26 March 2008 Easter Monday & Tuesday - Round Up
Luke Morgan: had a lucky escape at Alnwick
The South Notts meeting is unfortunately more likely to be remembered for the negative rather than the positive, the latter including a treble for trainer Antonia Bealby and another impressive victory for one of her charges, the exciting prospect Dream Garden.
Most of the action occurred in the Confined. John Russell sustained a broken arm in the fatal fall of Agua Ardente, but he must be thinking he got off comparatively lightly compared to Miles Seston, who broke his right leg and left ankle when put through the wing by Eskimo Pie. Miles is currently in the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham and was due to undergo an operation on Wednesday.
The third incident came at the end of the race when Richard Hunnisett, rider of the winner Harapour, was knocked out of the saddle by a loose horse after crossing the line and suffered slight concussion.
The day's injury list was later added to when Matt Mackley, who had deputised successfully for Miles on Dream Garden, and who himself had recently returned after breaking his collarbone, broke his shoulder when his mount French Bey came to grief in the concluding Maiden.
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There was more drama at Alnwick, where Hedchester flipped over in the paddock, landing on the top of Luke Morgan and giving him a kick into the bargain. "I couldn't breathe for about 30 seconds, and I thought my season was definitely over," admitted Luke, who was allowed home from hospital that night after X-rays revealed no broken bones, adding "What really annoyed me was that I was bang next door to the loudspeaker so I was being deafened as well!"
Explaining his symptoms the following day as "Like having been in the ring with Mike Tyson in a bad mood and with a sledgehammer!" Luke conceded that he had been very lucky not to have incurred serious injury.
Like every jockey, though, his main complaint was about missing rides, so he will have had mixed feelings about the pair he was due to ride at Flagg, Tinarana Lord and Barry's Lord, both of whom were partnered to victory by deputy Richard Burton.
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Luke's brother Ran also missed out on a winner on Tuesday, as he was unable to get to Upton due to work commitments. His prophecy earlier in the day that Gentle Rivage was a dead certainty to win the Confined proved correct, Mark Wall guiding the veteran home to a comfortable success.
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Cheltenham Gold Cup fever lives on in North Wales. Maria Wynne, formerly heavily involved with the Pony Racing series when with sponsors Charles Owen, and now running her own PR and Promotions company (Richard Burton being one of her clients), has recently given birth to a son, who she has named Theodore Denman!
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"He had a 4½ hour round trip to get to Eyton, a journey which would normally take no more than 30 minutes," said Caroline Robinson, whose charge Whistling Straits, a declared Hunter Chase runner, had reached Peterborough en route from Sheriffhales (Shropshire) to Fakenham before the National Hunt meeting was called off. Unfazed, Whistling Straits duly justified his odds-on status to win the North Shropshire Men's Open.
24 hours later, Caroline was in the winner's enclosure again, this time with daughter Immy who won the Ladies' Open at Flagg on Rebel Army, turning out again after finishing third at Sandon two days earlier. "He does love it here," said Caroline. "He's run three times and won three times. And Immy rode such a good race - I'm probably her worst critic, but I was really proud of her."
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At the start of the season Godfrey Maundrell was uncertain whether or not Rhythm King would be asked to race again, but his faith in the 13-year-old was not misplaced, the veteran cruising to victory at Hackwood Park on his first outing of the season.
"I wanted him to go out on a high," explained Godfrey, whose grand servant failed to score in 2007, and whose tally of victories has now reached 19. "I'd love him to get to 20, so we may come back here later on, though it will depend on the ground," he added.
"We didn't have a sound horse in the yard a week ago," Godfrey said, and one of those whose season is over is the very promising Lisadell King, who it is hoped will be fit to resume in 2009.
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For the first time this season, the luck went Mark Wilesmith's way at Paxford. Mark, on Mountain Singer, was staring his sixth second placing in the face - "I was cursing to myself coming to the last," he said - when Nick Phillips was knocked off the clear leader Killnascully King when hit by a loose horse. "It was a sheer fluke," he admitted. "I looked round and I was blissfully aware that I was virtually by myself. It was such a relief to get past the post first!"
Mark followed up at Upton on Mrs White, but ended the day feeling a little groggy after a fall from Lord Bellamy in the concluding Maiden. Nothing daunted, his plan was to meet up with a few mates for a drink later on. "Seeing that my body aches I might as well get a headache to go with it!" he reasoned.
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With so many meetings taking place, Easter is traditionally the time for many riders to record an initial success, and there were plenty falling into that category this year. They were:-
Matthew Barber (Derring Dove at Lydstep - brother Marc rode a winner on the same card), Lucy Bell (My Wee Woman at Hutton Rudby), Freddie Bethell (Torosay at Flagg Moor), Tom Chanin (Stone Valley at Trebudannon), Claire Douglas (Indoux at Aldington), Ollie Finnegan (who has ridden winners in Ireland but gained his first victory in Britain on Trinket Too at Sandon), Helen Gordon (Mr Ambassador at Aldington), Matt Griffiths (King Of The Road at Trebudannon), Rachel Hodson (Rainbow Tree at Thorpe Lodge), John Morrey (Mr Naborro at High Easter), Dominic Ruane (Brooking at Paxford), and Alison Weeks (Beadnell Bay at Hackwood Park).
