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June 2010BALCARCE NOV wasn’t beaten far by a back to form and Group 1 winner Rio de la Plata in a conditions stakes at Nottingham. At Ascot in the Royal Hunt Cup he was unsuited by the straight rtack.Rated 103, he will continue to contest the big handicaps/condition events on left handed tracks.. CELTIC SULTAN slipped to his lowest ever mark of 84 and took advantage of it by winning at Ayr over seven furlongs making all the running under Francis Norton. We decided to put the blinkers at the end of May over the same course and distance but he raced too freely and was headed inside the final furlong. Thankfully, he managed to get his head in front on this occasion but the handicapper put him up six pounds which makes life tougher. I was delighted with DISTANT MEMORIES victory at York’s Charity meeting in a valuable nine furlongs handicap. He was winning his fourth race from only nine runs and even though he will have a big weight he could head back to the Knavesmire for the John Smith’s Cup provided the ground is suitable. As everyone knows, he doesn’t want it too fast but when he gets his conditions he is a very good horse. KINGS GAMBIT, who won at Ripon during the spring, has run two excellent races since finishing a close fifth in a Group 3 event in Sweden before chasing home the progressive Rainbow Peak in the Listed Wolferton Handicap at Royal Ascot in second off a mark of 105. He is most effective over ten furlongs and heads for the John Smith’s Cup at York. PRINCE OF JOHANNE disappointed at Haydock at the start of the month but bounced back to form next time when third at Newcastle’s Northumberland Plate meeting. Placed twice this season, he has the ability to win races and the handicapper is gradually relenting which always helps. He will try a longer trip next time. QUITE SPARKY hasn’t got his head in front yet during his short career but he has been knocking on door including at Catterick over seven furlongs. We tried to make all but found one too good. He will hopefully gain compensation soon especially now the handicapper has dropped him three pounds since. TING TING didn’t stay a mile and a half at the start of the season and has been seen in a much better light since reverting to a mile. A filly by Empire Maker, she won over eight furlongs at Redcar off a rating of 56 and was only raised four pounds as a result. I have always liked WALVIS BAY and I thought he ran a solid race at Haydock last time having had a seasonal pipe-opener at Ripon. Six furlongs with a bit of ease in the ground is ideal and I am hoping he can add to his York juvenile success shortly. He looks fairly treated off 81 at present. Amongst our two year olds, ON THE HIGH TOPS continues to run well having won on his debut at Newcastle. Third in the Brian Yeardley Continental Stakes at Beverley, we stepped him up to six furlongs for the first time at Newcastle and he wasn’t beaten far by the unbeaten Waltz Darling, despite finding the ground too firm. FASTNET STORM, CALDERCRUIX AND BREATHLESS STORM form a Northern challenge at the Newmarket July Meeting. All should run well. MAY 2010BALCARCE NOV, who won at Haydock last year, has been running very consistently this season staying on strongly after a slow start in the Thirsk Hunt Cup in third and then been beaten half a length by the Britannia Stakes winner Fareer in a Listed handicap at York’s Dante meeting. Officially rated 103, he holds an entry in the Royal Hunt Cup and is set to carry 9st 3lb. We put blinkers on CELTIC SULTAN for the first time at Ayr and he set a strong gallop only to get caught inside the final furlong. A winner at Catterick last season, he is back to the same mark which is his lowest ever and I hope he will take advantage of it this summer. FASTNET STORM had a very good year last season winning three times and we elected to drop him back to a mile at Haydock. Prominent throughout, he ran well and wasn’t far behind in third. He is four pounds higher than his last win but I don’t think his turn is too far away. PRINCE OF JOHANNE is a new addition to the team this season and he ran his best race for us so far when three parts of a