Debut gold for Luke and Attain

Our new apprentice Luke Rowe got off to the best possible start for us by winning on his first ride for the stable when steering Attain to victory last night at Lingfield. Luke has settled in well during his first month with us and this win will do his confidence plenty of good after an enforced injury absence. His 7lb claim will be a big help for some of the handicappers and hopefully this is the first of many Feilden successes.

Attain and Luke win at Lingfield

Attain has now won three races this year - a great achievement considering he took 21 runs to break his maiden! He is part of the Newmarket Equine Tours Racing Club which for just £180 per year offers fantastic value as you can live like an owner and enjoy the champagne after winning!

Attain's win has really given us a boost and gets our hopes up for some good results this coming week.
Starting on Tuesday, Guising goes to Chelmsford City. It is the track's first meeting since the surface was refurbished and hopefully it will ride a lot more consistently as the kick-back had become pretty bad in recent months. Guising was third there last time and his homework is better than ever. He does need the race to go his way to run well but he couldn't be any happier at home so hopefully he can land some prize money.

Automotive (Ross) & Guising (Adam)

The following day we make the long but usually lucky trip down to Bath. Limerick Lord has improved with each run for us and the form of his third place last time has been boosted with the winner scoring again. I've put some cheekpieces on him as Adam said last time he was just holding a bit back for himself and if this can wring out a couple of pounds improvement, he should go very close.

Limerick Lord (Ross)

One horse who loves Bath time with two wins at the course is Harry Bosch. He won quite easily there earlier in the summer and hasn't run too badly in better company since. This time he is back down to a level he can win at plus on a course he loves so hopefully the two can factors equal success.

Harry Bosch (Adam)

Without Yarmouth to race at, The Ducking Stool has been a bit lost. All her six wins have come at the seaside venue and, although she hasn't shone this season, it does mean she is dropping to a good handicap mark and will be ready to roll when Yarmouth re-opens its gates next month. In the meantime, she goes to Newbury on Thursday. She has run well at the track before and is on a nice mark so maybe she can start to show some sparkle again.
Friday night sees Duke Of Diaamonds make his belated debut at Newmarket. He has been a slow-maturing type but the last month or so has been a lot more encouraging and he is ready for a run now. He'll be seen to better light in handicaps later in the year but an educative run will do him a lot of good.

The Ducking Stool (Sarah) & Duke Of Diamonds (Caitlin)

I've been a bit disappointed with Dakota City's last few runs but I think we'll see a different horse at Lingfield on Saturday as his homework with a visor on has been much improved. He has plenty of ability and his run last time was a better performance. He is on a good mark now and I think we could finally see him getting competitive.

Dakota City (Mark) leads the way

Also getting an entry on Saturday will be Automotive and Vastly at Salisbury. Vastly's comeback has been interrupted by the firm ground that is prevalent at the moment and as soon as we get some juice in the going, he will be back on course. He spent last week swimming as he had a slight back problem but a routine canter yesterday showed he has lost no fitness because of it. He is very well handicapped on the grass and I'm just itching to let him loose on a racecourse again!
Automotive will be dropping back to a mile for the first time in a few seasons and I don't think it'll be a problem as he has loads of speed. He is a bit out of form recently but he always pops up and surprises us.

My two new purchases had an easy week to settle in before checking out the Heath for the first time on Saturday morning.
Star of the Stage is a lovely looking son of Invincible Spirit who is very athletic and seems like a proper racehorse. He is very lightly raced and could have plenty more improvement in him. Shares in his ownership syndicate have been selling fast but there are still a few left if you'd like to get involved.

Star of the Stage (Mark)

The other new kid on the block is the filly Dissertation. She is a typically big Juddmonte-bred and looks likely to improve with every day which passes. She was highly regarded in France and I hope I can eek out that ability in her.

Dissertation (Ross)

Although plans aren't set in stone yet, it may be worth you putting Saturday 29th August in your diary as I'm planning on holding a little party for everyone at the July course before racing takes place that day. We will be having a runner in the historic Newmarket Town Plate that day too, ridden by my brother Nick, so it'd be worth coming along just to watch that. I'll let you know final details closer to the time. Also, Ross is thinking of organising an owners' golf day the following day so if you think you'd like to take part, register your interest next time you see him. Don't worry if you're no good at golf, I've seen Ross try and hit some balls in the field and I can assure you he's no Tiger Woods! (Although the woods is where most of his balls ended up).



