South East Hunts
Club
Charing
Sunday 22nd February 2009
by Simon McInnes
If there is one area of entertainment that
the sports fan could normally go expecting consistency and
reliability, it is Charing point to point. The course never changes
layout, the going is always good or good to soft, nothing ever
quite surprises. But today, change was afoot. No mobile betting
shop. No aptly named Splendid Meat Company. No mulled cider stall.
Possibly one less PA tower, so standing uphill from the open ditch
rendered the commentary inaudible. But there was redemption, in
enjoying the misfortunes of others. Normally, being a number board
operator in the south-east is a pretty cushy number. No more than
half a dozen runners to flag up, and sort out the riders from a
small list. Well today, we had runners coming out of our ears - the
fifth race was almost divided - and it made for some excellently
competitive racing. And to their credit, the startled board team
rose to occasion excellently, getting the data up and running much
more promptly than other meetings achieve with far less runners. Of
course, had it been lubricated with mulled cider, it could have
been even better!
Going: Good
race 1: Gillian Jarvis
Memorial Club Members Maiden, 4-7 year olds, 2m 4f
1: Pingaro De La Vire 2: Moderano 3: Swing State
Winner owned & ridden: David Maxwell, trained: Kim
Smyly
After being caned by a plunge on a Don Cantillon
newcomer in this last year (which has gone on to prove useful under
Rules), the presence of another debutant four year old from that
yard caused the bookmakers to price up the race with understandable
caution; he was in contention for two miles and then outpaced in
the last part of the race, like several others, as there were seven
still in the main bunch as they turned into the straight next to
the A20, but Pingaro De La Vire and Moderano had ten lengths
daylight at the end. The winner battled on well from the second
last after being headed for a stride on two on the run-in, but two
things cost Moderano dear, as he was beaten half a length. One was
a blunder three out in an otherwise solid round of jumping, and the
other was that being a four year old, he was allocated 10 stone 7
pounds in the weights, but Peter Bull, like most of the
well-nourished local riders, had no chance of being that waif-like
and put up seven pounds overweight.
race 2: South East
Bookmakers Club Members Restricted
1: Droppy's 2: The Longest Day 3: Comeonourfella
Winner owned, trained & ridden: Godfrey Maundrell
Having maybe felt that they had got it right in the opener, the
bookies probably suffered a bit in this one, even on a day when
they were quite busy throughout, as whilst I was queuing to burden
another horse with the weight of my money, a bet was taken of
£1,000 to £50 on Droppy's, and when the race unfolded
with only The Longest Day (who tends to pull up a lot, so will have
found this a long day/race indeed) and Comeonourfella (only
marginally more impressive) challenging Droppy's, the worst looked
inevitable. In fact it took a good jump from Droppy's two out to
get control and he was being reeled in again on the run-in. The
form looks suspect, and not just because of the placed horses. The
winner appeared to be in a bit of a bad mood in the paddock, and
instead of the unplaced runners staggering home in vain, the fourth
to sixth all finished strongly, battling for the £25 minor
prize, which suggested that all of their jockeys misjudged the pace
up front or that the three horses all perked up when running back
towards the horse boxes. This could/should/might do better gang
included Detling winner Nessa and Lunch Was My Idea. The mob of
less positive outcome had the legendary local loser Parzando and
Round And Round, both of whom were again someway short of their
previous best efforts.
race 3: Shepherd Neame
Men's Open
1: Bee An Bee 2: Highland Chief 3: Another Dude
Winner owned & trained: David Robinson, ridden: Stuart
Robinson
This was the area's Brightwell's Order Of
Excellence, and with Bee An Bee adding to his already impressive
winning streak, the points went to a deserving contender. He did
well considering that he appeared to be a touch short of peak
fitness and Highland Chief (admittedly a much lower rated handicap
chaser) had already turned out and won this season. Rather like the
first race, the winner made most and rallied gamely when the
runner-up had the temerity to poke his nose in front. In other
respects this was more Charing-like, with the beaten horses well
scattered. Master T ran well for a while on his pointing debut, but
has dubious stamina in this context, whereas the proven stayer
Undeniable could have jumped better - although for a 120+ rated
handicap chaser is on offer at 12/1 for a race of this nature in
the south-east, it is perhaps a sign that expectations are not
high.
