Good morning from Newmarket! What a thrill it is to have the flat season back after a long winter! The new season has been greeted, in Newmarket and all over it seems, by fantastic weather and therefore unseasonably fast ground. We will be at Doncaster for a few interesting runners tomorrow, but today our interest is still confined to the AW and Kempton’s excellent card.
Before discussing today’s action, I would just like to pay a quick tribute to an outgoing member of staff. We had a get together yesterday evening to herald the new season and also pay a fond farewell to barn leader Michele Italia. After several years of sterling service, Michele is heading back to his native Italy to get married and train in his own right. I would like thank him personally for all his efforts over the years with us, and wish him the very best of luck going forward.
Back to racing matters, and we have two runners at Kempton to focus on. In the ultra-competitive Roseberry Handicap at 3.50, Alternative Fact gets his four-year-old campaign underway. This horse was Listed-placed as a juvenile, and ran several good races in defeat last year too. He proved just shy of Stakes class, before showing that he could be competitive off marks in the mid-90s on several occasions in handicap company. That said, he needs to find a bit of improvement to win a race such as this, but it is hoped that a gelding operation and another year on his back will allow him to progress. We are drawn in stall 8 of 16, so hopefully this strong traveller can break nicely and find a good position. It is his first outing on the AW and his first run of the year, so there are a few unknowns, but hopefully we will see an encouraging performance.
In the following race at 3.50, Global Warning gets his season underway in the seven-furlong three-year-old novice. A sibling of brilliant sprinters The Tin Man and Deacon Blues, the influence of his sire Poet’s Voice has led me to campaigning him at seven-furlongs so far, and I am happy to remain at the distance for this pipe opener.
He showed real promise on debut at Doncaster last July, and then we were a little disappointed he got turned over as favourite at Lingfield a few weeks later. However, hindsight is 20/20 of course, and the winner Kuwait Currency went on to win in Listed company and finish fifth in the Dewhurst, whilst the third and fourth have also won since. So it was a more than respectable effort, and gives us hope that we may have a useful performer on our hands. What I will say is that he has developed into a big and strong individual, who has taken longer than anticipated to get fit, and he will unquestionably improve for the run this afternoon. We have also run into some very smart looking opposition, so we go in hope rather than confidence, but I hope to see signs that the ability he displayed last year remains intact. Gerlad Mosse rides both of our runners this afternoon.
Best wishes,
Ed.