It's not so far to Tipperary!

Dziadzia- Justaboutmanaging.com

July 26, 2011

There was a certain Irish brouhaha yesterday surrounding 6-year-old bay gelding, The Real Article, (son of Definite Article) in relation to the Grimes Hurdle, as the Irish Turf Club decided to cease its review of the race before it had even got started. So, the consequence is that The Real Article is now OK for the Guinness Galway Hurdle on Thursday.

The Real Article had finished a close second to Captain Cee Bee in the Kevin McManus Bookmaker Grimes Hurdle at Tipperary on 17 July. Paddy Mangan rode him for the first time and tit was suggested that the young jockey had not ridden the horse out as he used hands and heels to encourage his mount. A win in the Grimes would have brought a weight penalty for The Real Article in the Galway Hurdle. The Stewards held an enquiry into how Mangan had ridden the horse. They accepted the explanations by by trainer Edward O’Grady and the jockey that the horse was not to be whipped. So no punishment was meted out to horse or jockey.

The Chief Executive of the Irish Turf Club, Denis Egan, carried out a review of the race and the Tipperary stewards’ decision under Rule 27 – this allows for a review of any punishment if it is considered too lenient or if none has been given. Legal representations on behalf of the trainer suggested that this action could only be taken if the decision followed a finding of guilt in the original enquiry. The Tipperary steward, in fact, had not found any breach of the rules,. The Turf Club committee, therefore, accepted that it had no power to carry out any review.

O’Grady said afterwards, “I feel sorry for Paddy Mangan, who is such a promising young talent and who has had to endure such adverse comment from certain areas of the media. I believe the stewards on the day…considered the matter fully and came to the correct decision.”

O’Grady’s comments, however, were a little ambiguous to say the least: “At the moment, the intention is that The Real Article will probably be allowed to take his chance in the Galway Hurdle on Thursday.” So that's clear, then!

Well bookies seem to interpret that this means The Real Article will run and have made him 100/30 favourite for the race.

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Tom's back!

Dziadzia

Justaboutmanaging.com

July 21 2011

One jockey we'd all like to see back in the saddle is Tom Scudamore. The good news is that he expects to be fit to resume racing in the next month. This return is due to the fact that he had a successful operation on a dislocated right shoulder. The surgery was necessary because of an injury to the shoulder following a heavy fall in the John Smith’s Mildmay Novices Chase at Aintree in April when he was riding The Giant Bolster. Originally he was to have keyhole surgery but, unfortunately the damage to his shoulder was more serious than first thought. The result was that Scudamore’s return to fitness was delayed. “They have basically had to reconstruct the shoulder, so the comeback has been slower than I’d have liked, but there have been no setbacks and it could have been a lot worse,” he told the Sporting Life.

Scudamore had his arm in a sling for six weeks or more. The he has been having physiotherapy and swimming to improve his strength and range of movement. Scudamore has returned from this enforced break around five pounds over his normal riding weight of 9st 12lbs. He is very much forward to renewing his partnership with The Giant Bolster. The horse also has also undergone during the Summer months..

“The Giant Bolster has a hell of an engine,” said Scudamore. “He’s going to Yogi Breisner this Summer to iron out his jumping, but I still think he’s got a big race in him. He’s just a bit stupid. One minute he jumps brilliantly, the next he’ll do something silly. I’m looking forward to getting back on him – and to getting back full stop.”

David Bridgewater, the trainer, has yet to sort out a plan of action for the horse, preferring to wait to see what effect the session with Breisner has had. By the time that happens Tom Scudamore will be back in the saddle and riding winners again.

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Trainer accused of maltreating his horses and using banned substances

Dziadzia 

Justaboutmanaging.com

21 July 2011

The British Horse-racing Authority (BHA) questioned trainer Howard Johnson this week about charges relating to horse welfare and doping. Johnson admitted that he had run a horse on eight occasions even though it had undergone a leg operation to remove the nerves to the foot.

Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare, Rory Owers, explained the procedure, known as a palmer neurectomy: “It means that anything that happens to the horse, for example a nail going into a hoof, it won’t feel a thing.”