race 4: Penny Peate
Ladies Open
1: Myson 2: Theatre Knight 3: Big Moment
Winner owned: Random Optimists Partnership, trained & ridden:
Rose Grissell
A good standard Ladies' race (several made
a three figure handicap mark in professional yards) produced a
close four horse finish, and it was announced afterwards that this
was Rose Grissell's first win in points as a rider, which was a
surprise, as although she has not had a huge number of mounts, most
regulars would have assumed she would have won a three runner hunt
race at Catsfield (or similar) along the way. At the second from
home, the race looked in the bag, but Myson, a solid two and a half
miler that rarely ventured far afield under Rules, came to the end
of his tether and Theatre Knight began to close again, but not
quite quickly enough. As this was happening, Big Moment was in
close attendance but concentrating his efforts on securing another
short priced defeat. Forest Miller arrived on the scene late, being
beaten barely a length for third, and first impressions were that
his rider timed it badly, but when with Richard Philips he won less
frequently than he ought to have done, and it may be the horse that
was at fault. Bonne Noel's won a suspect standard open at Higham in
January and found his aspirations to a repeat horribly exposed as a
sham. A sham!
race 5: RCL Swimming
Pool & Hot Tub Company Club Members
1: Young Collier 2: Go North 3: Independent Trader
Winner owned & trained: Ann Blaker, ridden: Phil
York
What with a vast horde of runners and missing
number cloths forcing two of them to run in the wrong number,
trying to keep track of what was going on was so stressful that I
was forced to have a portion of shepherd's pie to help the
concentration. Mysaynoway causing a false start and then running
out at the first when they got going did not help things. Even
after this, the race looked to be run quite fast, but the official
time suggested otherwise. Some sort of beef and potato inspired
optical illusion. Young Collier had shown a hint of a rekindled
racing flame before falling in an open last time, and the
experience oddly seemed to inspire him to come good - that and the
drop in class. He saw off the progressive Go North with a bit to
spare, but the runner-up did at least leave the rest trailing a
long way behind him, and the next three home, Independent Trader,
No Refuge and Soldershire can all be handy in this class on their
day.
race 6: Grants Cherry
Brandy Members Maiden
1: Mooresini 2: Captain's Legacy 3: Marine Gunner
Winner owned & trained: Linda Cannon, trained: Tom
Cannon
Stamina held the key to this, as Captain's Legacy
was repelling the all the niggling challenges of Mooresini from the
fourth last, only for him to finally falter at the final fence, and
give Mooresini one last glimmer of hope, which was grabbed at with
aplomb by Tom Cannon. Being a nine year old, the number of times he
had not quite managed to get there was becoming ominous for the
winner, but he does give the impression that he will run into some
rivals with which he has a mental affinity in restricteds from now
on. It could also be argued that Captain's Legacy has too much
ability to be contesting maidens as an eight year old, and is
therefore somewhat less than straight forward. However, he was a
better hurdler than Alfies Isle, and that horse started favourite
in his first point, although he seemed to hate every minute of it
and was soon trailing. As far as the future goes, it would have
been more encouraging for them to have been more than a length
ahead of Marine Gunner who surpassed his previous performances by
quite some way today.
Plus Points
Moderano (race 1): A slightly unlucky loser
and seems good enough to get off the mark soonish.
Highland chief (race 3): Gave a scare to a
prolific winner and went down with honour intact.
Forest Miller (race 4): Inclined to give him
one more chance, despite the baggage he brings with him.
Young Collier (race 5): Awoken from a three
year slumber.
Go North (race 5): Defeated but a good effort
all the same.
Down Arrows
Swing State (race 1): From a yard that
normally has them ready to run first time, it was a fairly average
start to his racing career.
Droppy's (race 2): Possibly had an already
soft race gifted to him and could struggle upped in class.
Undeniable (race 3): Jumped safely by
cautiously and looked a shadow of his old self.
Big Moment (race 4): Has had his, and found
it underwhelming.
Mysaynoway (race 5): Inclined to be a bit
manic out in front, but running out was a new slot in her
repertoire.
Alfies Isle (race 6): Gave cause to exercise
extreme caution by failing to get even a little involved.
