28 April 2009 Preview: Banwen Miners - Pentreclwydau
by Brian Lee
At the Banwen Miners May Day Bank Holiday Monday meeting, all eyes will be on Edna Hussey's Bob Bites Back in the Mens Open race and Beth Roberts's Chesnut Annie in the Ladies.
Bob Bites Back gave Welsh champion Rhys Hughes his second success in the Dunraven Bowl Hunters' Chase at Chepstow last Friday and his winning connections said that, all going well, next stop for this 'most genuine' horse would be Pentreclwydau.
Of the other 18 entries in this race, former National Hunt performer Ballycassidy, a winner of more than £300,000 in prize money, the prolific Lady Myfanwy and Bosham Mill look best.
Chesnut Annie, a winner of all of her nine races this season, will run here in preference to her own Llangeinor meeting a couple of days earlier. Her rider Isabel Tompsett has been in recent cracking form riding several winners under rules.
Lady Myfanwy and Bob Bites Back have also been doubly entered in this race. However, the main danger to Chesnut Annie's winning sequence could come from Shafts Chance.
Doctor Supremo, who finished second, beaten 12 lengths, by the well backed Tigu at the Pentyrch is one to consider in the Confined, for which there are 20 entries.
Tigu - the word means snail in Estonia - could have yet more improvement to offer. Also entered here is Casey Tiles who finished third in Tigu's race.
There are 28 down to run in the Restricted and if Robert Thomas's recent Pentyrch winner Micks Prospect is one of them then look no further.
This promising six-year-old, which had been placed in a couple of Irish Point-to-Points, gave Cowbridge's Deano Coleman his last winning Point-to-Point ride before he joined the paid ranks on Monday.
Micks Prospect won easily by 30 lengths from Gateland and in his absence Touch Closer and Oat Hill would be two to consider.
Of the 14 entries for the Intermediate, Rosies Peacock and Banbury Babe look the pick. With 41 entries for the Maiden race, division on the field is likely. The ones with chances of a sort are Shalati Princess, Bless Me Father and U B Careful. The last named is owned and trained by Sirrell Griffiths of Norton's Coin fame, and was beaten a short head by Cudeen in a Division of the Maiden at the Monmouthshire.
Although Cudeen didn't advertise that form on his next appearance, U B Carefull might be good enough to repay the 800 guineas Sirrell paid for him at the Doncaster Sales last August.
Racing gets under way at 1.30 pm with the members' race and Overlut should get backers off to a good start.
