Around 400 guests braved the rain at Barbury Castle on Sunday for Alan King’s annual day for his owners, and, with no shortage of potentially exciting youngsters among the 100 horses paraded, not to mention a few of the more established names, plenty went home happy, having not only been able to feed their own horse a carrot or two, but also with a notebook filled with horses to follow for the winter months.
When Alan throws a party he does it in style – the organisation was first-class, we were able to see the inmates up at Sharpridge as well as Barbury and, following an informative run down on the horses from the guv’nor, who, remarkably, did not need any notes to identify either the individual or its set of owners, we were all treated to a lavish buffet lunch washed down by some excellent wine in a magnificent marquee.
Looking ahead to the forthcoming season, Alan said: ”We are all trying to put last year behind us and look optimistic, and, though I was never happy with the horses last season, they seem to have thrived for a summer out at grass. We have changed to Canadian hay, which hopefully will help, and, while it is early days yet, I am pleased with the way that things are shaping up.
“Some of the older members have left, but we have some decent young ammunition coming through, and, with the likes of Medermit, Manyriverstocross and Mille Chief heading the team, we have solid prospects who might help us climb back up the trainers table.”
Here is what Alan had to say about a select bunch of his 140-strong squad.
HALCON GENELARDAIS “Our former Welsh National winner is away with Polly Gundry trying to qualify for hunter chases, and that is the route we will be taking this season. He has been a grand servant and owes us nothing.”
KARABAK “He never won a race last season, but he ran some excellent races, bumping into Zaynar at Ascot and Big Buck’s at Newbury. Like most of ours, he was not at his best in the spring, and he is not a horse you can run too often, but he has plenty of talent and I’d like to take on Big Buck’s on one of his non-going days.”
KATCHIT “Our Champion Hurdle winner who still has all his old enthusiasm. He is too small to run in handicap hurdles, so he will have to run in all the two and a half and three mile condition races. He split a pastern in the World Hurdle and had two and a half months box rest, but he has summered better than anything and is an absolute star.”
MANYRIVERSTOCROSS “I can’t believe that he is one of the favourites for the Cesarewitch, and, while we will be doing our best to get him ready for Newmarket on October 2, it might come too soon. He has had a real good summer, but he has only been cantering a fortnight, so it will be a race against time. However, he had a terrific novice season last year and I am convinced that there is a good handicap hurdle in him, and races like the Greatwood and the totesport Gold Trophy will be on the agenda.”
MEDERMIT “I am very excited about this fellow and seriously think that he could make up into an Arkle horse. We schooled him over fences this time last season, but we resisted going novice chasing as, with one thing and another, we were running out of time to get the necessary experience into him. He showed what a class act he was when winning the Haydock Champion Hurdle Trial, but he pulled muscles in his back in the big one at Cheltenham and we did well to get him back for Punchestown, where he ran well to finish fourth. He’ll go straight over the big ones now and could be the real deal.”
MILLE CHIEF “He was probably the worst affected by the enzyme muscle problem and, all in all, last winter was a disaster for him. Nothing went right, from the time he was brought down two out on his hurdling debut at Market Rasen to when he went lame after winning at Huntingdon in January. He is a high-class young hurdler whose work last summer was out of the top drawer, and I feel that off a mark of 136 he has been given a chance of winning a valuable handicap. If we can get him ready we might have a look at the Free Handicap Hurdle at Chepstow in October, but whether we run there or not I hope he will make up for lost time this season. He is a very good horse.”
OH CRICK “He never won a race last year but they put him up 5lb for finishing fifth in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, so he ended the season 4lb higher than he started. He showed us at Aintree that he does not get a yard beyond two miles – he was going as well as anything two out but was walking from the last – but he was a star for us two years ago, winning at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, and, hopefully, he’ll be winning again this winter.”
SALDEN LICHT “We have not yet decided whether to stick to hurdles with him or go chasing, but we will probably take a view after he has run in the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham. He was impressive at Newbury first time out and, though he did not build on that, he bounced back to finish second to Captain Chris at Cheltenham’s April meeting. I know how highly Philip Hobbs rates Captain Chris, so it was a decent run, and I think there is better to come.”
