Hot To Trot: Winners are flowing from Pipe

Flat trainer: John Gosden

John Gosden took the wraps off one of his stable’s Group 1 winners from last season when St James’s Palace Stakes winner Without Parole ran in Dubai last weekend. Plenty more of the stable’s stars will be reappearing in the coming weeks, but in the meantime the yard’s all-weather team has been in fine form over the last month or so, March yielding five wins and another nine placed horses from a total of eighteen runners in Britain. April started well too, with Dante and Derby entry El Misk looking a useful prospect when making a successful debut at Newcastle.

Looking to the days ahead, Gosden has some other three-year-olds engaged who could be taking up bigger entries further down the line. Private Secretary, a Kingman half-brother to the stable’s St Leger third Michelangelo, finished second in both his starts last season and hopefully he can make a winning reappearance for our Fifty To Follow on Monday when he has entries in novice events at both Redcar and Windsor. He’s a Derby entry, as is So High, a son of Nathaniel who also had two runs last year, and is bred to be suited by the step up to a mile and a half if he takes his chance in another novice at Lingfield on Wednesday. Dante entry Battle For Glory won a novice at Newmarket on his only start last season, looking an exciting prospect, and he could return in a similar event at Nottingham on Wednesday. Forest of Dean has already made a winning reappearance this year, when stepping up in trip at Newcastle in February, and he’d have prospects of following up in a handicap at Redcar on Monday.     

The John Gosden trained apparent second-string debutant, Battle For Glory, lives up to his name to land the 7f Newmarket novice event. Gosden also saddled the third, Fightwithme. Add the winner to your Racing UK tracker here 👉👉https://t.co/j6FzuNLBcq pic.twitter.com/nIIVpIkMEM

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) 2 November 2018

Jumps trainer: David Pipe

David Pipe had only three runners at the Cheltenham Festival where Eamon An Cnoic fared best of the trio, finishing a good fourth in the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate. The winners have been flowing since, however, with doubles at Exeter and Ascot on each of the last couple of Sundays, giving the stable a good run of form going into the Grand National with Ramses de Teillee and Vieux Lion Rouge. It’s more bread-and-butter stuff next week, but Pipe has several entered up at Exeter on Tuesday. Most interesting of those is one of his recent Ascot winners Legal History who was impressive when winning a competitive juvenile handicap and would have good prospects of following up under a penalty against older handicappers. Elsewhere on the card, Dream Free is looking for a first win over hurdles, and a return to selling company after a break could be his best chance yet of getting off the mark. Mrs Miggins looks the more interesting of the stable’s two entries in the staying handicap hurdle. She too has yet to win over hurdles, but she’s consistent, was placed in both her previous starts at Exeter earlier in the season, and ran creditably over a similar trip at Taunton last time.

LEGAL HISTORY is super impressive in winning the 2:25 at Ascot!

Cruised to the front under @tommyscu and never looked in any danger!

📽️ @AtTheRaces
pic.twitter.com/5fh5FVAZ3G

— Grand National Tips @ timeform.com (@TimeformLive) 31 March 2019

Under the radar: James Tate

James Tate’s string hit a purple patch on the all-weather with ten winners between late-January and early-March, and they hit the ground running on turf when smart sprinter Invinicible Army won the very first race of the turf season, the listed Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster on Lincoln day. He goes for the Duke of York Stakes next, and has Group 1 targets later in the year.

Tate has others entered up next week who will be seeking to make a winning start to their seasons. Sameem ended his two-year-old season winning a novice at Beverley by six lengths and has a couple of options in handicaps at Redcar on Monday when the step up to either a mile or a mile and a quarter will suit the son of New Approach. Attainment was another two-year-old to end 2018 on a winning note and is entered over the same course and distance as that success in a handicap at Lingfield on Wednesday. Top Rank overcame greenness to make a winning debut at Lingfield late last year, and he has novice options at Redcar on Monday or Nottingham on Wednesday for his return to action. New Graduate is a four-year-old, but after just three runs last year (a win and two seconds), he’ll be one of the least exposed if making his handicap debut at Nottingham on Wednesday.