Vale’s most valiant lead the field at Cheltenham
LAST Thursday at Cheltenham, in the Catesby Estates PLC Mares Handicap Chase, two horses trained in the Vale of Glamorgan – and both by different trainers – came home in first and second place.
First past the post was Christian Williams’ top-weighted Win My Wings under Nick Scholfield, and 10 lengths behind came the Tim Vaughan-trained Madera Mist, ridden by west Wales’ Alan Johns.
Williams and Vaughan are both former point-to-point riders, as indeed is Alan Johns.
Meanwhile, David Brace, of the Dunraven Stud in Pyle, near Bridgend, came close to pulling off a surprise win in the famed Topham Handicap Chase at Aintree when his former winning point-to-pointer, Pink Eyed Pedro, under Jack Tudor, finished runner-up to the Willie Mullins-trained LiveLoveLaugh.
Jack gave his mount a tremendous ride and his efforts earned his owner/trainer more than £22,000.
And at Huntingdon the David Brace-owned, bred and trained Colorado Doc, who like Pink Eyed Pedro is by Dr Massini, gave west Wales’ Sean Bowen another win.
BRIAN’S BLAST FROM THE PAST
Under the heading Blue Raven’s Hat-Trick and a picture of David Brace and Blue Raven this is what I had to say in my Welsh Racing column in the South Wales Echo on 25/9/1995...
‘One man who has a keen eye where racehorses are concerned is Bridgend businessman David Brace.
He bought a two-year-old called Blue Raven at the Malvern Sales for just £800 a couple of years ago and after breaking the horse in himself he sent it to trainer Philip Hobbs last November.
David and his wife Dawn somehow find time from running their busy Dunraven double glazing company to see this promising fouryear-old chestnut gelding run.
And they were delighted when Blue Raven recently made it a hattrick of wins.
David, well-known as a trainer of point-to-pointers, said: “After Blue Raven was unseated at Worcester earlier this season we ran him the next day at Exeter and he beat his solitary rival Shikaree, the long oddson favourite, by seven lengths.”
He added: “A week later we ran him at Fontwell and he won unchallenged and then at Exeter again, a week later, he stepped down from two miles one furlong and made all the running to win by a neck.”
Top trainer Martin Pipe, who was hoping to train all six winners that day in his ambition to go through the card, said before racing began that his horse Sozzled, who was made an odds-on favourite, would find it difficult in conceding 11lb to Blue Raven and he was certainly proved right.
Blue Raven, who is well ridden by Philip Hobbs’ brother, Peter, has now won more than £6,000 in prize money.
However, David rarely lets a horse of his go unbacked and he is sure to have had a nice little tickle each time it has won.
By Monsanto out of Caswell Bay, Blue Raven, who is not much bigger than a pony, is certainly proving a speedy sort.
David has trained and owned dozens of winners between the flags. Blue Raven, however, is his first under Rules.’
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