length second in a ten furlongs handicap at Haydock. We took him to Chester next time off a two pounds higher mark but he never really got involved. His Haydock run though suggested he is a horse with plenty of ability and hopefully it won’t be too long before he gets his head in front. WELSH EMPEROR made his seasonal reappearance in a Listed race over seven furlongs at Haydock showing all his old enthusiasm until getting tired late on. He finished fifth and wasn’t beaten far. He is eleven years old now and always needs a run or two. I am sure he won’t let us down because he never has in the past. CALDERCRUIX has made a very good start to this three year old career winning twice at Redcar over eight and nine furlongs and, despite an eight pounds rise, he acquitted himself well at Newmarket over a mile and a quarter finishing second to Monterosso. He enjoys fast ground and I hope he will continue to improve. MUSIC OF THE MOOR is another progressive three year old who only just missed out at Ripon last time. Five pounds higher than when winning at Beverley, he just failed by a nose to beat the Michael Jarvis trained Yashrid. The Rock of Gibraltar gelding appears to enjoy some give in the ground and he ought to get further than a mile and a quarter. QUITE SPARKY has earned an official handicap mark of 77 having finished fourth on his reappearance at Ripon over a mile. We will try and win a maiden with him, starting at Redcar in early June, before turning our attentions to handicaps. We tried TING TING over a mile and a half on his return to action at Pontefract but he didn’t stay hence the drop back to a mile last time at Redcar. Running off a rating of 53, she wasn’t far behind in fourth and there should be a race or two in her this year even though the handicapper has put him up three pounds. I have been pleased with the way the two year olds have been performing. BREATHLESS STORM is a lovely individual who seemed to lose concentration on his debut at Doncaster before finishing fifth. He showed signs of inexperience next time, too, but still came out on top at Ripon over six furlongs. The runner-up was narrowly beaten next time at Carlisle. I think he will be a better suited by 7 furlongs. ELAND ALLY made an encouraging start to his career when a running on fourth in a six furlongs maiden at Newcastle. A son of Striking Ambition, he kept on well in the closing stages and ought to win races on that evidence. I have a soft spot for MY SINGLE MALT who made his debut at Haydock over six furlongs. I thought he performed well considering he found himself on the outside and could have done with some cover. I would expect him to improve as the season goes on over a longer trip. ON THE HIGH TOPS has run two solid races winning first time out at Newcastle in a race which has worked out well. The runner-up has won since and finished third in the Listed Woodcote Stakes at Epsom. He then finished a close third in the Brian Yeardley Continental Two Year Old Trophy at Beverley. There should be more to come from him. THE TEAM FOR 2010OLDER HORSES BALCARCE NOV (ARG) 5 br h Romanov (IRE) – Rosada Fitz
(ARG) CELTIC SULTAN (IRE) 6 b g Celtic Swing – Farjah (IRE) DISTANT MEMORIES (IRE) 4 b g Falbrav (IRE) – Amathia (IRE) FASTNET STORM (IRE) 4 br g Rock of Gibraltar (IRE) – Dreams FRENCH APPLAUSE (IRE) 4 b g Royal Applause – A Ma Guise
(USA) KINGS GAMBIT (SAF) 6 ch g Silvano (GER) – Lady Brompton
(SAF) PRINCE OF JOHANNE (IRE) 4 gr g Johannesburg (USA) – Paiute
Princess (FR) REGAL LYRIC (IRE) 4 b g Royal Applause – Alignment (IRE) SUITS ME 7 ch g Bertolini (USA) – Fancier Bit WELSH EMPEROR (IRE) 11 b g Emperor Jones (USA) – Simply
Times (USA) THREE YEAR OLDS CALDERCRUIX (USA) b g Rahy (USA) – Al Theraab (USA) GOLDEN TIGER b c Kyllachy – Roxy LEVIATHAN b c Dubawi (IRE) – Gipsy Moth MOLON LABE (IRE) ch g Footstepsinthesand – Pillars of
Society (IRE) MUCH ACCLAIMED (IRE) b g Sulamani (IRE) – Much Commended MUSIC OF THE MOOR (IRE) ch g Rock of Gibraltar (IRE) – A
La Longue (GER) PINK FLAMES (IRE) ch f Redback – Flames QUITE SPARKY b g Lucky Story (USA) – Imperialistic (IRE) SADLER’S MARK b c Sadler’s Wells (USA) – Waldmark
(USA) THINK ITS ALL OVER (USA) b c Tiznow (USA) – A P Petal
