Number adds more prize money

Apologies for the delayed blog but with a trio of runners yesterday, we were at full stretch. There were no winners but Automotive went very close to repeating last year's success at Goodwood with a narrow second place. He has had excuses on his last couple of runs so this was a step back to form.

Also finishing in the runner's up spot was No Such Number at Kempton on Wednesday. This was one of his best runs on the all-weather so it's good to see he can switch surfaces easily. He's entered at Lingfield on Thursday and I'm tempted to run him again should he come out of the race in good order.

Automotive (Ross) & Avidly (Adam)

Silver Alliance (Danny)

 

Opus Too makes his handicap debut at Lingfield on Tuesday and I hope he'll fare better now in a lower grade as he has found maiden company quite tough. We'll put blinkers on him as well because after his last run he hardly blew so probably needs waking up a bit.

Honeymoon Express was due to run at Warwick today but the course said they will water the track to ensure the going is good which is not ideal for us as she likes firm ground. Courses seems reluctant to provide fast ground nowadays which is a shame because some horses love it and are missing out. It is the track's last flat meeting anyway as, after recent safety concerns, they are only going to hold jumps fixtures from now on. Although we never had much luck there, it is a shame to lose another track and we are one step closer to all-weather domination of the flat fixture list.

Honeymoon Express (Ryan)

 

I had Handheld in at Yarmouth on Sunday but, ironically after what I just said, the ground was too firm. He loves very soft ground so I'm in no rush to run him after his win last time as he is worth keeping fresh and will have plenty of opportunities when the weather breaks in Autumn.

Handheld (Josh)

 

The internet has been full of ice bucket nominations and our yard hasn't escaped the craze with Ross being nominated for the challenge. Never to do things by half, he chose to have a tractor bucket full of water splashed over him. It's all for a good cause and there are plenty more nominations flying round the yard so it could be a wet week! I'm staying well clear of the whole thing!