Winners buy the dinner!

As a trainer, hot streaks are what make the hardships of the job worthwhile and we are lucky enough at the minute to be experiencing one. Things had been going well with 4 wins in the last five weeks but over the past seven days we had a great time of it as two horses passed the post in front in the space of 24 hours.
Our troubles and frustrations with Automotive have been well documented on this blog over the years but, since the threat of being sold at the sales was made to him, he has changed his mind about racing and is finally starting to show on the track the ability he has been burning the gallops at home with.
He definitely knows he has finally won a race and seems very confident around the yard since. Hopefully this is the start of some good times for him.

Automotive & Ross win at Newbury

A day before this, Silver Alliance headed to the seaside at Yarmouth and won his third race of the year. I would have thought you mad if you had told me at the start of the year that he'd rack up a hat-trick as he finds winning hard but this season has seen him flourish. The was he won on Wednesday suggests he might not be finished with yet.

Silver Alliance & Shelley win at Yarmouth

There's no resting on the laurels though as we need to keep the good run going so there were plenty on the gallops on Saturday morning.
We're due a bit of rain soon so I've put Handheld in at Newmarket on Friday. He is fine since winning last time and the race looks ideal as it is for apprentices only and we seem to have a good rider in Shelley who is booting home plenty of winners at the moment. However, rain is essential.

Handheld (Orchid)

It often pays to keep an eye on the entries tracking when looking for races as you can often spot some races which are under-subscribed and will likely provide a small field.
Such a tactic was used for Exopuntia and Entrance at Lingfield on Thursday. There were only 9 entries with 5 minutes until the deadline came so I stuck them in and I'm glad I did as it will probably be an uncompetitive race. Entrance will be the one more likely to run having won at the track last time. The only concern is the drop back to one mile but she travelled really well last time so should get away with it.

Exopuntia (Julia)

Both Sancho Panza and Omega Omega need soft ground so they haven't been seen recently but, if the heavens do open in time, Sancho could run at Newmarket on Saturday. He went up a few pounds in the handicap for his win last time but I still think he's capable of winning from his new mark whilst a galloping track like Newmarket will play to his strengths.
Omega will likely be seen the following week and continues to please at home.

Sancho Panza (Ross) & Omega Omega (Jim)

Sheila's Heart has taken a while to mature into his frame but thankfully his owner has been very patient and given him that time so hopefully he can pay us back with a good show when making his debut at Newmarket on Friday night. It's likely to be a very competitive maiden and our debutants usually need the experience but if he is running on at the finish, we will be happy.

Tiger's Home (Alfie), Sheila' Heart (Annalie) & Bethan (Reno)

Terrible Photo of the Week goes to my husband John who snapped all the gallopers on Saturday morning and then proceeded to cross the gallop to head home. However, he had forgotten there was still one more to come and, after dashing out of the way and narrowly avoiding an Emily Davison-style mullering, he just managed to catch a shot of Chilli Green as she opened the pipes before Kempton on Wednesday. Hopefully Chilli can run as fast as John did when he saw a horse flying towards him!

Chilli Green (Billy)

We're always welcoming to young talent and for the next fortnight we will have two overseas visitors riding out each morning. Orchid and Jim are part of a group of Chinese work riders who have come over to Newmarket as part of a Darley-sponsored scheme. They are both very cheerful characters and, despite a lack of English, have settled in well. Jim has ridden winners on the track in his homeland and is a good little rider.

Orchid

Jim

A vital cog in the Julia Feilden Racing machine is our Fallabella mare Bonnie who accompanies some of the more nervous types to the races and is generally a big tourist attraction. I want to get her in foal so have rented the services of reliable stallion Patch who has been living with Bonnie for the past month. It's impossible to tell if she is in foal as she is too small to scan but with a bit of luck we will be greeting a new member to the stud in 11 months time.