This operation was performed on the then 6-year-old chestnut gelding, Striking Article, in 2008, after he had pulled up in the Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Striking Article, however, went on to race a further eight times and won three times. In his final race, at Musselburgh in February last year, Striking Article pulled up lame and was subsequently put down. The previous operation came to light when a post mortem was carried out after the race.

Trainers should know that horses that have had this operation are banned from racing. Apart from the health of the horse there is also an increased risk for the jockeys. Howard Johnson denies the charge and claims he did not know the operation was banned. He also stated that he had been advised by his vet that Striking Article could continue to race.

There is a separate charge that Johnson administered the steroid, laurabolin, a drug which contains nandrolone, to three horses, Whisky Magic, Mintaka Pass and Montoya’s Son. - which Mr. Johnson also denies.

Howard Johnson has been training horses for some for 25 years. If he is found guilty he could lose his licence. If this happened it could sadly break up of one of jump racing’s most successful partnerships, that between trainer Howard Johnson and owner Graham Wylie.

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Duel for the Duo on the Sussex Downs

Dziadzia – Justaboutmanaging.com

21 July 2011

Frankel and Canford Cliffs are certainly up for the Qipco Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in a week’s time. But it is beginning to look like a 'two-horse' race as they will only have a few rivals worthy of taking them on. So much so that the race is attracting the title of “Duel on the Downs.” Canford Cliffs' connections are starting to worry that this will not be good for either horse.

Richard Hannon, Canford Cliffs’ trainer, has divulged how he would like the race to evolve:

“It will be interesting to see what turns up at the five-day stage. I would like a good gallop with the other horse (Frankel) leaving the gate as fast as possible. Then it won’t matter.”

Hannon seems to be particularly concerned about the impact of Goodwood’s undulations on his horse’s race rhythm. “I am just a bit worried about that dip down the hill coming into the straight. He didn’t like it too much last year. He didn’t seem to like it in the Guineas either.”

Hannon’s stable jockey, Richard Hughes, feels it will not suit rival Frankel, if there is just a small field, . “I imagine with only a few runners there won’t be much pace at Goodwood which means Frankel will run free. Frankel settled very well at Ascot when we were going a million up the hill – I was on Dubawi Gold, sitting second, and I could not have gone an inch faster, off the bridle. That is why Frankel settled so well at Ascot but, if he was going slow, then he would be keen. If we go slow, he will be free.”

Frankel, according to Hughes, is a brilliant three-year-old in what he considers to be a not particularly high class year. Canford Cliffs is still improving,in his view. So he is looking forward to the contest between the two with great pleasure.

“You would like to think that both horses are healthy on the day and there are no excuses – head to head at the furlong pole would be nice to see and then the best horse will win.”

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Thanks for the Memory!

dziadzia – Justaboutmanaging.com

July 19, 2011

The 3-year-old bay filly, Memory, it seems, will be given one last run to prove she still has the talent she demonstrated as a two-year-old. On the back of this reputation she is the favourite for this season’s Qipco 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

If my memory serves me correctly, she refused to leave the starting stalls for this race and there was a similar incident in the Falmouth Stakes 10 days ago. So Memory has plenty to recall if she is to carry on her racing career. Memory is entered in Goodwood’s Oak Tree Stakes, and Richard Hannon, her trainer, has to face the fact that if she 'stalls' again, he and owners, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, may well be expunge her from memory as regards winning any more prize money.

“Memory disgraced herself when refusing to come out of the stalls in both the 1000 Guineas and the Falmouth Stakes but we feel that we must give her one last chance and the Oak Tree is the perfect race,” said Hannon. “She has won at Goodwood and dropping back to seven furlongs will suit her as she has plenty of speed, but obviously our first priority will be to get her to start.”

The consequence of another failure to take part would also lead to an 80 day racing ban from the Jockey Club and this would rule out Memory for the rest of this season. The incentive to try one last time is because winning a Group race at as a three-year-old would significantly increase the filly’s value, both for racing or for breeding. If Memory goes blank again, there is every chance she’ll go down memory lane and be put on the list for the Tattersalls Sales at Newmarket.

