Wealth Tax returned to form recently at Newcastle when he was a staying on third over the stiff seven furlongs there. We had tried him over ten furlongs previously but he had failed to stay and after his promising Newcastle run we stepped him back up to a mile. Our son of Canford Cliffs had run well over course and distance last season at the Essex venue and we hoped he could perform with credit on what was a significant step up in grade.
Joey Haynes had our grey tracking the leaders on the rail during the early skirmishes and he travelled noticeably well. As they rounded the home turn into the final straight Wealth Tax still travelled with zest but there looked to be very little room for him to manoeuvre in. The smallest of gaps appeared and our horse bravely went through it and started to attack the leaders. He found for pressure as he was asked to go and win his race and got the better of the top weight Ballard Down by a neck with the staying on Mutarakez a staying on third.
This was a fantastic race for Wealth Tax to break his Maiden in as Chelmsford had put up £20,000 added for this 0-90 contest. Given the proximity of the second and the third, the handicapper cannot be too hard on him and there is a similar contest back at Chelmsford on the 7th July which is open to the three year olds for him going forward. We would love to see him on the turf in soft ground over a mile at some stage but we may have to wait a little while for that to happen.
Congratulations to our fellow owners the MHS Partnership who have been very patient with our grey horse and we are delighted he has won a nice race for you. He showed a good attitude and we hope he can give you a lot of fun during the rest of the year. We hope Wealth Tax’s devoted lad Eddie who often rides him out too heals soon as he has recently fractured his elbow. Well done to all the team, we have been building some momentum in June and hopefully we can carry this forward into the rest of the year.