Plenty of love for Dakota!

John managed to find enough romance in himself to buy me a dozen red roses today but the best Valentine's Day gift I could have asked for was another winner and thankfully that came on Saturday night.
We were all a bit disappointed with Dakota City's defeat at Lingfield last time and felt he could have done better so Adam made amends and gave him a super, patient ride to use the horse's lethal burst of speed at the right time. Dakota is so laid back but he is turning into a progressive and exciting horse on the all-weather. It's always great to get a winner but it's even better when all the owners are there to share in the victory and thankfully we had a big bunch of happy faces present!

Dakota City and Adam win at Wolverhampton

Happy owners receiving their trophy

The yard has made a great start to the year and it would be fantastic to get a load of winners under the belt before our usual quieter period in the spring.
Looking to notch his second win of 2016 this week is Kemsing. He has really flourished since we bought him and made it 2/3 at Southwell when winning there last time. He returns to the track again on Tuesday and faces some of the same horses but with adjusted weights this time. He will need to improve to defy the weight rise but I still think there is more left in the tank.

Kemsing (Ross) & Star Of The Stage (Adam)

The following day Candesta goes to Kempton and I think he will appreciate the drop in grade after having to race in some classier company following his win at the track late last year. He is in great form at home and seems very happy so I hope he can regain some form again if in the mood.

Candesta (Caitlin)

Then we finish the week of runners off on Thursday with a couple at Chelmsford.
Limerick Lord won at Southwell in December but has looked a bit sick of the place in two runs since then so I'm hoping the change of track will help perk him up. He enjoys following a strong pace so hopefully he will get that here.

Limerick Lord

Also at Chelmsford is Serendib's Glory. She will be having her third run and will qualify for handicaps next time. She is improving with every run and will be one to watch later on in the year.

Serendib''s Glory (Chloe)

Thank you for all your Three To Follow entries that are already pouring in. If you haven't entered yet, don't hang around as points start getting collected from March 1st so don't miss out.
Here is a reminder of how to enter:
Our Three To Follow competition is always very popular and provides plenty of banter throughout the year as well as a cash prize to the winner. This year's edition will be the longest yet with a start date of March 1st and running up until December 1st.
The rules are simple: pick three horses from the two pools and watch them collect points throughout the season - 10 points for a win, 5 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd and (new for this year) your horse will get one point every time it runs and isn't placed. So choose wisely and look for tough and consistent horses who will be prolific points scorers!

POOL A (Two and three-year olds) PICK ONE HORSE
Mungo Madness 2 year old (by Sir Percy)
Our Cilla 2yo (Sixties Icon)
My Name Is Jeff 2yo (Mount Nelson)
Kemsing 3yo (Footstepsinthesand)
Champagne Reef 2yo (Literato)
Secret Ballerina 2yo (Sakhee's Secret)
Sunset Bounty 2yo (Bahamian Bounty)
Serendib's Glory 3yo (Holy Roman Emperor)
Architech 3yo (Archipenko)
Little Orchid 3yo (Observatory)
Go On Gal 3yo (Approve)
Big Bang 3yo (Observatory)

POOL B (Older horses) PICK TWO HORSES
Silver Alliance
Dark Diamond
Vastly
Dissertation
Limerick Lord
Veeraya
Star Of The Stage
Sabre Rock
Candesta
Dakota City
Automotive
Attain
The Ducking Stool
Handheld
Harry Bosch
Moment To Dream
Duke Of Diamonds

Once you have made your mind up, email your three to rbirkett1989@hotmail.co.uk
Points will be collected from March 1st so don't wait too long!