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Leading hunter chaser Gracchus De Balme makes his seasonal reappearance at Ludlow tomorrow (Thursday) in the Pointing Pointers Open Hunters’ Chase (3.27).
The ten-year-old (pictured above) soared through the spring when winning two of the sport’s big three races, namely Aintree’s Randox Foxhunters’ Chase and Stratford’s Pertemps Network Champion Hunters’ Chase. Trainer Joe O’Shea is confident the horse is fit and ready for his start to the current campaign, and he also runs the smart St Cuthbert’s Cave who has won two point-to-points this season.
A personal disagreement between O’Shea and Huw Edwards, who rode Gracchus De Balme in all but one of his races last season, means that Henry Crow takes over in the saddle, while current men’s champion James King takes the ride on St Cuthbert’s Cave. With Crow claiming 5lb, and King unable to claim, Gracchus De Balme receives 1lb from his stablemate and O’Shea reckons that gives his star horse a clear advantage.
Gracchus De Balme’s owner Derek Malam with Henry Crow, who takes the ride tomorrow (Ce)
He said: “We wanted to give Gracchus one run before going to Haydock [for next month’s Walrus Hunters’ Chase] and were looking at a point-to-point, but Mr Malam [Derek] is in his 80s and didn’t want to go and stand in a cold muddy field at this time of year. So we decided to run at Ludlow. St Cuthbert’s Cave’s owners have come back from holiday and it was agreed to go to Ludlow before they went away, so he was always going to run.”
At the start of last season Gracchus De Balme won at Knightwick on the opening day, but then missed a prep run before Haydock due to a meeting being waterlogged, and O’Shea believes that cost him victory after he finished second to My Drogo. O’Shea said: “This year he’s bang on – he summered marvellously, but had a little set back with hives [a skin condition] just before Christmas. They cleared up quickly but he missed a week’s work and so this is the first opportunity to run.
“St Cuthbert’s Cave is a proper horse who has won three out of three since he was sold by Gigginstown [victories include a handicap chase under Huw Edwards in the summer]. He’s a very nice horse, but is he able to give Gracchus 1lb? I doubt it.”
Other candidates for tomorrow’s £5,000 race include the Henry Oliver-trained Shanagh Bob, who has twice finished second in open races at Chaddesley Corbett this season – he looked a very smart prospect as a novice hurdler, and later won a handicap chase at Ludlow while with Nicky Henderson.
Take All, the mount of Samuel Scott, was not far behind Gracchus De Balme when fifth at Haydock last season and he later won a Ludlow hunters’ Chase, while Java Point, the mount of Fred Philipson-Stow, is an interesting runner for Newmarket trainer Lemos De Souza. A champion apprentice in his native Brazil, De Souza took out a trainer’s licence last season and has been doing well with Flat runners at all-weather tracks. Tomorrow’s assignment could not be more of a contrast.
