RUMOURS OF THIS BLOG'S DEMISE HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED, ETC.

Rather more through accident than design, it has been the best part of five months since That Racing Blog was updated last. A couple of offers I simply had not seen coming, namely to perform point-to-point race reading for the venerable Mackenzie and Harris, and to offer my services as a pundit to the nascent Betfair Radio service, augmented the workload of the freelance articles I write for Racing Ahead magazine beyond all expectations during this period. Only in the last couple of weeks have things calmed down to any particular extent, but with another deadline looming large the respite will be temporary.

Not that this should be taken as a complaint (far from it!), and it is my earnest hope that all these engagements endure for months and years to come.

The blog has remained in my mind throughout, not least on account of the small but steady trickle of correspondences pursuant to blog entries that I have received. A couple of these have been posted as comments against entries rather than emailed to me directly, so it is only right and proper I acknowledge them during the course of this post, however late in the day.

A thank you, therefore, to comrade Aranalde, who was particularly taken with my November 7th-dated piece on the process of pre- and post-race analysis as performed during my time at the Sportsman. You are right, Aranalde, yours wasn’t the first time I had read or heard someone say it was a shame about the paper’s demise, but I genuinely do not tire about discussing it in print – relatively few of those associated with it have to this day, after all.

The mystery horse whose owners’ letter of complaint inspired that posting in the first place did finally win again the other week, by the way, and – as promised – hearty congratulations to all concerned for keeping the faith of it so doing, though it took it eight goes and another race with a softly-acquired lead for it to do so. The Racing Post, to its credit, did not go overboard in its praise of what is essentially now a pretty exposed animal.

Thank you also to Andybfc for your kind words regarding my tipping of Voy Por Ustedes as the Champion Chase winner as early as last October (in my Sportsman Ten To Follow piece, more on which shortly). If the truth be told, that particular piece of tipping went far, far better than I had ever dared hope for – not just in the sense that he won, but also that he was returned at a very good value price on the day.

Few people, I suspect, could have envisaged him being sent off at 5-1 following his routine dismissal of all rivals in the inaugural Desert Orchid Chase over Christmas and the news that Kauto Star would be heading for the Gold Cup rather than Champion Chase, but the timely reappearance and victory of the long-absent Well Chief in the Game Spirit six weeks later was impressive enough to garner him all the market support thereafter at the expense of Alan King’s six year-old.

There was enough that I disliked about the Newbury contest for me to keep faith with Voy for reasons other than professional integrity. Whilst the race was a truly-run affair given the soft going, a couple of Well Chief’s major rivals – from both of whom he was receiving weight, incidentally - failed to get involved (Voy himself and also Foreman, who ran lifelessly and pulled up distressed), and he therefore only had Ashley Brook, who had run with the choke out up front from flagfall, to pick off as he pleased.

Clear from the third last, Well Chief’s win didn’t constitute the sort of hard reintroduction that was going to tell us much about how much ability – or indeed appetite – he retained for or in a fight at the highest level, and this even before the risk of the “bounce” factor striking was considered. Moreover, I suspect some may have made too much of Voy’s unseating at halfway, which was a silly, soft departure and certainly nothing that should have been taken to indicate a deeper underlying problem with his jumping. He had, after all, made short work of the Old Course in winning the Arkle the previous season.

We all know what happened subsequently, of course, and whilst any accusations leveled that the Champion Chase was similarly too blighted by the failures to finish of several likely contenders – Oneway, Ashley Brook and Well Chief himself – to count as a wholly satisfactory race are hard to dispute, I would still have to regard it as the result that gave me the most satisfaction of the entire 2006-7 season.

Voy was one of only a couple of horses from my Ten To Follow list that managed to return a profit to a £1 level stake in all its races from the article’s publication date, October 3rd, through to the end of the season; and this rates as a bit of a disappointment for me because, as I mentioned in my December 8th posting, the raison d’etre of this feature was not to find readers ten Festival winners at all costs, but rather the biggest level stakes profit possible. Notwithstanding that, the final analysis reveals that I did return a little bit of a profit…

Grecian Groom …………………. + 27.13 points from 8 races
Voy Por Ustedes ………………… + 3.67 points from 4 races
Mr Nosie ……………………....……. - 0.00 points from 0 races
Corran Ard ………………………. – 0.17 points from 2 races
The King of Angels ………...... – 1.00 points from 4 races
Moncada Way …………………. – 1.00 points from 1 race
Ossmoses ……………………....…. –3.00 points from 3 races
Sovietica ………………………….. – 3.75 points from 6 races
Bothar Na ………………………... – 5.00 points from 5 races
Knowhere ………………………… - 6.67 points from 8 races

FINAL SCORE …………………… + 10.21 points from 41 races.

I would be the first to admit, however, that the picture would have looked far less rosy had Grecian Groom not popped up at 33-1 at Lingfield halfway through the winter. Even this I would count as a bit of a pyrrhic victory, to be honest, as it salvaged the season of a horse that had crashingly failed to convert his taking debut bumper-winning form to hurdles as much as it salvaged mine.

He, along with The King of Angels, did not progress over the season as I had intended, whereas the combination of over-keenness and soggy ground checked Sovietica’s development all winter. Ossmoses, Mr Nosie and Corran Ard were all compromised by injury to varying degrees; Bothar Na and Knowhere were set some hard tasks and were found wanting; and Noel Chance kept Moncada Way’s powder dry after an unprepossessing debut.

Of all of the ten listed, I would give some consideration to choosing Mr Nosie (unexposed over fences, albeit with fitness to prove, but then so did Knowhere last season) and Corran Ard (one big handicap hurdle win at rewarding odds should be attainable if returning the same horse) in repeat circumstances next season. Sovietica would rate as fairly tempting as well given her usually chase-oriented connections (Stewart and Monique Pike), but I am not convinced she is quite the same old-fashioned stamp of an animal as most of the animals they are associated with. A judgment on Moncada Way, meanwhile, would have to be reserved until it becomes apparent whom is likely to get the stable jockey’s position at Noel Chance’s yard following Tom Doyle’s return to Ireland.

Not that this need rate of particular importance right this moment, of course. I have a good few months before anyone needs to put the gun to my head for a list of suggestions. Jumps tipping contests are seldom won in July.

Ah, it’s good to get the first post in a long while under my belt. I suppose I had better think of doing the same for my Brancepethfan blog, untouched by human hand for nine months now….