After a successful all-weather season, the new turf one didn't get off to quite the start we expected as both runners at Doncaster folded tamely after looking likely to run well at the halfway stage. We expect our horses to improve for their first run of the season and it might just be that they need their first run to blow away the cobwebs a bit more than we thought they would. It's going to be a long season though so having a bit up your sleeve for further down the line is no bad thing. An update following Mrs Meader's run was sent out to N.E.T. Racing Club members, if you didn't receive it, please click HERE. After how these first two initial runners of the new season fared, I expect other returning horses to similarly need the race so those comments would apply to Queen's Company who heads to Southwell on Thursday. All her wins have been at Yarmouth but Southwell is a similar layout so maybe she'll like it there too. She hasn't had many tries on the all-weather so you'd half fancy her if there wasn't the doubt that she might be a bit short of work at this stage.
One horse who seems to go well after a break is Smokey Malone and he has an entry at Chelmsofrd's valuable Good Friday meeting. Because the prize money is so good there are a lot of entries so getting a run might prove difficult for him. If he can get into the race, I hope he has a good chance of landing some money at a track he has run well at in the past. Following the success recently of his filly Eloped, Paul Brierley is hoping to launch a new syndicate this spring and is aiming to buy a horse at the forthcoming breeze-up sales. Paul is a long-time owner and has run many syndicates before, he is also jockey Dylan Hogan's agent and I have always found him very straight-forward and honest to deal with. Full details can be found below and please get in touch if you would like to know more. Our great start to 2024 rolled on as Notre Dame landed her second success of 2024 with an eye-catching win at Southwell on Saturday evening. Having won at Chelmsford over 7f the time before, she was stepping up to one mile for the first time and was settled at the back of the field early on. Despite the steady pace up front, the daughter of Kingman showed guts and an impressive turn of foot to work her way to the front inside the final furlong and win by a neck under Dylan Hogan. Notre Dame has come on great strides in recent months and hopefully there is more to come. That makes it 4 winners from 17 runners for the yard since the turn of the year and it is all credit to the team at home who are working hard day in, day out to have the horses as happy and healthy as they can be. Plenty of you sent messages of congratulations following the win and mentioned that you had her in your Three to Follow - unfortunately it does not start until this weekend! That does mean there's still time to get your entries in. Please see last week's blog for full details on how to enter. The Three to Follow kicks off this weekend to coincide with the start of the new flat season at Doncaster where we should be represented on Saturday and Sunday. The apprentice race on Saturday should see the return of Fen Tiger after his winter break. He loves soft ground so the wet conditions won't be a bother to him. I expect most of mine will need a run to blow away the cobwebs after their holidays but I hope he can still fare well on his return to action. The same comments apply to Mrs Meader who will be entered at Doncaster on Saturday and Sunday. She loves soft ground but will improve a lot for whichever race she runs in. Another entry on Saturday will be Eloped at Newcastle. We will see the entries before deciding whether to run but she has been in good form on the all-weather this winter and the long, galloping straight at the track should really suit her if she takes her chance. |