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the
feature meeting
Analysis & Selections by
.t.h.e. .r.o.o.k.
Whether it be "the race of the day" or a small prize round the gaffs, we will attempt to use our knowledge of the formbook to highlight the fancied horses participating each day and their characteristics and requirements. Hopefully this 'second opinion' provides you with a winner or two each day, or even reinforces your own view on a particular may even convince you to back some of those horses which we feel are the "ones to fear", or have decent eachway claims. whichever is the case, we hope the information is of use to you.
SELECTIONS - For each race, we have given you who, in our view, are the likeliest winners;
(1er _ THE WINNER?), as well as any runners who could run well at eachway odds;
(E/W
ALTERNATIVE) . Any runner from our features are shown before each race's analysis.
ASCOT
Saturday 21st December
(¯¯ Iª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 12:50 Glenmore Investments Novices' Hurdle. £10000 added, 4yo plus, 3m, penalty £6792.50, 10 runners.
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP") 2002/3 ~~ Are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the current national hunt season? ]:¬»-Krach (FR)
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Silken Thyne, Krach, The Lyme Volunteer, Phar City, Roberty Bob, and Majestic Bay are the
likeliest winners of the opener of day two of the meeting. SILKEN THYNE, who made all when winning his
second race of the season at Wetherby will no doubt be popular, as should MADISON AVENUE [who won a
claiming hurdle at Plumpton by 15lemgths] and THE LYME VOLUNTEER, [who beat Sadler's Secret in
a handicap at Ludlow last time out]. I prefer KRACH who went well on his
first start over British obstacles behind Ad Hoc over course and distance
last month. He will have come on for that run and can out-battle these in
the final straight.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Krach,
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Silken Thyne,
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- The Lyme Volunteer,
(¯¯ IIª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯»- 1:20 cantor index . co.uk Steeple-ch. [H 'cap]. £50000 added, 5yo plus, 2m, penalty £29000, 7 runners.
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP") 2002/3 ~~ Are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the current national hunt season? ]:¬»-Dark'n Sharp (GER)
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- An interesting handicap chase comes next... SEEBALD, [second to Edredon Bleu at Exeter in November]; DAVOSKI, [third behind Just Jasmine at Cheltenham], DARK'N SHARP, [good effort over hurdles behind Rooster Booster at Cheltenham]; GET REAL, [a useful handicap at his best,
however he is on the decline and is dropping down the handicap]; SHAMAWAN, [an easy winner over
course and distance last time out, beating Just Jasmine by 5lengths]; and YOUNG DEVEREAUX, [potentially useful handicapper who
hasn't race since chasing home Cyfor Malta at Newbury in December '01] all have chances of sorts. Shamawan, and Young Devereaux, make
plenty of appeal off of their light weights, however I'll be hoping that Dark'n Sharp
returns to winning ways.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Dark'n Sharp
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Young Devereaux,
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Shamawan,
(¯¯ IIIª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 1:50 cantorsport.co.uk Silver Cup Steeple-ch. [H 'cap] (Listed Race) £50000 added, 5yo plus, 3m 110yds, penalty £29000, 8 runners.
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP") 2002/3 ~~ Are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the current national hunt season? ]:¬»- Ikrenel Royal (FR) and Jimmy Tennis (FR)
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- A decent 3-mile handicap comes next... BEHRAJAN heads the weights and this seven year old has a
decent chance despite a very poor effort behind Takagi at Navan last month. He has
plenty on his plate, because in CARBURY CROSS, [a good sixth behind Be My Royal in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury], INNOX, [a Winner over fences at Warwick last season, who
wasn't beaten very far by Jérico Vallis in the Prix Georges Courtois Chase (Grade 2) at Auteuil last time out]; ZAFARABAD, [ who won under an
inspired A. P. McCoy ride at Kempton], TRUCKERS TAVERN, [a decnet novice chaser last term who stayed on nicely behind Hugo de Grez at Kelso on her reappearance], IKRENEL ROYAL, [who makes his first
appearance since putting 12lengths between himself and Crocadee at Sandown in April '01], EXIT TO WAVE,
[recapturing his form if judged by his good third to Horus at Newbury] and JIMMY TENNIS, [a
winner over course and distance who has been let down by his jumping, but
has the ability to run a big race], he meets seven rivals who will give
him plenty to think about. I believe that his task is too great an ask and Truckers Tavern, and Ikrenel Royal make plenty of appeal. Truckers Tavern has a fitness edge, however the stable have been very quiet which is
off-putting.. completely the opposite to the Henderson yards which are red hot. Ikrenel Royal
doesn't have much mileage on the clock and if he is attractively
priced could give supporters a good run for their money... he'll do for me.
