A beautiful day at Worcester where the sun shone all day with barely a cloud in the sky. Fabulous for spectators however the weather forecasters had predicted plenty of cloud and a cooler day which is the only reason we declared Forecast when the race re-opened at 10am the day before. Thankfully his supportive group of owners, who were advised the day before that should either the cloud cover fail to materialise or if I was in any doubt about the ground, he wouldn’t run. I walked the course and was happy enough but always like to speak to the jockeys after they’ve ridden on it. Whilst safe and suitable for most, for a horse returning after 441 days off due to a tendon injury, I had doubts and The Duke’s advise was always ‘if in doubt, pull him out’. Therefore with the support of his owners, some who had already arrived at the track, we saved him for another day.
Dr Dunraven ran in the last and it was 4 furlongs further than he’d won over the previous twice – there wasn’t anything else suitable and he was ready for a run before he was due a short holiday. Given a good patient ride from Harry Stock, he jumped the last in front and looked to be going the best but then the petrol gauge ran out as we feared and he finished 3rd. Another super run though and a horse full of confidence who is now really enjoying his racing. He returned to the Winners’ Enclosure with ears pricked and very bonny and happy. He’s A1 this morning and has already gone out in a lovely big field that has been rested for months and is full of grass.
Great to see so many owners at Worcester yesterday. The course has had some bad press and the facilities aren’t the best but a lot of our owners enjoy going there, we get a very warm welcome from Jenny Cheshire and her team and we seem to do quite well there too.
Yesterday they celebrated their 300th Anniversary and it was good to meet up with HRH The Princess Royal, who was their special guest, and who won over fences there in 1987. She reported that Chequered View had summered well returning here next month and hope that it won’t be long before we get her into the Winners’ Enclosure as an Owner/Breeder too!