19 January 2010 Preview: Waveney Harriers - Higham
by James Crispe
The cold snap has finally relented and, if the forecasters are to be trusted, there should be no weather problems and lots of runners at the Waveney Harriers fixture at Higham on Sunday January 24th.
A total of 170 entries have been received for what looks certain to be a hectic fixture. The first race, a seven-entry Club Members event, will start as scheduled at 11.30am.
But it seems certain that there will be more than the originally envisaged seven races as safety factors are likely to be exceeded. For instance, the Open Maiden (for which the maximum field size is 15) has 41 entries and is likely to be divided on the day. The PPORA Club Members (for which 29 entries have been received) and the 26-entry Restricted race are other possible splits.
The meeting is set to witness the Pointing debut of Ungaro, who won his first three novice chases for Keith Reveley, culminating in a Grade 1 at Kempton on Boxing Day 2006. He has not won in 15 chase starts since, but was runner-up in a £50,000 event less than a year ago.
Now owned, trained and set to be ridden by PPA board member Heather Kemp, he is engaged in both the PPORA Club Race and the Ladies Open. In the former he could face some useful long-distance raiders in the shape of Gloucestershire visitor Why Connie, who is coming back from a serious tendon injury, and The Accordion Man and Sweden, who are both trained in Shropshire by Sheila Crow.
The Ladies could prove a hot contest as its 24 entries include two dual winners already this season in Cedrus Libani and Big Moment, not to mention Beet de Bob, who missed the whole of last season but was unbeaten in 2008 when he triumphed at this course on no less than three occasions.
Cedrus Libani is also engaged in the Mens Open, where Just Talking, who scored four times in the space of just six weeks last season, is among his 25 potential rivals.
The Intermediate Race is another classy affair, featuring two of the nation's most exciting prospects - Shales Army and Start Royal - among its 17 entries. If they both turn out, Start Royal, trained in Oxfordshire by Alan Hill, should benefit from having had a recent run, when a narrow winner at Cottenham last month, so may just have the edge.
Higham is just to the west of the A12 between Colchester and Ipswich, post code CO7 6LE. Admission will be charged at £10 per head with under 17s free.
