Hello winter...

The clocks went back today and that can only mean one thing - winter is here.

As if that wasn't enough of a hint, the weather has been truly shocking this week and I've been busy with the clippers as a few of the horses' coats had grown pretty long and needed a shave. This is mainly to stop them sweating too much during exercise and it also looks a lot neater than a shaggy coat.

After doing this though, it's important to keep them warm and I've found the best thing for them to wear is something we all know - a duvet. They insulate the heat very well and are extremely cost effective compared to manufactured rugs.

With the ground pretty much desperate everywhere, runners have been a bit thin on the ground as we wait for the all-weather season to get into full swing and the ones who did venture onto the track over the last seven days didn't exactly shine.

The Ducking Stool has been one of our stars this season after two wins and four seconds but her run at Yarmouth on Wednesday suggested she's feeling the effects of a busy time and we'll give her a couple of months holiday now to recharge her batteries.

Wiggo made an encouraging debut the same day, despite finishing towards the rear. He was slowly away and looked green but he seems a lot more sharper since then and the education has obviously done him good.

Hopefully this week can bring a bit more luck as we have a busy few days in store.

Tiger's Home (below front) heads to Leicester tomorrow after a short break. She ran really well a couple of times earlier in the season and seemed to handle soft ground. She is as fit as we can get her at home and hopefully the seven furlong trip won't stretch her too much.

She worked with Lea Valley who was all set to run on Tuesday but a rash on her skin has meant she has to miss it.

Also heading to Leicester on Monday is Khajaaly (below right). All his wins have come at Wolverhampton but as a result he is rated a lot lower on the turf so we'll give him one more try on the green stuff before the races finish for the winter. He wouldn't want really soft ground so hopefully the rain stays away.
Sail Home (middle) is absolutely flying at present and probably looks the best in the yard. Her coat is so good you'd think it's the middle of July and her work is great too. Unfortunately there aren't many races for her at the minute but she should come back to form when she does run.
Leading this lot was Emma's Gift. She really comes to herself in the winter and can hopefully land some valuable prizes on the all-weather again. She's in at Lingfield on Wednesday and a good showing wouldn't surprise me.

Entrance (below left) is driving me up the wall. She is working great at home and is becoming extremely well handicapped but just hasn't been firing on the racetrack. Last time was 1m4f which may have been too far. Her ideal conditions are 1m2f around Lingfield so let's hope there are a few races for her before she goes to the sales in December.
Accompanying her was Didn't I Do Well. He is working a lot better since his debut run and another visit to the track shouldn't be too far away.

I'm pleased to report that stable star Spirit of Sharjah (below) is back on the road to recovery and did his first long canter on Saturday. He got injured when in Dubai but has had plenty of time to recover. It would be nice if he could go abroad again this winter but he'll need to win a race in December to warrant the trip.
Also on the comeback trail was Automotive who did the same exercise too. He had a similar injury to Spirit but seems great now and I'm looking forward to running him in a month or so time as he has shown glimmers of huge potential at home.

When some of the horses start behaving like they prefer the easy life rather than trying 100% in their races, we like to give them a school over hurdles to perk up their ideas and give them something else to think about. Falling into this category was Attain who started his career in great style but hasn't matched those efforts since. Here he is (left) jumping for the first time and, as you can see, he took it all very well and seemed to enjoy the experience. He runs at Yarmouth on Tuesday and with the ground, trip and handicap mark in his favour, hopefully this new experience can breath some life into him.

Jumping with Attain was Silver Alliance. He was in the same bracket as Attain a few months ago so we schooled him and his form improved as a result. As he has jumped a few times now, he is a reliable jumper to give newbies a lead.

I may not be able to go racing much this week as the horses in training sales are under way and I'll be busy searching for some more bargains but hopefully I can get away as too much time up at Tattersalls drives you mad and can prove expensive!

Apologies for last week after Believe In Me was said to be 'kept busy over the winter'. There was a bit lost in translation and she has been given a break. She is out in the field enjoying herself and has already grown a couple of inches which is what I was hoping.