25 May 2010 Scene & Heard: Gelligaer Farmers - Lower Machen
by Carolyn Tanner
GREY KID: landed the feature Mixed Open
photo: Alun Sedgmore
John Mathias kept up his championship challenge with a double at Lower Machen, where the good ground produced by extensive watering ensured competitive racing.
John's first winner was in the Confined on Rosie's Peacock, bred, owned and trained by David Llewellyn. "I also had the granddam so he's the third generation," said David, brother of former jockey Carl Llewellyn. The seven-year-old's dam Final Rose is due any day to Grand Finale. "I was up half the night watching her, so I'm hopeful there will be a foal when I get home," David smiled.
Rosie's Peacock would not have made it to the track had it not been for Wyn Morris. "We'd only done about 50 miles when my lorry engine blew up, so Wyn stopped to pick us up," explained David.
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John doubled up in the split-on-the-day Restricted Division Two on Mac Two, owned and trained by his employer, licensed trainer Dai Rees, and just one of the many successful purchases for Dai by Mark Gichero. Mac Two had not run since winning his Maiden on this track 12 months earlier, having damaged a hind fetlock. He needs top of the ground and is likely to be in action again at Trecoed.
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John was one of several riders at the meeting who joined the recently-retired Rhys Hughes on his stag weekend at Blackpool, but whether, after Cardiff's defeat in the Championship play-off, the Lancashire venue turned out to be a good choice for a group of Welshmen will probably never be fully revealed!
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Wyn was rewarded for his Good Samaritan act when he saddled Ingrid Shervington's Grey Kid to win the Mixed Open in the hands of Nathan Deakin, who works in the Morris yard. It was a fifth victory of the campaign for the grey, who was bought by Ingrid six years ago "to support hunting."
"When you get on him you have to do it fast," said Wyn. "The only time he'll stand is when he's on the lorry ramp to go to the beach."
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Trainer and rider completed their own double when Nathan's own Bunny McDougall made virtually all to win the older horse Maiden. "She works well at home, though her mood depends which side of the bed she got out," laughed Nathan, who bought her at Ascot last July. The mare is on the market, hopefully to stay in the yard, though Nathan would be happy to just sell a share in her.
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Shane Marsh, 20, opened his account in the Hunt race on Lester Leaps In, who caught his stable companion Pollerton Boy, partnered by 16-year-old debutant Robbie Williams, close home. Both are owned by Paul Riddick, who admitted "I'm just glad they both got home."
Shane was wearing Paul's "lucky" cap cover, which looked as though it had come off second best in an argument with a barbed wire fence. "We had a new one but forgot to take it one day and the horse won, so we've used this one ever since," Paul explained.
Lester Leaps In was formerly with Tim Vaughan and was recommended to Paul by Shane, who works in the Vaughan yard. Shane is a Welsh Youth rugby cap who played either scrum-half or on the wing, but racing has since become his priority.
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Division One of the Restricted went to Jodie Hughes on Duggan's Forge, trained by her father Graham. "I'm gobsmacked!" commented Graham, who had thought that this race would be a stepping stone for the chestnut's proposed run at Trecoed. Duggan's Forge, who looks a far from easy ride and had taken off going to the start before Jodie had a chance to get her feet in the irons, has been bleeding from the nose and had not run since Easter. "He was very nervous when we got him and it took 18 months to calm him down," said Graham. "He's much better now, though he's still a bit jumpy."
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Jodie experienced the highs and lows of racing just over an hour later when her young horse Maiden mount Don't Be Short broke a leg on the run-in. Victory went to Paul Tolman on the Robert Scrine-trained Someothertime, whose owner Catherine Rhead, a nurse, was on duty so was unable to be present. "He's a real gentleman but he's as green as grass," reported spokesman John Moore of the seven-year-old, who joined the Scrine yard a couple of months earlier.
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The meeting announcer kept many racegoers amused throughout the afternoon with his haphazard pronunciation of horses' names; for example in the second division of the Restricted, Ben Tally Ho was announced as "Bally Tally Ho", Diddle'em was "Diddly Dee", and Synisterdexter suddenly became "Synister Exeter!"
