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| Jim Crowley seemed to cement his place on the flat jockey’s wall of fame. |
With barely a week to go until the flat season finale at Ascot, and with that the champion jockeys crown up for grabs, former national hunt jockey Jim Crowley seemed to cement his place on the flat jockey’s wall of fame.
Coming to the Royal Berkshire course the Ascot man with 141
winners, sixteen above the outgoing champ Silvestre De Sousa, Crowley steered home a
double for the afternoon making it a near certainty if there is one for him to
take the crown.
With 300 hundred nation hunt winners, and the only ‘to be’ flat
champion to have ridden in the Grand National, Crowley bought home Broadhaven Honey
for Ed McMahon in the 2 year olds five-furlong nursery.
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| Crowley bought home Broadhaven Honey for Ed McMahon in the 2 year olds five-furlong nursery. |
And not stopping is what this champion elect will do, four
meetings over the next 48 hours, a trip to Redcar at the end of the week and
then Ascot is what faces the jockey for the week.
The Harbour Watch filly
doing the job, at 7/1 running on gamely to beat Richard Hannon’s Fabric by ½ a
length.
And to top it all the next race on William Haggas’s Ejeemi Crowley made all to take a steady win by 2 lengths from the favourite First
Voyage.
Jumping out the stalls smartly the jockey soon had the
three-year-old by Sahmaardal well in his stride for his one-mile voyage in the first
division of the three year olds and upwards maiden stakes.
Running up gamely on
the stand size rail the jockey mentioning he was a nice horse that moved well
and enjoyed the ground at Windsor.
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| And to top it all the next race on William Haggas’s Ejeemi Crowley made all to take a steady win by 2 lengths from the favourite First Voyage. |
With rides up to the last at Windsor, a helicopter ride to
Chelmsford and a 8.25PM clock off time, Jim Crowley would not be one to be said
to be sitting on his laurels, the former Amateur turned jump jockey, now
champion flat jockey certainly is working as hard as his two winners at
Windsor’s penultimate flat meeting of the season.
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| Broadhaven Honey |
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| Ejeemi |
The second division of the mile maiden went to top weight
Archery Peak, trained by Luca Cumani, the four-year-old by Arch out of a
Fusaichi Pegasus mare shot to evens money favourite and only ever having three
runs in his career, this lightly raced horse on paper looked the banker of the
day.
Ridden by Adam Kirby who mentioned, ‘he is a nice type, but
only a moderate sort of race really.’
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| Archery Peak, |
Asked why the horse has been very light on the racecourse
visits over his four years the jockey said. ‘I just ride them really, so best
to ask the trainer on that one.’
Says to me and with the evidence of the
betting, the Newmarket trainer has seen something in this four-year-old that
most cannot. One to watch me thinks.
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| Says to me and with the evidence of the betting, the Newmarket trainer has seen something in this four-year-old that most cannot. One to watch me thinks. |
Going back to the first race of the afternoon, the six
furlongs two-year-old maiden stakes. Open wide trained by Amanda Perret, who
indecently is the sister in law of Jim Crowley and who gave the champion his
first rides under flat rules. Ran on well inside the final furlong to take the
race by a length from Wedgwood Wonder, Founding Father the 5/2 favourite in
third.
‘He is a very nice horse in the making, and has stuck his
head out for me well there,’ mentioned the jockey Paul Maulrennan who last
weekend at Chantilly was unlucky on the Nunthorpe winner, Meccas Angle in the
Prix de l’abbaye, a possible entry in the champions sprint at Ascot this
weekend.
The well bred two-year-old by Invincible Spirit out of an
Indian Ridge mare in only his third run seems a nice type, and one that would
look to improve as it rises into a three-year-old.
One for the notebooks again I feel for the new season.
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| Open wide |
The three-year-old and upwards fillies and mares race was
taken by 5/1 shot Invermere.
Trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Windsor
debutante, 5 lbs claimer Adam McNamara, the Kyllachy filly was driven out in the
final furlong to beat the favourite, Henry Candy’s Nicarra.
‘I was probably in front a little too soon,’ mentioned the
jockey. ‘But she is a versatile type that has won her race well.’
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| Nicarra, Carp Diem Lady, Invermere |
Asked what he thought of Windsor the young jockey said.’
Yeah I’ve enjoyed it, never been here before and it is always good when on a
winner.’
With thirteen runs on a racecourse and three wins under her
belt it would be safe to say you would have to watch how the handicapper reacts
to the win, a favourable weight could see this filly race and win sooner rather
than later.
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| Asked what he thought of Windsor the young jockey said.’ Yeah I’ve enjoyed it, never been here before and it is always good when on a winner.’ |
Charles Hill took the three year olds and upwards
six-furlong handicap with Menai.
The Dark Angle gelding at 6/1 went past the
post four lengths in front of Jonathan Portman’s Equistar.
Steve Drowne on board
the horse who has disappointed the last few runs mentioned, ‘a flat track has
suited him better today, he has always shown a bit at home really and I thought
he would be a possible Britannia horse, but its probably he’s a back end horse over six furlongs that will pick up races.’
With two wins from ten starts the horse that has ran in some
fair decent company maybe one to take heed of what his jockey has mentioned in
the back stages of a season and the win at Windsor being an easier contest for the horse, could be out again soon, and one to watch.
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| Menai. |
The conditions race for three year olds and upwards saw
Beardwood a horse with indifferent form take the race by 1/2 a length from Priors
Brook from the Andrew Balding yard.
The four-year-old by Dutch Art out of a Be My Guest mare ran
a creditable fourth in the Cambridgeshire, but disappointed at Redcar nine days
ago, ‘ it was a race that suited him,’ mentioned Adam Kirby on board,
‘Its certain you would get another win out of him to be
sure.’
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| Priors Rock (Left) Beardwood ( right) |
Trained in Middleham by Mark Johnston,the horse was driven out by
Kirby in the final furlong to win well in the end, and look hopefully the type
if the handicapper treats him well to win a few more contests.
Zodiakos the favourite meanwhile came in well tailed off,
under Jim Crowley, trained by Hugo Palmer the three-year-old stepping down in
class, looked a good thing for a treble for the champion elect, the report back
being the Kodiac gelding was never going, would be one to watch though.
The last race of the afternoon went to the Newmarket yard of
Marco Botti.
Owned by the Heart of the South Racing and ridden by Martin
Harley, Velvet Revolution battled out well with the favourite Tyrell from Alan
Kings yard to take the tree year old one mile three-furlong handicap by a nose.
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| Tyrell (left) Velvet Revolution (Right) |
‘The horse has a lot of heart and gelding him has certainly
helped him, he is a nice stayer, his brother was the same.’
By Pivotal out of a Perugino mare now with one win from five
starts looks a type that will be better for another winter, still not looking
the full package, but one surly to watch from a trainer that will surly bite
back from a fairly quite season behind him.
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| ‘The horse has a lot of heart and gelding him has certainly helped him, he is a nice stayer, his brother was the same.’ WWW.MJAYPHOTOGRAPHY.CO.UK |
