It feels like ground hog day this morning with yet another overcast morning here at HQ but there has been no rain and they applied water to the Rowley Mile yesterday. Rain seems to have hit nearly every other track racing today in varying amounts and there could be more rain to come before racing starts. We worked some of the horses on the Al Bahathri this morning and I was happy with the majority of the horses. I attended the Thurloe Thoroughbred dinner last night at the Jockey Club rooms and had a thoroughly enjoyable time, the members have been out on the heath with us this morning. It has been busy and Tom Statham part-owner of Zauffaly has come to visit with his girlfriend Rachel as well as Robert Gray who is involved in Alligator. Julie White has also come to see both Trip To Paris and also the two year old she part-owns Ode To Paris.
We only have the four runners today as Chepstow is already close to soft ground and they are due a substantial amount of rain throughout the day. Alqubbah runs in a valuable £100,000 added handicap at Goodwood, the prize money there is fantastic. It is a very hot race with a lot of improvers as you would expect for such a valuable contest but she has a reasonable draw in stall seven and the way she saw out her race last time suggested she will stay seven furlongs, she deserves to take her chance. Scrutinise steps up in trip to 1m6f and I am hoping to see more from him today. He is pleasing me at home and he did not handle Epsom last time, there is a lot of rain forecast to hit during the afternoon and I hope it arrives for him. It is a tough race and the favourite looks very unexposed.
Red Verdon runs in the first at Haydock in a five runner one mile and a half handicap. Sir Michael’s horse Mainstream looks an improving type and it will not be easy but I do think our colt is very progressive. We run Sagely in a fillies’ handicap at York under a penalty in what looks like a competitive affair. The Ripon race she won was a lot weaker than today but she won well there and given the handicapper will be hitting her with a decent hike on Tuesday we are turning her out quickly today.
England initially looked in a lot of trouble in the cricket but a fine knock of 86 from Alex Hales and an even finer knock of 140 from Jonny Bairstow got us to a respectable total of 298 all out. England have then bowled fantastically well in difficult conditions to bowl Sri Lanka out for only 91 and they will be hoping of more of the same today after enforcing the follow on.