Global Gift
Better late than never! After enduring a day of disappointment yesterday, in which none of our earlier horses had even vaguely threatened the places, our fifth and final runner Global Gift came good in the 7.50 at Carlisle under an excellent Tom Eaves ride. The success brought us our second winner in three days.
The son of Invincible Spirit had looked appealingly handicapped on a mark of 75 following his qualifying runs in novice company, but a need for a little ease in the ground had scuppered various planned entries over the previous couple of weeks. We finally saw a break in the weather, and made a beeline for Carlisle when we realised they were going to get a softer surface.
Of course the rain that fell yesterday turned the conditions very testing, and ironically the concern became whether or not the ground had gone too far the other way!
However, breaking from gate 5 and getting a midfield position against the rail, it was soon evident that Global Gift was not just coping with conditions but relishing them, travelling very strongly in Tom’s hands. As the field swung over to the stand side rail around three-furlongs from home, the hooded Global Gift still sat about sixth or seventh and needed to be shaken up by his rider to find top gear. However, once in full flight, the race was put to bed very quickly, with Global Gift quickening impressively to the front, before hanging left towards the rail. Ultimately he ran out a very convincing two and a half-length winner.
The handicapper is sure to have his say now, but hopefully we are dealing with a horse who has not stopped progressing and has more to offer. Yesterday was his first try over a mile and he clearly relished the extra yardage, although as a son of Invincible Spirit from a speedy family it is unlikely he will want to go too much further. Let us hope the handicapper doesn’t take too much of a dim view and Global Gift can remain of interest going forward.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Global Gift’s owner Dr Hon and thank all the staff in the yard for their continued hard work, as well as the team led by Robin who undertook the work on the ground in Carlisle.