Wednesday, January 12, 2005

ALL ENCLOSURES SOLD OUT ON totesport CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP DAY

Badges for all enclosures (Club, Tattersalls & Best Mate) are still available for the first three days of The Festival - Tuesday, March 15 (Smurfit Champion Hurdle Day), Wednesday, March 16 (Queen Mother Champion Chase Day) and Thursday, March 17 (Ladbrokes World Hurdle Day).

Bookings for the first three days of The Festival can be made by telephoning 01242 226226 or by visiting www.cheltenham.co.uk.

CLASSY STANLEYBET LINCOLN IN PROSPECT

This great handicap over Doncaster's straight mile went last year to the Mark Tompkins-trained Babodana, who stayed on well after hitting the front one and a half furlongs out to hold Quito by three-quarters of a length.

This year Tompkins is hoping to be represented by St Petersburg, twice a winner in 2004 after finishing runner-up to Autumn Glory in Doncaster's 24-runner STANLEYBET SPRING MILE, the consolation race run on Town Moor the day before the Stanleybet Lincoln for those horses who fail to make the cut for the feature contest.

Tompkins said: "The Stanleybet Lincoln is the plan for St Petersburg and he will go straight to Doncaster. I would hope we'll get some soft ground - he was second in the reserve race last year when beaten by Autumn Glory who went on to be a pretty good horse."

Babodana managed to overcome 23 rivals in the 2004 STANLEYBET LINCOLN despite being drawn in stall 23, while 19 of the previous 39 winners started from a single-figure (far side) draw, including 11 of the latest 17 up to and including 2003.

"St Petersburg has improved and we just need a bit of luck don't we? I didn't have any choice with the draw last year and I won it then! We'll hope for the best," added the Newmarket handler.

Owners and trainers will again be able to select their own draw position two days before the big race.

Autumn Glory, trained by Geoff Wragg, could bid for his second big race success at Doncaster. The five-year-old went on to win two Group Three events in 2004 including the Darley Stakes at Newmarket on his last start in October, when proving two lengths too powerful for Sights On Gold.

David Chapman will be hoping that Quito can go one better in the STANLEYBET LINCOLN this time. He won on four occasions last year including when taking the Listed totescoop6 Wentworth Stakes over six furlongs at Doncaster on November 6.

A potential international line-up includes two Irish-trained horses, Common World and Tolpuddle, plus Pagan Prince and Scapolo from Spain, and France's Royal Guard.

Common World has recently joined Tom Hogan, having been considered good enough by a former trainer to compete in the 2002 running of the Group One Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, while Tommy Stack's Tolpuddle won a Listed event at the Curragh in April by a length from Eklim.

Pagan Prince, trained by Peter Haley at Mijas, provided jockey Lisa Jones with her then biggest success of her career when winning the Mail On Sunday/Tote Mile Final for previous handler James Toller at Ascot in 2003, while stable companion Scapolo won a Group Three contest at Cologne in Germany for former trainer Christian Von Der Recke in the same year.

The French possible is provided by John Hammond. Royal Guard won on a very soft surface at Saint-Cloud on the last day of October by two lengths from Dark Green.

With seven entries, Thirsk-based trainer Kevin Ryan has the biggest team to select from. His squad is Always Esteemed, Cardinal Venture, Cloud Dancer, My Paris, Soyuz, Uhoomagoo and Up Tempo.

Barry Hills took the 2003 renewal courtesy of the Guy Reed-owned Pablo and this year the master of Wetherdown House has two possible representatives in Alfonso and Kamanda Laugh.

The former, also owned by Reed, was impressive when winning on his latest start in a Newmarket handicap at the end of October, while Kamanda Laugh, owned by former Coventry City manager John Sillett, won four times in 2004 including in the Sky Vegas Live On Channel 295 Handicap at Doncaster in May, when just holding on by a neck from Reidies Choice.

