A quiet week of no runners since Back On The Lash’s brilliant win last Friday however making up for it today with runners at two meetings. Owners in first lot too with Mark Boothright, Heather & Clive Wooster and Paul Davis in to see the horses on the gallops.
Our 1st runner is at Chepstow where Sarasota Star (James Best) returns to fences after a good 4th over hurdles at Cheltenham. He won his last chase at Worcester so if he can build on that he should be thereabouts. He looks a picture and seems in good form.
The rest head north to Catterick, a track where we have been lucky in the past. Pay The Woman is our 1st runner for Foxtrot Racing and makes her second chasing start after a solid 4th last time where the ground was plenty soft enough for her. It’s good ground there today and I think with a clear round she’ll take some beating. Sean Bowen rides.
We are then double handed in the Novices’ 2 1/2 mile hurdle with both Brianna Rose (Sean Bowen) and She Has Notions (Sean Quinlan). Brianna Rose makes her hurdling debut for Matthew Baker and is a mare that has been unlucky not to win a bumper and has a great attitude so I’m looking forward to watching her progress over hurdles. She Has Notions hated the ground at Lingfield last time and I’m sure will appreciate the better going today so I’m hoping for a much improved performance as he’s a horse that goes nicely at home.
Finally Oliver Ryan’s Reve runs in the 3 mile Handicap Chase, also under Sean Bowen, and he’s a dual course and distance winner, albeit over hurdles. He won last time at Ludlow so will hopefully arrive here full of confidence and with a similar performance should go very close too.
Good luck team!
Last night Belinda & I were treated to a delicious supper by Michael Chitty at The Old Butchers in Stow on the Wold, one of our favourite restaurants, and had a lovely evening and somewhere we highly recommend. We spent plenty of time toasting Ten Past Midnight’s two wins – so special for Michael who bred him and remembers visiting Batsford Stud to see him when he was just 10 hours old.