16/10/22

Good things come to those who wait and the syndicate who own Queen's Company were rewarded for their patience when their filly finally got her head in front at Yarmouth on Monday.
She had shown promise early in her career but then suffered a hairline fracture which put her on the sidelines for a while. Having recovered from that, she had struggled to find her form before stepping her up in trip and using hold up tactics had shown her in a better light and she backed up a couple of good runs recently with a win when getting up in the shadows of the post under Dylan Hogan.
I think the hold up tactics and soft ground were probably the key and she can now go on her winter holiday in the best possible way to freshen up for hopefully a successful season next year.

Queen's Company and her happy syndicate of owners

Racing has a habit of keeping you grounded though and just the following morning we sadly lost the lovely two-year old filly Amberdaay due to colic. She had seemed very happy at exercise that morning but then came home distressed and the vet was called straight away. She went into hospital but things went downhill quickly and there was nothing that could be done for her.
These things are rare but very sad when they happen and my condolences go out to Andy who bred and owned her as well as Kathy who rode her most mornings and loved her.
The circle of life goes on though and later that week we took charge of her yearling half-brother who Andy bred and has very kindly sent to us to train so hopefully he can continue the legacy.

Amberdaay & Kathy

We have a busy week of runners coming up as most of the horses have their final runs of the campaign before going on holiday.
I'm hoping Windsor gets a bit of rain tonight as Fen Tiger loves the soft ground and that's the key to his success. He won quite cosily last time and didn't get too hammered by the handicapper so I still think he can win another as long as there's plenty of juice in the ground.

Yarmouth is already good to soft for Tuesday so running plans might be up in the air if they get more rain.
Zanagor wouldn't mind some cut in the ground as she makes her debut there. She is a big filly who has needed time to mature but has come into herself recently and is now ready for some racecourse experience. She will likely need the run but hopefully she can show some promise.
Initiate was disappointing last time for no apparent reason but I'm putting a tongue strap on her now to see if it was her breathing hampering her. She goes well enough at home to run well but hasn't really shown it on the track yet.
In that same race we have Heer's Sadie and she too has been letting us down despite a falling handicap mark. She can defintely win a race like this if in the mood but getting her to think that hasn't been easy!
Any more rain would mean Spanish Mane doesn't run but she battled on well last time despite conditions being against her. She is super tough and has already had a great year so another good run isn't out of the question.

We're closer to home on Wednesday with Macho Son at Newmarket. It's just his second run and will likely be a hot race so it'll be a bit more experience for him before going on holiday when he should strengthen up a lot for next season.

Three Beaz bounced back to form last time and hopefully she can back that up at Wolverhampton on Thursday. She needs to prove she's as good on the all-weather but she has shown enough to suggest she can win soon.

Rounding off the week will be Mrs Meader at Newbury on Saturday. We want some soft ground for her ideally and if she gets those conditions I can see her running very well. She has been in fine form all summer and still has room to win another race off her handicap mark.