Equinties - raising funds for Papyrus

Gm Equinauts

Before we begin the newsletter, we express our sadness over the death of Tommie Jakes at the age of 19.

Racing is such a small world with a tightly knight community, it’s easy to understand how this devastating news will impact almost every industry person to a deep personal level.

We were at Stratford yesterday with a Newmarket colleague and friend of his and it’s safe to say it was an incredibly sombre day and muted journey home with ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ being the recurrent questions. It’s just so sad.

If anyone reading this newsletter right now is ever feeling down, alone or simply in need of talking to someone, please remember that there is always an ear available wanting to listen.

The old saying is sharing a problem with someone is halving the problem and it’s true, you’ve just got to take that brave step and open up.

All proceeds from the distribution of our BC newsletter this weekend will go to PAPYRUS:

We are thinking of Tommie’s family and friends at this time and our deepest sympathies and condolences are with them.

RIP TOMMIE JAKES.

HEADLINE ROUND UP

SAME FOOTSTEPS

Trainers are creatures of habit. You’ll see us say this a lot this winter, because jumps trainers especially don’t like to change habits.

Dan Skelton is one who likes to target races and plot down similar paths, because if it works, why change it? This philosophy has been applied to BE AWARE by Skelton, as he won the same race that L’EAU DU SUD won last season.

So, Skelton has always liked this horse, so much so that he pretty much put him away after Christmas last year in order to target the County Hurdle. He couldn’t have this beat in the County, but (spoiler alert) it did get beat.

And, to be fair, there are a lot of similarities between him and L’EAU DU SUD. They were both beaten in the County, and they both won on chasing debut in the same Stratford race off very similar marks. To us, however, we do see a difference between the two horses. L’EAU DU SUD is all wheels over two miles, and he was very classy. He was too classy for his handicap mark, and that’s why he is now rated 156. Furthermore, if you stop the picture after the second last at Cheltenham, he looks like the Arkle winner.

If BE AWARE is in the same position in March this season, we will eat our hats. We’d be surprised if he even runs in an Arkle, let alone gets himself into a position to nearly win the thing. We’re not trying to be too harsh on the horse, but we just don’t want people to make too strong a comparison between the two horses, because we think L’EAU DU SUD is simply a different animal.

Anyway, Dan and Harry Skelton were quite happy with how yesterday went, and they’re prepared to go down a similar route to L’EAU DU SUD. They didn’t say this openly, but does this mean the Arkle Trial at the November meeting? Maybe.

As for other notable Stratford performances, take a look at TAURUS BAY in the two-mile novices’ hurdle for Ben Pauling. Woof.

He has work to do over his hurdles and as such went out to as big as 10’s in-play, but he put the race to bed in a matter of strides. Pauling has a super team of novice hurdlers this season, and this lad is one he’s always rated.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see him line up in the Grade 2 Newton Novices’ Hurdle, or maybe the Listed Claremont Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown in December.

WELL-BRED FRENCHIE

As for other news yesterday, it was pretty sparse, so we’ll just tie up a few loose ends starting with France, AL BOUM PHOTO’s half-sister looks like a very good animal! The horse is called AL FONCE, and she dotted up at Lyon-Parilly yesterday for Noel George & Amandza Zetterholm.

Really impressive stuff, but we obviously don’t know what the form is worth. What we do know is that the training partnership is not afraid of sending one over for British meetings through the season, and the Listed mares’ novice hurdle on November 29th at the Coral Gold Cup meeting is the plan, according to her owner, Coolmara Stables.

TODAY

All eyes will be on the Breeders Cup tonight - flat racings last major event of the season. And it is huge…But there are some races in the UK and Ireland you should most definitely be watching too.

ROMEO COOLIO today on his chasing debut in the 15.47 at Down Royal. He was second in the Supreme and second to SALVATOR MUNDI at Aintree. Elliott has been salivating at the thought of this fella over a fence, but it is interesting to see him over 2m4f.

