23/05/21

It was a bit of an in-and-out week with the runners this week after two great performances from Mrs Meader and Paintball Wizard to be placed at Yarmouth, we then had two very disappointing runs from Winter Snowdrop and Engrave the following day at Chelmsford.  I'm tempted to forgive Engrave who has had a very productive winter on the all-weather and may now be feeling the double burden of flat batteries and an inflated handicap rating. She hasn't had a holiday in a while so I'll probably give her a short one until she is back to herself again. Snowdrop's run was a bit more of a head scratcher but we'll just put it down to a bad day at the office as she was very consistent last year.

You don't need me to tell you that it has been a wet week and that has caused a lot of disruption to the running plans. Oud Metha Bridge was due to be our first runner of the week on Monday at Windsor but the place is almost underwater so he wouldn't have liked that and it wouldn't surprise me if the meeting was abandoned anyway.
It does mean we avoid the M25 motorway though and if there's any sign that things are getting back to normal after the lockdown, it is this road which is now back to being gridlocked most of the time. It was a pleasure to have quiet roads for a few months but now the world is returning back to normal things have got congested again which adds more strain and time to already long days.
Talking of travelling, I've finally got my horse box back from the garage where it has been for the last few weeks to fix a number of problems which have been there since I first bought it. Of course none of these could be fixed when under warranty but now that has expired and I have to pay, it can all be magically fixed! I don't think racehorse trainers could get away with being as blatant con artists as some car garages! Let's just hope the problems are sorted now and the horse box can give us a few less headaches than when it kept breaking down randomly.

The first outing will be to Beverley on Wednesday with Alibaba who should have a great chance. He ran well there first time out this season when just needing the run and I expect him to finish a lot closer now that he is fully fit.

Unusually for Yarmouth, they host a meeting on a Friday but as per usual we will be well represented there.
Fen Tiger has had three runs for experience and has been given a sensible initial rating by the handicapper so I hope he can start to get competitive now.  He is stepping up to a trip he is bred for but whether he is settled enough yet to see it out remains to be seen.  
Raha is another horse who I think is well handicapped and she seems to be in great form at home. She has had a few small issues which have kept her off the track recently but she is over them now and is ready to rock and roll.

That same day Oud Metha Bridge might go up to Pontefract if the ground is suitable. He is another in good form at home and always has a chance if he is in the right mood on the day.