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Big Two to battle it out in Tied Cottage.
With 2010 Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Big Zeb and last year’s Champion Chase victor Sizing Europe both confirmed today, the much anticipated clash of the top two mile chasers goes to post in the Grade 2 Boylesports.com Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown on Sunday, and with only one other challenger in the form of Oliver Brady’s Imperial Shabra, the race is reminiscent of the match between Dawn Run and Buck House in 1986, and with weather conditions forecast to improve in Ireland on Saturday, course officials are very hopeful the clash of the big two will go ahead..
Last season Sizing Europe appeared the dominant force of the two when winning at the Cheltenham Festival in March 2011, but his apparent dominance of the 2 mile chasing division was overturned by Big Zeb in a thriller at the Punchestown Festival in a race also sponsored by Boylesports. So far this season both have impressed on their respective outings although this will be their first meeting of this campaign.
Sunday’s high quality seven race card is commonly considered a Cheltenham trials day with one of only two Irish run Pertemps Hurdle qualifiers, the Grade 2 Racing UK Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle and the Glenfarclas PP Hogan Cross Country Race, both of which often provide important pointers to Cheltenham and the other Spring National Hunt Festivals.
Commenting on the effects of the current cold snap Punchestown Racing Manager Richie Galway said:
“The covers are down and have been since Tuesday. It’s a labour intensive initiative but if it is the difference between racing going ahead or being abandoned it is well worth the effort. It takes a team of 20 men a full day to get the covers into position.”
Galway continued by saying:
“The hurdle and chase tracks are currently raceable and we are confident, based on the forecast, that there won’t be any problems for Sunday. The cross country track is run over such an expanse it is not feasible to cover it. At present there are a small number of areas that are unraceable, however, if the milder temperatures arrive as forecast, and given that we have moved the race to late in the day, we are very hopeful”.
Ffos Las depending on warm front.
In an attempt to protect his track ahead of Saturday’s Welsh Champion Hurdle Meeting, Ffos Las Clerk of the Course Tim Long covered the running areas of his circuit earlier in the week, but he has today confirmed frost has found its way under the covers after a night of low temperatures, and this has necessitated Long to call an inspection of his track at 9.00 am on Saturday morning.
Commenting on the current situation, Tim Long said:
“We had a sharper frost than expected last night, with a general -5c and as low as -6c at times, so not surprisingly, the track does feel a bit frozen under the covers.
“It has gone up to around 2 or 3c today, and the overnight temperature is only supposed to drop as low as -1c or -2c, but then cloud cover is due to come in with some rain, and it’s all a matter of how soon that warmer weather comes in.
“We’ll take a look at 9.00 am and then we should have a better idea.”
Wetherby joins Sandown on casualty list.
With temperatures having dropped down to -7c in Yorkshire last night, it caused large sections of the Wetherby track to freeze up, and with another cold night, and possible snow on the way, course officials today took the decision to abandon tomorrow’s scheduled national hunt card – featuring the Grade Two Totepool Towton Novices Chase.
Sandown’s Saturday Meeting lost to frost.
Tomorrow’s scheduled national hunt card at Sandown has been abandoned due to a frozen track.
Director of Racing Andrew Cooper inspected his course at 8.00 am, and immediately after taking a look, he called off the meeting which had been due to feature 2010 Champion Hurdle winner Binocular in the Contenders Hurdle, and some up and coming chasers in the Grade One Betfred Goals Galore Novices Chase, (formerly the Scilly Isles Chase).
The track had been covered all week, but the frost protection proved no match for several consecutive nights of freezing temperatures and accompanying wind chill, and Cooper admitted it had not been a hard decision to cancel, commenting:
“It is obviously disappointing, but to be fair, I think we all knew it was going to be an uphill struggle at the close of play yesterday.
“It dropped to -4c overnight, but the wind chill also dropped, so in a way, it was not any worse than it was yesterday. But the track is frozen in places despite the covers being down, so it was a relatively easy decision.
“It is expected to go up to 2c today, but it will not be enough, as from where we are now, we would need to be hitting 5 or 6c if we were to have any chance.”
Gamilati blasts her rivals in UAE Guineas.
Without coming out of her comfort zone at any stage, Gamilati ran out an easy winner of today’s UAE 1,000 Guineas at Meydan.
The 2011 Cherry Hinton Stakes winner had disappointed on her last run of the season in the Lowther Stakes at York, when last of the 11 runners, but she was impressive when winning the UAE 1,000 Guineas Trial at Meydan last month, and today she showed the York form was all wrong with a comprehensive victory at her first attempt at a mile.
