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Moore a Bankable asset.

Ryan Moore was coolness personified as he brought Bankable from last to first to win today's Group 3 Mahab Al Shimaal at Meydan.

Forced to the back of the pack by early scrimmaging, Moore bided his time on the 11-4 race favourite, eventually pulling his mount off the rail into a centre field challenging position in the home straight, Moore galvanised his partner to take over from long time leader Conveyance 50 yards from the post, and then he went on to score with a littl left in hand.

The seven-year-old, now trained in South Africa by Herman Brown, was no stranger to Ryan Moore, the horse having been trained by both Luca Cumani and Moore's father Gary when he was based in Britain.

Frankie Dettori later scored on Saeed bin Suroor's Mendip in the Group 3 Burj Nihar.

Maguire can ride Peddlers Cross!

Jason Maguire has succeeded in getting his 7 day riding ban cut by 1 day at his BHA Appeal hearing today, and this enables Donald McCain's stable jockey to ride Peddlers Cross in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle on 15 March.

Maguire had been originally banned by the Doncaster stewards for 7 days for his riding of Cool Mission, and this meant he would have been barred from riding from 09 to 15 March inclusive. But Maguire immediately appealed the severity of his ban, and after full representation at today's hearing, the BHA Appeals panel agreedd to cut his ban by 1 day, thus enabling the jockey to ride on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.

Speaking immediately after his hearing, Maguire said:

"I'm truly over-joyed with today's decision, and I'm now really looking forward to riding Peddlers Cross in the Champion Hurdle."

Get Me Out Of Here Cheltenham Hopes Winded.

Get Me Out Of Here looked to have the hurdling division at his feet after nearly getting the better of Menorah in last season's Supreme Novices Hurdle, but 3 disappointing runs this season left connections scratching their heads, but trainer Jonjo O'Niell then spotted his charge may have a wind problem, and with the news the 2010 Totesport Trophy winner has had a recent wind operation, there is also the likelyhood Get Me Out Of Here will by-pass Cheltenham in favour of a run at Aintree.

Keys out of Weatherbys Champion Bumper.

Unbeaten in his three runs so far this season, the Roger Charlton-trained Keys was one of the leading British fancies for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival, but the discovery of a bacterial infection following a bout of coughing has now ruled the four-year-old out of contention for the Prestbury Park race.

Discussing the setback to his charge, Roger Charlton said:

"Keys had coughed a few times, and we took the precaution of scoping him, and we then found he had a bacterial infection. It's nothing serious, but we won't have enough time to get him ready for Cheltenham after the infection has cleard up. So I would think he will now be aimed at the Grade 1 National Hunt Flat Race on the Aintree Grand National 3 day card."

Hobbs delighted with Menorah.

Although not seen in racing action since defeating top rated novice Cue Card in December's International Hurdle at Cheltenham, Menorah has had a gallop at Exeter Racecourse earlier in the week, and trainer Philip Hobbs reports his current delight with his Champion Hurdle contender, with the Minehead based handler commenting:

"I am very happy with Menorah ahead of his intended run in the Stan James Champion Hurdle. All the main challengers for this year's race have come through their Trials with flying colours, but Menorah is fresh and happy. He looks fantastic, and he proved in last year's Supreme Novices Hurdle that he's up for a battle on the Prestbury Park course. So we have to go into this season's Champion Hurdle full of confidence, and we have to adopt the attitude that the chips will fall as they may."

Looking at his other main Festival hopes, Hobbs went on to say:

"Captain Chris will either take in the Arkle Trophy or the Jewson Novices Chase. While Wishful Thinking is entered in both the Jewson and the RSA Chase, and if they did both run in the Jewson, it would not be the end of the world, as they have the same owner, and so do not create any conflict of interest.

"Snap Tie represents my best hope in a handicap. He's fully recovered from the suspensary ligament injury which has kept him sidelined, and he is at his best when fresh, and if he retains his old ability, he has a great chance in the Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle."

Hell's Bay out of Jewson reckoning.

Having finished second to Time For Rupert before defeating Medermit in the Dipper Novices Chase at Cheltenham on New Year's Day, the Colin Tizzard-trained Hell's Bay had been installed by several bookmaking companies as the anti post favourite for the Jewson Novices Chase at the upcoming Cheltenham Festival.

However, having undergone a scan this morning on a leg which had been causing concern, the nine-year-old was found to have a hole in one of his bones, and Dorset based tizzard had to announce:

"Hell's Bay is out for the season. It's not much of a problem, but it will take time to heal properly, and we've decided to stand him down for the remainder of the current season, but hopefully he will be back in the autumn. Naturally, it's disappointing, but it's the sort of thing you have to get used to in horse racing."

