Warm and pleasant this morning again but the rain looks set to hit Newmarket tomorrow.
No runners today but our three performed with credit yesterday. Dark Red was undoubtedly unlucky not to win the extended 7f maiden at Beverley – Graham Lee was forced to sit and wait twice up the home straight and the gap appeared a fraction too late. He looks capable of winning a maiden. Ejbaar stepped up on his debut form to finish a close third in the same contest and he is going the right way.
At Chelmsford, Biff Johnson made a promising debut. The race looked warm on paper and the result suggests it will prove a good indicator of future winners – there was no disgrace in our horse finishing sixth, particularly as it is so difficult to make up ground from the rear there. That experience will prove invaluable to him next time.
Five declarations for Friday this morning and we are set to unleash our first two-year-old runners of the summer. Girl With A Pearl, a daughter of Dutch Art, will tackle the fillies’ maiden at Newmarket while Qeyaadah, a colt by Acclamation, and Cogent, a son of Paco Boy, will line up in division one and two respectively of the 6f maiden at Newbury.
We also declared our duo for the Yorkshire Cup with Times Up and Island Remede forming part of what is a top-quality staying sextet. Hopefully the ground will not get too quick for the filly – we wouldn’t want to see any firm in the going description as the week rolls on.
A mammoth thirteen entries for next Tuesday across Chelmsford, Chepstow and Nottingham. A number of our horses hold multiple engagements so we can see what the weather does.
The Dante meeting kicks off in just over half an hour and the cards look absolutely superb across all three days. I hope all those making the journey to the Knavesmire have a fine afternoon and, most likely, an even better evening!
Also, for race-goers heading to Newbury on Saturday an old school friend of mine - Freddie Tulloch, who is also part of the OE Partnership - runs The Outside Chance – a high-quality bar and hospitality venue that started life at Badminton but is growing in stature on premier race-days. If you want to watch the action in style and comfort at Newbury, The Outside Chance is the place to head!
Finally, Chris got rather a shock shortly after lunchtime when he looked out of the window to find myself and Mrs D frantically screaming at Rober Durrant, our hay man, who was leaving in his jeep with a hay-filled trailer in tow. Contrary to Chris’s first thought, which was that the trailer must be on fire, we were actually so animated because our adorable cat Noodle was nestled on one of the top bales and was about to find himself quite some way from home! Thankfully he remains unscathed and Mrs D’s heartrate is slowly returning to normal.
Ed