We can’t imagine he is a Browns horse, so he must be Gordo’s Arkle horse this season, right? He has won this race with MIGHTY POTTER, FOUND A FIFTY, and FIREFOX over the last three years, and before that, ENVOI ALLEN, SAMCRO, DELTA WORK, TOMBSTONE, and A TOI PHIL won the contest. That’s an elite Elliott-trained list, and ROMEO COOLIO has to get past KOKTAIL DIVIN, fourth to HONESTY POLICY at Aintree, and the unexposed WHERE’S MY JET for Willie Mullins. Eyes on.

Other races to note are the fourth race at Newmarket which see’s a big-field of 2yo fillies contest a Listed race for that all important black type, the Wetherby card is pretty tidy, and there’s a Grade 3 novice hurdle for mares at Down Royal that includes the exciting CARRIGMOORNASPRUCE.

The Listed Bottlegreen Hurdle should also be under your microscope, as it includes THE YELLOW CLAY.

You might think that it’s pointless talking about him now because after all, he placed behind THE NEW LION in the Grade 1 Turners Novices’ Hurdle, and there’s no other horse in the race that has similar form. But Gordon Elliott is starting him out over 2m1f, and he’s never been over this small of a trip before. Furthermore, he hasn’t exactly looked like a horse with tonnes of speed. He has a turn of foot, but he mainly looks like a horse that stays forever.

He is just a shade of odds-on, rather than being something like 8/13, which is interesting. Elliott, like with BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD last season, has taken the chance with keeping this lad to hurdles, so he needs to prove to his owners that this was a correct move.

Who’s his biggest rival? Well, it’s CASHELDALE LAD for Elliott and Bective Stud. The same set of connections could easily have the 1-2 here. One of the prominent questions to ask is why are they running? Of course, Elliott has to run his horses on the correct races, and with anyone else, this would be a slam-dunk race to go for. He was third in a Galway Hurdle, he won a two-mile handicap hurdle off 140 lto, and he’s on a big upward trajectory.

That being said, they have THE YELLOW CLAY in here, who is a potential Grade 1 horse. Obviously, with it being National Hunt racing and not flat racing with future stallion prospects on the line, trainers don’t have to protect their horses in the early parts of the season, and if they lose, so what? Elliott wants to be winning in March with THE YELLOW CLAY, and not necessarily in October.

So, is today a case of CASHELDALE LAD being the one the fancy, with THE YELLOW CLAY potentially needing the run and improving for a trip next time? Maybe, though we could be overcomplicating this.

Will this race go to someone other than Elliott and Bective Stud? Possibly not. BACCHANALIAN is a Grade 3 winner, but this is his first start of the season, and he has won on heavy before. There are showers about Down Royal today, but probably not enough to turn the ground bad. He did beat MURCIA at Naas in February, and she won the Grade 1 4YO Hurdle at Aintree after that.

ROYAL HOLLOW is interesting. She wasn’t going over well in the summer over hurdles, and then bang, she bolted up at Gowran Park earlier this month. She bounced off nice ground, she’s race-fit, and she’s seemingly back in good form. Definitely one who can land a blow. On the other hand, EYE OF A TIGER probably can’t. She is rated 113, and while she is still just five and arriving here after a win, this is a different kettle of fish.

RISK ON

No bets posted yesterday although it was incredible to see some of the winning slips land in our dm’s from punters who played exotics made up our bumper preview horses (we put up the 1-2-3-4!). We have previewed the Uttoxeter bumper today.

You should be able to lever a bet with AMMES today in the 14.20 for a 50% boost to returns.

18.45 SOVEREIGN APPLAUSE

Bred by JP’s wife, Noreen McManus, this girl is bred to be useful and we feel she’s finally at the right trip. Could go well today and if she doesn’t win will be one to follow later. Goes for Derek Thommo Thompson no less… PHOTO! 22/1 is a little bet to find out. Beer money on the 183/1 ew double with our first ante-post of the season.

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