Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
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By Chris Cook, Senior Reporter
The Front Runner is Chris Cook’s morning email exclusively for Member’s Club Ultimate subscribers, available here as a free sample.
In Monday’s email, Chris is looking forward to this weekend’s Cesarewitch in Newmarket – and subscribers can get more information, advice and racing talk from Chris Monday to Friday.
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At one point, while I was thinking about other races, Adagio became a 5-1 shot for the Cesarewitch. It’s kind of like that playground game where you turn around and someone has already managed to sneak up right behind you. How did he get there?
At the end of August, Paddy Power/Betfair scored it 25-1 and it’s not like Adagio put his name in the frame with his performances at the racetrack. He hasn’t been seen since April, when he was a very respectable nine lengths behind Honeysuckle in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle. He was one of two Pricewise picks midway through last week, but had already shortened to 12-1 by then.
Either way, Newmarket’s handicap is where he’s headed and victory would understandably mean a lot to his coach, David Pipe. His father, Martin, sent two Cesarewitch winners from their Pond House stables, the most recent of which was 20 years ago when Miss Fara prevailed.
“That would be a good thing to have on the resume,” Pipe told the Front Runner yesterday. “Obviously us jump coaches like to try those persistent runs and we don’t have a bad record. We’ll give it a good shot.”
He’s right about the jump coaches. In the past eight years, only one Ces has come across an unmistakable flat trainer, Roger Charlton, who hit with Withhold. There was also Hughie Morrison, but obstacle racing has always been part of his business and he won at the last Festival, after all. Beyond them, the winners were trained by P Hobbs, A King, W Mullins and N Henderson.
Henderson and Hobbs had already won it, while Tony Martin, Mary Reveley and Jimmy Fitzgerald are also on the honor roll. It’s a race that sits at the intersection of the two seasons, you could say; sometimes it leans to one side, sometimes to the other.
The jump coaches are in pole position this time. The other 5-1 shot as it stands is Nicky Henderson’s Ahorsewithnoname, while Charles Byrnes, Willie Mullins and Emmet Mullins have also come up with contenders. Aidan O’Brien fights for the summer game with Waterville.
“He’s in good shape,” confirms Pipe of Adagio. “He still needs a few to get out, but we should hopefully get in. We also need to make sure the pitch is safe for him.”
Alex Davidson (Getty Images)
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Adagio is currently 39th on the list for a race in which the maximum number of runners is 34. As Pipe says, it would be quite surprising if we didn’t get five retirements, perhaps from the entry stage of ‘today. Once the trainer has a rough idea of the weight that Adagio will carry, he will look into the question of the jockeys.
Soil could be more of a concern. It is currently described as good at Newmarket and forecasts show potential for drying out conditions.
But it’s easy to see why Pipe would be interested. Adagio is rated 87 on the Flat, a record that dates back to his days in France. Since its last flat run over two years ago, it has shown a lot of improvement over hurdles and now earns a 152 rating in that area.
“You should think so,” the coach says when asked if the flat rating might prove lenient. “He would be very competitive.”
Beyond Saturday’s race, what could the horse jumping season hold? “We’re going to jump him over a fence and see how he jumps. He could go down the chase route.
“Otherwise he’s probably a difficult horse to place, really. We could try to improve him on the trip. He’ll have some good races and hopefully win a lot of prizes, but he’s a bit difficult to place. , now that he is in the Champion Hurdle league.
“He looks quite versatile, on the ground, and he’s only five years old, so hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”
This weekend also brings the two-day meeting in Chepstow which for many is the true start of jumping season. Pipe doesn’t expect to be heavily involved.
“We don’t start until a bit later normally and the floor is still quite fast in most places. We won’t be very busy.
“If The Cap Fits can go veteran hunting,” Pipe adds in reference to a ten-year-old, bought at sales in May for £45,000. He was a top flight hurdler at one point, beating Roksana, Jade Apple and William Henry at the Liverpool Hurdle in 2019.