THREE TO FOLLOW UPDATE
Attain's win has seen a shake-up in the order and Ros Cousens now gets back on top with a one point lead. We have plenty of chances this week so there could be more change on the way.

Ros Cousens 18
Steve Moore 17
Malc Shields 14
Mark Rimmer 14
Megan Digby Baker 12
John Birkett 12
Geoff Roberts 12
Barbara Walton 12
Gordon Hill 12
Shelley Birkett 12
Adam Beschizza 12
Jim Stevens 12
Julie Feilden 9
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
Lee Cousens 1
Tina 1
Carol Bushnell 1

REST ON ZERO POINTS

Happy Shopper

It's not often that I go horse shopping and everyone is happy with what I come home with but for once there were smiles all round as the ramp on the horse box dropped and the new arrivals revealed themselves.
As I'm sure you all know, the best horse I've ever trained was Spirit of Sharjah who ran and won at some of the world's biggest meetings, including Royal Ascot and the Dubai Carnival. I haven't been able to afford another horse by Spirit's sire, Invincible Spirit, as they are very sought after. However, I was delighted to be able to purchase Star Of The Stage at what I think is a fantastic price. A three-year old gelding, he was formerly trained by Richard Fahey and won a maiden at Lingfield for him in December and has run respectably in two handicaps since. Richard says he has had some problems with his feet but this is a part of the anatomy we seem to have few problems with so hopefully it won't be an issue in his new environment. As you can probably see from the photo, he still has some strengthening up to do and I hope that he could develop into a smart miler. He's pretty fit and should be ready to run in no time - hopefully he is the next stable star!
70% of this attractive gelding has already been sold but the remaining shares are available to purchase for just £1200 per 10% share along with £200 per month all-inclusive training fees. Email me on juliafeilden@aol.com for more details.

Star Of The Stage

The other exciting purchase I made came from the Juddmonte dispersal sale, a source we have had plenty of success from in the past, and is called Dissertation.
She has come over from France where she was trained by Criquette Head-Maarek who thought she had the ability of a Group horse on her homework but she disappointed in her two maiden runs when sent off at a short price both times. Like Star of the Stage, she still has some strengthening up to do but she is an unknown entity and should provide her new owner Dick Creese with plenty of fun.

The two new faces give us lots to look forward to in the future but in the present, we have a group of runners heading to the track this week.
Starting tomorrow, Attain makes the trip up to Beverley for a lady riders' pro-am race. I had the race lined up for him for quite a while with it in mind that Shelley could ride him. However, Shelley only went and fractured her leg on Thursday morning so that scuppered that! Shelley is in good spirits but it looks as though she'll be in a cast for six weeks, thankfully she doesn't need an operation. The show must go on though and we have booked Rachel Richardson as her replacement. Rachel has been in flying form this season, riding loads of winners for her boss Tim Easterby and you'd think we are at an advantage by using a professional jockey whilst the rest are ridden by amateurs.

Vastly (Adam) & Attain (Ross)

Vastly has been trying his best over the past year to avoid going racing and after a long time off with a tendon injury, his long-standing back problem has made a reappearance the week before he was set to make a comeback! I really don't want to miss the opportunity of running him at Nottingham on Friday as it looks an ideal race so he will be doing plenty of swimming this week to keep him trim as he was already very fit. We don't swim many as there isn't often much need but it is good to do with horses who can't be ridden so Vastly went down to Newmarket's public horse pool and had his first dip. After a bit of trepidation, he lept in and was a natural. He will have a couple more sessions before his run and hopefully it means we can get him back to the track.

Vastly takes a dip

Bethan has had a great season so far with one win and three seconds from four runs. Hopefully her good run can roll on as she goes to Leicester on Thursday. Taking the ride will be our new apprentice Luke Rowe who joined us a month ago and has got to know Bethan well on the gallops at home. He has 13 wins under his belt already so knows what he is doing and can hopefully get off to a flying start.
Dark Diamond hasn't disgraced himself since joining us in May and I don't think it'll be long before he gets his head in front. He could go to Pontefract for a maiden handicap on Friday where the drop back to 1m2f will be ideal. He has to give quite a bit of weight to three-year olds in the race but he doesn't have many miles on the clock.

