A busy but productive morning. Farrier Nick Partridge in to shoe lots of the horses and Polly Turner in to hold the more fractious ones for him.
James Best, Vicki & Harry Atkins and Richard Cook all in to ride out and Richard’s brother Edward in to do some mowing with the tractor too – very useful brothers! Emma Cook, their taxi driver, is also a huge help especially when it’s an ‘all hands on deck’ morning like today so thanks to them all.
Off to Uttoxeter with Cotswold Prince who frustratingly got balloted out of the Handicap Hurdle which was our much preferred race but runs in the Novices’ Hurdle. He is very wrong in the weights with a couple but needs a run and may well have got balloted again if we held out for a more suitable race later on. He seems very well and indeed physio Hannah Ashton said she’d never felt him better so let’s hope he runs another solid race. Richard Johnson rides.
We aren’t doing very well at the hands of the ballot at the moment with Raving Bonkers balloted out again, this time at Stratford on Wednesday. Frustrating but the same for so many and he’ll get his turn – hopefully next week as his owners have been so very patient.
Tomorrow Gold Mountain and Black Prince head south for Newton Abbot – two that have been balloted out but got in tomorrow.
Good luck to Cotswold Prince and his enthusiastic group of owners at 2.30pm today.