PRE-SEASON TRAINING
06-09-2019
THIS WEEK It has been a quiet few weeks on the racing front with just the 1 runner to report. Good old Salto Chisco (a.k.a. Salty Crisp), who never disappoints, managed to roll in his 2nd win of the season keeping us at the top of the tree in terms of strike rate nationwide. Another excellent ride from Page Fuller who is now forming quite a partnership with the old boy at 11 years young, still loving the game scoring his 6th win since joining the yard. Back at the ranch the pre-season training is in full swing and the first big schooling session on Wednesday has got us all excited in anticipation for the season ahead... REPORTS SALTO CHISCO Salto Chisco won the William Hill betting TV handicap chase at Newton Abbot on Saturday in a dramatic finish. He was taking his chance in a better race for the first time under a lighter weight. We felt having managed to get another win into him last time our that it was worth having a go with the exceptional prize money on offer. He has always run well round Newton Abbot and with just the 5 runners it was worth a shot. They went off a furious gallop but jockey, Page Fuller was able to switch him off in last place. He jumped and travelled very well throughout the race. 5 fences from home he jumped his way into contention, travelling well upsides the eventual faller, Tidal Watch. From 2 out we looked set for second place but jumping is the name of the game and the leader blundered badly and fell at the last. Salty jumped it well but ran in to the loose horse stopping him in his tracks. This gave Teaser a good chance to get back up and Salto had to dig really deep to get himself back in a duel. He was tough when he needed to be and he managed to get up by a short head to take the winning tally for the season to 12 wins from 34 runners. He has now been declared for tomorrow at Stratford in the Keogh & Hows Handicap Chase over 2m. This is a lesser race which has cut up and he has a great chance following up. ENTRIES PARKIN Parkin has been declared to run at Fontwell on Sunday in the Netbet best odds Guaranteed novices’ hurdle over 2m1f. This will be his second start over hurdles, having gained a great deal of experience from his first start over obstacles. He should come on for the run mentally and hopefully he can run another promising race. We are still learning about him all the time in terms of track and trip but we are looking forward to running him again. REBEL LEADER Newcomer, Rebel Leader holds an entry at Newton Abbot on Monday in the 2.25pm Pkf Francis Clark 'National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle over 2m 2f. He is a very likeable type at home who has been showing some promise. He will line up in this novice hurdle for his yard debut. We have lots to learn about him, but we feel that the ground will suit as he is by Milan and has a good action. Hopefully he can run well for connections and show he has a future. CARDY Cardy holds an entry at Worcester on Tuesday in the Charles Stanley Group 'Hands and Heels' Handicap Hurdle over 2m4f, where she won 2 starts ago. The drop back to 2m4f should suit her and she has been in really good form at home. It is a race for amateur and conditional jockeys therefore our yard amateur, Jamie Nield will take the ride. ARIA ROSE Aria Rose holds a handful of entries over the coming weeks. One on the flat at Brighton over 1m3f, a maiden hurdle at Worcester and a novices' hurdle at Warwick. We will decided closer to the time were to run. He has been schooling well at home and has been in good form. IN OTHER NEWS... HWR STAFF PROFILES ASSISTANT TRAINER - JOE QUINTIN Joe Quintin has been working with Harry on and off virtually from the start of Harry's training career, when Hill Barn was still a pre-training facility. Since things have developed Joe has been on board full-time as Assistant Trainer for the past 2.5 years. Some of his key duties involve liaising with Harry to prepare and train the horses, assisting with race planning and overseeing the day to day running of the yard alongside Head Girl and sister in law, Gemma Quintin. Previous to this job Joe started his racing career at the age of 15 with Pat Murphy learning all the key attributes of the racing industry. He has also spent time with Charlie Mann and Oliver Sherwood. He has held both an amateur and conditional licence totalling 40 rides and 1 winner. Jammy George is Joe’s favourite horse in the yard this year. He quotes "A future Grand National winner, and a very exciting prospect!" Away from racing Joe enjoys spending time with his wife Laura and his 2 boys Chester and Albert. Nicked named ‘the poultry king’ for the number of chickens he keeps at home! THE HWR 5 TO FOLLOW COMPETITION IS BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR! So as we head closer to the beginning of the season we have reached that time of year again when we open up our popular 5 to follow competition… We will be running this in the same way again this year whereby it’s £5 to enter, you pick 5 horses with 1 reserve, you can enter as many times as you like and can pick any of the horses in our string. Points can be scored accordingly: 1st = 8 points, 2nd = 5 points, 3rd = 3 points, 4th = 1 point (For all races rated Class 2 or higher the points will double) Entries are open now and they must all be in by midnight on Sunday 22nd September. The competition will then run from 23rd September 2019 – 30th April 2020 Please click the link below for rules and entry form Don’t miss out! Get your entries in now to: admin@harrywhittington.co.uk