Hoping Blackmore can blow them away

It's been pretty windy recently and is set to get worse according to the weather forecasters as we are hit by the tail-end of the hurricane that has just battered America.
Leaves are falling off the trees too so my husband John is going to have his work cut out picking all them up!

Luckily the temperature has been mild enough for the horses to keep their coats as I was worried last week that some may start to go hairy. Bavarica didn't look too bad at Wolverhampton on Thursday night but she's a tough old mare who wins whether it's high summer or deepest winter. The only thing that does stop her though is the handicapper and she's in his grip at the minute but she'll be winning again when her mark drops a couple of pounds.

Scarily, the yearling sales are upon us already and although we haven't been bidding for any yet, I had a good look at a few on a visit to Plantation Stud just outside of Newmarket. It's funny seeing the youngsters again as you can't imagine they'll be transformed into racehorses in over six months time. Most of them were set for the sales but I managed to walk away with the one horse who really stood out.

He's an unbroken two year old colt and looks like he could be a nice horse. He's half brother to Obama Rules, a filly who won a Group 3 in Ireland last year and is now rated 101. He is built like a tank and seems like a real bargain.

Hopefully he'll be racing in a higher grade race than King Columbo is tomorrow at Brighton. I think I've found one of the worst races of the season for him as it's a selling handicap for apprentice riders. Columbo is coming back into form now and the ground is in his favour plus we've got a top jockey for the type of event in Lucy Barry who seems to win all these races. If he's not in the first four, I think we'll leave him there to give kids rides up and down the beach!

One with a bit more on their plate is Emma's Gift in a listed race at Yarmouth on Wednesday. She's been struggling over a mile recently so we thought we'd try her over a bit further and, judging by her piece of work over a longer trip yesterday, it should see her in a better light. If she can get placed and earn some black type on her pedigree, we will be delighted.

After having the summer off due to his preference for soft ground, Blackmore is entered up to run on either Thursday or Friday, depending on where conditions are most suitable. He looked like a really progressive horse before running a stinker at York when his back was all out of alignment. We've got him going sweetly now and, providing he's a s fit as we think he is, he should continue on his upward curve of improvement.