Thirteen lucky? That’s the question facing Harpole racing enthusiast Mick White whose family runner Rylee Mooch has now filled the runners-up berth on no fewer than 13 of his 55 career runs – the latest of which came when beaten a short head at Carlisle by Avon Breeze over 5f last Friday.
The five year-old grey Choisir gelding, trained by Richard Guest in Yorkshire, has managed to deliver on five occasions but has also been third five times so the phrase ‘close but no cigar’ could have been designed for White, wife Sheila and other female members of the family, including Julie McCarlie and Katie Hughes.
“He needs to win now and deserves it,” is White’s succint summary.
He added: “He has been raised 3lbs for last week and is now on a mark of 80. “He runs his heart out and is so unlucky, but of course as a consequence never goes down in the handicap.
“That said, we have always maintained we want him to go up in order to contest the better class of races.
“He is entered at Windsor on Monday and there is also a race for him at Newmarket next week.”
While all of his winning has been done over 5f, Rylee Mooch has contested the greys’ race in August over 6f at Newmarket for the last two years and this could be one of his targets again.
The Harpole family owners have also been knocking on the door with the three year-old Duchess Of Dreams who was fourth of 12 at odds of 33/1 in a 1m 2f handicap at Yarmouth last Friday and who is entered to run at Beverley over 1m 4f on Friday evening, and also at the same Yorkshire track over 1m 2f the following afternoon.
Duchess Of Dreams cannot boast the same level of consistency in low grade handicaps but White said: “I believe we need to be running her from the front. I think she will stay the extra distance and perhaps by letting her bowl along she can run the sting out of the speed horses.”
A strikingly similar profile of consistency to the White-owned Rylee Mooch can be tagged with the John Spearing-trained Whitecrest, owned by Overstone couple Graham and Julia Eales.
Chief among the differences are that Whitecrest is a chestnut mare; yet she is also a five year-old winner of five from 45 starts who has finished second nine times, and third on eight occasions.
The consistency theory is also being applied by county trainer Ben Case in reflecting on the National Hunt season just gone. Case has recruited a crop of new horses to his Wardington Gate Farm yard.
He said: “Last season we had 11 winners, nine seconds, 16 third places and 14 fourths from a total of 95 runners – over 53 per cent of the horses finishing in the frame and earning prize-money.”
New arrivals, courtesy of the Cheltenham Sales, have been: Mr Grey, Shantou River and Wither Yenot while other recruits have been Vinegar Hill and Profit Monitor.
Case’s training neighbour Alex Hales introduced a rare two year-old runner in the form of Come On Lila at Newbury on Thursday. The Dutch Art filly, bred by Jane Way in the county, has been working well with some of Eve Johnson Houghton’s string. Hales also plans to send his dual flat winner Take Two to Nottingham on Saturday evening where a bold bid is expected under Andrea Atzeni.
Summer jumping remains the theme for Brixworth based trainer Caroline Bailey who was again narrowly thwarted with Brassbound at Stratford on Tuesday night.
The May Towcester runner-up was beaten half a length by a Tony McCoy-ridden favourite.
The penny appears to have dropped for the Fergal O’Brien-trained novice hurdler Thunder Sheik who made it back to back wins at Uttoxeter on Sunday for Brackley based business Rob Rexton. Thunder Sheik was following up a success at Worcester seven days earlier after failing to win in his first 11 starts.
Leicester’s Saturday afternoon card gets underway at 2.15pm and could present the latest opportunity for East Northamptonshire owner Brian Johnson to strike, with his string of horses trained by Derek Shaw.
Johnson, who had Fenella Fudge lined up to go at Kempton on Wednesday evening, has Leicester possibilities with Borough Boy in the 5f handicap at 5.05pm.