Valence
Good morning from Newmarket. There is much to look forward to on this historic weekend of racing, and we will certainly be rooting for Enable here at La Grange stables in the Arc tomorrow.
Our own sights are trained a little lower, as we have just one runner today at Wolverhampton. Valence, who is on the comeback trail from a mid-season injury, takes his chance in the mile and a half 0-75 handicap at 8.00.
A son of my former high-class mare Independence, he showed a little promise in novice company at two and then got off the mark impressively in a mile and a quarter handicap at Beverley back in May. That victory earned him a step up in class at Sandown next time out, but despite travelling well he could finish only seventh. However, it later emerged that he picked up a leg injury, which has kept him on the sidelines ever since.
So we are now running out of time a little with Valence and he needs to run before the season gets away from him. He is not over big and doesn’t carry too much condition, so hopefully he is ready to do himself justice, but it is inevitable that he will improve for the outing. He is probably ideally served by a mile and a quarter, but with soft ground prevalent on the turf at the moment we felt it would be prudent to re-start his campaign on the AW. This appears a suitable opportunity.
This is a typically competitive contest of course, but hopefully he can run a promising race and give us some encouragement going forwards. Ed Greatrex returns from injury today and I am delighted to help him get going again with the ride on Valence tonight.
All the best,
Ed.