Two years since full crowds descended on Cheltenham and, in my opinion, Cheltenham was unfairly blamed for the spread of covid when there was so much else going on at the same time however life has certainly been different since 2020 and it will be some roar as the tapes go up for the first today I’m sure.
We haven’t any runners today but will be meeting up with friends, some we’ve not seen for a couple of years so it promises to be a day of great racing and I cannot wait to be back at Cheltenham. Before then though we have horses here to work and a busy morning with visitors heading on to Cheltenham.
Yesterday at Stratford wasn’t entirely what we were expecting although Love of Neymore did run a decent enough race and, despite still being quite weak, was very professional before and after her race and will have learnt so much from the experience. Kalibrate, however, was bitterly disappointing. If anyone ever wonders why we celebrate our winners, however big or small, in the way that we do I can tell you it’s because it’s a game that is pretty tough at times and whilst we weren’t expecting this tall, rangy, gelding to hack up on the bridle, we were hopeful of a pretty encouraging run as he’s shown nothing but promise at home. However, distress signals were evident far too early in the race and he finished desperately tired and also looking pretty sore. Whether that was just because it simply took so much out of him mentally and physically, time will tell but we’ll get him thoroughly checked over as that was just too bad to be true.
I must thank Ilona Bartlett and her team for their pioneering approach to accommodating syndicates. Our team were apparently guinea pigs and certainly happy that we were! They have a flexible allocation of badges and a large and relaxing special facility for syndicates in their ‘Stables’ room. You can therefore choose to swap lunches for more tickets and still have somewhere to gather, sit down and have a hot drink and cake. Well done Ilona and Stratford. We will definitely be back.
Hope you all have a great 1st day at Cheltenham….bring on the Roar!