A lot seems to have happened since I last blogged on 6th April - well it has. Finally, BT manged to fly someone in from Bangalore to get our internet connected!
Last week was very special as we trained our first bumper winner Sergeant Thunder at Ludlow. Cestus could have easily made it a double on the day but for an absolute farce of a start. I blame the jockeys not the starter. The jockeys know the rules and once the tape has gone up it has gone up! If a rider gets unseated after the tape has gone he is out of the race and the race is on. Cestus and others were 15-20 lengths behind the winner when they finally decided to jump off. Annoying as it is, that is racing and these things happen. Both horses will join Vazaro Delayafette and Knight Of Noir at the Cheltenham sale on Wednesday night. I think they are the 4 nice horses and should all make their money. I'd have no problem recommending anyone of them to anyone. In my job the last thing I want to do is sell a horse we have no faith in, when those all too often occassions arise they either go to Ascot or are given away. Hopefully, we are here for the long haul and want to build a reputation not destroy it.
Today, I drove to Maisemore to walk the course at 8 A.M. When I realised that the first race was 12.30 I saw no reason to come home and Alice would bring Net Work Rouge along later. I walked the course again after 3 races and decided not to run, the variables in the ground were ridiculous. Heavy, Good, Good to Soft and Soft, not the ground to run a baby on. In the finish there were only 3 runners in the race, even if he had won it, it would do nothing to enhance his value, he'll get his day. I will enter him at Woodford for the 2.4 mile and Virtuoso Rouge will run in the 3 mile maiden.
