23/01/22

The countdown to the new flat season began this week at the yard with the return to work for our horses who have been out in the paddocks on their holidays.
They've been rugged up from the elements and brought in at night for some dinner and it has done them a lot of good with the older horses carrying a bit of a belly and the younger ones filling their frames. The usual routine is for two weeks on the walker before two weeks trotting and then beginning cantering work, slowly building up to race fitness by the middle of March, ready for the new season.
We only have six or so horses running at the moment but come the season, including the two-year olds, we will have around 25 horses to run.

Before then we have a few runners to keep us busy with two entries this week.
Arpina goes to Wolverhampton on Monday and she returns to seven furlongs after struggling to make the running over shorter last time. She has to get to the front early on to run her best race so hopefully going a bit further will help her do that although she doesn't seem to have the stamina to stay this far but one day she could get away with it.

Wednesday sees the other runner of the week with Hot Romance entered at Kempton. She has been given the widest draw in her last three starts so I'm praying she can get a lower draw this time as it has been killing her chances. On the all-weather a good draw is vital as the tracks are all tight and turning so you don't want to be too far back or caught wide and a high numbered draw makes these things hard to avoid. She has the ability to win a race given some luck and hopefully fortune can be on our side this time.