Introduction
A much quieter week this time round, with just 3 runners over jumps, making it even busier in the yard due to an increase in horses being prepped for upcoming runs. Meanwhile the stables are going up very quickly now and we are taking advantage of the recently softened to do some much needed grass schooling.
Round Up of runners
Polo the Mumm looked in complete control when turning in at Fontwell and we were all feeling very confident. Alas it was not meant to be with the extended trip finding him out in the last couple of furlongs, resulting in him slipping to fourth. He has come on leaps and bounds since joining us barely 2 months ago and we knew we were pushing our luck over this trip, though we had to try when looking at the declarations. I am hopeful that in not much time at all, good things will start to happen for Polo again.
Corruption made her seasonal debut at Aintree in a very competitive bumper. Her career very much lies in the future, though we must take these baby steps to first get her there. Despite finishing sixth, she travelled with the pace and was only done for toe on the turn in and continues to stay on despite this. Time should hopefully take the greenness out of her and allow us to progress to hurdles which is the main aim for this mare.
Sandro Botticelli ran a much better race, in a very good novice hurdle at Exeter. He ran well and was tidy at his hurdles, bar the third last, and so was a good confidence booster. It was a 15 runner field and so was respectable to finish 7th beating half of the field.
Schooling
We schooled three on the grass this week over the chase fences: Blackwater Bramble; Hill Fort and Envole Toi. All of them schooled absolutely foot perfect and so we cannot hope for anything better at home, now it is up to horse and jockey to reproduce this on the track.
News in Racing
Conditional jockey Evan Daley had a close call at Navan, Ireland when he was almost run over whilst jogging round the track. Daly was going for a jog, which is usual practice for jockeys to lose a pound or two and get an idea of how the track is looking before racing. However because he had his headphones in, he could not hear the horses behind though luckily everyone managed to bypass unscathed. The stewards gave him a caution and sent Daly on his way, hopefully a little wearier with his recent experiences.
Statistical Summary
Jumps 18/19
Earnings - £30,241
Wins - 2
Top 4 finishes – 25/71 (35.21%)
Flat 18
Earnings - £104, 274
Wins – 13
Top 4 finishes – 55/175 (31.43%)
Sandro Botticelli