Anchored at the back by Frankie Dettori in the early stages of the race, Gamilati was produced with 2 furlongs to go, and she skipped clear of her rivals, with stable mate Pimpernel left to chase her home, albeit well adrift.
In a post race interview, Sheikh Mohammed, head of the winning Godolphin operation said:
“She’s a very nice filly with a touch of class, and that was a very good performance.
“We have lots of options with her now, and the UAE Oaks will come under definite consideration, and after that, maybe the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, or the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.”
Frankie Dettori and Gamilati’s trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni temed up again when the former Mark Johnson-trained German St Leger winner Foxhunt took victory in the 1 mile 6 furlong Handicap on today’s card at Meydan.
Later still, the David Barrons-trained Hitchins came late and fast under Sylvestre de Souza to snatch victory in the Group Three Al Shindagha Sprint, with Barrons suggesting his charge could now look to qualify for the Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup Night in March by attempting to win another Group Three on the Dubai Carnival programme later this month.
Synchronised set for crucial gallop.
Connections of Synchronised have confirmed his appearance in next weekend’s Irish Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown will depend on the result of a gallop to be held at Jonjo O’Neill’sJackdaws Castle yard in the middle of next week.
Identified as a ‘mudlark’ by racing judges in the past, the nine-year-old powered home on good ground in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas, and he now heads the ante post market for next week’s Hennessy back at the Dublin circuit, and while Jonjo O’Neill cast doubt on Thursday about his charge’s participation in the Hennessy, Frank Berry, Racing Manager to owner J P McManus, said today:
“At the moment, the intention is for him to run, but it all depends on how he works next week.
“We want to run him back at Leopardstown, but he puts a lot into his races, and he showed that over Christmas. So we want to make sure he’s alright, and if he works well in the middle of next week, the intention would then be to go for the Hennessy.”
Sunday Meetings face mixed threat.
Fontwell Park and Musselburgh both face inspections ahead of their respective national hunt cards this Sunday, with officials in Scotland being the more optimistic.
Fontwell Park officials have called a 12.30 pm precautionary inspection on Saturday, with Clerk of the Course - Ed Arkell - confirming today that his track is currently frozen, and faces a prospect of further overnight frost, and possible snow showers on Saturday.
If the current forecast proves correct, Arkell is very pessimistic about Sunday's scheduled meeting going ahead.
By comparison, Musselburgh remain optimistic despite calling a 7.00 am inspection on Race day.
The Scottish venue is currently frozen in places, but General Manager Bill Farnsworth is expecting to see improvement ahead of their high profile Cheltenham Trials Meeting, with Farnsworth commenting:
"While part of the ground is currently frozen, the forecast is good. It only got down to zero here overnight, and the ground didn't get any worse, and that was good news.
"We've had a dry and bright day, and then cloud is due to move in, and then it could go to zero again overnight.
"Tomorrow we are forecast sleet turning to rain, with possibly 4 or 5 millimetres falling, but it should be breezy, and temperatures could go up to 6c, and then dropping back to around zero overnight.
"Sunday is forecast to be bright and sunny, with temperatures of 6 or 7c, and this makes us very very optimistic. We've called an inspection for Sunday, but we'll have a look tomorrow, and if we are moving in the right direction, we may be able to give the meeting an early go ahead."
Kelleway hoping things will Swing her way in France.
Having enjoyed recent success in France, Newmarket based trainer Gay Kelleway is hoping that next week she can land another successful raid across the English Channel with her charge Swing Alone.
Fifth on his 2011 debut in the Chesham Stakes at Ascot, Swing Alone got off the mark at Wolverhampton later in the season, but on his only run in France, he was unplaced in last November’s Grade One Criterium International.
However, Kelleway pocketed a decent prize at Deauville last month with Uphold, and she now has her eyes on the Listed Prix de la Californie in a warmer part of France, with the handler explaining:
“Swing Alone will run in the Listed contest on 12 February at Cagnes-Sur-Mer.
“I have a couple of boxes in France, and it is not as expensive as going to Dubai, and it would be nice to have another winner over there.”
Catterick abandon today’s card.
With an overnight frost of -7c making the track at Catterick completely frozen, Clerk of the Course Fiona Needham called off today’s scheduled national hunt card in advance of her intended 8.00 am inspection.
In a brief statement, Needham said:
“We were raceable on Thursday afternoon, but last night’s very low temperatures have left the course totally unraceable, and with temperatures forecast not to go much above 3c today, we had no chance of the course thawing out sufficiently to allow racing to go ahead.”
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