Equinties - weather watch

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Low water tables, waterlogged tracks, low sun and blanket fog…

It seems like poor old racing can’t catch a break right now but apparently it’s all systems go today and there’s a few bets I’m lining up.

Let’s dive in.

Headline Roundup

Ring girls

ALCOHOL FREE, SAFFRON BEACH and PEARLS GALORE go through the Tattersalls sales ring this evening, expect fireworks!

Sandown's ups and downs  

Yesterday saw seven confirmed at the five-day forfeit stage for Saturday's Grade 1 Tingle Creek and the 2021 Arkle winner and it looks like the mighty SHISHKIN could be making his seasonal reappearance. Woof! 

Following his rare ‘bone disease', the 176-rated chaser had the summer off to recover but reports out of Seven Barrows over the last few weeks have suggested that his work has been excellent ahead of his big Grade 1 target.  

He’s currently sitting on an amber light as Nicky Henderson and Alan King have said they are unsure whether their stable stars (JONBON, SHISHKIN, and EDWARDSTONE) will run this weekend due to the unseasonably fast ground.  

Henderson said: “I cannot believe Sandown is going to go from abandoned halfway through the last meeting to fast ground in less than four weeks”.  

“It’s ridiculous. The same thing is happening every weekend – it was like this at Cheltenham, Ascot and then Newbury, which did a brilliant job last weekend. When there’s been rain about, it’s like having a bath with no plug in it.”  

It seems like ground issues have become scarily more common in recent times and this looks set to stick with us for the rest of the season, which is concerning for everyone involved in racing.  

One horse who definitely won't be running on Saturday is FERNY HOLLOW as the once Champion Bumper victor was pulled out of the Tingle Creek by his trainer Willie Mullins.  

This is the second race that the seven-year-old has been scratched from this season as he was a non-runner for the Grade 2 Fortria Chase at Navan earlier this month.  

He is still entered the Grade 1 John Durkan over 2m4f on December 11th and the Grade 1 Paddy's Rewards Club Novices' Chase over 2m1f on December 27th.  

National hero passes away  

MONTY'S PASS, winner of the 2003 Aintree Grand National under Barry Geraghty, sadly passed away recently at the big age of 29 years old.  

For those of you who don't know who MONTY'S PASS was, the James Mangan-trained son of MONTELIMAR won eight races from his 56 races under rules and placed in 23 more, earning a massive £542,756 for connections.  

Having finished third in the Munster National the year before, the then 10-year-old went one step better than his second in the 2002 renewal to bolt up in the Aintree Grand National by 12 lengths off a mark of 139 in what turned out to be his final ever victory.  

A horse close to Geraghty's heart, he had some brilliant stories to share about his experience with the horse.  

Rest easy, MONTY'S PASS.  

Chris hits the wall

It was confirmed yesterday that the three-time Gr1-winning trainer Chris Wall is set to end his 36-year training career due to financial instability.  

Having trained winners on the flat since 1988, Wall had achieved recent success with DOUBLE OR BUBBLE over the last two seasons, landing two Group 3 contests with the now-retired five-year-old. 

It looks like the Newmarket-based operation is set to stop with immediate effect as Wall currently has less than half of his 60 boxes filled with horses. 

He told the Racing Post: "Our numbers have dropped off the scale and that's really what prompted the decision.” 

"We had 30 horses in training this year, which was adequate, and had a good season, but going forward a lot of horses were getting sold off and many not being replaced and we got to the point where we weren't going to have sufficient numbers to make a go of it economically.  

"It's a shame to stop and I thought we'd go on longer but equally it doesn't make sense. With the way the economy is going you need to be well-placed to deal with it and we probably weren't. It's hard enough to make money in the game, but if you're on the back foot to start with it's going to be even more challenging." 

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Risk on 

I think JJ has a good day today. I’m splitting a full bet on this double and single on the second.

11.45 MARVEL DE CERISY 4/1

Don’t normally bet Irish but this lad was unfit lto and is a good EW to nothing apparently. Small ew.

14.05 PYFFO 3/1 & 14.35 RED DIRT ROAD 9/4

PYFFO well bred for the bumper with yard winning this last year with my mates horse. RED DIRT ROAD by far best horse in this shit race, trusting he’s fit and ready (some NH horses need a run).

Half bet 12/1 double and half bet on RDR single.