A debrief from this morning.
Bright and breezy first thing although the rain has poured for the last hour.
A busy work day with 19 venturing to the Al Bahathri first lot and 10 heading to the same part of town second lot. Marc Monaghan joined us to partner Oasis Fantasy, who could run at Goodwood on Saturday in the 1m6f handicap. Ryan Moore, Andrea Atzeni and Richard Hills also rode one lot for us.
Four handicap changes to report. Dutch Uncle is up 3lb to 84, Red Avenger is down 1lb to 95, Times Up is down 2lb to 102 and Manndawi has been reintroduced at 109.
Five runners today starting with four at Nottingham this afternoon. Cogent, a Paco Boy half-brother to the Listed-placed filly Crowley’s Law, makes his debut in the 6f juvenile maiden where Shanghai Glory ought to prove tough to beat with a promising first run under his belt.
Both Field Of Light and Sameek line up in the 1m maiden at 4:00. Field Of Light has shown some promise in both starts to date, with the sharp turns of Wolverhampton not really suiting last time, and the return to the grass is a positive, although stall 12 is a major negative.
Sameek has also been dealt a difficult draw in 10, but he’s nicely bred as an Acclamation half-brother to the very useful pairing of Meeznan and Whispering Warrior. This looks the right starting point with the ground safe.
We are on somewhat of a retrieval mission with Mahsooba, who lines up in classified company at 4.30. She has found things difficult since winning a July Course maiden last summer, but she is well treated on these terms and hopefully the first-time blinkers can spark her back to life from a good draw.
Lastly, Scrutinise bids to get off the mark at the fifth attempt in the 1m2f maiden at Chelmsford. He was done nothing wrong in his two starts this year, bumping into above-average sorts who have advertised the form since, and we know he acts well on the surface. It’s a shame we have to concede weight all round, but he has a good chance here to open his account.
Four declarations today, all for Goodwood on Thursday, spearheaded by Arethusa in the Height Of Fashion Stakes, a race we won in 2010 with Snow Fairy. Ryan Moore will ride.
We also made three entries for next Monday with Thanaaya and Taqneen possibilities for Redcar and Rock Lobster having been given the option of the 1m handicap at Windsor.
A number of early closing entries as well, with Zarwaan given the option of both the Wokingham and the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot. God Willing and Red Avenger were also entered in the latter contest.
Finally, I was delighted to see John Berry elected as mayor of Newmarket yesterday following his stint as second in command to Rachel Hood. A fine horseman and a great bloke too, John is the perfect candidate to serve the town and it’s great to see a trainer take up the mantle. The very best of luck to him.
Back tomorrow. Ed.