SOME of the best chasers in the land were in action over the weekend, but who or what has made it to my latest Good, Bad & Ugly column?
And which trainer thinks their jockey is “underrated” and which stable rider thinks their trainer is “egocentric”? Let’s find out…
Good
Racing is a funny old game. Bristol De Mai is an absolute beast and was awesome in the Betfair Chase at Haydock once again on Saturday.
Indeed, he has been rated the top chaser in training in his time, and yet he could probably win ten Betfair Chases and still not get the credit he deserves. That’s the Cheltenham factor for you.
There are times when the importance of Cheltenham ruins everything. Bristol De Mai has been to Cheltenham six times with form figures of: 2-7-3-3-2-9. And there you have the issue for the public.
Those positions include two seconds in the Cotswold Chase, a recognised Gold Cup trial, and a third in the main event itself. But still that is not enough for the general public.
With Bristol De Mai we all just have to get a grip. He’s a fabulous chaser. He’s been trained brilliantly by Nigel Twiston-Davies, and Daryl Jacob gets a great tune out of him.
If anything it’s the latter relationship that we should celebrate. Jacob hasn’t always had it easy, but teaming up with Simon Munir and Isaac Souede has been the making of him. That pair get racing, they know they won’t always win and take the good with the bad. Proper owners.
I asked Sam Twiston-Davies, Nigel’s son, what he thought of his dad’s training of Bristol De Mai, and he said: “Consistent! We had a target in mind for Bristol so we had plenty of time to get some hard work into him. But where dad does so well is he leaves him fresh as well as fit. That’s the skill.”
Away from Bristol De Mai, it’s also impossible to leave out nine-time consecutive winner Main Fact from this part of my column.
Who knows when Saturday’s Haydock scorer will stop winning, but David Pipe has done wonders with this horse and Pipey hasn’t been in the best of health in recent times so it’s a tonic for all at Pond House and shows there is a real team going places at the yard where David’s old man Martin made history. The Pipes are still changing the game.
Bad
Lostintranslation was terrible in the Betfair Chase, with connections blaming the heavy ground.
That, of course, might be the reason for his flop but he’s surely an enigma now for most punters. Horses that show brilliance one day and a shocking effort the next are impossible to weigh up.
Lostintranslation had a wind operation before his last two runs, and it’s hard not to wonder if there is more to his performance than just the going.
What we do know is he is a great looking horse who clearly has bundles of talent. He can bounce back at any time, but guessing when that will be is not going to be easy.
Ugly
I’m not talking physically here, because Kim Bailey and David Bass are relatively normal looking people, indeed a long time ago Bailey might have been quite dashing!
However, as a trainer-jockey couple Bailey and Bass should be wrong together and be constantly bickering about just about everything.
Bailey and Bass teamed up for a famous Ascot double Saturday with the fast-improving Imperial Aura and Fast Flow, who will be even better when the ground is bottomless. Bass’s attacking rides and throwing the horses at fences was a joy to see.
I asked each to describe the other in one word. Bailey chose “underrated” for Bass, although he wanted two words and to add in “understated” as well. Bass had a think and came up with “egocentric” for Bailey, while adding he was “loyal” as well.
Things might, now, get ugly!
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