A Busy Week Ahead

When did we have summer?...I obviously blinked and missed it!  Being British I guess I should be used to it by now, but I can barely believe my eyes when I look out of the window and see the continuing downpours.  This month we have already had over 140mm of rain bringing the yearly total to over 750mm – that is already more than for the entire year of 2011!  When will it end?  Well, the answer is obviously not anytime soon with more showers predicted for much of the remainder of the week!  Obviously this makes entering horses tricky – just look at this weekend where the going at Market Rasen is good/firm (good in places) and Newton Abbot where it currently soft (heavy in places)!

Talking of Newton Abbot, it is their biggest fixture of the year on Saturday and Sunday and despite the meeting having been moved from its traditional August date, they have been well rewarded with plenty of entries and we look sure to have a few runners ourselves.  The valuable Lord Mildmay Chase is the highlight of the first day and we have won it in the past with the likes of Star Of Germany and have entered Enfant de Lune, Shoegazer and His Excellency for this year’s renewal.

The second day is headlined by the Totesport handicap hurdle and we also have a good record in that race with Raslan winning it in 2009 and 2010.  He again features among my entries in the race and will certainly put up a bold bid although I would be worried about the ground for him – despite the fact it was soft in 2010, I remain convinced that he is better on a faster surface.  I have seven others entered in the race and they are: Ashbrittle, Decoy, Enfant de Lune, His Excellency, Premier Dane, Shoegazer and The Pier.  We have entries in the supporting races on both days and it looks like being a busy weekend.

While recent Stratford chase winner Premier Dane has received an entry in the Newton Abbot hurdle, I will be keeping my options open with him as I will also be giving him an entry in next month’s Kerry National at Listowel which closes tomorrow (Wednesday).

Finally, I would like to add my thoughts to those that have already had their say on the great Frankel debate.  We were privileged to witness yet another awesome performance from this incredible horse in the Juddmonte International at York last week as he ruthlessly dispatched a top class field with ease.  As I predicted, he had no worries with the longer trip, but the mounting pressure on Sir Henry Cecil to run him in the Arc is quite absurd.  Sir Henry has campaigned the horse brilliantly and I am sure that he will continue to do so with Frankel’s best interests at heart – if that means one last run in the Champion Stakes at Ascot, then so be it.   He doesn’t need to win an Arc to be considered one of the all-time greats in my book.

While we are on the subject of all-time greats, you can keep up to date with all of the latest news from the yard by visiting Chester’s Daily Chat!