Back in Blighty and you can certainly feel the drop in temperature!
No workers this morning – we will gallop again tomorrow. Alex Smith of Highclere and two syndicate members were here third lot to see Opposition on the Heath. Fieldsman cantered second lot and they popped in to the yard to see him afterwards.
Sir Anthony Page-Wood joined us shortly before lunch to see Trip To Paris and Chestnut Storm. He is heading to Banstead Manor this afternoon to visit Champs Elysees, sire of Trip To Paris. Frankel might get a sugar lump as well!
Seconditis (noun): repeatedly finishing runner-up, often by less than a length; a virus that plagues all trainers from time to time; bloody annoying!
The horses continue to run well although Kitten’s Red became our fourth second of the week at Brighton yesterday. Hopefully the tide will turn in our favour shortly.
We saddle one at Haydock this evening with Qeyaadah lining up in the seven furlong novice heat. He made an impressive debut at Newbury in a race that has worked out well, while nothing really went right for him in the Coventry and you can put a line through that run. The bottom half of his pedigree suggests the extra furlong here won’t be a problem and this looks the obvious next step with the handicapper having not yet given him a mark.
No declarations for Sunday and only a couple of entries for Thursday. We’ve been through a pretty busy spell on the runners front and we’re heading into calmer waters for the next week or so.
The Ashes are on ice…if that isn’t an oxymoron!
Back tomorrow.
Ed