Lucky At Last!

It was good to be back over the sticks last week following our two-week summer break.  It was even better to be back among the winners with Do Ya Feel Lucky (pictured above) scoring for the Pond House team and owners Somerset Racing at Worcester on Sunday.  With several other noteworthy performances, I am very pleased to have the horses in good order.

Despite the return of the jumps, we actually started off on the level at Windsor last Monday with Lady Reset in the 1m2f handicap.  Given plenty to do in a race where it paid to race handy, she was never really on terms and is better than she was able to show on this occasion.  She was due to run again at Sandown yesterday (Sunday), but unfortunately, overnight rain meant the ground was softer than ideal.  A versatile mare, she remains in good form and we will find another race for her shortly on a more suitable surface.

We headed to Worcester on Wednesday with a handful of runners, with Mr Tambourine Man faring best by finishing runner-up in the novices’ hurdle.  This was a decent first attempt on his British hurdling bow and he should be winning over timber before long.  He is a nice dual-purpose horse for owners Midd Shire Racing to look forward to.

Oneonechop belied his odds by finishing second at Newton Abbot on Saturday.  This was his handicap debut and he performed creditably and was just unlucky to bump into one that is clearly ahead of its current mark.  A tough and consistent three year old, he will be out again before long and should be winning races over timber based on this evidence.

Lucky At Last!

I was thrilled to get on the scoreboard with Do Ya Feel Lucky at Worcester on Sunday.  A winner over timber in Ireland, she had yet to trouble the judge in three starts since arriving on these shores, although the very soft ground may have been against her the first twice.  Returned to a better surface, she met with trouble in running on her previous start on the course, but this was much more like it.  Produced with a well-timed run by Tom Scudamore, she showed a really good attitude to get the better of a photo-finish.

Owners, Somerset Racing have been tremendously patient with her and they were well rewarded here.  With this success under her belt, I hope that she can now go on progressing.

No Entries

With the week ahead low on jumps opportunities at this end of the country we are in the unusual position of having no runners, although things are looking more promising next week with fixtures from Newton Abbot, Uttoxeter, Worcester and Stratford on the horizon.

Happy Campers!

I spent last week in a tent.  No, you will be pleased to hear that we haven’t had our first domestic as a married couple, instead we took the kids ‘glamping’ at a lovely site near Polzeath in Cornwall.  This was the first time we have been able to get away since the wedding and whilst it wasn’t the foreign destination we had hoped for, it was very nice all the same.

We went cycling, plaid tennis and mini golf and even went to a slip and slide waterpark.  I came back quite exhausted and need a holiday to get over it!

You may also have seen on Twitter that we had a flat tyre whilst we were down there – fortunately, it was only flat at the bottom!  I was in the process of changing the tyre when we noticed that the spare had even less air in it than the one on the car.  It took a while, but a very, very nice man came along to repair it!

Be Warned!

Finally, after our Owners' Day which takes place next month we will start again with our popular staff's horses to follow videos for the season ahead.  You will realise by now that there are some judges better than others, so be warned!