It has been a damp morning here in HQ and after some rain here yesterday, we were able to go onto the Limekilns to work some horses. The rain at Ascot may not be as bad as has been feared but the going for Champions Day is still likely to be on the soft side and the wind is still forecast to be strong.
I was delighted that Ruysch broke her maiden at Nottingham yesterday and although she raced lazily, she did it well in the end and there is another race or two in her.
We run two horses today. Alternative Fact headed across the channel to Deauville on Tuesday in preparation for the Prix Isonomy today which is run at 12:10 our time. He won takingly at Salisbury and the second has since won. There are only seven runners but the favourite Wootton has a tall reputation after winning his Maiden well. The second and third have since placed in solid races and he is the horse we all have to beat.
There are two fellow raiders from England, Alba Power has been running well and is now rated 102 after a second in Saint-Cloud on very soft ground in a Group 3. He was well beaten by Sacred Life but it sets the form standard and although he is more exposed than most of the field he is a useful horse who merits respect. Pastamakesufaster stepped up on her previous efforts when winning well last time but she needs to step up significantly here to figure. Looking at the other local contenders African Sky was beaten by a nice prospect in a Conditions race last time and he is not to be discounted. Five Ice Cubes broke the Maiden tag on his third start but he needs to step forward to be a contender here and Blue Link improved to finish second in a Maiden last time but is another who needs to improve a good deal to win.
Mr Gent runs in the 14:00 at Brighton. We felt he did not see out the 7f on a soft surface last time and so we have dropped him back to 6f. As the betting suggests it is a very tight race and we have not been helped by the draw. The Non-runner has reduced the field to six but Sing Out Loud has won and is proven at the track and he deserves to be favourite but does have the six pound penalty to concede. Rotherhithe is unproven on the ground and may find 6f too sharp but she has form claims too and the other three have a lot to find on what they have shown so far. If we break well and can run to a mark around 75 he should go close.