Friday 13th?

I had to have a look at my calendar yesterday to make sure that it was not Friday 13th!  It was just one of those days that started off on the wrong foot and pretty much stayed there.  In the first race Yourgolftravel Com fell and in the second Tom Scu took another tumble when Trop Fort fell at the last while running a big race.  Both he and A P McCoy (who was brought down) looked a bit shaken, but fortunately they walked away in one piece.  I am pleased to say that the early signs are good for Trop Fort - it was a horrible fall (captured on the back page of the Daily Mail) and he is sore this morning.  However, he has been under the heat lamps and is being treated by our on-site physiotherapist - he should be none the worse for yesterday's experience.

Unfortunately things became worse still when Arrayan parted company with Conor O'Farrell shortly after the last in the handicap hurdle.  Despite a 19lbs rise in the weights he was still about 8 lengths clear and with the race at his mercy when Conor slipped out the side door.  It is difficult to see exactly what happened and it left me trying to recall if I had walked under a ladder yesterday morning!

Personally if I was Conor I would not want to be reading the Racing Post this morning - there is a picture of the incident on the front page, and I bet he will be on the receiving end of some stick in the tack room this morning.  I still remember when Peter Scudamore took a look over his wrong shoulder and was beaten by a rival that he hadn't seen - someone bought him a set of wing mirrors!  These racing folks can be a cruel lot!

*****

Fortunately there were no such dramas on the gallops and I have the pictures to prove it!  There are a couple of nice photographs of Spirit of Barbados (who is entered this weekend at Exeter) under Danny Cook, and Mr Thriller.

  
Above left: Spirit of Barbados, and right: Mr Thriller