Wednesday, 17th February 2021
Bigmartre is trained by Harry Whittington – and it’s fair to say he’s well down the pecking order at home….
In a yard that houses the likes of Saint Calvados (rated 167) and Rouge Vif (163), this 10yo chaser is never going to have his name up in lights….
Especially when you consider he’s been beaten 53l, 24l, 25l, 33l, 34l, 32l and 23l in his last seven chase assignments – a sequence that runs from October 2019 to his latest appearance on New Year’s Day at Musselburgh….
On paper he’s the equivalent of a clapped-out old banger – ready for the scrapman. You might wonder why I’m even talking about him. But this horse is interesting….
I’ll tell you why shortly. First, a little context….
Something happened last week – something you might not have noticed….
A horse called Sheila Nash won a Mares’ bumper at Kempton….
Nothing special about that in and of itself. But it was Harry Whittington’s first winner since mid-November – 91 days earlier….
He’d been on a 65-runner losing streak since Shore Shanty won a low grade maiden hurdle at Ludlow sent off odds-on favourite….
It was just about the worst sequence the yard has endured since Whittington took out a licence and started training horses in 2012. At Kempton last week – after finally getting off the cold list – he had this to say….
‘I needed that. It's been tough but we’ve learned more in the last two months than we have in the whole time we've been training horses. We've probably had the same bug as some of these other yards where you can't put a finger on it, but it seems like they're very well at home now, so please God we're out the other side.’
The upside of a downside like Whittington has endured is that some of his horses will have dropped down the official rating scale….
That’s a factor that will help make those horses more competitive and more likely to register winning performances as and when the yard gets back to firing on all four full cylinders….
My new friend Bigmartre has the potential to be one such beneficiary….
Yes, his losing spell clearly started before the yard was afflicted with the recent bug…
But this time last year he was officially rated 143 (having been as high as 149 following his last win)….
Now – following four defeats – he’s rated just 128 over fences (4lb lower than his hurdle mark). In other words, he is – potentially – a dangerously well-handicapped horse….
Now – a word of caution – he might have gone at the game. He might have permanently regressed. He might have lost his enthusiasm. His get up and go might have got up and gone. That’s entirely possible. It happens….
But if he retains a desire to race and his basic ability remains intact, then he’s a horse offering his trainer plenty of opportunities….
A horse on a run of defeats like Bigmartre has produced will always turn the market cold. Of course it will. He’s shown very little – beyond actually finishing his races (he’s never fallen) – for some time….
But don’t be surprised if he bounces back. Horses do. Especially handicappers. In particular, those handicappers that have dropped back down the rankings to a winning perch and who find themselves running in preferred conditions….
Now Bigmartre is certainly on a winning perch. His 21 goes over fences have yielded four wins – off marks of 132, 137, 140 & 149….
That win off 149 came at Ayr in 2018 when he was a 7yo – and it is reasonable to assume that he might not reach that level again. But surely off a mark of 128 an opportunity can be found for him? If not, you wonder why he would be kept in training at all….
I suspect that what he needs are his preferred conditions – and that boils down to good ground….
He’s four wins from eight goes on ground described as good (over hurdles and fences) and he’s clearly been a better horse on a sounder surface than a soft one….
And here’s the kicker: he hasn’t had genuine good ground to run on since the last time he won – at Perth in 2019 off a mark of 140….
Six of his last seven races – producing the dire sequence of defeats I outlined earlier – were run on ground that was soft or heavy. The exception was a race at Ludlow – on ground that might have been too quick – off the back of a 229 day layoff….
With good ground a more likely prospect in the weeks ahead and his yard working like the bug has been blown out, this horse on a rating of 128 is more interesting than he’s looked on paper recently….
He’s going onto my Watch List. I’ll be interested to see where he turns up in the next few weeks. And if I can get him at a price then I might well support him to bring his poor run of results to an end. He’s got more going for him right now than is apparent at first sight….
Admiral’s Secret was going for his 4th win on the bounce at Warwick on Monday – but he found a couple too good in Kim Bailey’s Two For Gold and Venetia Williams’ good and faithful servant Aso…
But he wasn’t beaten far (he was just 2-lengths behind the winner) and wasn’t very far short of a new top on the Racing Post rating scale….
This despite going left-handed (all his best performances had been registered going clockwise); despite a 6lb rise in the ratings for his last win; and despite facing the strongest opposition he’s encountered to date….
Fact is he was a little unfortunate not to win. He simply ran out of track. Another half-a-furlong and he’d have overtaken the front two – no doubt. They were hanging on….
If you watch the race, Two For Gold and Aso are right up front when they pass the winning post on the first circuit. Admiral’s Secret is right out the back….
But under Alan Johns he started making his move down the back – making good ground at each of the five fences and he was picking horses off on the turn for home and into the straight. At the death he was going better than anything….
It’s not easy to make up late ground at Warwick like that – with all the fences on the back straight and two more on the short home straight….
My impression is that he’s still a well-handicapped horse on a mark of 141. The handicapper can’t put him up too much for his defeat on Monday and – given the form he’s in – this horse surely remains of some interest….
Soft or good to soft ground is his thing. Ludlow and Wincanton have seen him to best effect. Both tracks are right-handers and both offer a horse the opportunity to build up some momentum in the home straight….
If he were mine, I wouldn’t be frightened of trying him over a bit further….
That’s all from me for today. I’ll be back tomorrow. Meanwhile….
Anything to report? Anything to say? Anything to share? Contact me at: nick.pullen@oxonpress.co.uk
Until next time. Stay tuned.
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