Double Delight

Linda created a little bit of history at Fontwell (23/2/2014) when she achieved her first ever double on one card, and in both cases it was the yellow and green silks carried by the two Valence Racing syndicates that crossed the line in first place. 
Itoldyou (Valence Racing Too) ran in a 2 mile 6 furlong handicap chase ridden by Tom Cannon.  He was dropped in at the back early and apart from an untidy leap at the third fence he jumped well.  He was moved up going out on the final circuit and pursued the long time leader who was well clear and looked the likely winner.  However Itoldyou enjoys being held up for a strong finish and his proven stamina in the testing ground saw him make inroads on the leader rounding the bottom turn and by the last fence he was upsides.  Another great jump put him into the lead and he quickly pulled clear to record a well earned victory, much to the delight of his connections.

 





 

Later in the afternoon Clonusker (Valence Racing) ran in a handicap hurdle over 2 miles 2 and a half furlongs.  He had gone up a stone following his Plumpton  victory in January and the extra couple of furlongs to be tackled was a concern.  Clonusker needs to run in a totally different way to Itoldyou and jockey Gerard Tumelty got it just right.  Clonusker was ridden prominently and went into a clear lead on the back straight of the final circuit.  He was allowed a small breather going into the final bend then went 6 lengths clear entering the home straight   A tired jump at the last sent out worrying signals as those extra couple of furlongs began to take their toll.  However he rallied and ran on in the final 50 metres as the chasing horse closed in. 

 

 

King Of The Sands

Kingscombe won for the third time on the fibresand at Southwell today (18/2/2014).  Ridden by Robert Havlin, he tucked into the middle of the seven runner field early on.  He was niggled round the first bend and moved to the outside, avoiding the kickback, in fifth place.  He was only a length down entering the final bend and entered the straight as one of four with a chance.  He took the lead a furlong and a half out but seemed to be headed as they passed the one pole.  He battled back to the lead and looked strong at the line, winning at odds of 14/1.

 

 

Strategically Placed!

Strategic Action ran a good race today (13/2/2014) over 6 furlongs at Kempton Park.  Under Robert Havlin he raced prominently in third place until asked for an effort 2 furlongs out.  He moved into second and kept on, closing the gap on the leader, and was only a neck down at the line.

All Weather Gallops.

Despite the atrocious recent weather, that has caused some trainers to have their gallops washed away more than once, Linda has been able to continue to work her horses on her all weather surface adjoining the yard.  Some of them can be seen here cantering for the owners after Saturday breakfast.

Park Pipped.

Rowe Park came agonisingly close to recording career victory number twelve, at Southwell today (23/1/2014).  Ridden by Liam Keniry he jumped out well enough but took a position in the centre just back from the leaders.  Liam pulled him round runners to make a challenge on the stands side entering the final furlong.  He was closing on the leader as the line approached and in a bob of heads a photo was called.  Unfortunately it showed that Rowe Park had been beaten by a nose.  There is little doubt that if the race had been a metre further he would have won.  A great effort nevertheless.

Patience Rewarded

Patience was rewarded today at Plumpton when Clonusker won a race for the first time.  He has been with Linda for 4 years but has been slow to strengthen up, only showing his first real form recently when finishing second in December in a similar Plumpton race.  He made the running in that race and he was ridden prominently again today, though not actually setting the pace in the extremely heavy ground.  Gerard Tumelty was pleased to find him still galloping happily after the third last flight of hurdles and when no horse came to challenge on the bottom bend he decided to kick on.  He went to his left at the second last and wandered about a bit approaching the last, but by then he could be called the winner barring a fall as all the others were finding it hard to make inroads through the mud up the final hill.  This was a great result for Linda and the team and for the members of Valence Racing.

Clonusker after his win.

 Earlier in the afternoon members of Valence Racing Too had been pleased when Itoldyou came 4th in the country's most valuable race of the day, and collected £513 for them.

Stable Staff Triumph

The Christmas quiz contest between the Stable Staff and the Owners was won this year by the Stable Staff 43.5 points to 42.  The Owners will cite their depleted numbers on the day as the reason for their demise, but would greater numbers have helped or added to their confusion in the "bizarre racing facts" true or false round where both teams managed a meagre 2 out of 10?

The evening concluded with the ever popular paper horses handicap races where again honours were just about even.