Tibr
A cooler morning here at HQ with a breeze and we finally got some rain yesterday with 20mm falling over the last 24 hours. It was not the biblical proportions they got at Newbury but it was persistent and the Rowley Mile is marginally on the easier side of good. We are due a mainly dry week ahead before the big meeting in a week’s time but the temperatures are due to be below 20oc so the ground will not dry out quickly and there are some showers forecast. Newbury took the rain remarkably well and whilst it was soft there yesterday it was nowhere near close to unraceable and the ground has been changed to soft/good to soft in places today.
It was great to have a winner on Thursday and Blushes won comfortably on her first try at ten furlongs, she shapes as if she could stay further too. Wealth Tax ran very promisingly when second on his debut and he travelled very well during the one mile Maiden, he will come on for the run so I hope we can find a Maiden for him in the near future.
We have four runners today at Catterick and Newbury. Tibr heads to Catterick for a four runner Novice and the unexposed Shabeeh looks his biggest danger. After a dry night the ground looks like being good up there and we hope he can give the weight away and put up a nice performance. Global Applause runs in The Mill Reef and it looks a very open Group 2. The two Dark Angel’s are very unexposed and could relish the soft ground whilst Legendary Lunch should handle it and put up a career best last time. Our colt may not be at his best on this surface but he should handle it and I hope he can run a big race.
Scrutinise will handle the surface and he runs in the valuable ten furlong handicap at 2:50 but he is drawn out in stall nineteen which is not ideal. We will have to hope for some luck and George Wood takes off a valuable five pounds. AlEmaratalyoum runs in the 7f Maiden at 5:05 and he showed some promise on debut but he was too keen and failed to stay. There are a lot of well-bred newcomers in the race who could be anything but I hope he can build on his debut and settle better this time.