Colds To Newcastle

It was back in December when Whiskey Chaser last raced. Unfortunately, the outbreak of equine flu which hit the UK severely limited racing opportunities for our horse. The ban on race meetings was only lifted in mid-February, by which time the weather had turned nasty.

After a long break from racing, due to the flu outbreak and bad weather, Whiskey Chaser was entered into the ‘Parklands Driving Range Handicap Chase (Qualifier For The Northern Lights Staying Chase Series)’ at Newcastle on the 5th March 2019. This would be his third consecutive appearance at the course. The top prize money on offer was £4,613.58 and nine runners lined-up to contest the race.

The race started and Whiskey Chaser took up a decent position on the outside of the leading pair. He met the first fence well and sailed over the second. However, he blundered badly at the third fence, jockey Theo Gillard did a brilliant job to recover and stay on. The near fall didn’t cost him much ground and Whiskey Chaser stayed close to the leading pair of ‘Chase The Wind’ and ‘Iskabeg Lane’. At the midpoint of the race, Theo was already giving him a few reminders. Whilst the other runners were coasting alone. As the race went on Whiskey started to lose ground and eventually finished in last place. The race was won by Astracad with Sam Twiston-Davies onboard.

A disappointing performance, but a bad blunder and the long lay-off couldn’t have helped his chances.