She may well be the smallest horse we have in the yard but she is definitely one of the toughest. Red Hearts is still only two years old but managed to record her second victory on her 10th race of the season at Folkestone on Wednesday.
It does annoy me that the Racing Post are always so negative about her in the newspaper as they reckon (because she won a maiden on her second start) she should be running in higher class races than she does but the truth is, she was an early developing two-year old who looked good at the start of the year but now her peers have caught up with her, she doesn't look so talented. I can honestly say she is no better now than six months ago but with this type of horse you need to make hay while the sun shines and, thankfully, we have.
It's great for her owner Dick Creese who has been with me since I started training. He is a terrific sport and it paid for his year's racing when she won the £10,000 yearling bonus at Brighton in May.
Red Hearts is in the sales next month and it's probably the right thing to do as she will not improve much over time.
Talking of time, I can't believe how it has flown by and we're already in September. The leaves are starting to fall off and there is a definite chill in the air in the mornings. The yard doesn't seem to mind though as the change in conditions usually sees an upturn in our fortunes and from now until the end of the year is usually a profitable time for us - in November and December 2010 we had nine winners.
Hopefully the horses can keep their summer coats for a while longer as it really does mean winter is upon us when I have to get the clippers out. Bavarica's coat is usually the first to give way and it is showing some early signs of getting fluffy.
Incidentally, Bavarica is our only runner in what will be a quiet week. As I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, she won her 11th race under my daughter Shelley at Folkestone and this is her first run since. She went up three pounds in the handicap for that win which now means she is rated 73 - a mark she usually struggles to win off but my son Ross, who rides her everyday, says she is in the form of her life so I hope she can win a bit of prize-money.
We had a busy week just gone and I'm glad we at least got one winner.
Sancho Panza was a bit disappointing in the Amateur's Derby at Epsom on Monday but he's been coughing his head off since then so may have just been a bit under the weather. It has cleared up now though so he will be back in action soon.
The following day, Sail Home showed a bit more than she had done recently. The one thing I did notice though was that she got very wound up by the loud-speaker in the parade-ring and it upset her quite a bit. I would put ear-plugs on her next time but she is very funny about you touching her ears so we will try a hood which Sir Henry Cecil uses quite a lot to good effect on his fiery fillies.
Another female who lost the plot a bit was Entrance at Brighton on Friday. She has been disappointing since winning at the start of the season but I'm just going to change her routine a bit at home and I think it will help her tremendously to get her mind back on the job. On the same day, King Columbo ran well to finish fourth. He's finding some form now after a long spell in the doldrums and looks likely to win again before the year is out.
We are still looking for a home as a riding horse for Dakota Hues. He was retired from racing in the summer but is a great big horse who would make someone a lovely eventer. On the chance that anyone is interested in him, do not hesitate to contact me.
Three To Follow Update
No-one included Red Hearts in their lists so standings are as before.
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