I’m going through a quiet period horse wise. Mon Michel is probably out for the season, and he was possibly my best prospect for this year. Tifernati was bought to go hurdling this year, but he had a massive wart on his backside which had to be removed – he should go in to Gary’s at the beginning of January. …
HWPA awards
I went to the HWPA (Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association) awards on Monday. Our table was a mix of Betfair horseracing team and journalists – I had John Cobb (Independent Racing editor) on my right and Guardian writer Greg Wood and his wife on my left. Matt Williams (RP) and Rob Shepherd (NOTW) were also on the table. The general mood was a …
I’ve had better
I’ve had better weekends. On Friday in the day my main fancies ran badly, although I found a couple of winners to limit the damage. I had three runners in the evening, all fancied a little bit and they all finished tailed off! I decided to have a go at the Scoop6 on Saturday – I put only one in each of the …
Harty and Hendy
Three runners at Wolverhampton this evening, and I may go up. King’s Head goes in the 8:50 and both Shepherd’s Warning and Effingham go in the 9:20. King’s Head comes here mainly because we haven’t had the right ground to run him over the jumps. He doesn’t like it soft and it’s tough finding the right opportunities for him over …
Decent Chance
Just one runner today – Shepherd’s Warning goes in the 8:20 at Wolver tonight. I saw her at the stables a few months ago and I did a real double take – she’s still small but she’s filled out unbelievably well in front and she looked like a different horse. She should win more races. I wouldn’t rule her out today, …
Free to a good home
A good day on Sunday with King’s Head doing it nicely. He needs it G/F or firm and given that he has invariably delivered when he has had his ground I probably should have given him a stronger write up. He may come out again on the weekend – he has entries on Saturday at Market Rasen and Sunday at Ascot. Market …
Mixed news
I’ve been ringing around today and the news is mixed. Lilac Moon has jarred one of her feet and it’s badly swollen. It’s probably nothing major but we’re having a scan to be sure – she was down to run at Lingfield on Tuesday, but has obviously been left out. It’s annoying as she’s been in great form at home …
Celeb action
Winker finally returned to action, but it was a disappointment. He was seventh out of 16 in the Prix Jean Prat – a strong race, not disgraced but frankly I was hoping for a lot better. There were excuses. He lost a shoe coming out of the stalls – he subsequently lost 3 or 4 lengths going round the bend. …
Good weather for ducks
Shepherd’s Warning was disappointing yesterday, but I’m not too worried. She gets phased pretty easily, and we think that’s what happened yesterday – she’ll be back to her best in a small field going around a bend. More rain today and more expected on Thursday. Good going at Epsom is looking like a big outsider now and I’m told Bougie …
Having a laugh
Jane and I had a fun evening out on Saturday when we went to the final of Britain’s got talent. I had VIP seats (bought in a charity auction), which basically meant we were lumped in with the families of the contestants. We arrived at the very small studio a short while before the start, and we were hustled in …