jack's Present
seemed a less than convincing odds-on favourite - having been well
placed to win several races without having to tackle any top drawer
rivals. Six from home, she was under pressure, and looking one of
the least likely winners. New Street Express, who has failed to
finish both in both UK runs, was the one set to take advantage, but
he could not quite manage to shake off the jolly and Master Alf.
The race was decided at the last, when three came into it almost in
line. New Street Express, who was perhaps a neck up, was not
fluent, and due to them not jumping it totally straight, he was
sandwiched between, and bumped by, both Jack's Present and Master
Alf. That left the latter in the lead, and Paul Blagg staging a
desperate recovery whilst scratching the top of his horse's
forelegs with his nose. A superior pace on the run-in allowed
Jack's Present to see off Master Alf, but New Street Express looks
to be the one to note for the future, even though the way this
panned out left a small question over his staying power.
Race 5: Nick Mills
Memorial Restricted, sponsored by John Stevenson
1: Ten Horse Power 2: Balooba 3: Its All About Luck
Winner owned: Christopher Buckley, trained: Daniel O'Brien, ridden:
Kelly Smith
With only four runners, this was the only
disappointing field of the day, and after the first three runners
announced were with cheekpieces, tongue strap and blinkers, Ten
Horse Power came across as a spoilsport for not having a visor.
That ungentlemanly approach was reiterated when he beat the
headgeared trio by a long way. Billie Bay was giving the least
feeble chase when he pulled up lame after the third last. Some
market support came for Balooba - probably not for him to outbattle
Its All About Luck a distance behind the winner.
Race 6: Grants Cherry
Brandy Open Maiden
1: Club Captain 2: Hitsfromtheblitz 3: Trenley Lawn
Winner owned: S Garrott, trained: Christine McCarthy, ridden: Phil
York
This began in startling fashion - eleven declared.
Double figure fields are unknown at Catsfield, and the oddity
caused Barry Johnson's electronic odds board to go haywire.
Semi-sanity was restored as two were withdrawn before they made it
as far as the paddock, but it was a genuinely open maiden, with
Devon, East Anglia and the New Forest supplying runners. The race
itself was a cracker. Trenley Lawn, whose recent defeats had worked
out as decent form, looked outstanding in the paddock, kicked on
with seven to jump and then failed to see out the trip. She was
being hassled by two opponents, and Club Captain, who had run with
a modicum of promise up to now, overcame a length deficit to
scramble home on the run-in. This was a sudden improvement,
possibly attributable to both the ground and the gain in his
experience. Even more extraordinary was the performance of
Hitsfromtheblitz. He had not shown a great deal on his debut, but
the expectation of improvement caused his opening show to be 3/1.
When he entered the paddock, he was still very green, calling out
to anyone or anything that would listen. He also began to get a bit
sweaty and his price drifted to 12/1. Once the race was under way,
he did nothing wrong, and it was only after the last that he
faltered. When he gets his head around what is going on around a
race, he is probably capable of some much, much better
performances.