Other notable entries include Meshaheer, who has joined Marcus Tregoning from Godolphin for whom he won his last start in Doncaster's Racing Post Weekender Conditions Stakes in October, the Gay Kelleway-trained Vortex, who despite disappointing still had the honour of being invited to compete in the Grade One Japan Cup Dirt at Tokyo in November, and New Seeker, trained by Clive Cox, who won the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2003.

Steven Clarke, Doncaster's General Manager, said: "I am thrilled with the excellent entries for the 2005 Stanleybet Lincoln.

"There are some very good performers among them and this year's renewal promises to be one of the strongest ever."

The weights for the 2005 Stanleybet Lincoln will be revealed on Wednesday, January 19.

For further information, please contact Steven Clarke on 01302 304203/07899 917451.

BREAKDOWN OF ENTRIES BY TRAINER WITH PAST SUCCESSES IN THE STANLEYBET LINCOLN

Kevin Ryan (7)
Always Esteemed
Cardinal Venture
Cloud Dancer
My Paris
Soyuz
Uhoomagoo
Up Tempo

David Nicholls (5)
Aperitif
Gift Horse
Primus Inter Pares
Sawwaah
Serieux

Michael Jarvis (4)
Divine Gift
Iffraaj
Putra Kuantan
St Andrews

Mick Channon (3)
Digital
Jazz Scene
Millennium Force

Mick Easterby (3)
Blue Spinnaker
Hills Of Gold
Strong Hand

Steve Gollings (3)
City Palace
King's Thought
Rocket Force

Gay Kelleway (3)
Czarina Waltz
Forthright
Vortex

Stan Moore (3)
Barathea Dreams
Gems Bond
Twist Bookie

Amanda Perrett (3)
Auditorium
Colisay
Tableau

David Barron (2) (1991 AMENABLE)
Flipando
Zero Tolerance

James Bethell (2) (1998 HUNTERS OF BRORA)
Granston
Mine

David Chapman (2)
Quito
St Pancras

Ed Dunlop (2)
Blythe Knight
Secret Place

David Evans (2)
Best Before
Oddsmaker

Peter Haley SPA (2)
Pagan Prince
Scapalo

Richard Hannon (2) (1996 STONE RIDGE)
Lucayan Legend
Red Spell

Barry Hills (2) (2003 PABLO)
Alfonso
Kamanda Laugh

Sylvester Kirk (2)
Blue Trojan
Sri Diamond

Stef Liddiard (2)
Certain Justice

Bryan McMahon (2) (1995 ROVING MINSTREL)
El Coto
Inchloss

Terry Mills (2)
Evaluator
Norton

Willie Musson (2)
Folio
Krugerrand

Sir Michael Stoute (2)
Desert Star
Stream Of Gold

Andrew Balding (1)
Prince Of Thebes

Alan Berry (1)
Compton Dragon

Michael Blanshard (1)
Sew'n'so Character

Karl Burke (1)
Barrissimo

Gerard Butler (1)
Prince Tum Tum

Patrick Chamings (1)
Rio De Janeiro

Clive Cox (1)
New Seeker

Peter Cundell (1)
Andaluza

Chris Dwyer (1)
Dandoun

Brian Ellison (1)
Everest

Richard Fahey (1)
Wing Commander

Chris Fairhurst (1)
Abbajabba

Dominic ffrench Davis (1)
Crafty Fancy

John Gosden (1)
Free Trip

Richard Guest (1)
Les Arcs

John Hammond FR (1)
Royal Guard

Derek Haydn Jones (1)
Ermine Grey

Tom Hogan IRE (1)
Common World

William Jarvis (1)
Momtic

David MacLeod (1)
Sea Storm

Brian Meehan (1)
Denver

Philip Mitchell (1) (1982 KING'S GLORY)
Forever Free

Gary Moore (1)
Logsdail

Hughie Morrison (1)
Sangiovese

Michael Mullineaux (1)
Wizard Of Us

Jeremy Noseda (1)
Courageous Duke

Pip Payne (1)
Fitting Guest

Julian Poulton (1)
Red Contact

John Quinn (1)
Crow Wood

Lynda Ramsden (1) (1993 HIGH PREMIUM)
Polygonal

John Scargill (1) (1994 OUR RITA)
Bobby Charles

Ian Semple (1)
Appalachian Trail

Derek Shaw (1)
State Dilemma

Bryan Smart (1)
Creskeld

Tommy Stack IRE (1)
Tolpuddle

Mark Tompkins (1) (2004 BABODANA)
St Petersburg

Marcus Tregoning (1)
Meshaheer

Venetia Williams (1)
Mohawk Star

Peter Winkworth (1)
Arkholme

Geoff Wragg (1)
Autumn Glory

OLDREY URGES RETENTION OF OWNERS' PREMIUMS

Directing his comments to BHB chairman Martin Broughton, Oldrey said: "Obviously Owners' Premiums are primarily a matter for the Racehorse Owners' Association but the TBA has a great deal at stake too. The scheme so obviously had a real impact last year in terms of selling nominations in the spring and horses in the autumn. Owners and breeders have reacted in all sorts of ways by doing, or not doing, particular things, much as intended.

