6 December 2021
Wow, what a weekend! I am sure there were a few sore heads on Sunday morning after the evening was spent celebrating the fabulous Snow Leopardess win the Becher Chase! She gave us all the biggest of thrills and adrenaline rush watching her soar over those big Aintree fences effortlessly. Her jumping was magnificent, and Aiden must have thought he was flying when she took off over Becher’s Brook! An extremely tough mare, who never stops giving. It is always a long run in at Aintree, and it was a very tense final few strides as she was being reeled in by Hill Sixteen, but she sure enough knew to stick her head out. A real credit to the Fox-Pitt family, Jess and the whole of Team Longsdon. Horses like this do not come around very often, and we are very lucky to have her. She is enjoying a nice relaxing Monday morning out in the field and looks very pleased with herself.
It was a busy end to last week with runners heading everywhere. Thursday, George Bancroft was very unlucky to make a mistake and unseat Kevin Brogan in the Handicap Hurdle. High Yield also made his racecourse debut at Market Rasen on Thursday under Brian Hughes; however, the ground was bottomless, and he is only small. It made it hard work for him to get through it.
On Friday Stroll On By made the trip up to Sedgefield and Brian Hughes did the steering. Again, the ground looked like tough going on the bends, and maybe unbalanced him slightly. However, he ran another cracker to finish a close second again. It will not be long before he sees the winning post first.
What About Time and Byzantium Lad headed to Chepstow on Saturday. What About Time ran better than the result suggests under Luca Morgan, but it is clear that he needs to go right handed. It was a strong handicap for first time in that company, and hopefully going back right handed will help him out. Byzantium Lad jumped professionally for his chase debut with Alan Johns on board. He jumped and travelled strongly, just plugging on the same pace home, he will appreciate the proper soft ground when it comes. The owners enjoyed a lovely bottle of prosecco for his fourth places, and this was enjoyed while screaming home Snow Leopardess on the TV in Chepstow Owners & Trainers room!
Castle Robin travelled to Wetherby with Paul O’Brien steering. He ran another respectable race over fences to finished 4th. The ground was rather tacky at Wetherby, and he did manage to lose two shoes in the process.
Saturday also saw Almazhar Garde, and Illegal Model make the long trip up to Kelso for an overnight. Almazhar Garde, ridden by Theo Gillard, jumped himself to front to put up a great front running display, but just getting very tired from two out. It was ground that was less than ideal for him, with it being soft, heavy in places. Illegal Model was extremely unlucky to be hampered at the 2nd on his chase debut with Brian being unseated. He looked as though he had a lovely time schooling himself around though!
Finally, Shah An Shah was at Huntingdon on Sunday. Aidan Coleman was meant to be on board; however, he had been stood down for the day, so Charlie Deutsch was our replacement. Shah An Shah was back over fences, and was running creditably until he was asked for a bit more effort. It will be back to the drawing board with him, he is a lot softer than his half-sister Snow Leopardess!
It was a real treat to have a visit from The Cotswold Larder this morning, it certainly got rid of the Monday blues. We had a big variety of cakes & brownies, from Ferro Rocher to After Eight, Lotus, Mint Aero and lots more. It was a tough decision deciding which one to have. A big thank you to part owners of Lyrical Genius Mary & John Thackray, who kindly gifted us the brownies for Lyrical Genius winning again.
A quiet start to the week, no runners until potentially Thursday where we have two entries for Largy Nights and Glimpse Of Gala. Illegal Model is entered at Bangor, Saint Dalina is in at Cheltenham and Maninsane, The Mighty Arc and Vivas all hold entries at Doncaster on Friday. There is only one entry on Saturday and that is Glimpse Of Gala and Doncaster, and Saint Dalina also has an entry at Carlisle on Sunday. Don’t forget the Cheltenham P2P sales are this Friday as well, make sure you get your orders in!