Rupert has some practise ahead of RSA engagement.

Oxfordshire trainer Paul Webber has today reported positively about Time For Rupert's preparation ahead of his upcoming run in the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Discussing his unbeaten novice chaser, Webber said:

"Time For Rupert is looking great, and his two wins this season have been franked by the subsequent form of the horses he has beaten in his two outings to date. His second to Big Bucks in last year's World Hurdle shows he has the ability to compete at the highest level over three miles, and while he has not had a lot of racing over fences this season, we have had Yogi Breisner schooling him in the last week, and I'm confident he will have the technigue to match his undoubted speed in this year's RSA Chase."

Going on to discuss some of the other horses he intends to commit to races at Cheltenham, Webber picked out three he thought may have good each-way potential:

"We're going to run Edgbriar in the Byrne Group Plate, and on his good days, he's a horse with real ability, and he could certainly sneak into a placed position. While Alasi has run bandjaxed Girl close a couple of times this season, and with a bit of luck, she could also challenge for minor honours in the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle. Of my other horses, Sarando has a couple of entries in two and a half mile races at the Festival, and we'll be looking to find him the race that offers him the best opportunity of at least getting into the frame."

No Recession for Imperial Cup.

Connections have today confirmed, Totesport Trophy winner Recession Proof will not line-up in the Paddy Power Imperial cup at Sandown on Saturday week.

It had been thought the very progressive novice hurdler would try to win the Sandown race so as to qualify for the £75,000 bonus offered by Paddy Power if the Imperial Cup winner went on to win a race at the Cheltenham Festival. But trainer John Quinn has now knocked that prospect on the head, saying:

"Recession Proof will head straight to the Stan James Supreme Novices Hurdle. If he does well in that race, that wil do him for the Festival, but if he only runs down the field on the Tuesday, we might look at giving him a possible outing in the Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle later in the week. But either way, we have decided he will not run in the Imperial Cup at Sandown."

Simcock confirms Dream still on course.

David Simcock has included Dream Ahead in the 52 acceptors for the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas on 30 April, and the trainer indicates his 2010 Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes winner has wintered exceptionally well, with Simcock elaborating:

"Dream Ahead has grown and filled out beautifully. He now looks a real stamp of a horse, and the way he is cantoring up Warren Hill twice a day already has me excited about the upcoming season.

"I think we can put the disappointing run in the Dewhurst Stakes at the end of last seasondown to running him too soon after the Middle Park Stakes, and I won't be making that kind of mistake again in his three-year-old campaign. He will go straight to the 2,000 Guineas, and while he hasn't run over a mile before, from what I'm seeing in training, I think he will get the trip in the Guineas."

Walsh hoping for Bach in the groove result.

After being sidelined for 4 months with a double break to his leg, Ruby Walsh is to have just one ride at Newbury's national hunt card on Friday, but he is hoping the promising Paul Nicholls-trained charge Don't Turn Bach will return him to the winning groove in the Elle Security Handicap Novices Hurdle.

Ruby has been riding out this week for both Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls, but Don't Turn Bach will give him the first feel of real race riding since his fall from corrick Bridge at Down Royal, and the popular irish jockey admits he nees to get in as much race riding as he can if he is to get back to peak fitness in time for the start of the Cheltenham Festival on 15 March. So one suspects, Friday sole intriductory ride will be quickly followed up by subsequent rides over the weekend and during the whole of next week.

Handicapper eases Champetre burden.

Although Garde Champetre will still have to carry top weight of 11 stone 12 pounds for this year's renewal of the Glenfarclas Handicap Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, the twelve-year-old winner of 5 cheltenham cross country races, (including 2 previous wins at the Cheltenham Festival), has actually been cut in the handicap for this year's race.

BHA Official Handicapper Paul Smith has cut Garde Champetre from a mark of 161 in 2010 to 157 for this year's Festival, with Smith explaining:

"Garde Champetre is now a twelve-year-old, and he has found things more difficult in his last few races, and based on that evidence, I have decided to ease him a few points in the handicap for this year's Cheltenham Festival cross country race."

Whether Smith is favouring sentiment over hard figures will only become apparent at Cheltenham, but there is no doubt, there will be a massive cheer if Garde Champetre can secure his third Cheltenham Festival win against a crop of up and coming cross country types due to run in this year's Glenfarclas sponsored race.

Pipe duo may be the ones to consider.

