The ups and downs of racing...

We finally managed to get off the mark for the new year when Sail Home romped home at Kempton on Tuesday. I've been riding her myself prior to her win and I could not believe how well she was at this time of the year as most fillies do not enjoy the winter months. Here she is looking into the camera a few days before. I rode her out after her run and she put the brakes on and I went flying through the air! So I think she's well enough to take her chance again tomorrow, there's only 5 runners, although this does increase the risk of it being a messy race but she can run from the front or behind so hopefully lady luck will swing in her favour again.

However, when you start to think that the horses are going to form a queue into the winners enclosure, this fickle game soon brings you back down to earth as it did on Saturday at Lingfield. Emma's Gift was running again whilst in her rich vein of form, she was travelling well until the last bend when it all got a bit too tight on the rail, her room soon vanished and she clipped heels sending her jockey Adam Beschizza into orbit. The filly found a leg and managed to stay on her feet and run back safe and sound. It looked bad for Adam on the t.v. but thankfully he got up unscathed. You don't expect to go home with an 'unseated' on the flat, but its all part and parcel of the game and the main thing is everyone came back in one piece.

We had a few stretch their legs up Cambridge Road this Wednesday, here's Exopuntia cantering around, she's been running a bit flat recently so we're trying to freshen her up a bit now as she likes plenty of time between her races.

Emma's Gift (the grey, before her Saturday fate!) and Automotive work together, we're in the process of trying to get 'Mo' fit again for another run as he is quite stuffy and tends to lose fitness quite quickly.

Blackmore (left) who ran a game race in defeat on Thursday finishing second, works with Faraway Land, a Juddemonte cast- off I bought last year- I'm hoping she'll be a nice replacement for Bavarica for the kids to ride in amateur races this year.

Next week Sail Home will bid for a quick fire double on Monday and then it's a quiet week until runners a bit later on. Emma's Gift ate all her feed last night and seems none the worse so she'll be entered for next Saturday if all is well.

Judge and Jury

We've only had 3 runners this week but 2 of them have been involved in a tight photo finish. Unfortunately they weren't in a finish for the winners spot but it is still good to see them in with a shout. The bad news is both of them lost out, Attain (below) had to settle for 4th and Spirit of Sharjah over in Dubai settled for 3rd. Although having received the print for Attain's finish I'm inclined to think the judge may have forgotten his glasses on this occasion.

Attain was making his racecourse debut and we were very impressed by how he ran, he kept a cool head in the stalls when the favourite went underneath the front, and was subsequently withdrawn and ran a game race to just get pipped on the line, it may not turn out to be a bad maiden either seeing as the winner is entered in the Derby! He also behaved himself in the preliminaries aswell, its probably more important to give the first timers a good experience before the race then it is during. Alot of the time you will see horses reacting badly to all the people, the sounds and if the jockey has a light weight they sometimes do not react well to having a small saddle on their backs as they're used to big exercise ones. Also that day was Canning Vale out to improve on her handicap debut, however they went no pace and when Adam Kirby is infront you know your in trouble so the filly was run off her feet in the last stages and with the track being so tight aswell she had no chance on the turn for home.

Spirit of Sharjah ran that day too but in more exotic surroundings again at Meydan. He was settled in rear and made stealthy progress on the outer to be fast finishing and just miss out on second and a length away from the first spot. It's nice to see him getting competitive now and should be picking up a race sooner rather than later. There is another race next Thursday back at the track so hopefully that will be his day.

Next week Sail Home will be out at Kempton on Tuesday, she's been slowly coming back to form and it looks a winnable race so she would have each- way claims and Blackmore will go to Kempton on Thursday. After a luckless passage last time running on into second he surely will get us off that cold trainers list.

Back to business

Well it was nice while it lasted but it looks like the holiday is over now and time to start getting the new year underway. We worked a few yesterday so I took my trusted camera out for a spin.


Here's Blackmore just stretching his legs out along the Cambridge Road gallop, he ran a good race last time coming home an unlucky second and looks sure for a win off his sliding handicap mark.

