Mick Deady & Patrick Cowley were in extra early this morning to ride one lot in the dark on our circular loop (good job the horses have had their carrots!) before heading off to deepest Wales with our two Ffos Las runners.
Both are partnered by Patrick and Batsford Stud’s Miss Antipova is our first runner in the Mares’ Maiden Hurdle and she now faces only four opponents. She’s the outsider of the field but strange things often happen on heavy ground and she only needs to act in it better than the rest! It’s softer than she has ever encountered so we are into the unknown but her Hereford run was a big improvement and she’s hopefully going the right way.
We then run Capricia in the concluding bumper and she is a mare we like a lot. She was as green as grass in her racecourse debut at Ludlow running on and off the bridle and the penny only really dropped in the final few furlongs. Despite that she finished 3rd beaten just 6 1/2 lengths by a mare who went on to win the Listed Cheltenham bumper two weeks ago in good style. If she acts on the heavy ground and improves from her debut she shouldn’t be far away.
So sorry to hear that Photographer Les Hurley died on Sunday following heart surgery on Friday. At just 70 he was a year younger than Belinda’s father who died after a similar operation. Les was, until recently, the photographer at Worcester and Stratford and he was always at Cheltenham too – our three local courses so has captured some pretty special memories of ours and so sad he didn’t enjoy the long retirement he deserved. We are continually reminded of why we must make the most of each and every day….