16/01/21

It is pretty well known how much Engrave loves Chelmsford with all of her five wins coming there. It does mean that she has been a bit typecast as a horse who can only win at one track though but I'm sure she can win somewhere else given the right conditions and that might be at Southwell after she ran a blinder there today to finish third.
It was a bit of a last minute entry as there were only a few others in it so we thought it would be worth a try and I'm glad we did as she ran very well in the highest grade of race she has run in to date and it gives us a few more options in the future - as much as we love Chelmsford!
Thank you to Southwell for looking after the owners so well - we had a big turnout and they were all given champagne afterwards to celebrate.

John and myself had a great week in Tenerife and it was lovely to chill out for a few days and enjoy some winter sun. Not everything was open due to a local lockdown but the bar was in full service so we were happy!
The journey back was a bit troublesome having to fly to Luton and then the plane took off again to land 11 minutes later at Stansted but we made it back in one piece with a bit of a tan.

For the runners this week we just have two entries back at Southwell on Wednesday.
The slow pace didn't really suit Smokey Malone last time as he likes to be held up and come through late between horses so if he gets a better gallop to chase this time he should finish much closer.
Fen Tiger will be going with him and it'll be his first run after a short winter break. He ran a good race last time on the all weather so the surface shouldn't bother him and I think the drop back to a mile should be alright on the deeper surface at Southwell.