“He’s eligible for these veteran races, which I think makes him attractive, and he was there earlier than some of the others. He probably wasn’t always the best jumper, but his mark has dropped, so we’ll try to take advantage of that.”
Monday’s Picks
In-form Roger Teal has some interesting runners in the latest at Windsor and I’m not sure the market is getting excited about the good one. My Mate Ted was shortened to 5s last night from the opening 12s (only available at one location and surely not for long).
But his improved form has come in all weathers and switching to soggy turf is a risk. In fairness, Micks Dream (5.32) is yet to prove himself on the court as his July win came on a much faster surface. But the extra test of stamina looks like welcome news and it should be much sharper for their recent defeat at Newbury, after a seven-week absence.
He was partnered that day with a claimant who did not have a winner for Teal, suggesting nothing big was expected. Today, Tom Marquand has the boost; he’s 3/7 for Teal this year and their only two runners together in the past fortnight have won at 16-1 and 6-1. Micks Dream looks tempting at 12 seconds.
Clearly, the perfect time to back Teruntum Star (5.25) was last time out, when a team change sparked a sudden revival and he scored at 22-1. The veteran is much shorter today at 7-1.
But he’s still off very beatable odds, half a stone below where he won in May last year, and I fancy giving him a chance to call. It will be cooler than most rivals and the steep nature of Pontefract should suit it, despite everything it has run badly on its only previous visit.
Graeme Rodway is in great shape and has Monday picks
Three things to watch out for today. . .
1. Benoit de la Sayette appears to have pinched a winning lead in the Apprentices title race with his hat-trick at Wolverhampton on Saturday night (including Kenilworth King, overlooked by the Front Runner on this occasion, tsk). De La Sayette are now five wins ahead of Harry Davies, with the pair tied at 52 winners as recently as Wednesday morning. Both are at Windsor today and Davies will surely feel the pressure to squeeze something out of his five races.
2. On the Monday after the Arc weekend, you’d look in vain for the races reserved for William Buick, about to be crowned champion, or Frankie Dettori, even though his two-week ban ended there. just two days old. Well, it’s a pretty slow day after all and a trip to Paris can tire you out, if you do it right. So hats off to Luke Morris, who enjoyed his career crowning glory yesterday but clearly didn’t let it disrupt his usual way of doing things. After riding at 8.30pm at Wolverhampton on Saturday night, he’s back there for six mounts tonight, all of which could start at double-digit odds, and he won’t be back on M6 until around 9pm. It has made more than 1,000 trips every year in Britain since 2010.
3. The Front Runner is keeping tabs on the trainer’s form, as regular readers know. While these things can change quickly, it’s interesting to see that a few high-profile coaches have slipped onto the cold list in recent days. Richard Hannon is on a 38-game losing streak, although that doesn’t take very long with his production – he’s had one winner in the last fortnight. It sends four to Windsor, of which Tellateller and Starnberg are expected to be market leaders. Meanwhile, on the jumps, the fates kept Dr. Richard Newland waiting for 74 days, during which he had 47 unsuccessful runners. His only rider today is probably a favorite in Shetland Bus at Stratford; can the chestnut do a good trick against only four rivals?
A story you must read today
“Our car was surrounded by screaming Japanese girls…”
A great interview with Sir Mark Prescott
Then read them:
‘It’s been wonderful’ – Prescott’s finest hour as impressive Alpinista lands at the Arc
‘I love Mark – what a beautiful day’ – Rouget tears of pride as Vadeni denies
The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Member’s Club Ultimate subscribers. Four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner Chris Cook offers his thoughts on the day’s biggest stories and tips for the race ahead every morning Monday through Friday. Not a member of Members’ Club Ultimate? Click here to sign up today and also receive our ultimate daily emails as well as our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content
FIRST PUBLICATION AT 10:00 AM, OCTOBER 3, 2022
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