The Derby's here already

Well, that's the Derby done and dusted for another twelve months. I can't believe we're halfway through the year already and things in the yard have really hit top gear.

After a few new horses arrive in the coming days, we'll be back to full capacity of 25 inmates and it comes just as the kids finish school this week so my workforce doubles!

There's definite signs that the horses are coming back into form and we hit the crossbar with a few runners in the last seven days.

We took a risk by taking Attain to Brighton on Tuesday as the ground was firmer than he's ever encountered before but he handled it fine to finish in third place, behind an odds-on favourite of Godolphin's. You think you can go to a small track like Brighton to win races but even the big boys turn up. I didn't think they even knew the place existed!

Canning Vale also ran that day but she couldn't make an impact. She does a lot of her homework from the front so maybe that is the best way to rider her on the track.

We were back to the seaside venue the following day with Entrance. Everything looked to be in her favour - the ground, distance and handicap mark and she looked likely to win with two furlongs to race. However, we never expected the eventual winner to put in a performace like it did so we were left in the runner's up spot.

Hopefully this week can see us off that dreaded cold trainers list as we've got some good chances.
Acer Diamonds (nearside) will make his handicap debut on either Friday or Saturday. He has recovered from his gelding operation extremely well and is a lot easier horse to deal with now. We think he's quite well handicapped and if there's enough juice in the ground, he should go close.
Sharing the gallop with him was Silver Alliance who also runs on Friday at Goodwood. He's coming down to a good handicap mark now and the likely pace of the race should see him finishing strongly.

Owner/breeder John Ford finally revealed the name of his filly (far side) this week as she makes her debut at Lingfield on Thursday. Called Omega Omega, she has been going ok at home but isn't fully wound up yet so she will come on for the run.
Verona Bay led her along in this gallop and he too runs in the coming days at Newmarket on Friday. It will be his final run in a maiden before earning a handicap mark so it's from then on that he should be a lot more successful.

One of my blogs wouldn't be complete without telling you the enigmatic Generous Genella (near side) galloped well. It's incredibly frustrating as she hasn't shown her true colours on the track but hopefully, soon enough, everything will fall into place and she'll start earning her keep.
On the far side is Exopuntia who is slowly coming back into shape after her holiday. She takes a lot of getting fit so she'll be a regular on here before she's finally ready to run.

It looks like The Ducking Stool may finally get the soft ground that we've been waiting for for so long at Yarmouth on Tuesday. She's been consistent on the polytrack but I think you'll see a different horse in testing conditions so let's hope the rain doesn't stop!

Emma's Gift seemed likelly to be my only runner at Royal Ascot but it looks like we'll have to give it a swerve this year as she won't be ready due to some little setbacks. She seems on the mend now though and will probably be ready for action in a month's time.

The change from 'ferrel' to 'feline' in our adopted stray cats has been pretty rapid and, as you can see, Cathy has already cottoned on the the fact that you need to look after owners! She's also making friends with the dogs. Her sister Hayley seems to have made friends too as she looks pretty pregnant and could be giving birth very soon. We'll keep you posted!