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Equinties - 200 not out
BGP Capital
December 10, 2025
Gm Equinauts
A big shout out to young Billy Loughnane who landed his 200th winner of the year yesterday on DANDY KHAN.
In an emotional interview in the RP he thanked his winning-most trainer George Boughey for getting him there and described him as an ‘older brother’ who he can talk to about anything.
Well done, Billy. Champ jockey pending?
Let’s dive in!
HEADLINE ROUNDUP
SUPER SKELTON
The date is December 28th, 2024, and PANIC ATTACK has just been soundly beaten off 120 in a 0-125 mares’ handicap hurdle on her second start for Dan Skelton. This marks her 20th start under rules, winning five, one of which over fences. Can you, therefore, imagine the volume of laughter that would have occurred if someone had suggested that she was a Grand National horse in the making less than a year later. It would have been a simply absurd statement to make.
This is actually the reality we are in however as Dan Skelton has labelled the Aintree Grand National as PANIC ATTACK’s big end-of-season target. Bravo, Mr. Skelton, we admire your balls. This news is certainly something one Racing X punter is excited to see:
There are a couple of things to look at with this, but ultimately, why not? The Grand National isn’t what it used to be (for the better), and it doesn’t take a great big gelding who jumps walls for fun and has legs the size of tree trunks to win. The fences are soft, and classy horses win the contest off nice weights these days.
Based on her Paddy Power and Coral Gold Cup win, it’s hard to argue that she isn’t classy, and she wasn’t stopping at either Cheltenham (2m4f) or Newbury (3m2f). In the old Hennessy, she gave THREE CARD BRAG and THE CHANGING MAN – two archetypal big-race staying chasers – a good thumping, and since joining Skelton’s yard, she is three from three over fences. She is also a fantastically accurate jumper, so Aintree shouldn’t be a bother on her.
She now has a rating of 147. Having won the Paddy Power and Coral Gold Cup, she is 12lbs higher in the ratings. One has to say that is fair, if not slightly lenient based on how she won her latest assignment. If you couldn’t tell, we’ve almost talked ourselves into thinking that this is a bit genius from Skelton, even if there are a few unknowns, like Aintree itself, the fences, or the marathon trip. However, as we’ve already alluded to, there are reasons to think she can cope with these.
So, what does Skelton think about this? He said: “She’s going to go to Newbury in January, there’s a mares’ race for her there.
“Then she will possibly go to Kelso en route to the Grand National, that’s our aim.
“If we fancy having a go at the mares’ chase at the Cheltenham Festival then we might, but our sights are firmly set on the Grand National.”
There are a lot of horses to stake their claims yet for the Grand National, and we’re sure Mullins will prep a few horses for it, like LECKY WATSON or something like that. However, if Skelton can somewhat protect her mark, PANIC ATTACK has to be a player.
Also, Skelton has provided a little update on GREY DAWNING. He said: “I had the entry for him in Ireland and I was really tempted by it, but on balance we thought it was more sensible to keep him this side of the Irish Sea before his Gold Cup bid.
“He’s a horse who has stepped up to the mark, it was a great run at Haydock and we’ll be hoping to replicate one of those a few more times.”
C WORD
Noel Fehily has ridden six winners at the Cheltenham Festival. They were SILVER JARO in 2008, ROCK ON RUBY in 2012, UNOWHATIMEANHARRY in 2016, BUVEUR D’AIR and SPECIAL TIARA in 2017, and SUMMERVILLE BOY in 2018.
As a founder of the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate, he has one so far, which is fairly impressive for the number of years that the operation has been going, and that came with LOVE ENVOI in the 2021 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle trained by Harry Fry.
Both Fehily and David ‘Crossey’ Crosse are probably about ready to get another one on the board so they can get some more business through the doors in order to reinvest, and could this year be their year? The answer is maybe, and this week is huge in answering this question properly.
Starting with yesterday, BARON NOIR got off the mark for the first time this season having run into exciting (and race fit) CRISTAL D’ESTRUVAL at Warwick last month.
The word being used to describe yesterday’s win is “snug”, and that’s about right. It was tighter than people expected, but he won with an amount in hand.
But just how good could this Punchestown Festival winner be?
It would be hard to label him as one for the Graded novice events, but he’s had two runs before Christmas. That could see him get into handicaps if they get enough runs into him, but even if he’s not a Cheltenham horse this year, he will certainly be at those other spring festivals in one way or another, whether that be Aintree or a return to Punchestown.
He’s a scopey one as well, so he’ll be better next year for a fence (classic), and that’s probably when his full potential will be unleashed.
But the fun for the syndicate doesn’t stop there. They have ROCK SENSATION out in the opening two-mile maiden hurdle at Hereford today, fresh from her eye-catching fourth in the Listed mares’ bumper at Cheltenham last month. We caught up with David Crosse at Newbury’s gallops morning last month, and he was purring over her for hurdles this season. He even mentioned the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival as a potential race for her, which is pretty bullish for a Southwell bumper winner who hasn’t jumped a hurdle in public yet.
So there’s two, and that’s without mentioning HURRICANE PAT for Graded races and the likes of ACE OF SPADES, MAJOR FORTUNE, and RYAN’S ROCKET for handicaps. Exciting times for those red, blue, and white silks, we think.
BARK, NO BITE
What must it be like to be Max McNeill right now? You’ve put so much into this game via sponsorship and purchasing of horses, there have been probably more disappointments than successes and then, finally, you have a couple of horses that are truly worth getting excited about.
NO DRAMA THIS END could genuinely dot up at Cheltenham in March (if he continues his progress), and for a while, the man behind Ultima has been very, very bullish about FINGLE BRIDGE. It’s a fair enough stance to make. He beat REGENT’S STROLL at Exeter last season, and he looked very eye-catching behind LULAMBA at the same track on chasing debut.
Yesterday, he got his head in front at Uttoxeter, but the manner in which he did so was far from fluent.
This mistake aside, you would have winced more than once at his overall jumping if you are a fan of the horse. He pricks his ears going into the fence, which is a nice sign, but he almost jumps them like hurdles, and that isn’t a compliment. He left his back legs through a couple, and he got super low (and slow) through others.
We don’t want to throw shade the way of horses too often, especially when experience will help, but he didn’t look a chasing natural albeit he did warm up to the task eventually. What was clear was that he has a bloody big engine as even after belting a few he was firmly on the bridle the whole way and subsequently there were a few tweets floating about yesterday about him being this mega handicap plot. If he is (and we’re not sure about this), he’d want to stop taking lessons from MAJBOROUGH in the jumping department!
RISK ON
There is monumental gamble going down on a JP horse in the 15.37. Hats off to them if they pull it off, she looks a total yak. We’re trying to work out why JP’s kept her but the money has as if she’s already won and if she did it would be the best gamble we’ve seen for a long, long time. Good luck to them.
We’ll side with the standout stat horse for a standard stake as we think the Godolphin horse is average.
Else where we like:
13.25 UNION AVENUE
Very good bumper horse, should beat this field. 5/4.
19.00 HUNKY DORY
Improved for Mick and worth a bet.
Three fold and then four fold with SOOMAROY in Hereford first paying 22/1, beer stakes.
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