Silver fourth, but Evan still bags winner
Simon Rowlands
WE are counting down to our final fixture of 2021 on Thursday, December 16. It’s Christmas Jumper Race Day with seven races from 12.10pm.
Tickets are just £15 in advance. Wales’s top hurdler, Silver Streak, ran well for most of the way in Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth on Saturday, only to fade into fourth place. His jumping wasn’t quite up to his usual standard and the Evan Williams team has work to do to restore his competitiveness at the top level.
A consolation for the yard was the victory of Winds Of Fire in an earlier three-mile novice chase. He jumped carefully at first – understandably bearing in mind his firstfence departure on his chasing debut a month ago – but improved as the race went on. Adam Wedge nursed him round, boosting his confidence.
Sean Bowen was disappointed by the run of Monmiral in the Fighting Fifth, but he too gained compensation in one of the other Newcastle races aboard Mr Glass.
Sean’s brother James has been cleaning up on Nicky Henderson’s lesser lights at minor meetings, and Surrey Quest added to that tally in a three-horse race at Leicester on Sunday. Held up for a late challenge, he fluffed the final flight but had ample in reserve.
Bowen and two other Welsh jockeys were set to ride in the final race of the day, only for it to be called off after the preceding contest was run in a blizzard.
David Probert rode his 159th and 160th winners of the year at Wolverhampton on Saturday evening, the first of them on The Daley Express for Ron Harris. The sevenyear-old had been knocking at the door for a long time and deserved a change of luck.
Headlines were made by the six-length victory of a horse called Jonbon in a Newbury hurdle on Friday, partly because JP Mcmanus paid £570,000 for him a year ago. The runner-up looks a pretty decent sort too, especially as he didn’t jump with as much fluency. That was Good Risk At All, trained by Sam Thomas for Dai Walters. He should break his duck before long.
There could be a strong Welsh presence in Saturday’s Becher Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree.
Peter Bowen has course winner Mac Tottie and Landofsmiles entered, Minella Bobo could run for Rebecca Curtis and Christian Williams relies on Cap Du Nord. His form figures don’t look great, but last time at Wincanton he was fourth and he may be coming to the boil at the right time.