Equinties - de Bromhead firing

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Gm Equinauts 

Tis the run up to Christmas now where most are swapping the office for the pub and the 11am coffee for the ‘it’s nearly Christmas so it’s okay’ day time Guinness.

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Now, let’s dive in.

Headline Roundup

Cheltenham Clues galore 

Yesterday saw some new horses stake their claims for the Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 races in March as Henry de Bromhead’s stable stars laid down a big ‘don’t forget about our yard’ marker. 

The first to show off his skill was JOURNEY WITH ME, a ready winner of the 2m4f beginners chase to beat BRIDES HILL by 12 lengths. 

It’s not as if the race was full of yaks either, FLAME BEARER, MARS HARPER, and CAPILANO BRIDGE were at long intervals in behind as the six-year-old gelding skated in – JWM jumped a touch out to his right and got the last all wrong, but his jumping down the back straight was neater than FLAME BEARER’s and you can have no issue with how he powered to the front. 

It’s worth noting that some jockeys reported that the ground was a tough test, so you can probably forgive a few of the disappointments if their ped didn’t suit it. 

‘Bbbut the best horses go in any ground’ 

Stfu. 

This wasn’t the only winner for the de Bromhead/Blackmore pair as in the feature race of the day, the rearranged Grade 2 Navan Novice Hurdle, INTHEPOCKET justified some pre-race talk by seeing off THREE CARD BRAG and ABSOLUTE NOTIONS to land the 2m4f contest (we backed him). 

Bought for £290,000, the JP McManus-owned five-year-old hit the front after the second-last (which was dolled off for low sun) and battled hard to see off the fast-approaching THREE CARD BRAG. 

Will we learn much from this race? I’d say no. The winner was good, but it was a messy type of race and the final two hurdles being dolled off means we can’t see what they would jump like under pressure – the second looks like a good Albert Bartlett type (currently 14/1), and the fourth, DEEPLY SUPERFICIAL, has done nothing to hurt her case for the Mares Novice Hurdle at the Festival. 

Jockey Club’s new prize money 

The Jockey Club gets a lot of stick in the mainstream media. 

From the five-day Cheltenham Festival proposals to the idea that they have too much control over racing’s governing bodies, they (deservedly) get it rough. 

However, yesterday they revealed that they are set to contribute £31.1 million in prize money for 2023, £2.7 million bigger than its 2022 total. 

This means that the total value of prize money available at all 15 Jockey Club racecourses will exceed £59 million. 

Granted this decision for further investment into the sport has come at a difficult time in the British economy, but the total figure is still only £1 million bigger than in 2022 figure.

Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of the Jockey Club, believes it is crucial that the Jockey Club can continue to reward its participants…but not tooooo much, hey Nev!?

“Breaking through this £30-million barrier for the first time is a milestone we have been striving for and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of The Jockey Club's teams all over the country.  

“While it has been challenging to achieve against the backdrop of factors like rising energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis, both of which continue to impact British racing and our own finances, increasing our own contributions to these record levels has been essential in order to grow overall prize money levels slightly in comparison to 2022.” 

More: 

Christmas confirmations 

Boxing Day confirmations and entries came out yesterday and BRAVEMANSGAME is set to take on eight others in the Grade 1 King George. 

CONSTITUTION HILL is 1/10 to take the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton… 

And CHAMP still heads the market for the Long Walk Hurdle. 

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Risk on

13.45 INFLEXIBLE

Baileys to beat but he’s a little exposed. I don’t fear the next two in market making Tom’s a solid ew to nothing at 5’s. Love the sire - proper jumping stamp and this lad will suit the trip/ground.