Scrapper highlights the threat of business rates for courses
Scrapper hopes tracks won't have to fork out yet more cash to race
As well as a reduction in the number of both horses and spectators, there’s another cloud on the point to point horizon – business rates. This property tax, usually in the news due to the perceived unfairness of it being charged on high street shops but not on virtual businesses, has now been levied on one of the south west courses.
They are in the process of appealing against this, but if they are unsuccessful and other courses are subjected to the charge, then each meeting will need to find somewhere in the region of £2,000 to pay it. When most point to points are run by volunteers and breaking even is an achievement, this could be the final straw for many.
HIGHAM JANUARY 24
Higham has always been the friendliest of courses but they excelled themselves today.
An hour before racing one of the entrances was still unmanned, it was easy to spot the early arrivals; they were the ones walking around wearing a huge grin. A dozen quid up and they hadn’t had a bet yet.The smiles were wiped off everyone’s faces following the fatal injury to Harbour Court. For a while he was the country’s leading ‘pure’ pointer. Two springs back he went off favourite for the Cheltenham Foxhunters, finishing fifth behind Tammy’s Hill. He didn’t quite fulfil his potential but he was still a major force.It turned out to be an emotional roller coaster of a day for Harbour Court’s trainer Alan Hill; he saddled a winner either side of losing his stable star. Start Royal swept past the leaders approaching the second last in the Ladies Open, an hour earlier the impressive Broken Eagle flew away from his rivals in the Conditions.He won hard held by a long looking 40 lengths and was the only horse to break six minutes during the afternoon. He’s progressive and is Open class. Brackloon High ground out victory in a Men’s Open, greatly weakened by Harbour Court’s demise.
The third home Never Complain showed a lot of promise on his English points debut, he’ll come on a bundle for this. Very few got competitive in either of the 14 runner divisions of the Maiden. Both fields gave the birch a terrible bruising. The two winners, Fort Gabriel and Don’t Budge Me showed enough to suggest they will win a Restricted.The worst round of jumping came from On The Tangle, the fact he kept on to finish third would indicate he has got a fair engine, if they can persuade him to leave the ground every now and then he could be useful. I’ve included three maidens on my ‘back next time out list’, Happy Ring House (big, backward, wants a galloping track), Nandini (a little bit out of proportion, good bodied but weak necked. Needed this, one of the few to jump well; prominent until getting tired) and Mr Cardle (ran on nicely late, wants a stiffer test). There were easy winners in the day’s other two contests, but a warning regarding both.
In the Novice Rider’s Done A Runner had the advantage of being piloted by Jack Andrews, by far the best rider in the contest. Last season the teenager looked a boy; he has matured into a self-assured young man this winter. Confident to try to outjosh his senior rivals, bold enough to take this race by the scruff of the neck. Burtfredgipandgump decimated a large field in the Restricted but he had an awful
bunch traipsing in behind him. Victoria Pendleton was here for a couple of rides; she finished last on one and second from last aboard the other. In her six outings between the flags she has beaten just two opponents.
There looks little improvement since I last saw her in December. Betfair, Victoria’s partner in the Switching Saddles project, still seem determined for her to ride at the Cheltenham Festival. It’s only seven weeks away, she will not be anywhere near ready for the challenge.
There was a strange mystery of a missing horse. I watch the racing here besides the third last. Walking back after the conclusion of the second Maiden I bumped into a female trainer. “Have you seen my horse?” she asked. “One’s just galloped by me,” I said. “Wrong one!” she replied. A puller-upper trotted up to us. “Have you seen my horse?” she asked. “One’s just galloped by me,” he said. “Wrong one!” us two told him.We waved down a Land Rover containing the starter and his assistant. “Have you seen my horse?” she asked. “One’s just galloped by us,” they said. “Wrong one!” us three told them.The five of us surveyed the racecourse, to no avail. I listened out for any lost property announcements.
HORSEHEATH FEBRUARY 7
The course has rearranged the furniture since last year; the first fence has been resited, the paddock and the car parks, the trade stands and the food stalls have all been moved around. Everything is now far more compact, before it always looked as if they were expecting four times the crowd.The flaw in the ‘grand project’ was the lack of loos, the queues were both long and fidgety, spending a penny cost you a race.
This is always a tricky meeting for punters – the early season racing in East Anglia is held at sharp courses Cottenham, Higham and Ampton, nine or ten furlong circuits. Horseheath is just under two miles around, big long striding horses who have been struggling to keep up with their nippier opponents come into their own on this big galloping track. It means delving deeper into the form books if you want to be successful with your wagers.
