Timeform Weekend Review: Flat season signs off with November Handicap

Weekend Review / Timeform / 11 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Timeform takes a look back over an intriguing weekend of racing which saw an impressive showing from Nick Ryan's debutant Les Fazzani as well the emergence of Chomba Womba as a possible Festival contender...

A typically competitive renewal of the November Handicap brought the curtain down on another memorable Turf season. With the exception of a disappointing run in the Mallard Stakes at the St Leger meeting, Tropical Strait's summer form now reads very well, making his starting price of [21.0] look rather big in hindsight, but, refreshed by an 8-week break he resumed the progressive thread that has run right through his career on the level with easily his biggest success, travelling strongly throughout and finding plenty to see off the late challenge of The Betchworth Kid by half a length. It's a race that is likely to work out well, with any number of the field, not least the first three home, offering plenty of encouragement for the future, be it on the all-weather or back on turf in 2009.

In the two listed races on the card, Les Fazzani, on her first start for Kevin Ryan since leaving the Australia-bound Mark Wallace, took the fillies' race in emphatic style, beating Classic Remark by seven lengths. Icelandic showed himself to be better than ever when winning the Wentworth Stakes on just his second start over six furlongs, striding clear from Against The Grain. The six-year-old, trained by Frank Sheridan who is applying for a British training licence later this month, is verging on very smart now and minor pattern races will be well within his compass.

Ryan Moore, with 186 winners this season, collected the trophy for the 2008 Jockey's Title but was out of luck on the final day itself.

With the National Hunt season now in full swing it was business as usual for Paul Nicholls who enjoyed seven winners on Saturday, including a five-timer at Wincanton.

Breedsbreeze looks likely to go right to the top as a novice chaser this season and made it two from two over fences with an emphatic success in the Grade 2 Rising Stars Chase at the Somerset track. He jumped really well in the main and was soon in complete command once going on before 3 out, value for even considerably more than the eleven-length winning margin over Ring The Boss. He'll be very hard to beat wherever he turns up next.

The feature race on the card was the Badger Ales Trophy Handicap Chase and it was the lesser-fancied of the two Nicholls' runners who landed the spoils. Cornish Sett had won the Vodafone Gold Cup off a mark 3 lb higher in March 2006, and having been given some respite by the handicapper, showed he's every bit as good as he was then, as he belied odds of [13.0] in a race which played very much to his strengths, creeping through into contention after 5 out and holding on all out after jumping the last in front, with just a nose separating him and favourite Island Flyer.

Cornish Sett failed to build on a promising reappearance last season and doesn't have the potential to progress of the other principals - the runner-up and Leading Attraction - so it would be no surprise were he to struggle to win again once back up in the weights. The latest horse from the Nicholls' yard to receive the Timeform large 'P' was Express Leader who romped to a seven-length success in the bumper which closed proceedings at Wincanton. The five-year-old son of Supreme Leader is clearly a useful prospect, open to considerable improvement if kept to bumpers but equally likely to make his mark if sent hurdling, where he's likely to stay beyond two miles.

The Nicky Henderson yard is not short of Champion Hurdle contenders, with Binocular and Punjabi both prominent in the ante-post betting, but it appears he could have another in the shape of Chomba Womba who made a successful reappearance in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton, defeating Takeroc by three and a quarter lengths. It was an improved effort from the seven-year-old who would not need to improve much more to be a serious contender for the Festival, given the mares allowance she would receive, and a run in one of the major graded races in the next few months will give a clear indication of whether she's up to that.