Tuesday 8th
It was nice to get a second run into Doctor Parnassus and he was impressive when winning at Taunton. I’m pretty sure we’ll head straight to the Triumph now. Who knows how good he is, but one thing is for sure we won’t find out unless we take our chance in the Triumph. He’s two from two, I like his attitude and he looks to have a good profile for the race.
Walk In Clover ran fine under a penalty. She probably wants more of a stamina test and we’ll look to step her up in trip in the spring.
Sophia’s Rock ran okay, but ideally wants fast ground, so she is another that will be better in the spring.
We were happy enough with Presenting Nelly’srun under a penalty. Sheultimately wants to be faced with a hurdle and a step up in trip next season.
Wednesday 9th
Lakota Warrior was obviously very disappointing. Something was clearly amiss with and we’ll try to put our finger on what it was before moving forward.
Thursday 10th
I was really delighted with Elle Est Belle in the Sidney Banks. That was her second Listed win of the season and once again she proved she’s a good mare.We didn’t go that quickly and I wasn’t sure that was going to suit her, but she hit the line really hard to get up late on.
In my mind she’s better when coming off a strong pace and that’s when you’ll see her at her best. We have a couple of options now going into the spring, but at the moment the option of running over 2m4f at Aintree stands out for us.
Wilde About Oscar was running better before jinking two out. The horse in front of him hit the hurdle and I think that just caught his eye and caused him to go out to his left. That was frustrating, but it was still a better run from him.
Kateira was really good in the bumper, finishing her race out very strongly after switching off nicely early on. We couldn’t have been happier with her and we might look at Aintree for her in the spring. That was a great start for her and her owner-breeder, Mr Robert Chugg, who hasn’t been too well. That will have brightened up his day and it was nice to get him a good winner.
Friday 11th
It was good to get Flegmatik’s head in front. I think the ground is key to him and he enjoyed the better conditions at Kempton. He jumped and travelled well there and hopefully can keep progressing.
Saturday 12th
Camdonian ran okay at Warwick on only his second start but just lacked the experience of the others. We didn’t go that quick and it turned into a bit of a sprint, which didn’t really suit us. He’s got another run under his belt now, so he’ll know more next time. I think ultimately he’ll be better next season on softer ground.
We were delighted with Get A Tonic and couldn’t have asked for any more really. As a novice it was a great run and she jumped and travelled nicely throughout. Marie’s Rock just had a bit more speed than us from the back of the last.
Third Time Lucki lost nothing in defeat against Edwardstone who was very good in the Kingmaker. I felt like I was going to win most of the way round, but from the back of three out I had to ask him to pick up and I knew that was too far out for him. Maybe his win at Doncaster just took the edge off him slightly. We’ll more than likely head straight to Aintree now.
Horizon D’Ainay was disappointing and I think he can run a lot better than that. He produced a good performance first time out, but his last two runs haven’t been up to scratch. He’s a work in progress and might be a horse that is just going to take a bit of time.
Colonel Manderson ran really well when bumping into a progressive rival in In Rem. He’s stringing together some good efforts now, so we are pleased about that. Hopefully he can win again soon.
You can put a line through Riskintheground’srun. He never got going at all in a slowly run affair on good ground. He’s a stayer for the future and will make a nice horse when going hurdling next season. He’s much better than this and is one to keep an eye out for.
Sunday 13th
There was clearly something amiss with Midnight River at Exeter. He stopped very quickly after travelling fine for me. I’m sure something will come to light in the next few days.
Lac De Constance delighted us with his win in the Listed novice hurdle.We were always keen to come back to Exeter after he won there in December and we had this race in mind since then. He’s a big galloping horse and wants a bit of soft ground, which he got.
The race changed very quickly two out, when the second horse made a mistake and I found myself in front too soon. I was happy with the way he stuck it out from there and really galloped through the line strongly. He’s going to make a nice horse and we’ll just take our time with him.
Riggs was very disappointing again. I hope we find out that there’s something amiss with him because it’ll be worrying if we don’t, as he’s basically pulled himself up the last twice.
This week
I’m looking forward to riding Viva Lavilla at Wetherby on Wednesday. His last two starts have been in Grade 2 company and he’s now back down in class, so hopefully he can get back on track with a nice win.
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