Opposition
It’s another very hot day here in Newmarket and there is very little breeze to help everyone keep cool. We had a fun BBQ here at La Grange last night and Scobie who is one of our suppliers provided us with some entertainment with some acoustic music. After hearing some of the singing I will make sure we don’t organise a karaoke evening any time soon!!
It Is good to see everyone celebrating stable staff week, there have been lots of parties thrown around the racing world to celebrate it and one of my employees Ella won some fantastic goodies and prizes at Lingfield last Saturday. It is a hard job working in racing but it is rewarding if you love horses and I hope this initiative not only boosts the morale of those already in the industry but that it also attracts people into the industry too.
Yarmouth’s ground changed dramatically yesterday and it was lucky that no one got hurt when a lightning storm struck the track. Sir Gnet ran respectably when second in the mile handicap, the winner won well and appeared to handle the ground better than us. I think we can win a race with our horse on a sound surface and possibly up at 10f. Alemaratalyoum showed a good attitude to win the 7f handicap at Yarmouth and he is shaping now as if he may well stay a mile or needs a stiff 7f. He is back on the upgrade which is encouraging and won’t go up too much for this win.
We run seven horses today at three different meetings. Muraadef is our first runner at Doncaster and is a son of Kodiac who we like but it is his first day of school today and he will benefit from the run. He shows a good attitude and enjoys his work at home, so I hope he will show us promise for the future. Mutakatif sets a solid standard and will be hard to beat but there are some well touted newcomers and it will be an informative race. Titan steps up to 1m4f in the 3:05 and it looks to be a strong race. On what he has shown so far we are unlikely to be challenging the fancied horses but he should improve for a couple of extra furlongs. Sparte Quercus is a horse we are still learning about. He shapes as if he will improve for the extra two furlongs and we hope he handles the ground as it may be getting quite fast by 5:10. He travels well and this should prove to be easier than the Maidens he has been running in especially as there are now only six runners.
We run Dark Red and Opposition at Sandown this afternoon. We gave Dark Red a break after two quick runs and we would have ideally liked some of the thunder storms to hit. He ran well on relatively fast good ground at York when second last season so we may run him if there’s no jar as it is not a deep race for the grade. Euginio has the most scope for improvement and is the rightful favourite but our horses is in great order at home and seems to run best fresh. The Palmer stable are coming back into form and Banish is interesting on some of his 2016 form whilst Berkshire is well handicapped if he can come back into form. Opposition settled well when winning last time and so we thought a step up in trip could unlock some more improvement from him. He is a big horse who will carry 10 stone but we do have to give over a stone away to the well-bred and improving UAE King who represents a red hot stable. Sternrubin has been consistent and is a strong stayer, Machine Learner is improving and won narrowly on his seasonal reappearance. If we improve for the extra two furlongs as we expect then we have a good chance but he will have to settle as well as he did on his last run.
Global Wealth runs at Chelmsford this evening. He displayed clear promise at Newmarket and then he was too keen at Beverley and the track possibly didn’t suit him on his last run. I think he has a solid each way chance tonight but it is a trappy little race with Chai Chai possessing the best form on offer. Watheer showed plenty to work with on debut and Rude Awakening will improve for his first start whilst Mutafaarid cannot be discounted either. Wealth Tax returns to the scene of his recent win but this 0-90 looks a lot stronger than the one he won two weeks ago. He has a wide draw to overcome and he takes on some improving three year olds as well as some decent older horses. On a positive note he is in excellent form at home and we know he likes Chelmsford. Mukalal won a decent three year old contest last time and horses in behind have won so he looks like the rightful favourite and will be hard to beat. As mentioned earlier in the blog, Via Serendipity’s stable are coming back to form and it would not be a surprise to see them make the running with him tonight. North Creek and Kenstone both won on their last starts and Mutaraaby has been in the frame on every start.