Market Rasen – 4th August 2019 - Age UK Lindsey Supports Independence Handicap Chase

Market Rasen – 4th August 2019 – Age UK Lindsey Supports Independence Handicap Chase

A BG Racing Syndicates debut for Fr Humphrey and not many of the shareholders braved the long trip up to Market Rasen to watch it live.

Phil & Sarah took new shareholder Ewart Lister and the group picked up Rainer Metellus in Kent on the way up. Another new shareholder, Bryan Agar, made his own way to the track. It was a bright sunny Sunday afternoon (although quite breezy) and a good crowd of racegoers was at Market Rasen for the day. We were pleased to find that Market Rasen is a very nice place to visit. The course itself is a nice right-handed oval track of around a mile and a half and the ground was perfect. Viewing is very good and the owners and trainers bar was a decent size with covered decking at the front (from which you could see the paddock, winning post and big screen and a small patio with seating at the rear. The course provided a two-course buffet lunch with a choice of three options which made for an enjoyable afternoon.

Liz Harrington, Neil’s assistant was saddling Fr Humphrey and was accompanied by Sara who was leading him up. Tom Scudamore seemed quite confident in the paddock and planned to jump away towards the front and see whether others wanted to make the pace. He wanted to let Fr Humphrey go at his own pace whether that meant he was following a lead or out in front.

After a less than 100% fluent jump at the first Fr Humphrey settled in 3rd place looking very comfortable jumping the second and third very well. He flew the first down the back and jumped the ditch OK and was fine at the next two and he was still a comfortable third coming into the home straight the penultimate time. He jumped the first two down the straight well but got too close to the last and made a mistake. Tom later said that Fr Humphrey has been around long enough to be clever in such circumstances and knew what to do to get to the other side safely even if it looked a bit messy!

He again flew the first down the back to jump into 2nd for a couple of strides. He was good at the ditch and whilst he was untidy at the next two or three were already being rousted along and he was not one of them. After jumping the last down the back, the commentator noted that he was going well and almost immediately Tom gave him a shake of the reins and a flick down the neck. Whilst this initially looked like he was tiring, it quickly became clear that Tom was just ensuring that no one could get to the inside rail for the turn for home ahead of him. When they got to the rail, he was sharing third and halfway around the turn he was again noted by the commentator as going well in third and he was clearly under less pressure than those around him.

Turning into the home straight, he looked like he would pick up the leaders, but approaching the third last, Tom started to ride more strongly and gave Fr Humphrey a couple of cracks of the whip. He jumped the third last comfortably in third but it was clear that he was tiring and at the second last he was in a share for 4th and within strides, he was dropping even further back. Tom popped him over the last but he crossed the line in 8th place.

Tom reported afterwards that turning for home he was pretty sure he was going to win the race and he felt that this was a classic case of the horse “blowing up” at the end of the race due to a lack of full fitness and he was confident that Fr Humphrey would improve significantly for the race and would go close next time.

Whilst it was not perhaps a dream start, we were left with loads to look forward to for the coming months and the long journey home was all the better for that!