Racing News
All-weather racing round up - 3rd January 2008
GENTLEMAN'S DEAL stole the Christmas All-Weather honours with another impressive victory on the Polytrack, which cemented his claims for a second Winter Derby victory come March.
Mick Easterby's stable star, who combines his racing career with stud duties, bounced back from his only defeat in eight runs on artificial surfaces when taking the Listed Quebec Stakes over the Winter Derby trip on 22nd December.
By turning the tables on old adversary Grand Passion, albeit by a narrow margin, Gentleman's Deal put himself back at the top of the pecking order for Lingfield's Group Three feature.
Remarkably, the beautifully bred son of 1,000 Guineas heroine Sleepytime will be busy covering mares at stud in the north before resuming his racing career with a Winter Derby prep later in the season. On current evidence, he will be very tough to beat on the big day if other exertions don't take their toll!
Derek Shaw stole the limelight in the sprint division by winning the two big races at Lingfield and Southwell. The Newark handler ended 2007 with a career best 51 winners, including the rapidly improving EBRAAM in the £20,000 added six-furlong dash at Lingfield on 28th December.
Course specialists Turn On The Style and Maltese Falcon appeared stern rivals in the hot contest, but Ebraam came with a withering late run off the home turn to score an emphatic victory in the hands of veteran Dean McKeown.
He will pay the penalty by climbing the ratings once again, but has not stopped improving just yet and may be capable of winning another valuable prize before the end of the official winter season.
Stable companion TARTATARTUFATA matched that display by taking Southwell's New Year's Day dash despite being a massive 13lb out of the handicap. A previous course and distance winner, she travelled strongly from the gates and deserved her success. She is also effective on Polytrack and will be hard to beat with conditions in her favour, despite facing a hike up the ratings.
Jockette Kirsty Milczarek has earned a growing reputation following a string of winter successes, and continued that form into the new year by winning on outsider BERTBRAND for Marco Botti in a Wolverhampton handicap on 2nd January. She has the support of a growing band of trainers and looks set for a fruitful 2008.
From girl jockey to girl trainer, and Gay Kelleway, who is eyeing the greys' only handicap at Newmarket in the summer for Wolverhampton scorer STAR STRIDER, who won a Wolverhampton maiden on the same card. Getting up to deny 75-rated Chivola, this four-year-old looks set to progress on the Polytrack now.
