Thursday, October 21, 2004

THE HORSES GARY MOORE IS AIMING AT THE OCTOBER MEETING (October 26 & 27) AND THE OPEN (NOVEMBER 12, 13 & 14) AT CHELTENHAM

The highlight of his 2002/2003 season was the six-length victory over Sonevafushi in an extended two and a quarter mile handicap hurdle at Fontwell, where he was partnered by Moore's son Jamie. Early that season, Tikram was fourth in the Merewood Homes Swinton Handicap Hurdle at Haydock and later on occupied the same position in the The Labroke as well as coming third in another major handicap hurdle, the Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury.

Last season Tikram went into the Mildmay Of Flete Handicap Chase with fine credentials, having won two novice chases at Fontwell and come second twice at Cheltenham, to Puntal in the equivalent of the Jim Brown Memorial Novices' Chase at The Open in November and in the Unicoin Starter Homes Novices' Chase on New Year's Eve, this time going down by three lengths to Santenay.

Following the Mildmay Of Flete, the seven-year-old finished the close second in the Grade Two Faucets For Mira Showers Silver Trophy Limited Handicap Chase at Cheltenham on April 14. He pressed the winner, Seebald, on the run-in but could find no extra close home and went down by half a length.

Moore said: “Tikram is being aimed for the Paddy Power Gold Cup. He's done very well over the summer - a bit too well as it happens.

“I would have liked to have had a prep race before he went to Cheltenham but I don't think I'm going to get there in time. I think he'll be ready by November 13 though.

“We will get some decent work into him tomorrow on grass and then take him away for a gallop . Hopefully, he will be ready for the Cheltenham next month.

“We threw him into the deep end novice chasing last season at Cheltenham because he is better in small rather than big fields. It helped him learn to jump properly by going to Cheltenham and that wins races.

“He always hits a flat spot half-way through his races - if he doesn’t meet that he won’t pick up - if you force him into going early, he just doesn’t finish.

“As he has got older and stronger, he stays better. I am hoping Timmy Murphy will be able to ride him this season and if he is not available I hope Jamie (Moore) can step in.

“After winning at the Cheltenham Festival, I thought he ran just as well when just beaten at Cheltenham’s April meeting.

“Tikram is a straightforward sort - I wanted to go to Aintree on Sunday to have a race before the Paddy Power Gold Cup but he was not going to be fit in time so there was no point in doing it.

“I think he would get three miles but all the while he can do it at two and a half miles, I don’t want to step him up. If I started running him at three miles, it could take the edge off him speed-wise.

“He is by far the best chaser I have trained - he is a good ground horse - it would be a waste of time running him in late December, January time - he cannot go in very soft ground.

“They say horses peak at seven - whether he has peaked or not, I don’t know.”


NAWAMEES
Owner: Paul Stamp
Age/Breeding: 6 b g Darshaan - Truly Generous (Generous)
Breeder: Kilfrush Stud Ltd
Possible Target: Greatwood Hurdle, Cheltenham, Sunday, November 14

Nawamees has won both of his starts over hurdles this season. He was a length too strong for Fontanesi in an extended two-mile handicap hurdle at Aintree in May and followed up earlier this month at Wetherby in a similar event, this time getting the better of Turgeonev by half a length.

Formerly trained on the Flat by John Hammond in France, for whom he won at Le Touquet in 2001 and was placed seven times, Nawamees was bought at the 2002 Tattersalls Horse In Training Sale for 40,000 guineas.

He mixed running over hurdles with appearing on the Flat at Lingfield’s all-weather track. His first success over obstacles came in a novices' hurdle at Ascot on the first day of November in 2003, when he comfortably justified joint-favouritism by five lengths from Optimaite.

The Darshaan gelding did not enter the winner's enclosure again until his success at Aintree in May, although he did put up some fair placed efforts in defeat. Tony McCoy has been in the saddle for all three of his hurdle victories.

Moore said: "He was unlucky in three nice handicaps on the Flat but jumping suits him well. He has been schooled over fences and jumps very well but I don’t really want to run him in chases this season.

“He wants good ground and is very genuine. The handicapper is killing him though - he went up 10lb for winning a moderate handicap at Aintree and has gone up another 6lb for winning half a length the other day. Whether he can win off 136, I don’t know.

“He is at Kempton on Saturday against Rigmarole and may go there if the race cuts up - I would be worried about the ground as they are using the Flat course which has been soft. He could go for the Greatwood Hurdle worth £70,000 on the Sunday of the Open meeting at Cheltenham.”

