An Epic Week at HWR

30-10-2015

Last week was the busiest and the most successful week in HARRY WHITTINGTON RACING history!!! Starting at Exeter on Tuesday along with trips to Fontwell and Ludlow and ending up at Wincanton on Sunday, the yard could not have wished for a more fruitful time with - 3 wins, a second and a third from the 5 runners. This takes the short lived National Hunt season tally to 7, which is just shy of last seasons total of 8 and we haven't even got to November yet! An incredible effort from the whole team here, it's a case of huge amounts of hard work and dedication paid off. I'm just immensely proud of everyone and I'm delighted for all connections, so roll on the rest of the season.. Apparently it's worth buying a copy of the Racing Post Weekender tomorrow as well... We are also delighted to launch our very new website for your viewing; HARRYWHITTINGTONRACING REPORTS: The first runner of the week was DRIFTER who travelled to Exeter on Tuesday in search of a hat trick, after excellent wins at Perth and Sedgefield. A 7lb rise were always going to make things tough! We jumped off to make the running and unfortunately was hassled on the lead from an early stage. There was an even pace throughout however and Paul gave Drifter a breather to stack the field up as they turned for home. As he kicked on he had the majority of runners under pressure. However a combination of a huge rise in the weights and a long summer campaign, he stuck his head down and battled it out to finish 3rd. Although he didn’t get the hat trick he ran a bold tough race and has earned a nice long Winter break. BIGMARTRE and FRIZZO travelled to Fontwell on Wednesday, both having their debuts for HWR. We were very happy to see the rain come in the morning for both of horses. BIGM went first in the 2m 2f novices hurdle and was up against some well fancied rivals. He had been showing the right signs at home but we couldn’t have predicted such an impressive performance. He can tend to be a bit keen at home but settled beautifully for Gavin who dictated the pace from the front perfectly. Apart from hanging slightly towards the stands rail after the last just showing signs of greenness, he ran out a very impressive winner. He is very a exciting prospect for connections and showed he handles the soft conditions very well. He is now very likely to be aimed at another novice hurdle under a penalty, later in November. The BHA handicapper was clearly impressed as well as he gave him an opening mark of 133. We cannot wait to see him out again!!! FRIZZYBEAR had his debut for the yard and the Hill Barn Racing Club in a 2m 5f handicap chase with just the 3 rivals. Frizzo made the running and jumped very accurately under Paul, taking lengths out of the opposition at most fences. Friendly Society fell half way through the race and left Frizz up front on his own. He continued to jump from fence to fence and travel strongly. Turning for home he had his rivals off the bridle and for a second it looked like the yard could have a first double. Sadly as he jumped the second last he was joined by the favourite who hung badly away from the rail. This meant he jumped the last and took Frizzo and Paul down the whole fence ending any hope we may have had of winning. That's racing sometimes and we were delighted with the debut!! He will come on for the run and all being well he will be out again at Huntingdon on the 21st November. Thankfully the handicapper has left him on a mark of 114. The highly talented and exuberant ARZAL made his first start over fences for the yard at Ludlow on Thursday, in the 0-135 novices handicap chase. The race cut up at declaration stage to leave just the 3 rivals for him to contend with. Arzal made the running under David Bass who was having his first ride for the yard. He was quite free and really attacked his fences showing a lot of speed getting from A to B. His high cruising speed put the rest of the field under a huge amount of pressure and although he jumped slightly out to the left on occasion he completed a cosy 6 length victory!!! It was a nice starting point for him and he will have learnt plenty jumping 13 obstacles over the 2 miles. He is likely to switch to a left handed track next and he will also definitely come on for the run. A flag bearer for HWR last year Arzal showed on Thursday he is more than capable of repeating this feat over fences. And finally - last but most certainly not least!! Mightier than the sword - THEMIGHTYPOLST won a 1m 7f handicap hurdle at Wincanton on Sunday. He went there in good form, but we felt he would need to produce a career best to win in a competitive field. There was lots of competition for the lead and the pace was extremely strong from flag fall.  Going down the back though Paul and Polstar must have been more than 20 lengths off the leader. But on the long run to the 2nd last, many of the field started to come under pressure and Paul was just sat cruising past weakening horses. He had swung into the straight travelling well and jumped the 2nd last into 6th, before quickening past every horse bar the David Pipe trained Impulsive American. Polstar winged the last and responded to Paul's urging to challenge the leader, and when switched to the stand side he ran on strongly to win by just over a length. It was an impeccably judged ride and has to be a contender for ride of the month! It wasn't just Polstar's 3rd win of the season, it was his 5th career hurdles win for the yard in 2 years. It was also most certainly a career best from Polsty in very exciting style. The win capped off an amazing week for the team and all connected to HWR. Long may the success continue and fingers crossed for the rest of the season!! Until next week,