It’s been a great start to HRR, with the sun (usually) shining, the crews in prime condition, and the occasional paddleboarder creeping past our base. We’ve had a strong start with the first five races, and they definitely show promise for an exciting remainder of the week.
Enniskillen Royal v Shrewsbury
Both crews started off hot at rates 41 and 42 respectively, before striding into the mid thirties for most of the race. Shrewsbury, despite Enniskillen’s composed and steady start, quickly drew ahead. They had a length on Enniskillen by the quarter mile mark, and despite the fluctuations in Enniskillen’s rate Shrewsbury pulled to three lengths ahead just after the mile mark. However, Enniskillen closed a little distance before ultimately being defeated by two and a quarter lengths. Shrewsbury will be racing Lady Eleanor Holles next, who will no doubt be stiff competition since they won the JW8+ event at NSR. Formerly a favourite for the final, LEH might well struggle given Shrewsbury’s newfound vigor — my reckoning is for the odds being in Shrewsbury’s favour.
Sir William Borlase’s GS v Surbiton
Surbiton gave an impressive performance here, more so having two J15s in their crew. They pulled ahead fast, and had extended their lead from one to four lengths by the barrier. They even got comfortable enough to drop the rate to 24 at the mile mark. Borlases suffered both wobbly steering and the pressure of having to keep to a higher rate, and despite valiant efforts didn’t manage to make up Surbiton’s early lead. Surbiton will now be racing Green Lake Crew, who’ve come all the way overseas to battle it out. Much like Surbiton, this crew has a wide range of ages, the lower bound being 15, but have slipped down the US rankings lately. I think Surbiton will secure the win again, but perhaps by a thinner margin than the one they saw today.
Tideway Scullers Sch v King’s Sch Worcester
This was the closest race of the day [so far] as the crews scarcely drew further than half a length apart. Worcester made an honorable attempt to catch up to Scullers midway through the race, hardly changing the rate but managing to close the gap from half to a quarter of a length. With a further rate change Worcester could have taken the lead, but Scullers regained the fraction they lost and took the win. Next Tideway Scullers will be racing Henley RC, who will prove stiff competition considering their recent run of success. Nevertheless, emboldened by this win, Tideway could find the strength to knock Henley out.
Henley RC v Putney High
As predicted, Henley took the win as they kept almost the same lead all the way down the course. They had a strong start, pulling ahead by a quarter of a length by the barrier, but kept a reasonably high rate until just before the mile mark where they were comfortable to drop to rate 30. The biggest change came at the mile and eighth mark, as Henley dropped further to rate 27 as Putney stepped on the accelerator and strode up to rate 35. Valiant as the effort was, it was to no avail as Henley pulled further ahead and took the win. Next Henley will be racing Tideway Scullers, who may feel how close their previous win was when they come against Henley. Henley have had a very strong season, so a place in the final is highly likely.
King’s Sch Chester v Hinksey Sculling Sch
Hinksey certainly made their mark here, improving on their false start and several warnings for steering by taking a clear win of four and a half lengths. To complicate matters further, strong winds affected both crews. Chester stayed at rate 34 throughout the race as Hinksey pulled away and settled onto rate 30. Whether their shaky steering was deliberate is unknown, but Chester did not contest the race. Hinksey will do battle with Headington next, and I reckon they’ll have their work cut out for them: with Headington’s sweep of success in the eight they’ll have more to worry about than a possibly unreliable rudder.
It’s been a great day of racing, and the remaining crews now have a day off to brace themselves for the next bouts up the river. The next races will be very telling of who will prevail into the final, so I hope they use their time well.
BoatmanAndRowbin
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