It's a new week but the story has been very much the same as a lot of recent weeks - rain and lots of it. Although we luckily missed the high winds from the storm which affected the south of the country this week, we still had lots of rain which is falling on already waterlogged ground.
Newmarket racecourse has never called off a meeting due to flooding but it was a bit iffy for their final meeting this week - they were pumping water off one particular part at the side of the track so the cars following the races could do so safely. The coming week looks a bit drier if colder but at least it will give things a chance to dry out a bit.

We were denied a good chance again this week with Nottingham called off which means that Fen Tiger has missed two of his last races of the season due to abandonments. He doesn't mind though and is now on his annual winter holiday.

With the curtain-closing November meeting at Doncaster already moved to Newcastle this weekend, it means the grass racing is done and dusted for the year.
Our three entries for the week are all on the all-weather, starting with Notre Dame at Chelmsford on Thursday. She was a bit disappointing last time on handicap debut but since then we've galloped her in front at home and she went very well so we will adopt those tactics and see if just letting her use her stride can get a better result.

Then we are up to Newcastle on Friday with a pair of runners.
Mrs Meader missed her big target of winning the same race at Newbury which she won last year because it was abandoned so we thought we'd use her form and fitness with a run on the all-weather. She has run well at the track recently and just bumped into a well-handicapped rival that day so a repeat of that performance with a bit more luck should see her go very close to winning.
Accompanying her will be Alibaba. He has had a frustrating season as he doesn't like the ground too firm or too soft and that is about all we've had all year. He has never run that well on the all-weather but the straight and stiff track would suit him on the turf so maybe it will on this occasion.

The N.E.T. Racing Club has had a good time of things recently with Grand Duchess Olga winning twice after Corporate Raider got his head in front at Yarmouth in the summer.
I'm always on the look out for a horse which will give members plenty of fun so I was very happy to add another horse to the roster having bought MORALISA at the recent Tattersalls Sales. 
She is a very sweet three-year old filly who has some placed form to her name and I think the switch to a smaller yard with a bit of TLC should see her get a win to her name. She has settled in very well and it shouldn't be too long before she is running.
The Racing Club is a great way to get involved with the yard without the big costs associated with racehorse ownership. For just £200 per year, you are involved in four different horses along with all the perks of being a member. More details on the N.E.T. Racing Club can be found on our OWNERSHIP page.

Whilst the wet weather is causing chaos with the turf fixtures and very frustratingly a lot of meetings have been abandoned due to water logging, the all-weather can be relied upon and luckily for us it provided us with another winner as Grand Duchess Olga did the business at Chelmsford on Saturday night.
I only bought her very cheaply in July and she has been a star since then by winning twice and being placed twice from just five runs. She has really improved since we stepped her up in trip and going up to two miles this time saw her put in her best performance to date after winning by three lengths.
She looks to have more improvement to come and will give the N.E.T. Racing Club loads of fun this winter.
Talking of the Club, at the Tattersalls horses in training sale this week I managed to secure a new recruit to join Olga and Corporate Raider - full details will be revealed next week.

One horse who has been frustrated by abandonments is Fen Tiger after he had to miss his scheduled race at Yarmouth last week and then Leicester on Monday due to water logging. He loves soft ground so he wants these conditions. Hopefully Nottingham on Wednesday can get the go ahead as it really is his last chance before the turf season comes to an end. It's only 1m2f which is a bit on the short side for him but soft ground should draw out his stamina. He is set to carry top weight so we will use young amateur Fred Daly to claim some weight off and he gave Scotch Mist a great ride last week even though she didn't try very hard at the business end of things.

With meetings being called off, the BHA has been putting on some last minute all weather fixtures to fill the gaps. They are a bit haphazard as you only find out about them with a few days notice but we have two entered for one of these fixtures at Lingfield also on Wednesday.
It'll be Clenched's last chance to show something before she goes to the sales in a couple of weeks. She has the ability to be winning but hasn't shown it focus yet. We have an idea she might run best for girls as she does on the gallops at home so Gina Mangan will be riding this time.
Also there is Corporate Raider. I'm tempted to give him a winter holiday after this as he doesn't seem to be as good on the all weather but we will see how he goes here. He did finish third at the track when we first bought him so he might surprise us.

The other couple of entries for the week come at Newmarket's final fixture on Friday.
Alibaba has had a frustrating season as he only likes good ground so the extremities of the year have meant he hasn't had many chances to run. It should dry up a bit at Newmarket so the ground should be ok. He hasn't run his best races this close to home but it'll be good just to get him running again.
Macho Son is the other entry there. He prefers the ground very soft so we will see how it looks before running him. He didn't seem to like the undulations of Leicester last time so hopefully he handles the dip at Newmarket and can be staying on over the one mile trip.