Seeing Silver in the fog

You get used to unpleasant surprises in this game but now and again a good one will come along and luckily we had one of those on Tuesday.
Brighton is known for suffering from very thick fog when it decides to blow in off the sea and last week it experienced just that. With the rain falling and the ground turning soft, I thought everything had gone against Silver Alliance's chances. As he set off for the start, I was fully expecting him to trail in last by the time he came back. However, the fog can do funny things to horses and, despite barely being able to see any of the race, by the time in came into view at the most important part - the finish - Silver was six lengths clear in front, being eased down! I couldn't believe my eyes and jockey Adam Beschizza said he did it so easily. Silver is a wise old owl nowadays and the fog must have perked him right up. Hopefully the handicapper doesn't take the win too seriously.

Silver Alliance storms home in the fog

Silver's success made it four winners in the last ten days so it's fair to say that the horses are in good form. Hopefully it can continue this week.
On Tuesday, Dark Diamond and Inauguration make the long trip down to Salisbury.
Diamond ran a promising race on his debut for us last time and the step up in trip will certainly suit him. Adam felt he was a bit idle too so the visor should wake him up and he worked well in them at home this morning.

Dark Diamond (Mark)

Accompanying him west will be Inauguration. She hasn't been disgracing herself recently and there is definitely a race in her. It is just a case of finding the right opportunities and making the most of them.

There's a bit of pressure on Thursday as it sees the running of the Newbury handicap which I have dominated recently with five wins in the last eight years. Automotive has won it the last twice and he goes back to make it a hat-trick. He seems to save his best for this day and has dropped a couple of pounds in the weights after a few quiet runs. He will need a career best to win off this mark but I hope he is in the right mood on the day.
Just in case he isn't I'm likely to run Dakota City in the same race too. He was disappointing last time when not trying very hard at Nottingham. Maybe he didn't like the head gear that day so I've taken it off and booked a strong jockey in Phil Collington who is a multiple champion on Arabian horses and won the race for me a few years back on a similarly lazy type called Night Orbit.

Automotive bids for the hat-trick

New boy Limerick Lord is building things up nicely in his preparation and isn't far off running. After initially thinking he is a five furlong horse, I'll probably try him over seven furlongs first time as his faster work suggests that will be his distance. His first run will be a learning curve for us but hopefully he can give a good account of himself.

Limerick Lord (Ross)

Vastly has been on and off the sick list quite a bit in the last few months but he seems to be well now and is doing plenty of work. He seems more enthusiastic than ever and his legs are holding up too so it could be just a couple of weeks before he is back on the race track. I still think he is unexposed and there should be more to come from him as he is well handicapped on the turf.

Vastly (Adam)

Our two year olds are a decent bunch this year who will be improving all season and now that a couple have run, we have a gauge by which to compare the rest. Little Orchid is a home bred filly out of Dick Creese's tough mare Bushy Dell and she is coming along very nicely. She had her first gallop at the weekend and took it all in her stride. Seven furlongs will be her starting point and I hope she can follow in her mother's footsteps by winning as a juvenile.

Little Orchid (Adam), Go On Gal (Caitlin) & It's A Sheila Thing (Mark)

THREE TO FOLLOW UPDATE
Silver Alliance was one of this year's most popular selections so his win means a huge chunk of people have climbed up the leader board. However, Bethan's second place finish sees Steve Moore become our new leader.

Steve Moore	14
Ros Cousens	13
Megan Digby Baker	12
John Birkett	12
Malc Shields	11
Mark Rimmer	11
Julie Feilden	9
Geoff Roberts	7
Barbara Walton	7
Gordon Hill	7
Shelley Birkett	7
Adam Beschizza	7
Jim Stevens	7
Poppy Feilden	6
Brian Reilly	6
Eddie Partridge	6
Jonathan Kinge	6
Rita Aspland	6
Sam Feilden	6
Steve Springford	6
Ryan Moore	6
Julia Feilden	6
Liz Moore	6
Dave Morris	6
Paula Smith	6
Jason Coote	6
Sophie Collington	6
Steve Clarke	6
Chris Shirran	6
Phil Collington	6
Rachael Shucksmith	6
Rob Weston	6
Dave Barnett	6
Allan Forster	3
Bill Burgess	3
Linda Wright	3
Stephen Broadley	3
Martyn Clark	3
Trevor Fuller	3
Dominic Lisle	3
Barry Hine	3

PLUS 31 OTHERS ON ZERO POINTS