FLYING SPIRIT
Owner: Richard Green (Fine Paintings)
Age/Breeding: 5 b g Flying Spur - All Laughter (Vision)
Breeder: Sean Madigan
Possible Target: Club 16-24 Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, Wednesday, October 27

Won a 12-furlong seller at Brighton in May, 2003, when trained by Mark Tompkins and was bought out of his stable for 8,500 guineas. Flying Spirit captured a Brighton claimer for new connections later the same month.

He won an extended two and a quarter mile novices' hurdle at Fontwell in August last year when coming home unchallenged. The following month he took a similar event over two miles at Plumpton, justifying odds-on favouritism in good fashion.

His season ended a year ago when he found just Albuhera five lengths too powerful in the Jewson Handicap Hurdle Final at Cheltenham's October Meeting.

After a win on the Flat at his home track of Brighton under Ryan Moore in May , Flying Spirit returned to hurdles and scored an easy success in an extended two-mile handicap hurdle at Stratford later the same month.

The five-year-old has since won twice on the Flat, at Brighton when giving 16-year-old Hayley Moore her first success on her first ride, and at Epsom, as well as finishing second in the amateurs’ Derby at the later course on August 30.

Moore said: “He's a horse who has been consistent all year. He's badly-handicapped now - the handicapper has nearly killed him - and he's sort of running out of races but he must have good ground or faster.

“He will go to Cheltenham for the Club 16-24 Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham next week as long as he gets his ground but will probably have to go novice chasing next year because he is too high in the ratings over hurdles.

“He is a nice big horses and will jump fences. We bought him out of a seller at Brighton and he has done very well.

“He was sold for a lot of money - £150,000 I think - to go to America after he won at Stratford in May but he failed the vet. ”


OUR SAMSON
Owner: S McKeown
Age/Breeding: 4 b g Old Vic - Strong Gale Pigeon (Strong Gale)
Possible Target: Cheltenham Business Club Maiden Hurdle, Tuesday, October 26

Our Samson ran in a point-to-point at Tallow in Ireland on February 8, taking a tumble six fences from home when in fifth position in the four-year-old maiden contest won by Bannow Strand.

That experience did him no harm as he won on his next start in a similar race at Bandon on March 28, making all to win easily and unchallenged by 10 lengths from Jet Magic.

Moore, who bought Our Samson for 39,000 guineas at Doncaster’s Spring Sales on May 26, 2004, said: “He's just had a couple of runs in point-to-points in Ireland and he won one of them.

“He has a jumping pedigree and won his point-to-point. He runs over hurdles at Cheltenham next week. “


NEW ENTIC
Owner: Howard Hunt
Age/Breeding: 3 b g Ragmar - Entiqua Des Sacart (Lute Antique)
Breeder: M L Bloodstock Ltd
Possible Target: Scarvagh House Stud PTA Juvenile Novices' Hurdle, Tuesday, October 26

Moore said: "He's a three-year-old who has come from France. He goes very well and knows his job inside out. I’ve had him six weeks and he seems to have settled in.

“I saw him school and he jumped something like 30 hurdles and fences - they start them off early in France.

“He's a very nice horse and I'm treating him accordingly - not running him too much. I just hope he's good enough to be going to places like the Cheltenham Festival.

“He has not raced before and has spent time in the Czech Republic after being bred in France.
New Entic is a complete athlete and has half a pedigree. Huntingdon on October 31st is the target for a first run.“


ADOPTED HERO
Owners: N Jones, Phil Collins
Age/Breeding: 4 b g Sadler's Wells - Lady Liberty (Noble Bijou)
Breeder: Swettenham Stud

A Listed winner on the Flat for John Gosden, he won at the second time of asking over timber in a juvenile novices' hurdle at Huntingdon in February and was subsequently sixth in JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Gary Moore commented: “Adopted Hero shouldn’t have run in the Triumph Hurdle - I was under a lot of pressure to run him.

“He will have another season hurdling but he is high enough in the ratings - 133 or something - I don’t think he gets much more than two and a quarter miles even though he was a two-miler on the Flat.

“I think I was having him ridden wrong last season, riding him too much for speed. He is very quick at his hurdles and he must have a month between his races.”


CONSTANTINE
Owner: Mrs B Quinn
Age/Breeding: 4 gr g Linamix - Speremm (Sadler's Wells)
Breeder: Taker Bloodstock

Two wins over timber - in a juvenile maiden hurdle at Folkestone in January and a four-year-old intermediate hurdle at Fontwell in early May.

Gary Moore said: “He is badly handicapped after winning two. He will go run at Cheltenham next week in a handicap hurdle.”


