Sparky May
Sparky May is a six-year-old Bay Mare trained by Patrick Rodford and one of the leading contenders for the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival this year.
Sparky May is the foal of Midnight Legend and Glassy Appeal (both USA) and was bred for speed and efficiency over middle to long distance races. Sparky May is a star of the Rodford stables and a horse the trainer says he is truly proud of.
Sparky May's Debut
Sparky May's debut was a 16 furlong race at Warwick where a second place finish was secured. On that occasion the horse was a 66/1 outsider and showed superb potential to come from the very back of the field and challenge the short priced leader.
K Burke was Sparky May's jockey and has been ever since. The pair seem to have a brilliant relationship that has developed ever since Sparky May's debut. Sparky May's debut would have been a winning start for the horse's career but 16 furlongs was a little short which prompted Rodford to train the horse for longer races.
Sparky May's Statistics
Sparky May's statistics have been improving ever since that debut race. The horse now has a career of four wins, a second place finish and a third place finish from eight races.
The other two races, an eighth place and a fourth place finish, came in the two races following Sparky May's debut. The eighth place finish came at Sandown in a very strong field of runners and the fourth place came at Stratford when the going was not suited to Sparky May's style.
Sparky May's Style
Sparky May's style has been kept consistent by Rodford and Burke. This has allowed Sparky May to be trained and run purely as a hold up horse. Sparky May has won four races back-to-back at the end of 2010 and the start of 2011.
The last win came on January 22 2011 over 24 furlongs at Ascot. This is the longest race that Sparky May had ever entered and arguably the most impressive. Sparky May's style on this occasion was consistent compared to every other race in the horse's career.
The horse has a superb ability to sprint away from the field when other horses have just started to tire and fade away. This is enabled because Burke keeps Sparky May in check and stops the stamina from becoming exhausted quickly.
Horses Debuting at the Cheltenham Festival
Sparky May will be one of the many horses debuting at the Cheltenham Festival this year. This could be a slight concern for backers of the Bay Mare because the horse is unlikely to have faced such large crowds and noise levels.
However, Sparky May has raced at Cheltenham on a normal race day and at Ascot before so the six-year-old should be used to running at huge racecourses. The worry with horses debuting at the Cheltenham Festival is that they will allow the occasion to be a distraction that will impact on performance.