Archive for January, 2010
Walsh and Nicholls a rock-steady team
Jan 29th
A hectic working life that is split between the British and Irish fixture lists means that Ruby Walsh will never be a challenger to Tony McCoy’s iron grip on the jump jockeys’ title. However, when he is riding in Britain, Walsh is clearly a jockey to follow. A strike-rate of 33% for the season simply [...]
Meydan under starter’s orders
Jan 28th
If a man might be judged by the books that he chooses to read would it be any surprise if a copy of Great Expectations has a place of prominence in the library of Sheikh Mohammed? World Cup night in Dubai has always been a bit different to the rest of world racing. Grand plans [...]
Victoria jumps at final chance
Jan 27th
The funeral arrangements may have been well underway but it appears that the reports of the demise of jump racing in Victoria may well have been exaggerated. Rather like Mark Twain, who reportedly was able to read his too-eagerly printed obituary in the New York Journal, jump racing in the Australian state had been preparing [...]
Denman jockey needs to be real McCoy
Jan 26th
The trainer has described the question as “crazy” and the jockey has said no-one has asked him, but the debate is as persistent as the one that keeps buzzing around Gordon Brown about when he will call a general election. As denials go, they were both succinct enough. Ever since Denman stormed back to top [...]
Absence makes the case grow stronger
Jan 25th
The more things change the more they stay the same. The market for the Champion Hurdle was given a mighty shake-up over the weekend but there were some mixed signals. Given that the market leader, Zaynar, is not due to run until Kelso in the middle of next month, this weekend’s races were always likely [...]
Keeping a weather eye on the future
Jan 22nd
The loss of three fixtures this week is a reminder of how easily jump racing can be disrupted by the weather and also a gentle hint that the lessons learned from the recent freeze should themselves not simply be placed into cold storage. Following the abandonment of 35 Jump fixtures since the start of the [...]
Murphy rises above statistics
Jan 22nd
It was Benjamin Disraeli who first coined the phrase about “lies, damned lies, and statistics,” and when Timmy Murphy passed the post first on Wizard Of Edge at Taunton yesterday the statisticians will have made a note. It would be to the effect that it was Murphy’s 1,000th jumps winner in Britain, which leaves him [...]
No shortage of rivals chasing Big Buck’s
Jan 21st
Defending champion Big Buck’s heads 35 entries for the Grade One Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 18th. Big Buck’s is undefeated in six starts over hurdles after his trainer, Paul Nicholls, made the decision to switch from chasing. That came after Big Buck’s had unseated his rider at the final fence when still [...]
New course on track at Meydan
Jan 21st
Yesterday we reported that all is not well with the turf course at Meydan, just over a week before the first meeting of the Dubai International Racing Carnival takes place next Thursday. The rumour is that the turf track will not be used that night, and not as often as scheduled before the Dubai World [...]
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