Equinties - punchy meeting

Gm Equinauts

As race meetings change with the weather, the cold and wintery days awakening the sleeping giants of the jumps world, the flat circus naturally draws to a close but the trainers will still be busy for it’s buying season.

Right now we have the yearlings sales on (where team BGP, the syndicate affiliated to this newsletter are at trying to find a few discounted gems (hence the delay to press)). The big boys like Godolphin and Coolmore have spent the turnover of medium sized businesses in Bk1 leaving the likes of the Bougheys, the Baldings and the Becketts to pillage through Bk 2. We saw Balding yesterday who gave us the node on the COLTRANE’s half sister (she really should have been one and done for the day as SALAMNCS CITY disappointed connections).

While some spend fortunes, others will making it - read some of this years foal to yearling pinhook successes below and the foals to watch out for for next year.

Let’s dive in.

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HEADLINE ROUNDUP

BIG GUNS

Today’s Punchestown card looks one to whet the appetites of all jumps fans, though it did lose the much anticipate hurdles debut of champion bumper winner and star in the making A DREAM TO SHARE made a nr due to a stone bruise.

With fans dying to see if he can turn his flat talent to the jumps, A DREAM TO SHARE has left FASCILE MODE heading the market at 4/7 against 14 other rivals.

Despite this loss, some class horses are set to take to the track today including CONFLATED, MINELLA INDO, and this newsletters 2023 Cheltenham NAP DELTA WORK in the Grade 3 Irish Daily Star Chase.

Funnily enough, each of the star horses didn’t complete their last race. The market has CONFLATED strong fave but is it as easy as that? CONFLATED is 0/5 from his seasonal reappearances and could be targeting something like the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase in early November, a race he finished third in last year on his first run of the season.

As for MINELLA INDO, the former Gold Cup winner is good when fresh as shown by his wins in the Grade 3 M.W. Hickey Memorial Chase in October 2020 and the Grade 3 Savills New Year’s Day Chase. He wasn’t right in the Gold Cup as he was nudged along at an early point before being pulled up, but has the class to bounce back if right, even at 10.

DELTA WORK is a horse known for his liking of cross country races who in recent years hasn’t raced in these types of competitive, open-grade chasers – on most evidence, this should be between the top two in the market.

SEXY NEW JOB AWAITS

Finally, this year’s Prix de l‘Arc de Triomphe third, ONESTO, will stand at Haras d’Etreham upon his retirement at the end of the season.

Fabrice Chappet’s four-year-old has been a fantastic horse for connections ever since his Group 2 Prix Greffulhe victory as a three-year-old and could still be seen this season in the Group 1 Champion Stakes, a race he is 20/1 for.

His form lines with the likes of ELDAR ELDAROV, LUXEMBOURG, ACE IMPACT, INSPIRAL, MISHRIFF, and WESTOVER are great and given he’s only managed to land 1x Group 1 win, this good looking son of FRANKEL might be an affordable prospect for breeders wanting to tap into his page littered with champions.

Son’s of FRANKEL have already done well as ‘daddy’, CRACKSMAN being a great advert for FRANKEL this year. Good luck to Etreham who will syndicate him.

PINHOOKING

There are some successful pinhooks are going through the ring this week; take the example of Lot 1020 by HAVANA GREY o/o DOTTED SWISS, he is ELITE STATUS’ full brother brought for 82,000gns and sold for 425,000gns. A good buy considering ELITE STATUS was already a 325,000gns yearling brought by Karl and Kelly Burke.

Anyway, the foals are being prepared at the studs around Europe with a date of destiny in the ring. HAVANA GREY himself was sold as a foal for 42,000gns. PYLEDRIVER was unsold for 10,000gns. VANDEEK was sold for 52,000gns and his brother by STARSPANGLEDBANNER will be offered this year by his breeder Maywood Stud and Kelly Thomas who will be hoping a big pay day is on the cards!

The foal sales are a chance to grab a piece of a blood lines brilliant track record. Take for example CHALDEAN, the champion 2yo last year and Classic winner this year, he was 550,000gns foal and his brother by SHOWCASING is up for grabs this year. But the foal sales are also a chance to have look at the stock of the first season sires; ST MARKS BASILICA, SPACE BLUES, VIXTOR LUDORUM and PALACE PIER amongst others.

FRANKEL is well represented. A colt out of AMBITION whose dam is the Oaks winner TALENT. Another colt who is a half brother to LADY BOWTHORPE. A filly o/o French 1000 Guineas winner BEAUTY PARLOUR who is by DEEP IMPACT, so bred on the GALILEO/ DEEP IMPACT cross that has given us AUGUSTE RODIN, SAXON WARRIOR and SNOWFALL.

Another daughter of FRANKEL is the filly out of the John Quinn trained LIBERTY BEACH. The sales starts November 28th, with a total of 1,084 foals being offered.

YOUNG BLOOD

Yesterdays Young Blood winner was helped by a nod from Balding, we’ll focus on the new NH debutants today at Ludlow.

17.35 LUDLOW

TOO MUCH HAMMER has been squeezed into fave. Owners know how to buy a good one and this lad is related to two bumpers winners, notably the biggest gable of two years ago FIRE AWAY.

MISS APPLEJACK is a last time out winner of a mares bumper. Up against the boys today, she will need to improve today but can do so being a half to the likes of 130 rated GLIMPSE OF GALA (also trained by Longsdon). Has a claimer to help.

A family affair for DANTE’S INFERNO. Trained by Gerogina Nicholls, owned by her ex-husband Paul Nicholls and steered by Olive Nicholls. From the family of the likes of DE NAME EVADES ME, the dam side is fine and the sire SIXTIES ICON means ground fine today but he doesn’t produce many bumper winners.

BOBBYS FORTUNE reps Evan Williams. A cheap recruit at 3k, he’ll need to massively improve from his debut. Immediate page a bit bare but second dam littered with good winners.

BRAUNTON BURROW made a horrible start to life in April finishing last in her debut bumper but she’s trained by the man of the moment big Nige so don’t right her off. Related to bumper winners and cost 25k. Improvement expected, watch the market.

Skelton runs I LOOK HOW I LOOK who is by DINK, making her a full sister to NUBE NEGRA (Dan bought DINK when NUBA NEGRA started proving himself as a top chaser). Money says one for down the line.

MOON ROYALE is a sprinter by blood and will enjoy the ground today but will be beaten by his lack of stamina reserves.

Verdict: A hard race to break down. The fave is probably the right one but we imagine the Nicholls family horse will be off for it’s life. Between those two. Non-betting race, getting the eye in.

STATS OF THE DAY

No stand out stats today.

RISK ON

Yesterday’s Young Blood was helped by the nod from Balding and today’s IMPERIAL GUARD is strongly fancied to win. He’s short at 4/5 but from a very nice family and should be too goo for this lot today. Perhaps add to a bet for leverage if the shorties aren’t your cup of tea.

17.30 CORSICAN CAPER

Still a maiden but he made us good yield lto when placing at 30’s in a class 2. With a more prominent ride, he’d have gone a lot closer and that same performance would see him win this weak race today. The fact he has never got his head in front is the biggest concern so only small at 5/2.

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