Memory, you may recollect, has an impressive juvenile record. She won both the Albany at Royal Ascot and the Cherry Hinton at Newmarket. What a shame if three of her four races in her second season were to written off as “refused to race” !

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 Go Go Godolphin!!

July 19, 2011

Dziadzia – Justaboutmanaging.com

Word is out that a top team at Godolphin is preparing to go to America and take on their top horses . Already there in New York, are 10 horses, trained by Saeed bin Suroor have already been settled in New York ahead of the 40 day meeting at Saratoga which runs from Friday 22 July through until September 5.

Bin Suroor said: “Saratoga is one of the biggest meetings in America and I am looking forward to having runners there again this year.”

Godolphin should field two runners on the first day of the meeting. Gayego is entered in the Listed James Marvin Stakes which is over seven furlongs on dirt. This race was won by stable companion, Vineyard Haven, in 2010. Abtasaamah is possibly a first-day runner in a six-furlong claimer. Connections expect more of Abtasaamah this year. So far three-year-old has failed to live up to expectations. After a close run when the favourite for her debut race, she won a maiden on the fibresand at Southwell. Disappointingly she finished last in Newmarket’s Rockfel stakes.

Bank Merger, who was runner-up last year in the Grade 1 NetJet King’s Bishop Stakes, is aimed at the six-furlong Grade 1 Alfred G Vanderbilt Handicap on 7 August. Other horses are said to include dual Group/Grade 1 heroine Hibaayeb, who was victorious in the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay Stakes at Belmont Park in May and Buffum, who is primarily going for an August 6 race over seven furlongs on dirt.

Vineyard Haven completes the list - a previous contender at Saratoga. “Vineyard Haven has won a Grade 1 at Saratoga and likes the course. He was unlucky not to win the NetJet King’s Bishop Stakes in 2009 and was third in the Forego Stakes last year. We will decide where to aim him after he settles in at Saratoga and will also make plans for the other horses in due course,” bin Suroor said.

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15 July 2011

Time and Tide do wait for Track Stars.

Kauto Star and Denman are both 11 years old, can you believe!! It seems that no decision has yet been made as to when, or even if, they will place their golden hooves on turf again. Discussions with the respective owners are still to take place, we are told.

You will recall that Kauto Star was pulled up at Punchestown on his last outing and no thought will be given to his future before he comes back to the stables. Kauto Star had two Gold Cup wins in 2007 and 2009. Denman has also finished runner up in the Gold Cup for each of the last three years.

Trainer Paul Nicholls is slowly recalling most of his horses from their summer break. We hear, however, that Denman and Kauto Star will have a longer out of school.

When asked for a comment Nicholls said: “There has been no decision (on Kauto Star). He isn’t going to come in that early as he and Empire Levant both went to Punchestown, so they’ll get a bit longer.”. “Clive (Smith, owner) and I won’t be rushing into making any decision. We’re not rushing to get him back in and we’re not rushing to do anything, really. We will get him back in. He’ll come back in with Denman as they do everything together, and we’ll just see what they’re like. They went out into the field fit and healthy and they’re fit and healthy and look fantastic now.”

We understand also that Paul Nicholls has great hopes that his new recruit, Kauto Stone, will have at least some of his half brother’s talent. The five-year-old chestnut has already had 14 races for Jehan Bertran de Balanda, his French trainer. These were all at the Autueil racecourse and he won 5 of them, including a Grade 1 chase last November.

Kauto Stone, however, is owned by Louise Kemble, Chief Executive of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and Patrick Atkinson so you won’t be seeing the new Kauto sporting Clive Smith’s green and yellow silks.

Dziadzia

15 July 2011

Justaboutmanaging.com

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15 July 2011

EE Bah Gum! The gee-gees a worth £230 million a year!

Sheffield Hallam University has produced a report that £230 million a year from the racing industry is benefiting the economy in the Yorkshire Region. The University looked at the impact of racing itself at Yorkshire’s nine racecourses as well as the value of racehorse ownership and training. It seems there are 121 licensed trainers in the county, who between them train over 3,200 horses. This adds up to around 20% of the national total.

