"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day."
Sally Koch.
Train spotting on Railway Land
It’s a blue sky morning here at Newmarket, and very warm, so the mixture of the rain over the weekend and the warmth now will make the grass fly up. It’s a really hectic morning here at Exeter Ride as horses have been going here, there and everywhere. Steve set off at quarter to six and arrived at York just after nine. We have got two runners tonight at Newmarket and my portable office will be arriving at lunchtime.
All the horses have been out and had a good exercise - we have been using the grass on Warren Hill which is situated between the two artificial canters. The sun was shining and the larks were singing and it was great to be out.
Smokey Oakey
We have three runners today. Dazinski goes at York in the two-mile race at 5 o’clock. He is a course and distance winner and has been very consistent throughout his whole career. He has never really run badly other than on ground that was very soft, but in fact he ran a great race last year in the Chester Cup when he was sixth on very heavy ground. His preferred surface is good to firm, as his record shows, but he is a very genuine horse who always does his best. He is drawn well today and I don’t think he’ll be far off once again.
We have two runners tonight at Newmarket, starting with Astrosapphire in the mile-and-a-half classified at 7.35. She had a good blow after her reappearance at Pontefract. Her dam stayed really well and I expect her to put up a bold show tonight. Marsh Dragon ran on the same day as Astrosapphire at Pontefract 15 days ago and didn’t seem to get home. She is out of a mare who was very quick and I think this drop back in trip could suit. I may even consider dropping her back further but we shall learn a lot more tonight. It looks an interesting race with plenty of lightly-raced fillies but I think we should be thereabouts if our draw of 12 is not an inconvenience.
Astrogold
My portable temporary office is arriving at lunchtime today after the rigmarole of seeking and getting planning permission. We are craning it over the indoor ride so keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. Our other planning application has been registered now and hopefully we can start all the new improvements in the not-too-distant future.
My Guardian Angel with Little Tinka
I am always amazed at the inconsistencies of BHA inquiries. The Al Zarooni debacle was sorted out very quickly but now we are told the Eddie Ahern inquiry, which was two weeks ago, will be re-convened next week. Why these things have to take so long, putting so much pressure on the people concerned, I never know. It just goes to show how quickly the Al Zarooni matter was put to bed.
See Me Sometime with My Little Friend |
