Racing at Cheltenham after the Festival always has a sniff of "after the Lord Mayor's Show" about it, but with just 10 days to go until this season closes, the recurrent themes of the season (excluding the Irish domination) were on show again today.
The tussle for the Jockeys' Championship grew one more winner out of Brian Hughes' reach after the winner tally for the day was 2:1 in favour of Harry Skelton. After a blank day on Monday when Hughes wasn't riding, Skelton made amends yesterday with a treble allowing him to leapfrog Hughes into the lead for the first time. And whilst he rides for virtually no other stable than his brother, such is the weight of talent chez Skelton that it's no surprise he's now 1/8 to secure his first title, with 3 winners in hand.
Meanwhile, the number of top Pattern races to run before the close on April 24 is diminishing day by day. Today's Silver Trophy Chase has thrown up some memorable horses, not least Norton's Coin, for whom this was a last winner before he snatched the 1990 Gold Cup at 100/1. Today's nine runner field resulted in a win for Ogbourne Maizey's ManoftheMountain, trained by Emma Lavelle and ridden by a Gloucestershire-born jockey in Tom Bellamy, whose father Robert, a former rider, is now a raceday announcer and Master of Hounds.
ManoftheMountain, who ran third in a Borris Hill Maiden before emigrating to the UK for a Rules career, always looked the winner from the top of the hill, and had something in hand over the placed horses.
Another Wiltshire trainer also left his mark on the penultimate raceday for professional riders at Cheltenham. Sean Curran's French-bred Domaine de L'Isle, based at Highworth, kept on well under champion Brian Hughes to win the 0-150 Handicap Chase from Coo Star Sivola, another of the Sivola family trained by Nick Williams. Coo Star Sivola's rider James Davies was lucky not to endure a nasty fall in between the last two fences when his tack slipped and he unbalanced toward Sam Twiston-Davies on his right. Happily Sam was able to prevent him falling in between horses and right his balance to run second.
Meanwhile, Fergal O'Brien inched closer to his first century of winners. He'd have no reason to regret buying Ask Dillon, a Nenagh Point-to-Point winner, given he's won 3 of his 17 races to date, and been placed in another 6. There'll be a serious cake-fest on Saturday if the century is achieved by then.
The Point-to-Point calendar continues this qweekend with one of the season's Classics in the Lady Dudley Cup at Chaddesley Corbett in Worcestershire. Given the dry conditions, Clerk of the Course Jim Squires is watering hard, and I'm sure would welcome some assistance from above to avoid small fields such as afflicted Shelfield Park on its debut on Sunday.
Racing at Cheltenham after the Festival always has a sniff of "after the Lord Mayor's Show" about it, but with just 10 days to go until this season closes, the recurrent themes of the season (excluding the Irish domination) were on show again today.
The tussle for the Jockeys' Championship grew one more winner out of Brian Hughes' reach after the winner tally for the day was 2:1 in favour of Harry Skelton. After a blank day on Monday when Hughes wasn't riding, Skelton made amends yesterday with a treble allowing him to leapfrog Hughes into the lead for the first time. And whilst he rides for virtually no other stable than his brother, such is the weight of talent chez Skelton that it's no surprise he's now 1/8 to secure his first title, with 3 winners in hand.
Meanwhile, the number of top Pattern races to run before the close on April 24 is diminishing day by day. Today's Silver Trophy Chase has thrown up some memorable horses, not least Norton's Coin, for whom this was a last winner before he snatched the 1990 Gold Cup at 100/1. Today's nine runner field resulted in a win for Ogbourne Maizey's ManoftheMountain, trained by Emma Lavelle and ridden by a Gloucestershire-born jockey in Tom Bellamy, whose father Robert, a former rider, is now a raceday announcer and Master of Hounds.
ManoftheMountain, who ran third in a Borris Hill Maiden before emigrating to the UK for a Rules career, always looked the winner from the top of the hill, and had something in hand over the placed horses.
Another Wiltshire trainer also left his mark on the penultimate raceday for professional riders at Cheltenham. Sean Curran's French-bred Domaine de L'Isle, based at Highworth, kept on well under champion Brian Hughes to win the 0-150 Handicap Chase from Coo Star Sivola, another of the Sivola family trained by Nick Williams. Coo Star Sivola's rider James Davies was lucky not to endure a nasty fall in between the last two fences when his tack slipped and he unbalanced toward Sam Twiston-Davies on his right. Happily Sam was able to prevent him falling in between horses and right his balance to run second.
Meanwhile, Fergal O'Brien inched closer to his first century of winners. He'd have no reason to regret buying Ask Dillon, a Nenagh Point-to-Point winner, given he's won 3 of his 17 races to date, and been placed in another 6. There'll be a serious cake-fest on Saturday if the century is achieved by then.
The Point-to-Point calendar continues this qweekend with one of the season's Classics in the Lady Dudley Cup at Chaddesley Corbett in Worcestershire. Given the dry conditions, Clerk of the Course Jim Squires is watering hard, and I'm sure would welcome some assistance from above to avoid small fields such as afflicted Shelfield Park on its debut on Sunday.
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