EP: 268 Sandown & Hong Kong Champions Day April 26, 2024 The final day of the jumps season still has one big question to answer as three trainers can still finish at the top of the tree. Willie Mullins, Dan Skelton and reigning champion Paul Nicholls all go into Saturday at Sandown with chances of becoming champion trainer where we hope to see Jonbon taking on [...]
Haggas hoping to get Hong Kong monkey off his back with Dubai Honour April 26, 2024 WILLIAM Haggas has had great success overseas, but he is yet to have a winner in Hong Kong. “That really irks me,” said the 63-year-old Newmarket-based trainer. “We’ve had a bit of luck abroad in other places but not in Hong Kong, so I’d like to get that monkey off my back so to speak.” [...]
Red Certainly no 50/1 shot in the Sandown feature April 23, 2024 SANDOWN is once again the stage for the finale of the 2023/24 Jumps season and looking at the five-day declarations, it could be one of the strongest cards the Esher track has hosted for some time. That’s largely due to Willie Mullins, who has 25 potential contenders for the seven races as he seeks to [...]
Pauling’s Proud the one but Be Aware of Skelton team April 23, 2024 A BRILLIANT concluding card to the National Hunt season begins with the Novices’ Championship Final Handicap Hurdle (1.50pm). It’s as competitive as you would expect with many horses being targeted at a final big payday of the season before they head out to the paddocks for the summer. Ben Pauling’s FIERCELY PROUD was entered to [...]
Lor’s Trillion the one to watch April 23, 2024 ONCE again, the weather in Hong Kong is likely to play an important role in determining winners at Happy Valley when racing gets underway with a nine-race programme starting at 11.40am today. Rain has been lashing down in biblical proportions since the start of the week, and with intermittent thunder and lightning bringing the city [...]
Fownes looking to rise on Cloud of Glory at the Valley April 23, 2024 IT HAS been good to see trainer Caspar Fownes back in the winners’ circle in the last couple of weeks. In fact, Fownes has had a pretty good month in April with six wins and eight places from just 38 runners. When it comes to saddling winners at Happy Valley, Fownes is usually in a [...]
Shum can Chill the champagne ahead of Chibi’s run April 19, 2024 SHA TIN in Hong Kong is under threat again of possible rain and thunderstorms when racing gets underway with a mixed card of six turf and four all-weather contests, starting at 6.00am on Saturday. Adverse weather conditions have been a regular occurrence in the territory this season, causing dismay to form-book students, and it would [...]
Magnificent Must Go straight to the winners’ circle April 19, 2024 WHILE all the media attention has concentrated on trainers’ title contenders Pierre Ng and Francis Lui in recent weeks, 12-time champion John Size has become a forgotten man in the championship race. The ‘master trainer’ currently trails Ng by 13 wins, but with so much fire-power in his stable and 23 race-meetings of the season [...]
EP: 267 Ayr, Newbury & Hong Kong April 19, 2024 After winning the Grand National last Saturday, Willie Mullins takes aim at the Scottish National at Ayr this weekend in the hope of winning the British Trainers Championship for the first time. The Scottish Champion Hurdle also takes place on Saturday. Newbury is the venue for three important Group 3 races and the Spring Cup, [...]
Inis Oirr and Git Maker to do us Proud April 16, 2024 IT’S VERY much National season at the moment, with last week’s Grand National succeeded by Saturday’s Scottish Grand National (3.35pm) at Ayr. With Willie Mullins’ I Am Maximus winning at Aintree, the Closutton handler now leads the British Trainers’ Championship, despite only having had 19 winners this season. There isn’t much Mullins hasn’t won on [...]