Bath time after exercise this morning.
A brief update before bed…
Trip To Paris and Red Cadeaux completed their final blowouts before the Melbourne Cup this morning and we are very happy with both.
Commiserations to the connections of Mongolian Khan, who has been ruled out of the race through colic – his absence is a blow to the spectacle of the event.
I hope that Quest For More and Sky Hunter make the final line-up – we want the British-trained contingent to be as strong as possible and it would be devastating for all involved if either horse was to be ruled out at the eleventh hour.
Mrs D has arrived safely in Australia and we are both getting over the jet lag!
The Trip To Paris contingent have, by and large, touched down as well, so the pre-race build-up is about to begin in earnest!
I enjoyed lunch today at O’Connell’s, a superb hotel in the south of Melbourne, with the likes of Chris Waller and Tony McEvoy. The food was excellent and the company even better.
We also enjoyed dinner this evening with the Mitchells of Yarraman Park Stud fame. They stand I Am Invincible, the striking son of Invincible Spirit whose progeny include top-class sprinter Brazen Beau. An excellent time was had by all.
Back home, we saddle three runners at Lingfield this afternoon. Timia, a nice daughter of Cape Cross, makes her debut in the seven furlong fillies’ maiden. She is a three-year-old type who should learn plenty from this experience.
We also run two in the Listed Fleur De Lys Stakes. Clarentine is two-from-two back at a mile and she continues to head in the right direction, while Arethusa made a pleasing return from a break when third behind a subsequent winner at Kempton last time.
Both are fresher than most for this time of year, which can count for plenty, and although the form book suggests we are tilting at windmills, we wouldn’t be running if we didn’t think either could make the frame.
The bulk of the sales season draws to a close this afternoon as the curtain comes down on day four of Horses In Training. The last lot, although now a withdrawal, was scheduled to be Bridge Of Sighs – a rather apt name, I thought, following a particularly hectic few weeks in the ring.
Back soon.
Ed.