Chop Chop!

Above: Oneonechop schooling over hurdles with Martin McIntyre

I hope you will excuse the shorter version of this week’s blog as it is my wedding day today!  Indeed, if Leanne were to find out that I am penning this rather than practicing my speech I could be in for my first bollocking as a married man!

With only four runners, it has been a quiet week on the track.  Story Of Friends and Do Ya Feel Lucky went to Worcester on Wednesday.  The former contested the staying handicap hurdle and performed creditably to finish fifth, beaten only 6½ lengths.  He was only collared for third on the run-in and this was a step-forward from his previous start.  He should continue to do well in similar races during the summer, although he could probably do with a little respite from the handicapper as he remains 8lbs above his last winning mark at Newton Abbot last September.

Do Ya Feel Lucky contested the conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle on the card, although lady luck was not on her side on this occasion as she was involved in plenty of scrimmaging at the end of the back straight.  She had travelled well until that point and is better than her finishing position here would suggest.

Koi Dodville finished a close third in the juvenile hurdle at Newton Abbot on Friday afternoon.  Although losing his unbeaten record, he lost little else in defeat as he was conceding lumps of weight to the two in front of him (22lbs to the winner and 12lbs to the runner-up).   There is still room for improvement in his jumping, but that will come with experience and he should remain competitive in similar events.

Lady Reset finished a respectable third at Beverley on Saturday afternoon in the 1m2f handicap.  After persistent rain, the ground went against her somewhat, changing from good/firm in the morning to good/soft by the time of the race.  All of her successes have been on good ground or faster so this was still a decent effort from a 4lbs higher mark than when scoring at Doncaster previously.  She has the option of reverting to hurdles at some point.

Chop Chop!

There are only a couple of jumps fixtures during the early part of next week before a few days’ break.  Our next entry over the jumps is likely to be Oneonechop (pictured above), a recent purchase from France who is engaged in the juvenile hurdle at Stratford on Sunday.  A multiple winner at up to a mile on the level over there, he has taken really well to hurdles at home.  Of course, his stamina has to be taken on trust, but he is a likeable sort and I am looking forward to seeing how he fares.

Gallops Upkeep

The most important tool in any trainer’s possession is the all-weather gallop and ours has seen over 5,000 winners prepared on it.  As such, we pay meticulous attention to its upkeep and spare no cost in making sure that it is at its very best for the horses at all times.  Whilst it is a little quieter, it is an ideal time to perform some maintenance and we are in the process of having the Pond House gallop re-laid.  It is something that we do on a regular basis to make sure that the surface is safe and consistent.  It requires a lot of hard work but you cannot overstate just how important the benefits are.

We are fortunate to have top class facilities at the stable and even whilst this vital work is going on, we are still able to exercise the horses on our Wexford circular sand gallop or the grass gallops.

Anyway, I must go and make an honest woman of Leanne…wish me luck!