The colder mornings have returned but we have nearly made it through to the Spring now. Everyone bounces around the heath at this time of year as they dream of the turf season ahead. Any Trainer with a two-year old in their string will be hoping it might just propel them into the limelight during the season ahead or they may have an unexposed three year old or recent recruit that is keeping them up at night, due to the excitement. Soon Owners will be able to flood the heath again, especially on work mornings and the heath will be back to its normal vibrancy.
Chris was bouncing around the yard last week after the success of Global Prospector. It was a fine training feat by Chris to get him back winning and Josh has done an incredible job riding him nearly every day. Harry Burns also came in and rode him for a week and Darragh has ridden him a couple of times at home to get to know him. He is a the most gentlemanly horse in his stable but the Breeze Ups unfortunately sent him the wrong way like they can with some horses and he has never forgotten them. This means he only has two speeds,a hack and a swinging pace, so he is trained on his own and is a high maintenance horse, this is what made it special when he won.
We were at the stage where things were looking pretty hopeless with him and Ben Brain was initially a bit worried that his breathing was so bad that it might be inoperable but his tieforward has helped enormously and ensured he can now finish his races off. If you ever get a chance to take a horse to the West Country to be examined by him I highly reccomend it, he takes them around on both reins on a deep sand surface and you can see on his overground scope just when their breathing is cutting out. He is a fanatastic guy who says it how it is and is very good at what he does.
Global Esteem runs today. He is keen at home and so we are starting him off over six furlongs as he is likely to run fresh after a layoff. He is ready to roll but might just get found out for a turn of foot. He is in good order however and this looked like the ideal race to start in after we ducked a 7f race last week at Kempton. We still have him entered in the Lincoln in case the Spring Mile does not fill up as we think he will stay up to a mile, he has won over that distance. We will know if that entry is realistic or not after today.
London Eye looks to be our only other runner this week. He has been in good heart since he last ran, he is versatile and can lead the youngsters when needs be and is a great asset to our yard. When it comes to winning a race with him it is not easy as he does not have many gears, we have seen more from him the last twice though and have not given up on winning with him yet.
It was fantastic to read this morning that both the Guineas and the Derby have been added to the World Pool. You only have to see the growth in the Royal Ascot World Pool to see the huge potential it has to boost revenues. More positive things like this are what we need to see. There has been too much negativity recently and focus needs to be shifted back away from the dark side.