We're straight into action this week with our first two-year old runner of the year in Highway Robbery at Leicester on Monday. Owner Carol Bushnell usually likes to buy late-developing types and it is a policy that has worked well for her with the likes of Our Cilla and Duke Of Diamonds but 'Robbie' caught her eye one day at the Tattersalls yearling sales last autumn so she decided to buck the trend and buy a bit of a sharper type. He was a bit of a lad to start with so was gelded before Christmas but he is very tough and loves his work out on the Heath. He has done plenty of galloping and is very fit but he is still quite immature mentally so I expect him to be a bit green early on but it would be nice of he was running on towards the finish. There is a big field of runners so he should be able to get involved and enjoy himself. This will give us a good gauge to judge the other two-year olds by as we have a couple more not far off a run. One of those other youngsters who will be out very soon is our latest breeze-up purchase from Ireland last week. By the exciting young sire Dragon Pulse, this chestnut filly put in a lovely breeze at Gowran Park racecourse and we liked the look of her in the auction ring so were very pleased to be able to buy her. She had a couple of days off after arriving but is now in full work on the gallops and has pleased us greatly with her terrific attitude. She seems to be a bit of a rocket and it won't be long before she is ready to run. She is available for syndication and more details can be found on our OWNERSHIP page. We've been pretty lucky with our Newcastle trips recently after two winners from our last three visits so hopefully the trip up north on Tuesday will be another rewarding one. Go On Gal is a super-tough mare who goes on any ground over a variety of distances so I don't think her first time at the track will be a problem - in fact, I think the uphill finish there will really suit her. She ran well enough last time and seems happy at home so she should run another consistent race. I would prefer to run Oud Metha Bridge on the turf as he is rated a lot lower there but conditions have just been a bit too firm for him recently so he is back on the all-weather. He won his maiden at the course before we bought him so clearly likes the place and hasn't been out of the first three since joining us but this will be his toughest assignment yet in a class 3 race. Hopefully he still has a bit more improvement in him and can continue to rack up some prizemoney. Luckily we have a couple of days' break before heading down south to Brighton on Friday.
Spirit of Sarwan is a tricky horse to predict but he seems to go best when on the ups and downs of Brighton and was an unlucky loser there last time. He goes best fresh so we have saved him for this race and I hope he can finally get lucky and get his head in front where it matters most. Also there is Limerick Lord. He has three wins on the board already this year but has yet to win on the turf. He has gone pretty close though, including at this track last month, and I think it will happen sooner rather than later. He is thriving at present and another good run should be on the cards. Terri Rules is entered on Friday at Wolverhampton but probably won't get a run so she is also in at Nottingham on Saturday. She ran no sort of race after winning at Newcastle the time before so she should have a chance if bouncing back from that and jumping a bit faster from the stalls. Providing the ground is suitable. Our Cilla could be at Nottingham that day too. She hasn't hit top form yet this season but it wasn't until midsummer that she started winning last year. She never really gallops well at home so it's hard to know when she is ready to win! She looks in good health though and seems happy so there are no worries in that respect. The latest edition of our Harraton Herald newsletter was released last week with loads to read inside and if you missed it you can view it online HERE. There was a problem totting up the points for the 'Four To Follow' competiton so the standings in the newsletter are wrong, these are the correct scores: Comments are closed.
|