I’m off to Cartmel on Saturday night as they kick off their summer jumps season. I’ve got two rides on the card, one for Brian Ellison and the other for Dianne Sayer. Hopefully I can come away with a winner.
What is it like to ride at Cartmel?
It’s a tight left-handed track, and there is usually a fast pace on from the start of the race. You want a horse that can travel well early on and can take you far into a race.
On the chase course, the fences come at you thick and fast. They’re only down two sides of the track, and it’s possibly the longest run-in of any racecourse in the UK, from the back of the last fence to the line.
It’s a bit different riding at Cartmel, as there are normally people camping and having BBQs around the race track.
We only race there during the summer months, and there is usually a good atmosphere.
My Saturday rides at Cartmel
4.35 – Salsada (Brian Ellison)
She’s a mare that hasn’t had a lot of luck in recent months. She was brought down at Aintree early on last week, through no fault of her own. She’s dropping back down on a trip here to 2m after running over 2m4f. There is a bit of rain forecast, so if the ground does soften up, that should help her. Also, there aren’t too many runners lining up, so I’ll probably ride her forward, and hopefully we can have a good run.
5.40 – Charlie Uberalles (Dianne Sayer)
He’s a horse that wouldn’t want too much rain, as he tends to prefer better ground. He’s got plenty of ability, and his third back in January in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster was a cracking run. However, he does need to bounce back after a couple of disappointing runs, and he has come down in the weights because of that. If he can rediscover some of his old spark, then he would have a good chance in this race.
Whatever you’re up to this Bank Holiday weekend I hope you have a good one, and I’ll be checking in again with you all soon.