Look out for the King coming back to plunder at Plumpton

By Will Lefebve

The king is omnipresent today - as far as horse racing goes.

I’m not talking about his majesty however, but versatile Alan King, master of the dual-purpose Barbury Castle (Wiltshire) stables which house a string of 120 thoroughbreds from all ranges of the equine sphere.

They include sprinters and stayers (Trueshan, etc) alike on the Flat, as well as an impressive squad of hurdlers and chasers, some household names, some stars of the future, and the genial Scotsman and fishing fan is casting his net wide with runners at three of the Monday cards on offer.

Nicknamed the Plumpton plunderer on account of his great course record, King sends just one runner to the East Sussex venue - he is also pot-hunting at Hereford and Kempton - and I give Theonlywayiswessex my nap vote to live up to his name and silence seven opponents in the Christmas at Plumpton Novices’ Handicap Chase.

On the last two occasions the French-bred son of Maxios paraded his blossoming talent, he was partnered by members of the TomTom riders’ club - Cannon last time out when a close third at Southwell. That effort followed a spin back on the flat at Nottingham under young Marquand (due back from Breeders’ Cup duty today).

It’s now the turn of “Wessex” and Cannon to drum out I Shut That d’Or (who remembers Larry Grayson?) and Sussex-trained bottomweights Clondaw Robin and Design Flaw, and fire their way to a second career victory together after the horse had notched two Flat wins under man-of-the-moment Rossa Ryan.

County trainers are responsible for more than a quarter of the 47 declared runners, with father/son duo Gary and Josh Moore sending four down the A23 and A272 from Cisswood Stables in Lower Beeding.

The Moores are double-handed in the 3:05 feature, the Care For Veterans Charity Handicap Hurdle, with Mark Of Gold and Yellow Star. But they face some tough opponents, and I give my vote to Onemorefortheroad, trained by the shrewd Neil King (no relation to Alan, although they are close neighbours!), who is narrowly preferred to course winner Enthused, trained by James (“Walk on Water”) Owen.

It’s not the last chance saloon for Onemorefortheroad, but he is overdue a winning tipple following three “glass-half-full” efforts at Stratford, Newton Abbot and Chepstow. Punters could be toasting the nine-year-old and regular rider Jack Quinlan at 3:15.

Lewes trainer Sheena West seldom leaves her local track without a winner, and her four-year-old Macari (named after the Scots-born Manchester United legend) will be hard to beat in the concluding Weatherbys Calendars Handicap Hurdle.

Plumpton regulars will be cheering loudly if the cleverly-titled four-year-old (his sire is Sixties Icon) and local idol Marc Goldstein kick the opposition into touch.

PLUMPTON SELECTIONS:- 12.58 Blue Las, 1.28 THEONLYWAYISWESSEX (NAP), 1.58 Just Lucky Sivola, 2.30 Sacre Coeur, 3.05 Onemorefortheroad, 3.40 Two To Tango, 4.10 Macari.

BY WILL LEFEBVE