THE BETCHWORTH KID “He was disappointing in the Ebor, but we worked him in cheekpieces on Saturday morning and might try them next time he runs. He had a good summer break and will go back hurdling again this winter, and, while we are thinking of sending him back to Salisbury this week for a race that he won last year, his owner, Henry Ponsonby, is reluctant to run him there if he is wrong at the weights and would rather wait for next week’s Mallard Trophy at Doncaster. He won that race two years ago and the big long straight there suits him.”
WALKON “He was a top juvenile hurdler and twice bumped into Zaynar, but sadly he severed a tendon badly and had to miss all last season, though he did resume cantering for a couple of months towards the back-end and is coming along nicely after his summer break. He looks to have made a complete recovery and I still have hopes that he will develop into a Champion Hurdle contender, but we have the option of going novice chasing after Christmas if we prefer that route.”
Sadly, BENSALEM, who might well have won the William Hill Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival had he not crashed out at the second last when disputing the lead, is on the easy list. Alan explained: ”Bensalem ran a cracker to finish second to Quevega over hurdles at Punchestown and stayed over in Ireland for his summer break. However, he went down with travel sickness on the way home and within 24 hours that had developed into pneumonia and then pleurisy. He has been at the vets for a fortnight now and is responding to treatment, but he is not out of the woods yet and all plans are on hold.”
Alan Hansen, the BBC football pundit, always maintains that “you don’t win anything with kids”, but that theory has been proved wrong time and time again on the soccer field, and Alan King has a lot of faith in his equine youth academy this season, and here is what he had to say about a selection of them that are housed up at Sharpridge.
AWESOME FREDDIE “He is a bigger model than his half-brother Awesome George, and, having won his bumper at Warwick last season, he has schooled well over hurdles and will go down the novice route in the autumn over two and a half miles.”
BALZACCIO “He won over hurdles at Huntingdon last season, but the handicapper was pretty severe on him and he struggled to defy the higher mark. We schooled him over fences last year, and he will go novice chasing.”
COOL STEEL “By Craigsteel, who is one of my favourite sires, and I like this fellow. He was only in training the final two months of last season for education purposes, but he is showing plenty of ability and he’ll go down the bumper route this winter.”
FRANKLINO “Like Mille Chief and Walkon, he is owned by the McNeill family, and I hope he proves as good. He was bought in the spring after winning twice on the Flat in France and schooled very well over hurdles before his summer break. Choc likes him a lot, and he could be an exciting juvenile hurdler.”
HIGH BENEFIT “An impressive winner of her bumper first time out at Haydock, she then finished third at Punchestown, but, though her owner, John Hales, had her booked in to Yeats, I felt that it would be a waste to send her to the paddocks so early, and we managed to persuade him to let us have her for racing for another season. She looks very useful and might run in one more bumper before going novice hurdling.”
MIDNIGHT PRAYER “He made it third time lucky when winning his bumper at Exeter in April, and he did plenty of schooling last season so will be ready to go straight over hurdles. He is a big powerful sort who has started to learn to relax and settles so much better than he did last winter.”
MISTER STICKLER “He won over hurdles for Trevor Hemmings at Bangor in March, but he is a big, rangy horse who was always going to be seen in a better light when going over fences, and we might even take the handicap route rather than aim him at novice chases.”
NIGHT ROSE “I could not believe how hard she pulled on her bumper debut at Cheltenham in April and she did well to keep going so long. We have worked hard through the summer on getting her to settle and seem to be winning the battle, and, though she might have one or two more runs in bumpers, she will go novice hurdling.”
RAYA STAR “He could be very exciting and he has a real engine. Everyone seemed to know how highly we rated him when he went to Uttoxeter in March for his first bumper, and he duly obliged. He did well through the summer and might have one more run in a bumper before he goes novice hurdling. He has schooled well.”
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by GEOFF LESTER 