30/10/22

The team of horses are gradually winding down their seasons but another one signed their campaign off with a win when Fen Tiger cruised home in front at Leicester on Monday.
He looked like he had just bumped into an improving youngster the week before at Windsor and, as the season was coming to a close and he loves soft ground, we thought he could take another quick run and I'm glad we did as he notched another win, making it three for the season for him.
It was a race for amateur jockeys who have had less than three career winners but we secured a decent jock in Freddy Gordon who had had plenty of experience and it showed as he confidently made the running and the pair crossed the line hard on the bridle having never been headed.
It has been a great year for owner Carol Bushnell who deserves plenty of success and I think there is more to come from Fen Tiger next year too when getting his favoured soft ground.

Carol & Fen Tiger

I had some success in the sales ring too this week at the huge Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale.  This is the annual clear out of horses from all the major stables and, despite over 1500 catalogued to sell, there were just two on my shortlist. The first went way over budget but I was delighted to get the one I liked most on Wednesday in a two-year old filly called Clenched.
She comes from the Juddmonte operation which we have had a lot of luck buying from in the past and she is by a sire in Cityscape that we love, having had Gas Monkey and Mrs Meader both by him. The key to his progeny seems to be plenty of time to mature and middle distances so the fact this filly has had three runs as a two-year old over sprint distances hopefully means we can find some improvement next year. She will race in the red and green silks of Adrian Sparks.

Clenched

After a hectic week, we luckily don't have too many runners coming up over the next few days, the first entry is Heer's Sadie at Kempton  on Wednesday. She has been disappointing this year but the jockeys have recently suggested putting a tongue strap on her to help her breathing so we may give that a try and hope that it can help her return to form.

Arpina has had a break over the summer and is now fit again for an all-weather campaign, starting at Chelmsford on Saturday. She ran some great races in defeat last winter and can hopefully get her head in front soon. I expect she will need this race for fitness but I don't see why she can't run well despite this.