TimeformBlog

Timeform look back on a weekend on which the Flat jockeys' title returned to the North, while there were top-class performers on show over jumps in Ireland, and on the Flat in America...


A new champion Flat jockey was crowned at Doncaster on Saturday, a total of 191 winners good enough to secure Paul Hanagan the title by two from Richard Hughes. Neither of the two title-chasers added to their win tally at Doncaster on Saturday, where Dane O'Neill partnered the John Dunlop-trained Times Up to land the last major prize of the Flat season, the November Handicap.

The star of the show over jumps on Saturday was Kauto Star, who made a successful reappearance in the JNWine.com Champion Chase over three miles at Down Royal. As when winning the race in 2008, Kauto Star didn't need to run to anywhere near his brilliant best to beat Sizing Europe and China Rock by four lengths and a neck respectively, but the run should put him spot on for his next target, be it a fifth King George, for which he is a 2.66 shot, or a fascinating potential crack at the Hennessy (available to back at 15.0).

Saturday's best NH racing in Britain took place at Wincanton where Philip Hobbs's hurdler Nearby made it three wins on the bounce this season, producing a performance bordering on very smart to take a very strongly run renewal of the Elite Hurdle by six lengths from Tito Bustillo. This was a performance that suggest Nearby may not have finished improving, and his connections must now be tempted to turn him out under a penalty in the Greatwood at Cheltenham on Sunday, where he'd look well treated. Nearby wasn't the only Grade 2 win at Wincanton for Philip Hobbs, as Wishfull Thinking justified favouritism in the Rising Stars Novices' Chase, albeit somewhat fortuitously given that Robinson Collonges was challenging going slightly better when departing three out. Paul Nicholls gained compensation for Robinson Collonges' fall in the next race as Meanus Dandy was a well-backed winner of the most valuable event on the card, the twenty-five furlong Badger Ales Trophy handicap chase.

Saturday was of course also the second day of the Breeders' Cup meeting at Churchill Downs, where it was a story of two mares. Goldikova once again rewrote the record books with a third consecutive win in the Breeders' Cup Mile, her twelfth Group or Grade 1 win overall, and she is now said to be 50-50 to return as a six-year-old in a bid to defend her crown. One who won't be back in 2011 is Zenyatta, who lost her unbeaten record in the Classic, going down by a head to the four-year-old colt Blame. Zenyatta looked something of an unfortunate loser in the end, coming with a strong run from even further back than usual, and just failing to get up under a very hard ride.

The sole win for a British-trained horse came courtesy of Dangerous Midge, who provided a second win in the Turf for Brian Meehan and a third for Frankie Dettori, the pair having previously teamed up with the 2006 winner Red Rocks. Dangerous Midge's task was made considerably easier by the withdrawal of the Workforce due to the firm ground, though he still produced a high-class performance to beat the American colt Champ Pegasus by a length and a quarter. Workforce reportedly won't run again this year, but he'll be back in 2011.

Champion Chaser Big Zeb was the star performer over jumps on Sunday, landing the odds in the Grade 2 Fortria Chase at Navan with the minimum of fuss, and cementing his status as the top two-mile chaser in Ireland. He's currently the 5.7 favourite to defend his Champion Chase crown at Cheltenham in March.

(read more at betting.betfair.com)