The Pipe family have a wonderful record of collecting the bonus offered to the winner of the Sandown Imperial Cup who then goes on to secure a victory at the Cheltenham festival. Indeed, the father and son combo are the only trainers in national hunt history to achieved the feat, with Martin Pipe having won at Sandown and Cheltenham with Olympian and Blowing Wind in the 1990's, and David Pipe then achieving the difficult double with Gaspara in 2007.

David Pipe is the trainer who may be worth following to achieve the double again this year, for with Ronaldo desMottes and Notus de la Tour, he has two hurdlers who are capable of the feat if showing their best form.

Notus de la Tour virtually led from start to finish in the Totesport Trophy, and only gave way to the highly rated novice Recession Proof in the last few strides of the ultra competitive Newbury handicap. He can cope with most types of going, and assuming good ground at Sandown and Cheltenham, he may have the ability to win both the Imperial Cup and the Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle in a 6 day spell.

Ronaldo des Mottes was transferred out of the re-scheduled Totesport Trophy in favour of gaining place money in the Grade 2 Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton, and having come in third, he succeeded in this objective. He is a classier type than Notus de la Tour, but 10 stone 13 pounds in the Imperial Cup would be a worry, and if going for the £75,000 double victory offered by bookmakers Paddy Power, Notus de la Tour could be the one who could enable David Pipe to emulate his father Martin with two successful Imperial Cup and Cheltenham bonus winners.

Cheltenham reporting soft going at present.

In the first of his updates ahead of the Cheltenham Festival starting on Tuesday week, Cheltenham Clerk of the Course Simon Claisse has confirmed the current going on both of the main courses at Prestbury Park is 'soft - good to soft in places', while the cross-country course is riding as 'good'.

The weather forecast for this week is indicating an occasional light shower, so unless next week turns wet, the going for the Festival is likely to be classified as 'good'.

Three to consider in current Lincoln list.

For those of a certain age, the Lincoln was always the first leg of the Spring Double (with the Grand National being the other) and its running always signalled the start of the Flat Season. But nowadays, things have changed with the all-weather tracks ensuring all-year round flat racing and the Turf Season now starting at Lingfield!

Whatever history and tradition demonstrate, the fact is that the Lincoln is still an important race and a very valuable one to boot, and this latter fact has made a huge difference to the shape of the field in recent seasons as trainers have been keen to chase the big money on offer on Town Moor. This means that any entry rated 90 or below is very unlikely to get a run in the main event and John Gosden was quoted recently expressing his concern that his 95 rated entry Taqleed may not make the cut.

Our informant at Bblue Square bookmakers suggests the following trio are three that could well be suited by the Lincoln test and hopefully will all get to Doncaster on 02 April – Irish Heartbeat, Nationalism and Taqleed.

Richard Fahey has been very public about his intention to have as many runners as he can in the Lincoln. The prolific Yorkshire trainer had five runners in the 2010 Lincoln and could easily have at least one more in 2011, and the one that catches the eye from the yard is Irish Heartbeat.

The six-year-old started his career in Ireland where he won a maiden in 2008 over a mile and then a very competitive sprint handicap at the Curragh as a four year old. But significantly, both of Irish Heartbeats UK wins have come at Doncaster, including when landing a gamble in the Lincoln consolation race last March. He will race from 96 next month, but showed when winning at Doncaster in the autumn off 91, that such a mark should not prove beyond him.

Looking at the entries it is clear that John Gosden is keen to win another Lincoln. The Newmarket trainer made punters very happy in 2009 when his Expresso Star landed a huge gamble in the Lincoln and two of his entries catch the eye this time around - Nationalism comes from a family Gosden knows well as owner/breeder George Strawbridge has sent the majority of the family to Clarehaven, most notably half-brother Sleeping Indian, who won the Challenge Stakes at Newmarket before being placed in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and Nationalism was brought along with typical Gosden patience last season, not breaking his duck until late-July at Sandown. He then quickly added a Goodwood handicap (off a mark of 95), before being sent off favourite to win the Cambridgeshire. His draw proved to be a negative, but even so, he only finished 5th in his group of 10 on the stands side. Gosden ran him once more at Newmarket, but he made no show behind Kingsfort in the Ben Marhsall.

However, reports from Newmarket suggest that Nationalism has done particularly well over the winter and that he could well develop into a Group performer later this season.

Lookingat the other entrants in the Lincoln, the Gosden entry that looks marginally better handicapped is Taqleed. Like his stable companion, Taqleed has been lightly raced in his career to date, with just four runs on his CV.

Like Nationalism, Taqleed ran in the Cambridgeshire, and ran a great race, hitting the front going into the dip before weakening up the hill to finish 6th.

Assuming that the 95 rated Taqleed makes it into the final field, he looks to be a major player.

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News 03 March 2011