Feeling the heat

Summer hit hard this week as we recorded some sweltering temperatures in this area with the country's highest being recorded just down the road in Cambridge on Thursday. We were close to 38c on the Heath but it could have been 100c it felt so hot! To beat the heat we started work in the morning at 5.30am and managed to get all the horses out before midday and the extreme heat. The horses cope well with high temperatures, it is more for the benefit of the staff but I do think it was wrong for Southwell's jumps fixture to go ahead on Thursday as running long distances in that heat wasn't good for the horses and the final two races on the card were subsequently called off.
Our horses all got cold showers twice a day and electrolyte salts in their feeds to replace any lost through sweating. Luckily our stables are cool anyway so they never got too hot and the ones that did could go out in the paddocks to chill out under the shade of the trees.

Hopefully we can have an Indian summer as our inaugural owners' trip to Burghley in September has been popular and we have just a couple of spaces left on the bus if you would like to attend. We'll be making final bookings very soon so get your name on the list now and be a part of the fun! Email [email protected] to get involved.

Team Feilden in the sun

Unfortunately the horses must have been feeling the heat on the track as we had no luck at the races this week but none of them disgraced themselves. Sam had a great first ride on Limerick Lord at Leicester and didn't look out of place in the finish so has plenty to look forward to.

The wet weather that arrived this weekend might mess with our running plans this week but the first entry comes on Tuesday at Yarmouth with Sir Fred. He has had a light campaign so far but ran ok last time when in need of the run. He will be a lot fitter now so can hopefully get a bit closer.

Sir Fred (Gemma)

Another who wouldn't want too much rain is Approve The Dream at Leicester on Wednesday. There haven't been many suitable races for him recently so he has been freshened up and should be in good form for this race. The extended mile might be a bit far for him but he has a good attitude and will try his best.

Approve The Dream (Chloe)

Oud Metha Bridge was an impressive winner on heavy ground at Yarmouth last month so the rain is what he wants and he's got a few entries over the next couple of weeks as we look for his ideal conditions. The first of those is at Newmarket on Friday evening so we'll see what weather the week brings before deciding where to run.

Oud Metha Bridge winning in the mud at Yarmouth

The good thing about all-weather racing is that you know what ground you are going to get so one definite runner will be Highway Robbery at Chelmsford on Saturday. He won on Lingfield's all-weather surface earlier this summer and has run well since then with this step up in trip looking like what he needs. He remains in good form so can hopefully get in the money.
Also on Saturday we may have Tallulah's Quest back on track after a year off through injury. She has taken a while to get fully fit again but has been galloping really well recently and was unlucky not to win when we last saw her. She doesn't like soft ground so the turf course at Lingfield needs to dry out a bit before then.

Tallulah's Quest (Chloe)