Girl With A Pearl
A sunny morning here in Newmarket but the weather is meant to deteriorate tomorrow and we could get some showers in the latter stages of the week too. I worked some horses on the watered gallop adjacent to the Rowley Mile and I was really pleased with what I saw. I just hope we get some rain tomorrow as the majority of my horses entered on Friday and Saturday do not want the ground too firm.
Michael’s Mount was fifth at Brighton and the ground had dried out more than we were expecting it to. As well as the ground being too fast, the trip was on the sharp side and the race turned into a sprint in the last two furlongs. We will give him time to get over this run and then look for slower ground and step him up in trip. Archimento was second at Redcar, it was slightly disappointing as he had the best form in the race but the winner had only had the one run and they pulled well clear of the third. He is still strengthening and I hope we can win with him in the near future.
We have two runners today at Lingfield in the six furlong Novice Stakes and the one mile 0-60 handicap. Zamjar is a son of Exceed and Excel who I like but he is up against two horses who have both got two runs under their belts. Poet’s Society was second to Tibr last time and Monks Stand was an unlucky third having just been beaten by subsequent York scorer Kananee so it is a very hot little contest. Girl With A Pearl disappointed me last time and I felt she might not have been trying very hard, so we have put blinkers on her today. She is drawn in stall eleven which is not ideal but if the headgear has the desired effect she has a small chance.
Congratulations to my neighbour Marco Botti who won the German 2,000 Guineas with Knife Edge yesterday. He had shaped as though a mile would suit when just failing to get up in the rearranged Greenham at Chelmsford and he was very tenacious when holding off Degas by a nose under a positive Ryan Moore ride.