¦ 1er _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Ikrenel Royal
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Truckers Tavern
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Jimmy Tennis, [e/w]
(¯¯ IVª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 2:25 Ladbroke Hurdle [H 'cap] (Listed Race). £100000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 110yds, penalty £58000, 20 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Twenty runners have been declared for the
big race of the meeting... of these, I 'd consider the claims of the following
runners; POLAR RED - Slightly disappointing
behind Rooster Booster at Cheltenham in March, but was very progressive... seems to have plenty to do here at the weights;
MR COOL - A respectable fifth last time out behind Spirit Leader in
the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Sandown; VALERIO
- Looked very impressive when storming up the straight to beat Haditovski at Newbury;
GIOCOMO - A decent juvenile hurdler who beat Chicago Bulls by
¾lengths at Chepstow last time out; BENBYAS - Made all when beating Full Irish at Doncaster last weekend;
BERNARDON - A decent horse on the
flat in Germany who has been slightly disappointing. He does like soft ground and should be considered better that
when last seen at Bangor in September; HOLY ORDERS - Not seen out since finishing third to Rostropovich at Fairyhouse in May '01... much improved since on
the flat; UNDER THE SAND - second
to Rob Leach over course and distance last month; ANXIOUS MOMENTS
- fairly useful novice last term who was a disappointing favourite
in the Galway Hurdle in August... Expect a better effort today; MOVING ON UP - Beat all bar Spirit Leader in
the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Sandown; TIKRAM
- Hold-up specialist who battled on gamely to beat Sonevafushi at Fontwell;
CHAUVINIST - attractively weighted gelding who made all
when beating Amplifi by 9lengths at Newbury on his reappearance; KELTIC BARD -
who stayed on well to beat Sud Bleu in a decent novice hurdle; and MILKAT - only
½length behind the vastly improved Emotional Moment at Down Royal last month. A strong pace is
guaranteed and this should suit the hold up horses. Holy Orders looks particularly
well treated on his decent flat form, however Chauvinist appeals and a repeat of his last race gives him a good
chance here... He, Bernardon and Anxious Moments appeals as possible eachway
alternatives
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Chauvinist
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Bernardon, [e/w]
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>-Holy Orders
¦ 4th place?ª ¦:¬>-Anxious Moments
(¯¯ Vª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 3:00 cantor sport. co.uk Novices' Steeple-ch. (Registered As The Noel Novices' Steeple-ch.) [Grade 2] £30000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 3f 110yds, penalty £18000, 7 runners.
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP") 2002/3 ~~ Are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the current national hunt season? ]:¬»- Palarshan (FR)
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- TARXIEN, [impressive when beating Iverain by 23lengths at Cheltenham on his chasing debut], SCOTS GREY,
[soundly beaten by behind Jair Du Cochet at Newbury at the Hennessy Meeting]; PLACID MAN, [a lightly raced gelding who not been out
since chasing home Europa at Doncaster in January '01] and PALARSHAN, [soundly
beaten by Vol Solitaire at Warwick, but should appreciate the step-up in trip] are the four to
concentrate on the penultimate race. Tarxien and Scots Grey, would appear to have to concede plenty of weight to Palarshan, how Tarxien looks decent and whilst I have reasons to hope that Palarshan prevails, I dont
intend to allow my heart to rule my head.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Tarxien
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Palarshan
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Scots Grey,
(¯¯ VIª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 3:35 Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race £10000 added, 4, 5 and 6yo, 2m 110yds, penalty £6971.25, 15 runners.
