On a weekend where the big favorite for the Champion Hurdle retired mid-stage and the two best horses in the world continued their merry way in Hong Kong, today’s article still saw only one contender for the lead: writes Tony Stafford.
I emphasize that I was not pressured by the editor of this column. However, I feel that after about a decade of searching for a top horse for his various syndicates, Matt Bisogno has finally struck gold for geegeez.co.uk in the form of Dartmoor Pirate.
People have been chasing the elusive ‘Saturday horse’ for years in vain. Matt and trainer Anthony Honeyball have certainly found one, not only good enough to run on the weekend, but one that can win a coveted race, Doncaster’s Great Yorkshire Chase and the £56,000 first prize.
From the moment Honeyball picked up the son of Black Sam Bellamy from the Goffs May Sales (stores) in Doncaster for £16,000 in May 2022, members have had to endure extreme patience, knowing that the trainer has always had a high opinion of the horse.
His first three seasons – initially with one run in a bumper – were each followed by a break of between 220 and 251 days. At that stage, having gone through the novice hurdles season and then racking up a handicap, including a single disappointing run in a pursuit, his total was one win in ten.
The seven-year-old’s latest campaign started a little more promisingly with a fifth-place finish at Chepstow after finding some hope late in the straight. Then everything clicked. At Lingfield over 2m6f he rode clear in the run to the line and secured a first victory over fences at the third attempt.
It took some courage for Honeyball to go, with the team’s agreement, to Great Yorkshire and go up to three miles. Here he would face a rapidly improving fighter in Grand Geste, another with just three runs over fences to his name, but a bloodbath on the Tommy Whittle Chase field at Haydock last time out.
Understandably, the Joel Parkinson/Sue Smith runner was favorite even after his 10lb walk for the Haydock race, but he soon found himself in trouble and never dominated as he did in Lancashire.
Dartmoor Pirate was almost as severely handicapped (over 7lb) for his less spectacular performance at Lingfield. But here he came, after falling back early in the straight, with renewed vigor under Rex Dingle in the closing stages; caught the leader New Order before the last and strode away for a margin of almost four lengths.
Some of the geegeez.co.uk team associated with Saturday’s winner had gathered further north at Catterick three days earlier expecting their newcomer Luna Lux to emerge in the closing bumper. The Masked Marvel filly had cost €50,000 at Arqana as a yearling in November 2023 and Honeyball took her north, anticipating a relatively soft touch for the promising newcomer, away from the big guns.
However, there are very few soft touches to be found these days, and especially when there is currently opposition from runners from the Adrian Paul Keatley yard. His German-bred Nightflyer received heavy support from the Honeyball favorite and performed duly, Luna Lux finishing a well-beaten third.
That made it five wins in a row for Keatley, once famous for his Irish 1,000 Guineas victory with Jet Setting at Minding just before that O’Brien/Coolmore filly’s win in the 2016 Oaks at Epsom. Was it ten years ago? Real?
For the record, Adrian won a seven-furlong race at Newcastle shortly after Catterick’s success before the series ended at Meydan on Friday, so the UK winning run is still alive.
For his part, Nightflyer was sold at the post-race auction in Cheltenham on Saturday evening for £95,000 and will continue his career with Jonjo and AJ O’Neill.
In addition to Dartmoor Pirate, the boys and girls of the syndicates can look back with pride on the career of listed bumper and permanent obstacle winner Coquelicot. This Soldier Of Fortune mare won nine and came second in eight of her 28 races, successful in three bumpers, four hurdles and two more races when she went late to the flat.
What attracted Anthony and Matt at the time of the auction was that she was a half-sister to Soldier Of Fortune by Ebor winner and Melbourne Cup runners-up Heartbreak City. She sold for 40,000 grams at the January 2025 sale, much to the chagrin of the owners who had such a wonderful time with her.
And with Olly Murphy, much the same group – albeit with some newer faces – has had huge success with Sure Touch, itself a winner of ten races (nine for the syndicate), including the centenary Market Rasen’s Summer Plate in 2024, another £100,000 handicap. After third and second places with the latest Warren Chase inmate Gee Force Flyer, they hope to go one step further in Leicester on Wednesday (weather permitting).
I was particularly delighted with the Great Yorkshire win as Jim Cannon, my regular Ebor Week host, and other meeting guests Ian Wallis, a retired maths teacher, and Pete Williams (always ready to answer when a microphone is stuck in his face) are all in the syndicate, just like in Luna Lux.
While the other couple was there to celebrate the win – and Matt assures me they were celebrating too! – Jim had family matters to take into account. Jim and his wife Mary have three grandsons, so the intention was to see one play rugby; another takes part in a performance in a modern dance group, while the third has a birthday to celebrate in between.
In between, York resident Jim snuck away to watch his hometown football team Carlisle being defeated 3-0 by his hometown York City. I trust seeing the Pirates win on Saturday cheered him up a bit. I spoke to Jim the morning of the race and asked what he liked – he likes a bit of excitement. He said he noticed Kripticjim running at Cheltenham and would probably back it even if the Tizzard yard was out of shape. He won at the age of 14, so he would have completed a nice 119/1 doubles with his own horse.
I said to Matt after the race – himself later delighted by his hometown Bournemouth’s victory over Liverpool –: “He’s a potential Grand National horse for next year.” Given that endurance-laden performance, I think he could be if Anthony can raise a stone or so more above the 135 mark tomorrow morning when the new ratings come out.
Okay, I admit there were other things going on. When Sir Gino was suddenly pinned down by Nico de Boinville after sitting last of four in the four-way Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham, the howl of the track was easily heard on my television set at home.
They had been on foot for most of the journey, and once the favorite had set off it seemed a formality that The New Lion, then second favorite for the Champion Hurdle behind Nicky Henderson’s Sir Gino, would be able to romp in peace.
He did win in the end, Harry Skelton having no trouble gaining ground from the final flight, but it was hardly an emphatic performance, beating Nemean Lion (18/1) and firing 50/1 Brentford Hope by one and a half lengths and a head.
Yesterday we learned that Sir Gino is out for the season, so it will be left to former champion Constitution Hill to represent Henderson, no doubt depending on his upcoming flat run at Southwell. Betting on the big race is a minefield at this stage and it won’t help if the one closest to The New Lion, Lossiemouth, could opt for the filly race at the Festival instead.
Further afield, the world’s two highest-rated horses, sprinter Ka Ying Rising and miler Romantic Warrior, continued to pile on their winnings with victories in Sha Tin yesterday. Both had similar margins, but their starting prices were very different: Ka Ying Rising started at 100/1, while you could get two to one on Romantic Warrior.
Each earned almost £700,000 for their efforts, with Ka Ying Rising taking its win tally to 17 in a row, from 19, for £11.7 million. The older Romantic Warrior now has 20 wins and five second places from 27 starts for £24.3m. Almost as much as some football players have to toil for two years to get around the clock!
– TS
Other recent posts from this author:
#Monday #Musings #Keeping #eye #pirate #geegeez.co.uk