atherstone
clifton-on-dunsmore Sunday 17th April 2005
by Jeremy Grayson
Hard up against the Watling
Street in the Warwickshire countryside, the Clifton-on-Dunsmore
track is long-established in the history of British racing.
Formerly the Rugby National Hunt racecourse, Clifton has been used
for point-to-points since 1953 and rightfully attracts a big crowd
to its sole meeting. This year’s renewal featured eight races
and mostly dry and sunny conditions (bar a little peripheral
drizzle during the last contest).
The immaculately turned-out turf
on this perfectly rectangular left-handed track was riding soft
with no appreciable deterioration during the afternoon. Alas,
whilst the ground didn’t cut up, the fields had, and the
organisers may have had every right to be disappointed with an
initial entry of 165 reducing to under 60, with the Open races
particularly affected.
Race One;
HUNTS MEMBERS, SUBSCRIBERS AND FARMERS
A facile win in the opener for EMPEROR ROSCOE, who landed his
second win of the season for the Day family, teenager Jon in the
plate. This was his fourth run in as many weekends and represented
a good confidence restorer following a heavy defeat at Pytchley and
fall at Belvoir recently, although being 14 points higher than the
next in the ratings – and eventual second here TRUE FRIDAY
– he was entitled to take this if standing up. True Friday,
only five and already a maiden winner at Garthorpe this season, is
only going to improve and looks well suited to big, jumpers’
tracks on the evidence to date.
Race Two;
MARES’ OPEN MAIDEN
This was a qualifier for the Panacur Final at Garthorpe in mid-May,
and duly attracted the biggest field of the day (16) all vying for
the four qualifying places. CURROW KATE was the pick on ratings,
albeit a pretty ordinary 67, and had had more attempts at winning
(12) than any of her rivals, so the bare form is not up to much.
She fared much the best of those up with the pace from the start,
and Lennie Hicks had enough horse underneath him to repel the
challenge of BLACKBERRY THYNE up the straight.
The runner-up was ridden to last
the trip, having been pulled up in a largely inconclusive
racecourse debut at Brafield five weeks previously
(“schooled; could do better”, read the report in the
Weekender), and she arguably offers more hope in the short
to mid-term than her more exposed conqueror here; certainly a
maiden should come her bay before the season’s end. Similar
comments apply to MONALEASE, struggling to stay when falling after
2m 4f from home at Pytchley last week and given too much to do here
late on following a quiet ride from Stuart Morris. HERPEN, rated
just 41 and with a string of non-completions only interrupted last
time out, was never nearer than at the end and her finish in the
final qualification slot for this heat only helped give the form a
more ordinary look. SUZY SPITFIRE was hard ridden with over a
circuit to go but managed to keep prominent on this first
point-to-point run (no form in hurdles previously) before fading in
the straight. She could yet step up on this run.
Race
Three; CONFINED
Rowan Cope earned his (proverbial) fee on TOM TOBACCO at the final
fence of this race. Having led from the start, the partnership
still held a decent lead from the favourite NOBLE AFFAIR at the
last, when the horse tried to refuse and had to be goaded into
jumping the fence from practically a standing start. Unsurprisingly
he landed four square and jolted Cope violently forward, yet he
managed not only to keep the partnership intact but also to regain
enough momentum to regain the lead from Noble Affair up the run-in
– think of Baracouda’s mugging of Crystal D’Ainay
after his last-obstacle problem in this season’s Long Walk
Hurdle, double the seriousness of the mistake, and you’ll get
the general idea. This was a welcome return to form from the
winner, twice successful at Garthorpe last season but only once a
finisher in four previous outings this, and the change to
front-running tactics appeared to keep him interested for (more or
less) all of the way this time.
The winner and Noble Affair had
the race to themselves from around 5 out, Noble Affair having been
waited with until the start of the final circuit. He didn’t
seem as happy as the winner on the going (both his wins have come
on good or firmer) and he got very tired halfway up the straight,
so in the circumstances he did well to have enough left to be able
to pinch the lead back after Tom Tobacco’s final fence
antics, however briefly. There should be a race of some description
for him this season if fast enough ground can be found.
MINELLA HOTEL and TIM’S
THE MAN were both dropped right out the back until the back
straight the final time, but were never going well enough to catch
the two main protagonists. They had their own private battle for
third spot which Minella Hotel won, but tragically paid for by
collapsing and dying after the race.
Race
Four; MEN’S OPEN
A pathetic turn-out of three for the men’s race here, and
SILVER STREAK (1/7 favourite here with most bookies) could have won
this wearing concrete wellies. A decent hurdler and chaser with
Josh Gifford previously, he barely touched a twig in landing a
third win from six races in this, his first season between the
flags. He ran down the last rather, but that was surely down to
idling in front rather than any tiredness or quirkiness, and it
would be no surprise to see him turned out again quickly having
expended minimal energy here.
A restricted winner at testing
Mark’s Tey last season, a finish was TABLE FOR FOUR’s
main priority here after two flops this year. He got the fence in
front of the crowds all wrong second time around and got several
reminders during the final circuit to keep him up to the job; he
doesn’t look on entirely good terms with himself just now.
GWYLAN, a serial no-hoper under National Hunt rules optimistically
pitched straight into Open company for this pointing bow, jumped
poorly throughout and was pulled up seven from home.
