Class of 2012 ready for debuts

It was a welcome relief not to get a soaking everyday this week as some of the rain finally relented and we ended up with a couple of days' nice weather. The sunshine and showers have done the fields some good as the grass growth had been pretty poor after the little rainfall we had over the winter.

As you can see below, Spirit of Sharjah certainly thinks his bed is a lot comfier now.

Acer Diamonds was our only runner of the week at Windsor on Monday and he ran a blinder to finish third. It was his first run in almost a year after a tendon injury and he made most of the running untill getting tired towards the end. I also managed to persuade the owners to have him gelded and I made sure it was done the following morning before they could change their minds!
Acer is a lovely big horse and the operation will mean he will not be as top-heavy as he currently is and this will help out his front leg troubles.

Most of Newmarket's horse population have been fighting it out on the flat gallop on our side of the heath as it is the only grass open at the minute due to the wet weather. It can result in the ground being very chopped-up after so many horses have been up it but we got out early on Saturday and were rewarded with some decent turf to exercise on.
Verona Bay runs on Thursday at Newmarket in a maiden. He is quite lazy in his homework so it's hard to judge his ability but he will need the run after an injury last year and he'll be seen to better effect in handicaps later this summer.
(Above) He led The Ducking Stool (middle) and Sail Home (last) over one mile and all went nicely, particularly Sasil Home.

It looks likely that Silver Alliance (above) will be in the same race as Sail Home at Newbury in a fortnight's time and he just had a solo spin to blow away the cobwebs. He came out of his last run with quite a few cuts to his legs after a rough race but they've healed up well now and he's in good order.

Also on the grass doing a steady piece of work were Lea Valley (front), Argante Claudius (grey), Kampai and Generous Genella.
Claude is coming along very nicely and it will be a relief to finally get a run into him after all his problems.
Lea Valley has had a little cough recently but is a filly I like the look of whilst Kampai isn't far off making her debut for us.

Jockey Luke Morris came in to have a sit on two-year old Tiger's Home. She is set to make her debut at Newmarket on Friday and judging by her work on the gallops, she is more than ready for a run. She has been quite slow from the stalls in practice but her attitude is faultless and hopefully she can get our juveniles off to a good start.

Another youngster seeing a racecourse for the first time is Belive In Me on Thursday at Newmarket. She has been a bit lazy in her homework but hopefully the race will wake her up a bit as she realises what the game is all about and the experience will do her good. She worked over fivwe furlongs on the all weather with Canning Vale (nearest).

(Above) Belive In Me and owner Richard Fuller discussing tactics before the big day!

Our other two year old is the one we bought last week from the breeze up sales and she has done nothing but impress me. She eats for England and is very enthusiastic about her work. She was pretty fit when she arrived so it shoulodn't be long beofre she is ready to run. Shares are available in her!