Bethan (Luke), Dark Diamond (Caitlin) & Dakota City (Ross)

Rounding off the week will be Veeraya at Lingfield. He didn't have much chance at the weights in a claimer at Doncaster last time and hopefully the claimer this time won't be as competitive. He is a tad high in the weights, hence the runs in claimers, but he has a good deal of ability and deserves to win a race again.

Duke of Diamonds (Nick) & Veeraya (Sam)

Festival time

Newmarket is set to come alive this week with the town's July Festival kicking off. Although I won't be represented at the racetrack, I'll still have plenty to keep me busy as it is also the July Sales at Tattersalls. I've been lucky at this auction in the past and you can sometimes find a bargain there...fingers crossed the same can happen this time around.

Runners-wise, we just have the two on Tuesday. Meddling goes to Wolverhampton and I hope she can get competitive again now she is back down to 0-60 class. She usually wins at this level, goes up in the weights and then struggles until she goes back down in grade. She is in good order at home and didn't stay the one mile up Newmarket's stiff finish last time, plus she has a good draw for a change.
The other runner on Tuesday is Inauguration at Brighton. She goes to the sales later on in the week but it'd be nice for her to go there with a bit of form to her name. She seems fine at home but she has been quite disappointing so it's hard to know what to expect at a track she didn't seem to like before.

The heat wave has meant the grass gallops are a bit too firm at the moment so all our work has been done on the all-weather. We are very lucky in Newmarket to have some of the best gallops in the world. The sand walkways can also get very dusty in the summer but the heathmen are out at 5am each day to water them and the careful maintenance of each canter means it is usable and consistent year-round.

On Saturday we just had a few stretching their legs on the Cambridge Road polytrack.
Attain really loves soft ground and I had him in on Saturday in the hope the thunder storms would bring us some rain but it sadly wasn't enough. He's down to a good mark now and will be ready to strike when conditions are right.
Likewise, Vastly is ready to go but after his leg issues, I don't want him to comeback on the firm ground and hurt himself again. He's in good order and ticking over nicely.
One who doesn't mind rattling ground is Guising. His aim for the year is the historic Newmarket Town Plate. His owner Carol was meant to ride him but a change of heart has seen my brother Nick step into the plate. He is now a groundsman at Godolphin but he was a jockey back in the day and rides out for me regularly. I've told him the horse will be fit enough for the day, he just needs to make sure he is! The race isn't until the end of August so there's plenty of time for him to get ready.

Attain (Mark), Vastly (Luke) & Guising (Tess)

Automotive (Ross)

Duke Of Diamonds (Caitlin)

Gosden - heaven sent?

The stories which emerge from horse racing must be entertaining to watch from afar, none more so than this week's war of words between John Gosden and Adam Kirby. Gosden claimed that Kirby's riding was not appropriate for Royal Ascot and compared his style to 'winter all-weather tactics'.
Looking at the specific incident, Kirby did nothing wrong in holding his position throughout the race at Ascot which meant Gosden's horse, ridden by Frankie Dettori, was slightly unlucky in defeat. What really rattled me though was Gosden's patronising manner towards Kirby, calling him 'boy'. What kind of man is this?! I think his high horse has got a bit too big and yes, training this year's Derby winner gives you a certain amount of respect, but there is no need to make yourself look ignorant.
As to the all-weather comment, I had to laugh - Gosden's Derby runner-up Jack Hobbs won a Wolverhampton maiden in December last year so racing on an artificial surface can't be that bad!

You can be guaranteed that the fame and glory wouldn't go to my head should I train a winner at Epsom at anytime of the year - never mind the Derby! So onto this week's runners we go.
We have a trio of raiders hitting the track tomorrow including two at Windsor. Silver Alliance was an easy winner in the fog at Brighton last time and the handicapper hasn't take any chances by hiking him up to a career high mark. Silver is hardly getting any younger but he is more than capable on his day, as he showed last time. Whether this will be his day again is probably a question you should ask the horse as he decides when he wants to win!
Accompanying him to the Royal track will be Harry Bosch. He won well at Bath three runs back but hasn't had the rub of the green since. He is still well handicapped and has good course form so I expect him to be thereabouts come the business end.

Limerick Lord (Ross)

Completing the trio is Limerick Lord at Wolverhampton. He made a pleasing debut for us at Newmarket last week and I have no worries about running on the all-weather as his best form seems to be on it. He is in top form and the small step up in trip will be ideal. I hope he can be in the frame.