Alternatively, you can take the short cut by backing the most talented rider in the contest. This must be a unique track in that both its long straights are uphill; it takes a lot of knowing. It was no coincidence that the best riders to have brought their saddles here today, Gina Andrews and Sam Davies-Thomas, rode doubles.In the Ladies Open Gina needed all her strength and guile to help Berties Dream (1/3) best Goodnight Vienna. This was a titanic battle over the final six obstacles, the winner, conceding 7lbs, landing the decisive final blow late on. Gina completed her brace on
Total Compliance in the older horse Maiden. The second Wivannie flew up the straight passing rival after rival until a mistake at the last ended any hope of the mare overhauling the winner.
If Sam Davies-Thomas gave Will Fight a good winning ride in the Intermediate, then he gave Brave Encounter a brilliant one in the Restricted. The gelding’s form figures in the racecard read pppp, the programme also gave the warning “not jump well”. Sam slipped his mount off in front at flag fall and maintained never much more than a length lead, letting out an extra millimetre of rein every time a rival tried to challenge. Masterful.
Jack Andrews would have won the Novice Riders race on any of the first four home. Nightcap Jack had his assistance this afternoon; the winner looks an idle bugger. Jack persuaded, nay forced, his namesake’s head in front in the shadow of the post. The second home Pebbleglen ran on most strikingly but his pilot, the wonderfully named Ruby Knights, doesn’t look the strongest in a finish.The horse is good enough to win races.
Gunmoney (4/6) took an ordinary Men’s Open under a tartan clad John Russell. The pair don’t always concur on a stride but they continue to win more than their share. This is going to sound a terrible contradiction but here goes. I think the young horse Maiden was a decent race and that it contained a number of potentially useful prospects, but I am not sure the winner, Pedro King is much cop.He wasn’t carrying an ounce, has very little scope and had the run of the race.He may find a Restricted but there looked to be a number of rivals finishing behind him who are likely to develop into better class. I’ll give you three. Bengo has got plenty of size and after he had pulled on his two previous outings today seemed all about getting him to settle.
Having achieved that, his rider Alex Ferguson belatedly set about getting competitive. Bengo kept on nicely and he’ll be winning soon. Pettistree was my paddock pick. Held up, he was just threatening to threaten when he clouted five out. The youngster was considerately given time to recover before asked to run on. He could be very nice.The dogs had been barking Pride Of Parish all day and he wound up the short priced favourite. He was just about to mount a challenge for the lead when he belted the fourth from home.
COTTENHAM FEBRUARY 13
We were fortunate with the weather. Twenty miles south they had steady rain all day, here it drizzled for the first couple of races. I was even luckier at this meeting last season. I was 60 miles into my journey when I got a phone call telling me “Cottenham’s off. Frost.” So I did a swift uturn and sped westward to Newbury. Traffic meant I just had time to scribble out a Placepot. Mine was the last to slip through the machine. Three hours later I exchanged my ticket for thirteen hundred quid.
The star on today’s card was undoubtedly Lilbitluso, the hot favourite in the Restricted.The summer Irish purchase is now three from three in points this side of the water; all of his victories have been thrillingly bloodless. Afterwards I congratulated one of the connections and asked: “Did you realize you had something a bit special as soon as you’d got him?”
“We had eight grand out of the ring when he won here first time out!”
I took that as a yes. Lilbitluso’s targets are the big evening Hunter Chase meetings at Cheltenham and Stratford. I’ve got two concerns; first he looked almost light in the paddock. This coming after an eight-week break, surely his trainer Joseph O’Shea won’t be able to keep him at this level of fitness all the way through to
April.My other worry would be his jumping. He was very low at many, hurdling his fences. He got away with chesting the second last, if he does that at Prestbury Park he’ll wind up doing somersaults. Brackloon High was all out to hold the late challenge of Never Complain in the Men’s Open.The young Charlie Marshall looked guilty of setting the runner-up too big a task. The odds-on Now Ben proved a major disappointment, never ever looking to get involved. At the post-race presentation, the announcer paused during the ceremony: “I’ve just got to assist Mrs Barlow up on to the platform, she needs all the help she can get nowadays”. Before adding: “I am terribly sorry, that must have sounded awfully rude. Can I assure everybody I’ve known the Barlow family a very long time and it was said and taken all in good humour.”
Dabinett Moon looked to have the Ladies Open at his mercy when he unshipped Claire Hart at the second from home. This left the way clear for It Was Me.
Victoria Pendleton finished fourth of the five finishers on board According To Sarah.It looked a very strong paddock for the second division of the Open Maiden. Two particularly took the eye.The winner Bingo Star was my pick; he led at no more than a steady pace before getting involved in a sprint with Celtic Silver up the short home straight, just prevailing with the rest left well behind.
He has every chance of being decent, I expect his rider Johnny Bailey will seek to set faster fractions in the future.The other standout was Sissinghurst, a gorgeous, big debutant.He paid the fences no respect, hitting most until the second last punched him back. If his errant jumping was down to greenness, he could be useful, if it was because of ignorance he could be a menace.