King Kevin
Hello from Newmarket. We were fortunate enough to get a winner last night, with Hallalulu taking the mile nursery at Nottingham in gritty fashion under a typically strong Luke Morris ride. She relished the step up in trip, and hopefully there is more to come. Our other runner Toro Dorado didn’t go without promise either, finishing fourth, and he looks ready for a step up in trip now.
We have two runners today, although repeating yesterday’s heroics won’t be easy. Sageness, who runs at 4.30, appeared to resent the very fast ground at Sandown last time out, so we saw the easier ground at Chepstow and made tracks. Of course, the ground has dried up to such an extent that there are firm patches being reported now! She has won on good to firm previously, so I hope she might just get away with it, despite her sire’s progeny having a noted preference for an easier surface. The balance of her form is rather poor it must be said, and doesn’t merit a rating of 66, but her win at Beverley two starts back does offer some hope. Hopefully the stiff finish at this strip will be ideal – Adam Kirby rides.
My own horse King Kevin tries two miles for the first time in the 8.40 at Kempton. A remarkable improver last winter, he won five times and shot up by over 30 pounds in the ratings. He made a more than satisfactory return at Wolverhampton last month following a break, but clearly we need to find a way of coaxing out a little bit of extra improvement. Trying an extended trip might be one way of finding that progression, and there is hope to be gleaned from his pedigree. His half-sisters Hepworth and Portrait stayed a mile and three-quarters, so hopefully he will be able to not just stay, but improve for the distance. It is an experimental move, but one that his regular pilot Rab Havlin agreed was worth trying. We hope for a good run.
All the best,
Ed.