We then have a few easier days before heading to Doncaster on Friday.
Veeraya has been badly handicapped for a long time now so it makes sense to try him in a claimer where he should have a better chance at the weights. Having said that, at the entry stage there is a horse rated 95 in the race so maybe claimers aren't an easy option. He is a bit of an enigma as he has plenty of ability but doesn't often show it at the track, however, Adam Beschizza seems to get the best out of him and he will hopefully be on board.
Also travelling up the A1 to Town Moor is The Ducking Stool. She has dropped to a good mark now and seems as well as ever so I think a return to form isn't far away. All her wins have been at Yarmouth but she is more than capable at other flat, left-handed tracks.

Duke Of Diamonds (Adam) & Veeraya (Caitlin)

Although running better last time, Dakota City has been a bit disappointing for us this season. I think he is being a bit lazy and riding him at the front last time certainly helped. As a trial, I galloped him in a visor yesterday and it showed instant results with him travelling very well and galloping a lot better than usual. Hopefully this is the key to him and I'll be putting them on him next time he runs.

Dakota City (Mark) & Attain (Ross)

We have had a couple of two-year olds run already and the later maturing types are now catching up by doing some faster work. Little Orchid is a filly I've always liked and she continues to please me. Seven furlongs will probably be her starting point and she is only a few weeks from making her debut.
Big Bang has come on leaps and bounds over the past month and will be ready sooner than I once thought. He is still pretty green but is learning all the time and will visit the racecourse in the near future.

Big Bang (Caitlin), Veeraya (Ross) & Little Orchid (Megan)

Although it's nice to have a proper summer for once, the dry period is delaying Vastly's comeback as he needs some juice in the ground to protect his fragile legs. He is just ticking over at the moment and is ready to run as soon as there's some suitable ground about.

Vastly (Tess)

Moment To Dream is another who has been on the sick list recently but her comeback is slowly coming together. I'm very grateful to her owners for being so patient with her as I don't want to rush her and knock her back again. She is improving with every day and it won't be too long before she is doing faster work.

Moment To Dream (Caitlin)

THREE TO FOLLOW UPDATE
Bethan's second place means Steve Moore strengthens his position at the top of the rankings but there are still plenty of others hot on his tail.

Steve Moore	17
Malc Shields	14
Mark Rimmer	14
Ros Cousens	13
Megan Digby Baker	12
John Birkett	12
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
Lee Cousens	1
Tina	1
Carol Bushnell	1

PLUS 29 OTHERS ON ZERO POINTS

No badge for Newmarket

Unfortunately we didn't get lucky, lucky, lucky at Newmarket's Kylie Minogue night last Friday but I was pleased with how they all ran and we learnt plenty for next time. I wasn't as happy with the racecourse itself as they seemed reluctant to let even the owners in on what was a sell-out night. Usually owners are allocated a set amount of badges and are then allowed to buy any additional ones at half-price, no matter what the raceday. However, Newmarket refused to do this which left some owners, who pay thousands of pounds a year to have horses in training, unable to see their horses do what they are meant to - run. Plenty of others were in a similar situation and the matter was taken up with Newmarket Racecourses' MD Amy Starkey so hopefully this kind of embarrassment for the course won't happen again. Holding music nights to attract new racegoers is all well and good but it shouldn't be to the detriment of those who keep the sport going.

Rant out of the way, let's move on to the week ahead.
Kicking off on Tuesday, we're heading down to Brighton. Honeymoon Express has been struggling to find her form for a while now but as a result she has dropped in the weights and now gets into 0-60 handicaps. I think this level is what she will be able to be competitive at again. She is in good form but I just have some reservations about her ability to handle the track. It's a unique place and you don't know how you'll go until you run there.
The same could be said for Dark Diamond who accompanies her. He's a well-balanced horse though who went round the sharp bend at Salisbury last time like he was on rails so I think he'll be alright. He too has dropped to a good mark and the trip looks to be ideal for him.

Dark Diamond (Caitlin)

Bethan has been a really consistent mare since returning from a winter break and she looks to continue her run at Wolverhampton on Friday. She finished second over the course and distance two starts back and seems to be very happy at home. Her optimum conditions are soft ground on the turf but with all the dry weather, rain is hard to come by so we're running on the dirt to keep her ticking over.

Bethan (Megan)

Silver Alliance went up six pounds in the handicap for his Brighton romp and I feel the handicapper could have been a lot harsher. He is on a career-high mark though so needs to up his game but he showed last time that he certainly has plenty of ability on his day. I was planning to send him to Chester but there looks to be a better opportunity at Windsor on Saturday. He is a bit of a law unto himself so I couldn't tell you what he will do!