"To lose the scheme, as was originally proposed, after all that but before the promised dividends accrue to owners would have amounted to a breach of faith - anyway it would have for anything short of force majeure.

"With assorted alternative ways of keeping things going for 2005, I cannot accept that suspension would have been more than a matter of choice at that stage - and a very bad choice too, which would have greatly damaged the Board's credibility.

"You rightly stressed this is really one for the ROA to decide. If they conclude that the right answer is to move about three per cent of prize money into supporting things for 2005, I trust nobody will stand in their way but instead just clap."


Oldrey also presented the case for retaining Breeders' Prizes, although he conceded that Broughton's earlier suggestions that they could be directed towards certain types of horse would be considered by the TBA Council.

"It does not matter how useless the horse may be, we have had our slice of cake in the sale ring - in effect we are zero per cent geared to genuine success in terms of the breed," added Oldrey.

"Accordingly, attaching the Breeders' Prize scheme with its 100 per cent gearing as part of the deal provides an inducement to breed racehorses as opposed to yearlings and balances the package in the general good.

"I do accept that there is real force in your theory of amending the rules to use the scheme to encourage the production of stock that the market is not providing in adequate numbers. The Council will respond in due course."


Oldrey was also concerned that continued financing be found for the Equine Fertility Unit in Newmarket, and in particular the ongoing Equine Genome Project and stem cell research being undertaken.

The TBA President continued: "Being in a position to lead and influence the impact of the highly unpredictable effects of research in this field is surely of crucial importance.

"I wonder what our successors in 20 years' time will say about us if we squander that lead and leave them paying heaven knows what for foreign commercial copyrights, even assuming they are allowed access to them at all."

Oldrey added to Broughton: "Your offer of £100,000 (for the Equine Genome Project) to take things through to the summer is very welcome and is clearly as far as you can go for the moment but, whatever happens in the courts, this one must not be allowed to go abroad."

He continued: "As with research into genetics, the main value of the Unit's work in financial terms will remain its ability to save costs. Unsound horses and barren mares or badly-done stock costs owners and breeders fortunes. Stem-cell research and matings better directed to producing sound racehorses will matter more not less if we remain permanently strapped for cash.

"Both projects, in combination, have so much to offer and must not be allowed to wither for what, in the final analysis, are not huge sums of money."


Oldrey also commended changes to the race programme and said: "An intelligent trainer, who should have known better, attacked the revisions because they always prevent him from running horses rated about 60 off their true ratings in races worth anything up to £50,000.

"Surely the answer to him is why on earth should anyone expect to have a chance in a decent race with such a moderate animal?' If anything is more conducive both to corruption and the debasement of the breed than programming which might let a horse off that sort of rating win a big race, I can't think what it is."

For old articles (from 1st March 2000) go to the Newslink Archive

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