WHAT A MAN
Owner: Paul Green
Age/Breeding: 7 b g Beau Sher - Cactus Wren (Remainder Man)
Breeder: J O'Callaghan

Still a maiden, ran fourth and fifth behind good horses in Widemouth Bay and Lord Sam in a bumper and novices' hurdle at Ludlow and Kempton in January, 2003, when trained by Tom George, having started out in Irish point-to-points.

Gary Moore said: “He had nearly two years off because of a leg. He goes quite nicely and I will be disappointed if he doesn’t win a race.

“He is going over fences and will probably start at Lingfield a week on Saturday.”


WAIT FOR THE WILL
Owner: RDM Racing
Age/Breeding: 8 ch g Seeking The Gold - You'd Be Surprised (Blushing Groom)
Breeder: Paul Mellon

Wait Fo Will has had six starts over jumps with one victory and four placed efforts. Success came in novices' hurdle at Newton Abbot in May, 2003, when defeating Mirant by six lengths.

Gary Moore commented: “He is going novice chasing and does jump very, very well as well as having a high cruising speed. He is one horse who can lead Tikram in his work

“If he does have a target and, if he was good enough, it would be the Irish Independent Arkle Chas at the Cheltenham Festival. He runs on Saturday at Kempton. He is a lot bigger and stronger horse than Tikram.”


GARY MOORE
Born on August 7, 1956, Gary Moore is an increasingly successful dual-purpose trainer based at Woodingdean, Brighton, Sussex. He is a former National Hunt jockey, who rode 150 winners over jumps and one on the Flat.

Moore took out his first trainer's licence in 1993 and last season was his most productive jump campaign with 36 winners including his first success at the Cheltenham Festival, where stable star Tikram produced a brilliant performance to beat Iznogoud by two and a half lengths in the Grade Three Mildmay Of Flete Handicap Chase, coming from a long way back.

While the trainer was delighted with that success saying: "I've trained three Group winners on the Flat, but winning the Cheltenham Festival race was better than that - it was something else," the victory was slightly diminished as Moore's 19-year-old son Jamie, Tikram's regular rider, was serving a three-day ban meaning that Timmy Murphy came in for the winning ride.

Missing out on that great win did not stop Jamie becoming last season's leading conditional rider with 48 victories and he has a bright future working for champion jump trainer Martin Pipe, with 18 successes so far this season.

Another son Ryan was champion apprentice on the Flat last year with 59 victories and he also benefits from working for another master trainer in Richard Hannon. Ryan has already posted an amazing 125 successes in 2004, recently had his first Classic ride on Frank Sonata in the betfair.com St Leger at Doncaster, and rode a Group-race double on his 21st birthday - The Tatling in the Group Three Dubai International Airport World Trophy and Galeota in the Group Two Mill Reef Stakes.

16-year-old Hayley Moore is the latest to make her mark, winning on her first ride in an amateur riders’ race on Flying Spirit at Brighton on August 30. Racing is deeply ingrained in the family as Moore’s wife Jayne is a former amateur rider.

Returning to the trainer himself, he started training in Epsom before taking over the Brighton stables from father Charlie towards the end of 1996. Charlie died at the age of 74 in October, 2000, but his widow Lorna still plays a vital part in the training operation.

He gave up his riding career at the age of 36, surviving several bad falls including one at Plumpton in which a horse trod on his face and he lost five teeth, broke his nose and a collarbone in three places and cracked two ribs. Moore, who gained the reputation as one of the most fearless jockeys on the circuit, believes a jockey's life is a doddle compared to his current profession.

He said: "A lot of jockeys keep going well past their sell-by date - I was one of them - and I can understand why they carry on riding so long. It's a far easier way of earning a living. When you get off the horse, that's your job done, but training is seven days a week, 52 weeks a year."

One of the best Flat horses that Moore has trained is Karinga Bay, whom he saddled to win three Group Three contests in Germany in 1993.

He also sent the son of Ardross out to compete in that season's Group One Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, where he belied the odds of 40/1, making him the outsider of the eight-strong field, to finish a highly-creditable four and a half length fourth to Opera House.

Moore trained 36 winners on the Flat in 2003 and this year there have been 40 so far, while the score for the current jump season has already reached 18.

He declared: “I have got better class horses than before and I have a couple of orders for the Horses In Training Sale at Newmarket next week.

“I have 70 horses here, 20 of them Flat runs and half of them are dual-purpose sorts. I am full at the moment - I don’t want to train more than that. I need to keep an eye on them. I ride out most mornings and twice a week I watch them work. I am very lucky that I have very nice owners now.

“I do prefer jumping to Flat racing. If you have got a Flat horse, it is speed, speed and more speed really.