Veeraya (Adam) & Silver Alliance (Ross)

Go On Gal has got two runs under her belt now and has improved with each run so I'll give her another at Windsor on Sunday. She will be in her element when the juvenile handicaps start in August and we will get a handicap mark after this run so then she will be in business.

I'm delighted to say that Vastly is finally ready for a run after his list of injuries. He could have gone to Leicester on Tuesday but the ground would be a bit too firm and I couldn't risk his legs on that kind of surface. We'll have to be a bit more patient with him to wait for the right day but he is going great at home and seems to have come back an improved horse. He is still lightly raced for his age and won the lat time we saw him so there should be more to come.

Vastly (Adam)

Another horse we've had to be patient with is Duke of Diamonds. Now three-years old, he is starting to get the hang of things and I've penciled him in for his debut on July 1st. He is still very immature mentally so the experience will do him plenty of good.

Duke Of Diamonds (Mark; centre)

The foals play around

THREE TO FOLLOW UPDATE

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
Lee Cousens 1
Tina 1

Carol Bushnell 1

PLUS 29 OTHERS ON ZERO POINTS

At home with Kylie!

The good run couldn't last forever I suppose and, after winners in each of the last three weeks, we drew a blank this one. That's not to say they ran badly, far from it. Dark Diamond ran a much better race in a visor and looks sure to win soon on only his second start for us. Dakota City also ran an improved race at Newbury on Thursday when finishing fourth. We rode him more forcefully and that looks the way to go as well as running him over a few furlongs further.

Dakota City (Phil Collington)

I'll be able to enjoy watching most of Royal Ascot for once this year with no runners entered until Friday. I love watching the Royal meeting and I certainly look back with fond memories on Spirit Of Sharjah's fine third place finish in the Norfolk Stakes a few years ago. A small yard like ours rarely has anything good enough to run there so it makes the moments you do even more special.
Instead on Friday we will be represented at Newmarket as the track hosts its first music night of the year. I think most people will be at the course to see Kylie Minogue perform after racing but I'll be more interested on what's happening on the track!
I'm looking forward to seeing what Limerick Lord can do on his first run for us. He seems to be a pure sprinter on his homework and its hard to think why previous connections only tried him over five furlongs once - and he won. The run will tell us more about the horse but I hope he can show some promise.

Limerick Lord (Adam) & Honeymoon Express (Megan)

Also at HQ on Friday is Meddling. I've been waiting for ages to run her at our local track as she doesn't like travelling and usually gets quite upset when going racing. Hopefully the short trip to Newmarket will help her stay calm and she could show an improved performance.
Also entered that night are Harry Bosch and Go On Gal but it looks unlikely that they will get a run with lots of horses entered in their respective races.

Meddling (Ross) & It's A Sheila Thing (Mark, hidden)

The following day we will have little travelling again with a couple at Newmarket.
The Ducking Stool has been coming along nicely in her first two runs this season and has dropped a few pounds in the weights too. The step up in trip will be ideal for her and, although she will be taking a right hand turn which she usually doesn't handle, it does come with almost a mile to race so she should hopefully cope with it. Ducky is a horse we all know and love and it'd be great for her to be back in the winner's enclosure soon.
Another with a good chance has to be It's A Sheila Thing. She ran encouragingly on her debut last month and the step up to seven furlongs is just what she needs. The form of her debut race isn't working out very well but she is better than she showed that day and I hope she can make a good impression.

The Ducking Stool (Kelly) & Harry Bosch (Ross, hidden)

As you may know, we like to keep the horses mentally and physically active so now and again we will give some of the older horses a pop over some jumps to give them a bit to think about. It was Guising's turn this time and he was a natural, making a great shape over the jumps and looking like a pro. His owner Carol has made it very clear though that he won't run over hurdles so jumping will remain a recreational hobby for the horse! Hopefully this experience perks him up as he's in at Chelmsford on Thursday.

Guising (Adam)

I'm pleased to report that Vastly is making good progress on his comeback from injury. We have been travelling him over to the world famous Warren Hill to get plenty hill work into him and he seems to be loving it. His enthusiasm is still all there and if his body holds up, he should be back on the racetrack in a couple of weeks.

Vastly (Tess)

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