(USA) TING TING (USA) b f Empire Maker (USA) – My Sweet Heart
(USA) WALVIS BAY (IRE) gr g Footstepsinthesand – Limpopo TWO YEAR OLDS BREATHLESS STORM (USA) ch c Storm Cat (USA) – Takesmybreathaway
(USA) DEFENCE OF DURESS (IRE) b c Motivator – Ultra Finesse
(USA) DOWNTOWN BOY br c Kheleyf (USA) – Uptown (IRE) ELAND ALLY b c Striking Ambition – Dream Rose (IRE) HOBBESIAN WAR b c Danehill Dancer (IRE) – Bold Classic
(USA) LOOSE QUALITY (USA) b c Elusive Quality (USA) – Djebel
Amour (USA) MY SINGLE MALT (IRE) b c Danehill Dancer (IRE) – Slip
Dance (IRE) ON THE HIGH TOPS (IRE) b c Kheleyf (USA) – Diplomats Daughter PINK DIVA (IRE) ch f Giant’s Causeway (USA) – Saoire WILD HYSTERIA (IRE) gr c Verglas (IRE) – White Wisteria Unnamed b c Librettist (USA) – Fiveofive (IRE) APRIL 2010I have been pleased with the start we have made to the turf campaign sending out 4 winners including CALDERCRUIX on his reappearance at Redcar. Tackling a mile for the first time, he was racing off a mark of 71 and ran out a comfortable two lengths winner. Hopefully there will be more to come but we will see what the handicapper does with him before making any further plans. He will improve as he gains in experience and is a nice prospect. MUCH ACCLAIMED is another decent three year old prospect and I was delighted with his victory at Ripon. He, too, was stepping up to a mile and ran out an easy five lengths winner and has been granted a rating of 88 as a result. He is due to make his handicap debut at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting at the start of May over ten furlongs and it will be interesting to see how he fares. MUSIC OF THE MOOR was unable to get his head in front last year but couldn’t have started his three year old campaign better with a win at Beverley in a mile and a quarter handicap. Staying on well in the latter stages. I hope he will continue to be competitive off his revised rating of 75. KING’S GAMBIT was also a winner during April beating the highly regarded Michael Jarvis trained Almiqdaad in a Ripon conditions event. Always prominent, he ran on strongly under Micky Fenton to score by a length and a half. He looks ready for a step back up in class and, all being well, heads to Chester in May for the Group 3 Huxley Stakes. SUITS ME continues to run consistently having finished second in the Winter Derby in March. Fifth in the Magnolia Stakes at Kempton during the same month, he wasn’t beaten far last time at Lingfield in a conditions race behind the Godolphin owned Storm Ultralight. Having won 11 races and nearly £175,000 in prize-money, he doesn’t owe us anything. He is due a Summer break now. I thought DISTANT MEMORIES ran very well on his return to action at Pontefract chasing home Richard Fahey’s Albaqaa. The ground would have been plenty fast enough and he was conceding eight pounds to the winner. He was due to tackle the Suffolk Handicap at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting but the ground was too quick. Like King’s Gambit, he has an entry in the Huxley Stakes at Chester but the underfoot conditions will determine whether he runs or not. He is very effective with ease in the ground. ACROSS THE SEA, who only had one run last season, made an encouraging return to action at Newcastle in a twelve furlongs maiden. Only beaten a length and a half, he will be qualified for handicaps following one more run and hopefully he will pay his way. A sound horse and staying is his game. MOLON LABE made his handicap debut at Pontefract towards the end of the month finishing third behind the progressive Beat The Rush. We elected to step him up to a mile and a half and he ran well for a long way. Perhaps he may prefer easier ground. I think THINKS ITS ALL OVER will benefit from a step up in trip having kept on in the closing stages over a mile at Haydock. Beaten two and a half lengths by Layla’s Lexi, he was outpaced when the leaders quickened but I thought he stayed on well enough late on. Comments by MARK HOWARD, Racing UK and author of Ahead On The Flat and One Jump Ahead |
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| Castle Farm Stables, Hazlewood, Tadcaster, N.Yorks, LS24 9NJ |