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP") 2002/3 ~~ Are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the current national hunt season? ]:¬»-Bourbon Manhattan and What A Man
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- A bumper race ends the meeting... MIND HOW YOU GO, [the winner of two bumpers last term.. though he was
soundly beaten by Kickham at Aintree's National Meeting]; PATRIARCH EXPRESS, [a winner at Cheltenham in October], BOURBON MANHATTAN, [an easy winner at Taunton in November], CLASSIC NATIVE and LIMITED EDITION [who
finished first and second at warwick]; CONTROL MAN [an easy Plumpton winner... but this looks
harder], HE'S THE BOSS, [His win at Stratford was a good effort but he'll need to improve], DISTANT THUNDER, [a half-brother by Phardante to Moving Earth], and WHAT A MAN, [a winner of a irish point-to-point at Dundrum in March] look to be
the horses to concentrate on. I've heard good thing about What A Man who will win races this season, however Bourbon Manhattan impressed when winning on his debut and is taken to beat Limited
Edition
¦ 1er _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>-Bourbon Manhattan
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Limited Edition
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- What A Man, [e/w]
ASCOT
Friday, December 20.
(¯¯ Iª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 1:00 Mitie Group 'National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle 9runners 2miles-4f Penalty £7133.75 4-Year-Olds plus
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP 2003") ¯ are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the national hunt season? ]:¬»- Benrajah
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Far Horizon, Master Trix, Supreme Hill, and Benrajah, would appear to have the best claims
in the opener. Punters will no doubt latch onto FAR HORIZON, who did nothing wrong on his
reappearance when beating all bar Rhinestone Cowboy at Newbury last month. The margin of
defeat (3/4length) greatly flatters him and whilst he may go on to win he
doesn't represent much in the way of value. MASTER TRIX, [2nd behind Saitensohn at Newbury] and SUPREME HILL, [3rd behind Coolnagorna at Chepstow in November] certainly
wouldn't be far behind in replicating their best form, however Far Horizon is taken to give Nicky Henderson another winner here.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Far Horizon,
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Master Trix,
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Benrajah, [e/w]
(¯¯ IIª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 1:30 PML Hurdle (H 'cap) 17runners 2miles-4f Penalty £7036.25 5-Year-Olds plus
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Seventeen runners line up for the second
and of these MITCHELDEAN,
[disappointing over fences of late but was previously a fairly useful novice hurdler]; KATTEGAT, [fairly useful when with
Jim Old - present connections have started to get a tune out of her], HALF THE POT, [in good form over hurdles last term and hails from a
yard in good from], SURE FUTURE, [who stayed on well to win at Folkestone last time
out], MYHEARTISBROKEN, [a useful novice hurdler a few season ago who should improve as
the season progresses], WEND'S DAY, [returned to winning form this
term after missing last season through injury.. he was beaten last time out but that
probably came too soon], NEMISTO, [2nd to Totally Scottish at Carlisle in November last time out], FIELD MASTER, [a good second behind Queen's Pageant at Taunton last
time out] and WAGNER, [just beaten by Diorama at Plumpton on his reappearance] make most appeal... Wend's Day gets the vote especially as
connections have given him a more realistic break than when he raced last time out.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Wend's Day
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Sure Future
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Nemisto, [e/w]
(¯¯ IIIª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 2:05 PML Novices' H 'cap Steeple-ch. 9runners 2miles- Penalty £6776.25 4-Year-Olds plus
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP" 2003) ¯ are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the national hunt season? ]:¬»- Corletto (POL)
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Saint Romble, Corletto, Bold Hunter, Ins And Outs, Monte
Cristo, Gigs Gambit, and Mister Magpie make most appeal in the third. I am keen on "ONE TO JUMP" horse CORLETTO who has (so far) jumped well in three starts over fences and won by
virtue of a sound round of jumping at Market Rasen last time out. He must
concede weight to several of these, most noticeably SAINT ROMBLE who didn't
run too badly behind Kind Sir at Hereford last time out, however his chief threats may be INS AND OUTS, [a good fourth on his
reappearance behind Got One Too at Leicester] and MONTE
CRISTO, [who did well to beat Barito at Plumpton last time out].. I'll stay
