Booshbash
I have headed off to Doncaster for the start of the yearling sales, it is amazing how quickly they have come around once more! We had 7mm of rain here in the gauge this morning at La Grange but it looks like getting very warm during the middle of the week before rain on Thursday. The horses are fresh and well and I was pleased with how the five runners fared on Saturday in very competitive races.
Dark Red ran into a progressive three year old at York but I was delighted how he ran on his return from a break. Global Applause also showed a lot of encouragement when just missing out on third in The Gimcrack and now we know he can stay six furlongs it gives us more options going forward. Apex King is a horse that needs to get into his stride and he could not get a clear passage in the Solario, I was delighted with the promise he showed in fourth given the circumstances. He looks to be an exciting prospect for us and I am very much looking forward to seeing him over a mile. Oasis Fantasy and Scrutinise both ran well in the ten furlong handicap that followed The Solario, the ground was a little soft for Oasis and he got a bump as the winner ran through which did not help. Scrutinise ran an honest race and stuck on in sixth, the handicapper has him in his grasp but when the ground gets softer we hope we can pick up a race with him. Crystal Dome ran at Chelmsford yesterday and showed some encouragement for the future, he missed the break by many lengths and was keen early on but he ran on up the straight to suggest he has a future.
We just have the one runner at Kempton Park tonight in the one mile Nursery. Booshbash was a little disappointing last time but she missed the break and we hope she can show us more now we are stepping her up to a mile. It does not look the strongest contest although at this stage of their careers there is scope for horses to improve on what they have shown so far. We are closely matched with Hazell Berry on a line through Jumping Jack and Blast Of Faith ran with promise last time, on paper our filly should be competitive.
What a fantastic two weeks of sport we were treated to in Rio. It was a shame that we could not finish the Games with a Gold Medal in the boxing but Mo Farrah did the 5,000 and 10,000 double once more and in the process became one of Britain’s sporting greats. It has been an Olympics full of highs for the British team and not packed with too many lows. The British woman did what our men’s football team can never do and won a penalty shootout for Gold and Nick Skelton gave hope to many when winning a Gold at the age of 58 in the Showjumping. We gained two more medals than at London with many less competitors and finished an unbelievable second in the medal table. Something is going right in British sport and let us hope that it inspires the younger generation to believe they can do it too as every elite athlete has a will to win but the best have an unquenchable thirst as Mo Farrah has shown in recent days.