Hexham
27th August
The new National Hunt season is looming and if you’re a visitor to Hexham racecourse this season, you will now be able to see the data from TPD at every meeting, providing in-depth analysis for each race on the big screen. With that in mind, our analyst Adam Mills has reviewed some of the key performances from Wednesday’s card and highlighted some horses to follow in the weeks ahead.
The card got underway with a 2nd victory over hurdles for the Mickey Bowen trained Mohawk Chief, who came with a sustained late run under James Bowen to run down the slightly unlucky Jentobello after the final flight. The runner-up actually put in a better round of jumping than the winner, losing an average of 9.1% of his speed over his obstacles, but Mohawk Chief was not going to be denied as he rallied gamely under Bowen, finishing with the fastest final 2-furlongs in the race with a run-out speed of 31 mph. Although this was just a 2nd win in 10 starts over obstacles, Mohawk Chief has placed on 6 other occasions and he appears to have improved over the Summer, benefitting from running on a sound surface over intermediate trips. A winning time of 5:08.52 was 7s outside of the TPD expected time for the grade, but a combination of a small field and a race that developed into a tactical match between the first 2, who were 21-lengths clear of the rest at the line, may have contributed to that. The handicapper is going to give him a rise for this victory where he has given 7 lbs and a 2-length beating to a dual bumper winner, but it’s not impossible to think that the application of the visor has helped him to finish his race and he may yet be able to make his mark in a handicap hurdle before the winter horses return.
Jentobello is the first horse to be added to the tracker. He won a pair of Bumpers earlier in the summer and his 3rd placed finish on his debut over hurdles at Uttoxeter has worked out reasonably well since. He should now be eligible for a handicap mark (perhaps in the region of 105-107) and having been one of the most efficient jumpers on both starts to date, there is every reason to think that will be very workable for Iain Jardine’s 5-year-old.
The other horse that I would suggest adding to the tracker is the Mark Walford trained Huit Reflets. At first glance, a horse rated 79 with a career record of 1 win from 30 starts may not seem an obvious winner in waiting. However, this was the first time that he has run over the larger obstacles since his days in Ireland with Liz Doyle and Mark Walford’s charge was heavily supported for this race, contracting from an overnight price of 20/1 to just 5/2 at SP. Held up towards the rear of the 6-runner field, he made good headway under Jamie Hamilton as they approached the last fence, recording the fastest 18th and 19th furlongs in the contest as he hit the front. Having hit the front at the furlong pole, it must have been an agonising watch for his supporters as Royal Deeside rallied in the closing stages to land a double for Harry Reed as he stayed on with the best run-out speed in the field (29.01 mph) to win by a head. A winning time of 5:05.34 was quicker than the TPD expected time for the grade and with the first 5 home all losing an average of less than 10% of their speed over their obstacles, this looks to be a solid piece of form for the grade. The handicapper will give Huit Reflets a rise, but it can’t conceivably be more than 3 or 4 lbs for this effort and if he stays over fences, he should gain compensation for this narrow defeat.
The night ended with a victory for Jennie Candlish in the Mares’ Bumper with Peace Belle. This was a winning debut for this 4-year-old daughter of Massaat, who was given a patient ride by Sean Quinlan before finishing with a flourish to win by over 2-lengths. The data from TPD confirms the visual impression that she was the fastest horse in the race as Peace Belle recorded a top speed figure of 37.89 mph and a run-out speed of 34.87 mph, both of which ranked 1st. She was green at times and clearly had a lot to learn, but when asked to close, she ran the fastest final 2-furlongs to win going away and a time of 4:08.43 was over 4s quicker than the TPD expected time. The runner-up had finished last of 10 on her debut at Wincanton in December, but there have been 4 subsequent winners to come out of that race and the 3rd placed Lady Kara was a runner-up on her debut at Newton Abbot in July, so there is some substance to the form of the placed horses and it’s not impossible to think that Peace Belle could be an above average winner for a race of this nature in the Summer.