We were thrilled with Forecast’s 4th at Cheltenham yesterday. I was happy with him at home and hoped the bookies had priced him up wrongly as he was the outsider of the field in the morning and still went off a 20-1 shot. He has to go down late and unfortunately the rest of the field were walking into the start when Forecast had only just had his girths checked so he started a detached last.
However, Gavin Sheehan didn’t panic and just switched him off and got him jumping (he has his own unique style of hurdling!) and slowly crept into it. In fact he was going as well as any coming down the hill approaching the 2nd last but a mistake at the last didn’t help and he couldn’t quicken again up the hill and just lost 3rd place up towards the line. A fine run though and always exciting for owners to walk into that famous Winners’ Enclosure. More fun to be had with Forecast too for a good bunch of guys – some who only bought into him last month.
Onto Hereford today for our Martin Keighley Racing Club with Primogeniture in a conditional jockeys’ race partnered by Bryony Frost. He’s been frustrating to say the least but we are hopeful he’ll appreciate a female touch and give the Club something to shout on.
Bryony obviously replaces our injured Conditional Harry Stock who is sore & frustrated following his broken collar bone last week. It’s a tough job and we seem to have had a spate of jockeys being injured recently with Conor Shoemark out too with a broken shoulder and also Andrew Tinkler who suffered awful facial injuries in a fall last week too. They are a resilient breed and all they focus on is getting back in the saddle as soon as possible so we wish them all the best and hope that the rest of 2019 is injury free for all three of them. Thankfully the support network for jockeys is superb and they have such great physios and with bases such as Oaksey House in Lambourn and Jack Berry House in Malton and also Peter O’Sullevan House in Newmarket due to open this year, there is so much available to help get them back to their day job as soon as possible.