On the road with Automotive

No winners on the board this week but with four of our five runners finishing in the prize money, the horses are still showing themselves to be in great form.
The biggest surprise came from Honeymoon Express at Yarmouth on Friday. She had strengthened up a lot over the winter and ran with promise on her comeback but no-one could have guessed she would have ran so well next time as she made the odds-on favourite sweat and finished second. This was her third career run so she will qualify for handicaps now but on the back of this effort she might be rated pretty high.

Another surprise a few weeks ago was how easily Automotive won at Newbury. We were going to keep him to amateur races as he obviously likes them but with none in the upcoming fixture list, we have to run him in a normal race.  However, since his win he has been a different horse - he seems a lot more confident and definitely knows he has got his head in front. He needs to be in top form though as we're going all the way to Ffos Las in Wales but conditions look ideal and I hope our journey can be rewarded.


Automotive (Shelley) & Entrance (Cat)

One filly who has really come to herself recently is Bethan. She is four years old but, due to a series of different issues, has yet to run. Things seem to be falling into place now and she is taking her work very well so a racecourse debut shouldn't be too far away.
Exopuntia has had a delayed return too and her need for soft ground means she hasn't been out yet this season. She is in good order and will be running as soon as some proper rain comes.


Bethan (Annelie) & Exopuntia (Adam)

Although Bonnie Tyler couldn't win Eurovision with her song Believe In Me, I hope our horse with the same name could be hitting the headlines soon. She has come on from her seasonal reappearance and just in the last few days has started to get a real shine to her coat.

Exopuntia (Alfie) & Believe In Me (Annelie)

We usually do well at Epsom although we haven't had any runners at the track yet this year. Their popular Thursday music nights start this week and we're going with two who I hope could have a squeak.
No Such Number is a horse I've always liked but things haven't gone his way on his two starts this term. He is in similar form now to when he won last season so I hope that, and the return of Richard Hughes in the saddle (hopefully), can bring him back to his best.
The Ducking Stool also runs on Thursday but at Yarmouth. I have been saving her for this race for a long time now and she has come into top form at the right time. It is an apprentice race and we have a great jockey in Shelley Birkett who has won on Ducky at Yarmouth before too.

No Such Number (Ross) & The Ducking Stool (Shelley)

Stable star Spirit of Sharjah will also be on the box to Epsom. He won at the course years ago and it seems like the same amount of time since he got his head in front, even though he won earlier in the year.
As you can see from the picture below, he still has plenty of ability and if everything goes right, he could surprise.

Spirit of Sharjah (Reno)

Our two foals are growing up fast and get more independent everyday. Our jack russell puppy Mary is obsessed with them and genuinely thinks she is a horse. She sits in the field with them all day and even has a play. She must be barking mad!

Mary and our filly foal