Friday Racing:
King’s College School, Wimbledon vs Eton
As expected this was an absolute stormer of a race, with KCS never really losing contact with an extremely strong Eton crew. Both crews had tussled for the top positions throughout this season, taking the one-two at National Schools’, and this race was no different. Although KCS appeared to have a cleaner start, with Eton’s rowing looking nervous, Eton’s power quickly showed as they carved out a narrow lead coming out from Temple Island. By the Barrier they had extended this to a length, to 1 ¼ by Fawley, and to nearly two lengths by the ¾ mile. However, despite Eton holding clear water, KCS made a big move and began to haul them back, never enabling Eton to take their foot off the gas as both crews held a rating of around 35. By the mile, KCS had taken back half a length and then produced a thrilling sprint finish through the Stewards’ that saw them finish with overlap, ¾ length down on the reigning champions. Despite such a tough match-up today, Eton is looking like a serious contender to retain their title.
Abingdon School vs St. Edward’s School
Another humdinger of a race that I predicted could go either way. As expected both schools tried to take the early advantage, and it was Abingdon that managed to gain a sight early advantage, nosing ½ length ahead by the ¼ mile mark, extending that to nearly a length by the Barrier. At the half-mile, St. Edward’s made a big move, and Abingdon was caught napping, simply unable to respond. By Fawley, the boys from Teddie’s had managed to row through Abingdon’s length advantage to lead by a canvas. With the headwind picking up towards the Remenham Club, Abingdon’s rating dropped to 34, whilst Teddie’s maintained a consistent 36, enabling them to extend their lead to full length by the mile. With Abingdon looking spent and still unable to respond, St. Edward’s were able to maintain and extend their advantage to cross the line two lengths clear. This may well be one of the best races of the Henley Friday, as it’s rare to see an eight recover from a length deficit. Teddie’s face Eton tomorrow.
Shrewsbury School vs Westminster School
As I predicted, this was another cracking race that provided a lot of entertainment for the many spectators lining the course. In a similar fashion to the Abingdon vs Teddie’s race, one of the crews, in this case, Shrewsbury, went off hard and took a slender early advantage. By the end of Tempe Island, they had managed to eke out a canvas on Westminster, which they extended out to ¾ length at the Barrier and Fawley. However, just like Teddie’s before them, Westminster wasn’t finished yet and put in a huge effort in between Fawley and the Remenham Club to recover that ¾ length and draw level with Shrewsbury. As they reached the mile Westminster took the lead, and it looked like Shrewsbury was really struggling to respond. With both crews increasing their rating to 37, they entered the roar of the Stewards’ with little in it. By the Grandstand, however, it was Westminster who had overturned Shrewsbury to take a ½ length lead, eventually crossing the line in a thrilling race with a verdict of 2/3 length. It’s always fantastic to see a crew come back from a deficit to take a Henley victory, and it bodes well for the quality of racing tomorrow.
St. Paul’s School vs St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, U.S.A
This was always going to be the match-up of the day in the PE, as the UK’s rowing titans faced off against the undefeated US National Champions. After St. Joseph’s extremely tough race against Shiplake on Thursday and their surprisingly narrow margin of victory, I wasn’t convinced that they would be able to compete with a fast St. Paul’s crew. Unsurprisingly, I was proved right, with St. Paul’s hitting the start hard to carve out an extremely narrow lead of only a foot by the end of Temple Island. By the Barrier, they had extended that to a length, and almost two lengths by Fawley, with St. Joseph’s struggling to make a dent on St. Paul’s lead. Yet after a 2 ½ lead at the ¾ mile, and with St. Joseph’s still sustaining an impressive rating of 38, St. Paul’s began to get reeled back in. By the Remenham Club, their lead had been reduced to two lengths, and by the mile, it was only a length and a half. Ultimately, despite a valiant effort from St. Joseph’s to get back on terms, they simply ran out of water and crossed the line 1 1/3 lengths behind St. Paul’s. With this being St. Joseph’s first loss of their entire season, they’ll no doubt be gutted, but once again Henley has proved that overseas crews can’t always replicate their home successes on the hallowed Henley waters.
Saturday Preview:
St. Edward’s School vs Eton
Although before Henley began I would have called this race as an easy Eton victory, St. Edward’s have shown impressive grit this week, particularly in rowing through Abingdon this morning to take a two-length victory from a length’s deficit in the early stages. Eton also had a tough pairing against KCS this morning, as whilst they may have maintained the lead for the duration of the race, they were pushed by KCS the whole of the way down the course, with no opportunity to let up into a more relaxed rhythm. This could be an absolute barnstormer, and may well be nip and tuck for the duration of the race. I would expect Eton’s sheer power to take them into the lead out of the blocks and emerging from Temple Island, but Teddie’s have shown clearly today that they have the resolve to turn over an early deficit and row through in the second half of the course. However, whilst I’ve no doubt that this should provide a thriller for the throngs of spectators on the bank and in Stewards’, I think Eton have proved already that they have the ability to win this event, so I’m expecting them to take the win and progress to finals day.
St. Paul’s School vs Westminster
Westminster seemed to have got better and better this season, and this should no doubt make for a thriller of a race. Like Teddie’s, Westminster comes into the semi-finals having overturned a significant deficit against Shrewsbury today to prove their naysayers wrong. However, I can’t deny that St. Paul’s are looking extremely strong this year, and their recent successes at Brit Champs and in their races over the last few days suggest that they’ve got the capability to overturn many of the best crews at this regatta. Both crews will come into the Saturday with a lot taken out of the legs after a series of tough races, but ultimately I think that St. Paul’s should be able to take control of this race from the start. Whilst I’ve no doubt that this should be extremely competitive, and we’re not likely to see Westminster left in St. Paul’s dust like they were able to in races back in 2018, I struggle to imagine them beating Bobby Thatcher’s boys. Starts have always been a specialty for St. Paul’s, and they’ve proved that again this week, so I’m expecting them to have a narrow lead by the end of Temple Island, and hold a 1 – 2 length lead for the duration. With that all said, I’m looking forward to seeing a potential repeat of the 2018 final – hopefully with a much closer margin if Eton and St. Paul’s both progress to the Sunday.
MarginalGainz
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