Summer vibes

It's a bit early for comfort as it probably means the rest will be a wash-out but it's fair to say that summer is here now as we enjoy some great days in the sun and very mild evenings. In a similar vein to last week, the resulting firm ground hasn't suited too many of mine recently with Terri Rules and Go On Gal finding things happening a bit too quickly in their respective races whilst the ever-consistent Limerick Lord ran another great race to finish fourth at Yarmouth and still looks like he could win another race after doing just that three times already this year.

It looks as though we will have three runners this week too, kicking off with Tallulah's Quest up at Redcar on Tuesday. Everyone knows that we have always thought a lot of her so it is surprising that she is still a maiden as a four-year old but it does mean that she qualifies for this unusual race they have every year which is a handicap for maiden four-year olds and upwards with amateur jockeys on board. It is usually the weakest race run every year so she really ought to do something in it, the only concern being the drop back to six furlongs. Hopefully she won't find things too sharp and can show her class.

Tallulah's Quest (Sarah)

Then we will be racing again on Saturday with two horses on board.
Oceanus is also entered at Goodwood on Friday but we will probably give that a swerve due to the dry forecast. Lingfield won't bother him though and we have kept him fresh since winning at Yarmouth last time. His optimum conditions are on soft turf but his all-weather form is not far off that level so he should be bang there at the business end given some luck in running.
Accompanying him will be Sir Fred. He struggled against some nice types at Yarmouth last time but the handicapper has dropped him in the weights as a result and he is sure to nick a race soon as he has a great attitude and tries very hard. The all-weather shouldn't  be a problem for him either.

Sir Fred (Sam)

After the shares in the Approve colt we bought at Tattersalls earlier this month sold out in just three days, I sent Ross off to Ireland this week for the final breeze-up sale of the season at Goresbridge. It is the biggest one around so there was plenty to choose from and it was a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff. Ross was flat out on Friday trying to find some value and I think he came away with just that after securing a filly by the up and coming stallion Dragon Pulse. She arrived yesterday and I was impressed with what I saw - she looks sharp enough to hit the ground running this year whilst also having the size to improve with age too.
The details of her syndicate are being finalised now and I will have the full information for you next week so keep posted!

Dragon Pulse filly from Goresbridge breeze-up sale

​FOUR TO FOLLOW LEADERBOARD

​Paula Smith 37
Rod Gleed 36
Tony Peacock 36
Sam Feilden 36
Simon Kirk 36
Geoff Walton 31
Tony McGovern 30
Robert Wright 30
Rita Aspland 30
Stan Thompson 28