Silver Alliance (grey) and Attain have been working together recently and went together again yesterday. I've been really impressed with them both, especially Attain as he is an unraced three- year- old going with a multiple, older winner and really showing alot of talent. He will be entered for Lingfield on Saturday, I would like to think he would pick up a little race quite soon but you just don't know how they're going to react to a racecourse for the first time. 'Silver' will be entered to run on Sunday at Kempton and should hopefully be in with a shout given he's had time off and come back fresh and rejuvenated.

Sail Home also stretched her legs out yesterday, there's a race for her in a couple off weeks, she has been running well of late and looks another to take advantage of her sliding handicap mark.

The very exciting Automotive was also out, after finishing second last time on only his second outing for us he will be fitted with a tongue- tie next time to hopefully help with his breathing which probably got him beat last time.

Also running next week on Saturday will be globetrotter Spirit of Sharjah. He ran better last time picking up some prize money (over $2,000 for finishing 6th!) but seems to lack the toe of his younger, more improving components. He has dropped again in the handicap so looks unlikely that he'll get in on the tapeta again but will be entered for a race on the turf also. Canning Vale will run on that day too. We were quietly confident that she'd run a nice race last time and indeed she did by finishing a close- up 3rd. Another good run should be on the books now trying handicap company for the first time.

It's now time for my husband, John, and my sister, Poppy, to take mine and Shelley's place in Dubai to look after Spirit and have a little holiday after doing so well running the yard while we were away. We've had an influx of some new members to the team in the last week so all the horses that had a winter break are now starting to begin training again, Sancho Panza, Verona Bay, Argante Claudius, Acer Diamonds and Generous Genella are all now beginning to look like racehorses again. Although with Shelley going to be laid off this week as she's having an operation on her shoulder on Friday, I may have to blow the dust off my boots and ride the bears myself!

Second time lucky?

Last Thursday came the day we'd been waiting for when we had our first ever international runner. Although only finishing mid- field Spirit of Sharjah over came a wide draw and a bad position to run on and just miss out on some prize money. He has come out of the race well and will be running this Thursday, this time with a better draw and a more ideal distance of 7f. Here he is (second left) out at excercise with other top class horses.

With the main focus being in Meydan we've tried to limit the number of runners at home. This week only saw Exopuntia travel to her beloved Southwell, although her relationship with the track did not go so well as she finished mid- field. She has not been able to dominate her recent races as she likes to and so cannot get into a rhythm which best suits her.

I haven't been at home to take any pictures of the other horses, so here's another of Spirit this time getting a wash down!

New Year's Greetings

Happy New Year to everyone and hopefully we can get ours off to a massive bang.

Ross, Shelley and I were in Dubai and managed to catch the huge firework display that takes place on the world's tallest building - the Burj Khalifa. Eventhough we were a few miles away, the thing is big enough to see pretty easily!
I'm delighted with how well Spirit has settled in and am really looking forward to when he runs on Thursday. The field is pretty competitve with Godolphin having 4 runners in the race but he's in great order and was bucking and kicking after doing a blowout this morning!
The race is at 9pm (5pm back in the UK) and should be shown on Attheraces.
The quality of horses out here is phenominal - he usually goes out in a string consisting of Regal Parade (Group 1 winner), Steele Tango (Carnival winner), Sir Reginald (Top class 2 year old) and the winner of the Spanish Derby! There are all sorts of nationalities in the yard but there is a great atmosphere.

There was a mixed bag of results during the week for the horses back at home.

Hayley Turner rode two of them and I wasn't particularly pleased with how she rode them. Exopuntia is a front runner but she never got in front and was put off by the severe kickback at Southwell. Blackmore ran at the same venue and was supposed to make the running too but that never happened and he looked to be staying on really strongly at the finish but Hayley never used her stick. I'm not sure he would have won but he definitely looks like he'll win soon.

Canning Vale hadn't shown much in her first two starts but her homework had been improving and she showed just that by running a blinder to finish third at Kempton. She qualifies to run in a handicap now and is surely good enough to win one for Dick Creese.

The steady pace at Wolverhampton went completely against Khajaaly but he could probably do with dropping in the handicap anyway.

With everything going on out here, we haven't got any runners for a few days but there are some nice new horses that will be out soon and could be useful.