Race
Five; LADIES’ OPEN
There were just five runners in this contest, but it was a properly
run race, at 6mins 24secs the fastest of the day and fully 20
seconds faster than the non-race which preceded it. A really
exciting raider here was STEP AND RUN, six from eight in points
before this outing and already a winner over the stiff fences at
Llanvapley and Horseheath (twice) this term. He was always doing
enough out in front before being asked to quicken approaching the
last, and his ultimate defeat of that dour stayer LUCKY MASTER was
more comfortable than the naked eye margin would suggest. He has
found only the 103-rated Cloth of Gold too good this season, and
should find no bother in pinching another one of these if the going
stays soft – certainly his connections’ enterprise in
campaigning him as far afield as Gwent and Cambridgeshire merits
further reward.
Lucky Master does not win very
often, and his belligerent grinding away was never likely to
overturn the class of the winner unless (perhaps) the ground had
got bottomless. This was still a personal best for the season,
though, and gained despite showing more interest in the location of
the horseboxes than the job in hand with a circuit to go.
Having won on the Flat in his
native Argentina before being brought over as a hurdling prospect
by Wally Sturt and Jim Old, one can only guess what EXODUS makes of
pointing, and he has not coped fully with the uphill finishes of
either Penshurst or here. His third place here had more to do with
FREE taking the second last by the roots and putting in a tired
leap at the last; Free has yet to reproduce his dual winning form
of last year. Juvenile hurdle winner HIYAH put in some frightening
leaps on his pointing debut and pulled up with a circuit to go.
Race Six;
RESTRICTED
Quite a competitive heat with all runners rated between 73 and 82,
although not all of them entered the contest in the best of form.
One such runner was NORTHSPRITE, who needed 22 attempts to break
his maiden tag and had been pulled up the last twice. In both of
those races he had been ridden prominently and with cheekpieces on,
all to no effect. However, the same combination did the trick for
him under Charles Wadland here, so he is probably not a horse easy
to catch right, whatever aids he is given. His jumping early on
left much to be desired as well, so all in all he’s not one
to trust implicitly next time out.
Youngster JUMBUL SALE was
outstayed in a battle up the home straight with the eventual
winner, which saw the lead change hands a couple of times. He has
had a mercurial start to his career so far, a good ground win in a
2m 5f maiden at Welbeck sandwiched between pulled-ups over 3 miles
on easier going previous to this run. He will get stronger and
better over time – he’s still a six year-old –
although he has another 21 victories to go before emulating his
fantastic dam Confused Express.
PERSIAN SILK shared much of the
front-running with the eventual winner and STICK OR BUST, who
stopped as if shot down the back stretch the last time; but this
former Irish mares’ maiden winner found little for pressure
when the first two started to get away entering the final straight
and not for the first time looked short of gears. A more severe
test than this might suit better. Favourite ALL RIGHT FOR TIME was
never put into the race by Nick Kent here – odd, given how
perfectly he’d got the tactics on him when winning at Thorpe
Lodge last time out – and this run is best forgotten.
Race
Seven; OPEN MAIDEN (Division One)
All shapes, sizes and abilities on show in the first heat of the
maiden, and only four got home. In a driving finish,
USEDTOBEASWEETBOY got his head in front at the eighth time of
asking, with Richard Collingson getting him home just ahead of
double-seeking Rowan Cope on ROCKVALE. Usedtobeasweetboy was not
winning out of turn, having gained two seconds this season, but
that most recent second at Guilsborough a week earlier may have
been a win but for belting the penultimate obstacle, and –
today’s reasonably clear round notwithstanding – the
“F”s and “U”s in his form line indicate he
still has a bit to learn about the jumping game before being backed
with total confidence.
Rockvale was given a similar
kind of ride as on debut at Welbeck last month, being brought into
the race around four out. This time, however, he didn’t fold
in the straight, and ultimately lost no caste in defeat. He is
learning all the time and ought to land a maiden soon on this
evidence. THE FLORIDA MAN was rushed into the lead with a circuit
to go to keep him interested but was found onepaced turning for
home, and BEAU JAKE’s effort was disappointingly short-lived
after rousted to the front six out, on ground which should have
suited.
Race
Eight; OPEN MAIDEN (Division Two)
Just the four finishers again here with NORMANDY SANDS, formerly a
modest hurdler with Luke Dace, stepping up on his well-beaten
pointing debut fourth to True Friday (q.v.) to land the finale. He
was one of few here with credible form on soft or worse. He’d
need to step up a bit on this form before he looks like
Restricted-winning material, as there was little merit in defeating
poor rivals here in much the weaker of the two maidens, and he
still had eventual second and third FAIR PROMISE and IZZYIZZENTY in
close proximity up to the last.
Fair Promise had been stuffed by
All Right For Time in a Thorpe Lodge maiden last time out –
form that rival did not frank earlier on this card – and the
“R” and “U” in his nascent form line
indicate he is still a bit of a wild child as yet. Izzyizzenty,
meanwhile, settled much better than usual this time and has now
managed a couple of place finishes after four non-completions; he
is slowly getting the hang of things, but it will still be a bad
maiden he wins. ALL ALIGHT, the only other finisher, trailed in
behind Normandy Sands last time and confirmed the form of that run
here in running in last place for well over a circuit. He will need
a more extreme test than even this to get competitive. TIPPERMAN
needed leading in at the start to avoid causing trouble, and jumped
erractically before pulling himself up before the first ditch. He
looks one to avoid at all costs.
WINNING
TRAINERS
Tony Day
R Harvey
Caroline Bailey
Milson Robinson
Mrs D Williams
Julie Marles
Peter Richardson
Nick Kent
WINNING
JOCKEYS
Jon Day
Lenny Hicks
Rowan Cope
Richard Armson
Jane Williams
Charles Wadland
Richard Collingson
Nick Kent
COMMENTATOR
Hon. Christopher Leigh
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