a good saturday of informative racing.

​Bravemansgame is good, isn’t he? But how good? How special? His great strength is his unflustered style of jumping. He is not a great jumper in the Frodon style, in fact he is better in some respect. Frodon must use up a lot of energy with his enthusiastic assault on his fences, whereas Bravemansgame is neat, expending as little energy as is needed. Also, what should be mentioned is the good job Harry Cobden’s does with him. The horse is the anxious type, even if in a race he settles and the long rein and sitting as a quiet as a man in silent contemplation that Cobdens employs on him is what has made the horse he is. Really great riders do not need to be energetic and flamboyant, all movement and punchy as a welterweight boxer, as Cobden proves on a daily basis.
Of course, what we do not know is how Bravemansgame will react if he arrives at the last fence at Kempton in the King George in need of a big jump to close in or to repel Allaho or whichever Irish Gold cup contender contests the race this season? What is also interesting is whether Cobden will choose the youth and potential of Bravemansgame over the tried and tested Clan des Obeaux, especially if Clan were to win the Coral Gold Trophy (Hennessey) in November?
We shouldn’t despair about Ahoy Senor’s first run of the season. He is a big, strong horse and Lucinda Russell would not be the first trainer to undercook a horse for its seasonal reappearance for fear of doing too much too early or injuring the horse. Also, I think he is a horse who will be liable to running a poor race now and again. To me, he has always reminded me of Carvill’s Hill. He is either on the right stride at a fence or is wrong, with nothing in between, and being such a big, strong, long-striding horse, he allows the jockey little opportunity to correct his stride to help put him right. I see him as a thorough stayer and would be inclined to aim him at the Welsh National rather than either the Coral Gold Trophy at Newbury or the King George. I wouldn’t rule him out as a Gold Cup contender, though they might have to let him bowl along in front to use his stamina and his jumping (if he is on song) rather than allowing others to dictate the pace.
Goshen? What are the Moores to do with a horse like Goshen? Again, he is a horse who is always liable to throw in a poor effort. And Saturday was a very poor effort, albeit Jamie Moore accepted the situation and allowed the horse to school round in his own time. It is no excuse, of course, but the race was a handicap and even though he had never run in a chase before, Goshen was giving 11 Ibs to three good-class horses, testament to how difficult it is these days for trainers to find suitable races for good-class novice chasers. And what Ascot proved is that making novice chases handicaps is not a sure-fire way of attracting competitive and large-sized fields.
To return to Wetherby. The opening race, the Class 3 novice hurdle, should provide a hatfull of future winners. The winner, Hall Lane, looks decidedly full of promise and the second, who was far from an easy ride, Hurricane Bay must be equally promising. I also thought the third, Tommy Cullen, stayed on tenaciously, with back in the field William of York ran on as if 3-miles might be his game.
Bryony Frost has become a Marmite figure in the sport, which is devilishly unfair as a whole lot of the ire she has had to face is a result, I believe, of envy. No jockey in National Hunt connects with spectators as she does and no jockey can speak so eloquently and with such love and enthusiasm on what makes a horse tick. She should be invaluable to the sport, yet the obnoxious behaviour of one individual has tainted her reputation and perhaps devalued her appeal. And what is being lost on so many in the sport is that in her own individual style she is a damned good jockey/horsewoman as she proved with the ride she gave Hurricane Bay on Saturday, a horse that was very babyish, over-keen and taken by surprise by every approaching hurdle. What also should be remembered, though with the emergence of Lorcan Williams as a big race rider she may get less opportunities this season, is that Paul Nicholls has never lost faith in her. I suspect Frodon is not the horse of old and do not expect him to win the big race at Down Royal next weekend and I hope other quality horses come her way so that she remains in the spotlight. It will be interesting to see if she retains the ride on Greaneteen this season as he seems to perform better (or perhaps as well) with her than Harry Cobden, a jockey who might become another Adrian Maguire, known as the best jockey of his generation never to become champion.