“With a jumper, they have to jump so you have got a chance - they can gain a length at a fence. Horses can off the Flat, where they were very moderate, and become quite good over hurdles or fences.

“People I had never heard from contacted me after Tikram won at the Cheltenham Festival; - I had never had so many text messages on my phone. It was a fantastic feeling.

“I hope I have horses good enough to go there this season and my owners are asking me to have horses there - everybody wants to go there.”


OCTOBER MEETING 2004

Tuesday and Wednesday, October 26 & 27

(Old Course)

First Day -Tuesday, October 26
2.00 The Centaur Novices’ Hurdle £10,000 added 3m 1f 110yds
2.35 The Ray Gould Novices’ Chase £15,000 added 2m
3.10 The Thwaites Smooth Beer Handicap Hurdle £15,000 added 2m 5f
3.45 The Scarvagh House Stud PTA Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle £10,000 added 2m 110yds
4.20 The Telectronics Systems Amateur Riders Handicap Chase £10,000 added 3m 110yds
4.55 The Cheltenham Business Club Maiden Hurdle £15,000 added 2m 110yds

Second Day - Wednesday, October 27

2.00 The cheltenham.co.uk Novices’ Hurdle £10,000 added 2m 5f
2.35 The Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance Novices’ Handicap Chase £15,000 added 2m 4f 110yds
3.10 The Club 16-24 Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle £10,000 added 2m 110yds
3.45 The Ian Williams Owners Novices’ Chase £17,500 added 3m 110yds
4.20 The Jewson Handicap Hurdle Final £20,000 added 2m 110yds
4.55 The RHT 40th Anniversary Handicap Chase (For The Studd Challenge Cup) £20,000 added 2m 4f 110yds
5.30 The Weatherbys Bank Standard Open NH Flat Race £5,000 added 2m 110yds


THE OPEN 2004

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, November 12, 13 & 14, 2004
(Old Course)

First Day - Friday, November 12
1-10 The paddypower.com Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase £20,000 added 3m 110yds
1-45 The Sharp Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) £35,000 2m 110yds
2-20 The Sporting Index Cross Country Chase £30,000 3m 7f
2-55 The Beards Jewellers Cup Handicap Chase £30,000 2m
3-30 The Steel Plate And Sections Novices’ Chase (Class B) £20,000 added 3m 110yds
4-05 The Abacusglobal.com Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle £15,000 added 2m 5f

Second day – Saturday, November 13
12-55 The Racing UK Novices’ Handicap Hurdle £20,000 added 2m 110yds
1-30 The Jim Brown Novices’ Chase £20,000 added 2m 4f 11yds
2-05 The Lombard Properties Handicap Hurdle £55,000 3m 1f 110yds
2-40 The Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase £110,000 2m 4f 110yds
3-15 The Servo Computers Handicap Chase £65,000 3m 3f 110yds
3-50 The Jet UK Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle £30,000 2m 110yds

Third day – Sunday, November 14
1.00 The JETS Novices’ Hurdle Race £20,000 added 2m 5f
1-35 The paddy power Casino Handicap Hurdle £25,000 added 2m 5f
2-05 The Independent Newspaper Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) £50,000 2m
2-40 The Greatwood Handicap Hurdle (Showcase Handicap) £70,000 2m 110yds
3-15 The Club 16-24 Handicap Chase £20,000 added 2m 4f 110yds
3-50 The Festival of Food Bumper (a Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race) £15,000 added 2m 110yds

OVERBURY TO MOVE TO IRELAND

The 13-year-old, winner of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin in Hong Kong for Godolphin, comes from the family of Vintage Crop and has sired a number exciting performers under both codes.

These include the unbeaten Overbury Affair, trained by Edward OGrady for J P McManus and an impressive winner at Cork on Sunday. The five-year-old is one of the market leaders for next years Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Overbury has sired many other promising performers including Roxbury, Over Alainn and Upyaboya while he is also responsible for the impressive point-to-point winners Laharna, Galero and Missed That.

His progeny have also been well received at the sales, with a four-year-old making 92,000 euros when bought by Timmy Hyde at the Goffs Land Rover Sale in June. Other sales representatives have made 52,000 euros, 45,000 euros and 34,000gns this year.

Overbury will stand in partnership with Helshaw Grange Stud at Beechbrook Stud, alongside Mr Combustible, Rock Hopper, Shernazar and Zagreb. His fee is still to be finalised.

Richard Kent, manager of Helshaw Grange Stud, commented: “Overbury has made a great start to his stud career and, having fared so well with his runners and at the sales in Ireland, we have decided to relocate him to Beechbrook Stud.”

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