loyal though.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Corletto (POL)
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Ins And Outs,
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Monte Cristo,
(¯¯ IVª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 2:40 Cantor Sport Long Walk Hurdle (Grade 1) 5runners 3miles-1f 110yds Penalty £35700 4-Year-Olds plus
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- I think a lot of rubbish gets written about Thierry Doumen and whilst he
doesn't have the strength of say "AP" He operates around the better courses in France
(something that Mr McCoy has failed to do in his attempts so far in France). That is by the by, there are pundits who will try and persuade us that BARACOUDA is vulnerable here, because of his
"unnecessary hard race" here last month where Mister Cool poached a huge lead and nearly stole the prize. This horse is not an easy ride and Thierry
Doumen, (who knows him better than anyone) needed to settle him as he is very free otherwise (check out his all-out win at Fontwell a few seasons ago if you have any
doubts). I notice YOUNG AMERICAN has been entered [who likes to be handy throughout], who should at least ensure some
early pace here and battle should be commenced in the last mile between the champion Stayer, NATIVE EMPEROR, DEANO'S BEENO, [2nd and 3rd behind Bacchanal at Newbury in November] and BROTHER JOE, [impressive at
Wetherby... but woeful in Bacchanal's race]. If Baracouda has no lasting effects from that previous race he should oblige ... whether
you believe he is a betting medium is probably best left to you individually
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Baracouda
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Native Emperor
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Deano's Beeno
(¯¯ Vª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 3:10 Fund For Epilepsy H 'cap Steeple-ch. 5runners 2miles-3f 110yds Penalty £13494 5-Year-Olds plus
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP" 2003)
~~ are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the national hunt season? ]:¬»- Chicuelo (FR),
[ ("FUTURE WINNERS - NATIONAL HUNT") 2002/3 ~~ Are there any horses from "future winners" our feature which notes horses to watch for follow during the current national hunt season? ]:¬»- Wain Mountain
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- All eyes will be on CHICUELO here in his
attempt to atone for his poor effort in the Thomas Pink Gold Cup, where
frankly he didn't jump a twig... that's racing and sometimes these things
happen. If he does that again here he wont oblige and even if he does WAIN MOUNTAIN, [a
good second on his reappearance behind Asador at Chepstow, however is surely better over
further], MR BAXTER BASICS, [well beaten by Hermes III at Sandown .. but is well handicapped on his best form] and GALANT MOSS, [top class over hurdles... in France... He's never translated that
ability over here , but is nicely treated should he deem to] will give him plenty to think about... I wont oppose
Chicuelo ... but I'm not confident
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Chicuelo
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Wain Mountain
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Galant Moss
(¯¯ VIª¯ ASCOT¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 3:40 Gerrard Wealth Management Novices' Hurdle (Registered As The Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle Race) (Grade 2) 8runners 2miles-110yds Penalty £14500 4-Year-Olds plus
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[ ("ONE TO JUMP" 2003) ¯ are there any horses from "One To Jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the national hunt season? ]:¬»- Foreman (GER), Shalako (USA), Grand Finale, and Atum Re,
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- A very trappy finale, and I'm not convinced its as clear cut as some suggest. PUNTAL who rattled up a sequence during the summer months is being backed for the Champion Hurdle and will be
expected to land another victory here , however Foreman, Dumaran, Shalako, Adjawar, Grand Finale,
and Atum Re, are all useful performers (or have the potential_ to be decent and this won't be easy. FOREMAN in
particular interests me and he is no mug and has been transformed by the
Doumens into a decent hurdler, (much better than the one that own at Folkestone
at the end of last term). His second to Karly Flight in the Prix Renaud du Vivier (Grande Course de Haies de 4ans) (Hurdle) (Grade 1) at Auteuil last month is from
the top draw and if he replicated that level of form here he wouldn't be that far behind
the favourite... I'' take a chance that Foreman is good enough to beat
him at these weights.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Foreman (GER),
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Puntal (FR)
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Grand Finale, [e/w]
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