Paul Lawless and Ian Wilson, who produced the report, refer also to the contribution of other racing related activities such as the Doncaster Bloodstock Sales and the Northern Racing College. An incredible 5,000 individuals in Yorkshire are involved in racehorse ownership. Training fees average £15,000 a year. Then there's jockeys' riding fees,prize money won, and so owners themselves contribute around £50 million into the Yorkshire economy. A further £30 million comes from off-course expenditure by racegoers. After all many of them stay overnight and and run up bills for food and drink.

The majority of money, however, and this put at around £155 million is directly related to the activity on the nine racecourses themselves. Professor Lawless said ( within the law!) “In addition, the core racing industry provides some 2,300 full time equivalent jobs in the county.”

Go Racing in Yorkshire commissioned the Report. Chairman of 'Go Racing' in Yorkshire, Simon Channon commented, ““This report confirms that racing matters to Yorkshire. We’re delighted we can show our existing sponsors the true value of the sport which they are backing and it will be enormously helpful that Yorkshire racing can demonstrate such a positive impact on the economy when we seek to broaden our support base in years to come.”

It is timely that the publication of the report is promoted for the fourth annual Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival, which runs from Saturday 16 July to Sunday 24 July. The county's eight courses which host flat racing fixtures are particularly pleased with this opportune report.

There's brass in t'report!

Dziadzia

Justaboumanaging.com

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Kicking up a (sand) storm?

Bahrain Storm threw down the gauntlet for the Galway Plate when he won at Killarney on Monday in a tough race. The eight-year-old bay gelding who started the 5-4 favourite, tracked Echo Bob, who was leading most of the way, through to the last-but-one fence. He then started to come under pressure while Echo Bob appeared to still be going well. However, the Patrick Flynn-trained gelding reacted to the energetic coaxing of his rider and managed to draw up alongside his rival and the two of them went over the last fence neck and neck. As Bahrain Storm landed, his jockey, David Casey gave him a thwack and the 2009 Galway Hurdle winner went clear to finish three-and-a-half-lengths ahead at the winning post, much to the surprise of some of the gain-sayers.

Trainer, Flynn, said afterwards: "I ran him in this race to sharpen him up. He's in the Galway Plate and the Galway Hurdle but he's more likely to go for the Plate. He hasn't got much chasing done but he's got a light weight and it's a better option to go for the Plate". Bahrain Storm, owned by the Cousins Syndicate, is 12-1 for the Galway Plate with some bookmakers.

 So worth punting a punt!

 Dziadzia

Justaboutmanaging.com

12 July 2011

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Glorious Goodwood could welcome filly with open charms. <
JustAboutmanaging.com has just heard that SNOW FAIRY will run in the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
Her seasonal re-appearance was registered when she came fourth in last Saturdays Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.
Ed Dunlop, her trainer, openly revealed that his horse would be ready for the race. Snow Fairy is among the 26 horses entered for the Group 1 race on July 30.
But the four-year-old filly is no stay-at-home gal. She has brought home the (dare-I-say?) bacon from such faraway places as Japan where, last year, she won the QEII Cup at Kyoto and the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup in Sha Tin, by the Shin Mung river.
Owner Cristina Patino's racing manager, Patrick Cooper, commented yesterday:
The plan is for Snow Fairy to head to Goodwood for the Nassau Stakes.
We are delighted with how she has come out of her run in the Coral-Eclipse and we thought she ran very well there, especially considering she had been off for seven months.
If she hadn't won the Height of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood last year we wouldnt have gone for the Oaks, so it would be nice to return to Goodwood.
That was really the start of her season last term and hopefully we can kickstart this campaign at the same course.
We will probably keep her against her own sex in Europe for the time being and the plan is to head East with her once again later in the year.
Snow Fairy could meet Midday, who would be aiming for a third straight victory in the contest if she does appear in the line up.
Other entrants to be considered include Ribblesdale winner, Banimpire, and Blue Bunting, the 1,000 Guineas victor at Newmarket.
So if you fancy a flutter at Goodwood on July 30th., go with the Snow Fairy!
JustAboutManaging.com

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JAM

JustAboutManaging.com

Managing at Work, Rest & Play