Khajaaly got the ball rolling on Monday with a solid second and then Dolly Bay made an encouraging debut at Yarmouth when finishing fourth. The same day, Exopuntia baffled us - she had ran a corker in a tongue strap first time out but then on Wednesday she seemed to resent the gadget and held her head very high in the finish even though she came fifth.
Thinking that she hadn't had too hard a race, we ran her again at Newmarket on Friday but I could tell from an early stage that things were not 100% - the filly seemed very lifeless in the preliminaries and I told the jockey not to be too hard on her if she had no chance. As it turned out, she never even got into the race after rearing up in the stalls when upset by a horse next to her. It was disappointing but she will be back another day soon.
The biggest and most pleasing surprise was King Columbo finishing third at Yarmouth. He hasn't won in two years and is pretty inconsistent these days but he ran a great race and, to be honest to him, it is the first time Columbo has had the soft ground that he really loves. It's a shame we don't get it more often but if you see him running on it in the future, he is definitely worth backing.
Verona Bay also made his debut this week. He is a very big horse and is likely to fulfill his potential next year when he has had time to fully grow but he was ready for a race and didn't fare too bad in what is traditionally a very strong contest (Frankel won it last year!). He has come out of the race in good order and wasn't beaten too far by some highly regarded horses - the winner is now prominent in the betting for next year's Derby.
We were back at Newmarket the following day with two runners in one of the world's most unusual races - the grey horses only handicap. Our main hope, Quarrel, was a decent two year old but hadn't shown any form in well over a year. It was his first run for us and he bounced right back to his best by finishing third despite the distance being a bit too short for him. The owners wanted to have a bit of a gamble and, although we're not interested in betting, they manged to have a good bit on at 40/1.
Quarrel (number 8) nabs third spot in the grey horses race at Newmarket
Emma's Gift hated the ground and found the trip a bit sharp too but, as this is the only race of its kind, you have to take the chance of running.
I'm hoping the decent form can carry on into the next seven days.
Thing don't kick off until Wednesday when my two children, Shelley and Ross, go head-to-head once again in an amateur race. Ross currently holds the bragging rights with the score 2-0 in his favour and I'm afraid he will enhance that lead at Folkestone. He rides The Ducking Stool who surprised us by running so well when fourth aster a 18 month absence and since then she has improved even more. The 1m4f distance might be a bit too far but if she can see it out, she should win.
There are no such worries for Shelley's ride, the ultra-tough Bavarica. We were disappointed with her run last time at Windsor but she had a very strong blow afterwards and probably needed it after a short break. Shelley hasn't really got the hang of riding her yet but if things fall into place, Ross could have his sister breathing down his neck!
We do pretty well at Epsom and we're there the following day. Red Hearts has been struggling since winning a maiden earlier in the year but this will be the first time she has raced in a handicap. I thought there would be little runners but there are plenty of entries so it might turn out to be a tough race. Likewise for Sancho Panza who runs the same day. I think the track will be to his liking and the more rain that comes, the better.
Folkestone is on the agenda again on Sunday with Entrance and Canning Vale. The latter ran quite well on her debut last time but will probably need another run. Entrance has been very consistent this season and hopefully she can be rewarded with another victory.
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