PR & TOTF (Updated)

(Apologies folks, but the Gladness Stakes at the Curragh on page 20 of the new Flat book took place last Sunday 5 April and not this Sunday. I will try and inform you all of any more date changes before the event in future)

There have also been date changes from the jumps book to the racing at Fairyhouse over Easter as follows:
Sunday 12 April - Rathbarry (Dunboyne) Novice Hurdle (page 144)
Sunday 12 April - Powers Gold Cup (page 142)
Monday 13 April - Irish Grand National (page 143)
Tuesday 14 April - Citroen (Festival) Novice Hurdle (page 141)

PERFORMANCE RATINGS

Long Distance (Liverpool) Hurdle – Big Buck’s 90
Bowl Chase – Madison Du Berlais 89
4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle – Walkon 75
Fox Hunters’ Chase – Trust Fund 66
Mersey Novices’ Hurdle – Bouggler 67
Red Rum Handicap Chase – Oh Crick 74
Mildmay Novices’ Chase – Killyglen 75
Sefton Novices’ Hurdle – Ogee 75
Melling Chase – Voy Por Ustedes 89
Top Novices’ Hurdle – El Dancer 70
Maghull Novices’ Chase – Kalahari King 81
Aintree Hurdle – Solwhit 85
Grand National Chase – Mon Mome 78

I was a big fan of french bread – especially with soup – prior to the weekend, but following the Grand National, French-breds are not a favourite of mine!

Not that I would’ve backed Mon Mome via the trends in 20 attempts, but hats off to my colleague at the Guardian, Chris Cook, who supported the beast at 180-1 on Betfair.

However, I did learn that Mon Mome translates as ‘my kid’ – just a shame I didn’t know that on Saturday morning when my wife and mum were scanning the runners looking for name clues. They were really chuffed when I told them my discovery on Sunday – a hundred times happier!

Anyone looking to have another shot at finding a National winner, though, won’t have to wait long as the Irish equivalent takes place on Easter Monday as part of the Fairyhouse Festival – see page 143 of the jumps book, and note the date change.

Both books will be required over Easter, however, as Kempton stage the Easter Stakes.
Kempton at Easter goes together like cornflakes and milk, and always reminds me of a touch I landed in 1996.
Back then sprint handicaps were my specialist subject, until a few years ago when the value disappeared. However, at that time a lot of information like the draw and trends were less exposed, and my accounts book in which I kept years' worth of draw stats told me in 1996 that high numbers were massively favoured on the sprint course in large fields.
The six-furlong sprint handicap I was eyeing up also had a good recent history for four-year-olds according to my Superform annuals – no click of a button on the internet then, but plenty of midnight oil.

There was only one four-year-old with a high draw – stall 17 of 18 – so Eastern Prophets picked himself.
The race was shown live on Channel 4, and it was my day off at the Racing Post, so I sat back with my Easter egg and watched it romp home on the far side at 20-1, although the dodgy camera angle down the middle of the track didn’t make it clear until the final furlong when I saw it pass the spiral staircase that still stands on the track – try spotting it on the box this Saturday.

I miss the turf racing at Kempton these days, especially the separate sprint course - similar to Sandown – as it used to provide many badly drawn qualifiers to follow (first horse home from a bad draw).
But the show goes on, and the Easter Stakes is still a decent event, along with the Snowdrop Stakes – shrewdies may remember from 2008 to keep a note of the first two home in that race for a clue in the Dahlia Stakes at the Guineas meeting.

TOP OF THE FORM

A quiet week for the Top 20 chart, during a phase where both codes of our sport intertwine, and the jumps season makes way for the Flat.
I mentioned this at the end of the Flat season as a time to tread carefully from a form perspective as the closing season’s form turns mouldy as the new term’s formpath just starts out. All-weather form is also being transferred to the turf and it often takes around two or three weeks to settle down. If we had 10 Brocklesby’s in the current chart then fine, but it may pay to let the chart mature in the coming weeks of the Flat.
As for the Brocklesby, Eight Hours was a fourth winner from that race at Wolverhampton on Monday, however the bookies are well aware of the form with all four victors going off favourite.