A very different Cheltenham Festival, as we all know, but so lucky to be racing. It was odd being so relaxed yesterday evening and quiet without my parents descending on us too. Not relaxed yesterday morning though as Witness Protection just managed to scrape in at 10am to the Coral Cup as bottom weight – he was the ‘last in’ for the final 10 minutes and Belinda & I were frantically refreshing our screens hoping it stayed that way – it did!
So Witness Protection is our only representative this year but so very exciting as he’s a horse we have nursed back from a tendon injury which he needed a year off to recover and who has missed 5,6,7 (I’ve lost count) of his intended races so far this year due to the weather. That was doubly frustrating as I was convinced he needed to go up 5 or 6lbs in the weights to get a run. However, we are there and he goes there fresh! One person not having much sleep is Ernie who rides him out and looks after him – she’d possibly sleep in his stable tonight if she could!
We had one runner on Sunday when the Racing Club’s Enforcement ran a blinder at Warwick to finish 4th under a great ride from Lilly Pinchin. The trip, we knew was too short, but there aren’t many races for him at the moment and we’ll look for something even more suitable hopefully next time.
We had a birthday boy in for two lots this morning – Warren Marston, our ex stable jockey, who celebrates his 50th birthday today. Like me, not one for birthdays and I wasn’t sure how he was going to re-act – Beth & Belinda were determined to ensure he knew we’d not forgotten and Solstice Star’s stable was decorated along with his bridle, saddle, a big banner on his car, birthday cake, badges and cards from the Team! Despite not looking very excited they assure me he was secretly pleased with the effort they’d gone to??!! Happy 50th Wazzer!
Enjoy Cheltenham on TV. It will be so interesting to see what ITV’s Team do extra to try and make it the Cheltenham we know and love. We’ll be doing all we can to try and ensure Foxtrot Racing members enjoy and experience Witness’s run as much as possible.