Racing is back in full swing at
Pitchcroft. The first meeting attracted
79 runners and a divided race, close to double the number of runners at either
Wincanton or Newton Abbott on the same day. The popularity of the Worcester
track amongst the trainers is further highlighted by the 151 entries for
tomorrow evening’s card, including horses representing all the top National
Hunt yards.
The weighing room is a different
place without AP McCoy, however following in his mentor’s footsteps, a double
at the first meeting has put Richie McClernon at the head of the Worcester
jockey table at this early stage of the season.
Andrew Thornton, presently chasing his 1,000th winner, is in
second place. The second leg of McClernon’s
double was aboard Sir Note for Nick Littmoden, beating Worcester specialist,
Anton Dolin who won twice at the course for Claines trainer, Richard Newland in
2013.
The winners of our selling races
proved popular purchases last season and the first meeting continued that trend
when French-bred, Vif Argent went under the hammer for 11,500 guineas. The six year old, trained by
David Pipe has already run 31 times, winning 9 races under rules, including a
Newbury handicap hurdle off a mark of 115 in February.
The in-form Dan Skelton, who
trains at Alcester was on the score sheet in the opening race with a horse who
has recently moved from Tony Carroll’s Cropthorne yard. Thinger Licht (pictured above) was given a very confident ride
by Bridget Andrews, fiancé of Skelton’s
brother and stable jockey, Harry. Andrews was riding her second
winner from 3 mounts in 7 days, and managed to get a great tune out of Thinger
Licht who has since gone on to be second under Andrews at Warwick, and to win
at Kempton by 12 lengths under Harry Skelton, the horse’s third race in 6 days.
Flying the flag for
Worcestershire National Hunt trainers currently is David Dennis, whose 140 acre
training facility is located at Hanley Swan. Former jump jockey, Dennis rode
over 240 winners during his 10 years in the saddle. He started training in September 2013 and has
horses running on the flat as well as over jumps. Dennis’s winners in the last week alone have
come at Southwell, Kempton, Bath and Market Rasen.
Chaddesley Corbett is the place
to be on Bank Holiday Monday when the top English point to point jockeys will
take on their Irish counterparts in the Anglo-Irish challenge 2015.
Tomorrow evening’s racing at Pitchcroft
includes the annual Hargreave Hale Investment Manager’s Hunters’ Steeple Chase. Always popular with the point to point crowd,
the meeting promises to provide a great atmosphere, with the first race due off
at 5.50pm.
