I read the piece on Tom Dascombe in the RP today, and the fact that he has closed his stable for a while. Obviously I’ve known about it for a few days – some of Tom’s horses have been running terribly, and on a number of occasions horses that were expected to go well came stone last.
I don’t think Tom knows where the problem has come from, but he has been sent a lot of horses in the last couple of months. He’s taken every precaution in bringing them into the yard, but there’s always going to be a higher risk of a bug with a lot of coming and going.
As an owner I tend to shrug my shoulders when these things happen. In a sense it’s positive news – at least it gives us a reason to explain away Marine Boy‘s poor showing last time. Maybe he can do it for me on the 20th – the Mill Reef.
Bet Noir goes in the last at Kempton tonight, and she should have a respectable chance. She’s up a little in distance, which looks a positive. Draw is a negative, but not such a big deal over the longer trip.