Charlie nicely off the mark
It was a great achievement on what was only his fifth ride. Maybe Benzoldan was the best horse in the race but so much can go wrong and Charlie gave her a very good ride. We were all delighted for him and hopefully that was the first of many.
That was the filly’s second win this month and I must admit I was a little surprised she went through the ground as well as she did. We’ll have to wait and see what the handicapper does before making further plans.
She was our only winner at Leopardstown on Thursday and I can say for certain that I have never been as cold or wet at a meeting there in my lifetime — not even during the winter. The weather was horrendous.
Royal Blue Star ran in the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes but she just wasn’t up to it. I’d love to get some black type for her and I’ll keep looking for the right opportunities.
Back Burner didn’t go through the ground and it’s best to just put a line through his run. It was the same with Green Chorus in the last and, I probably should have withdrawn her, but Maggie Neary ran well in the ten-furlong handicap.
We also had a winner at Leopardstown last Friday night when Backbench Blues won the Listed Nijinsky Stakes. We were absolutely thrilled to bits with him. He ran all over the place but won well in the end.
Beyond Berlin ran a good race behind Handazan on the same night but Polished Rock stood in stalls and got no education at all from his run and so it’s back to the drawing board with him.
Maid To Master was disappointing in the fillies’ maiden at Navan on Saturday and she’s going to continue her career in France. We think there might be more opportunities for her there and so she’s going to move on.
I was a little disappointed with Newberry Hill at the Curragh on Sunday. He ran okay but we thought he might have gone a little better. He’s out again this evening at Limerick and we’re stepping him up to seven furlongs for the first time. He looks to have a good chance and hopefully he will run better.
Empress Of Tara dwelt in the stalls, which really surprised us as it’s something she had never done at home. She’s entered in a maiden at Leopardstown on Thursday but we’ll wait until nearer the day to make a decision about her participation as she’d prefer nice ground.
Glamorous ran a great race to finish second behind Livia Galilei in the closing race. She loves soft ground and the run showed that she’s back in good form. There’s a valuable fillies’ handicap at Down Royal next weekend which she may go for.
We had a very good evening at Roscommon on Monday, with two winners from our three runners.
Violet Lashes is a bit of a madam and she misbehaved everywhere she could except for in the race itself. She has tons of ability, likes soft ground and it was important to secure that maiden success. I have no definite plans for her.
Bullock Harbour gave us a double when he won the Beginners’ Chase. I thought the ground had gone too soft for him but he jumped brilliantly and won well. He’s been a great horse for the stable and has now won on the flat, in bumpers, over hurdles and over fences. He’s just so versatile. He won’t run again until Killarney in July.
Gimli’s Rock finished fourth behind Baily Green in the novices’ chase. We left the blinkers and cheekpieces off him but the mood he was in that night, he probably needed them. He’s not the easiest to train.
We were delighted with Hurricane Ridge when he finished fourth behind Shamooda at Fairyhouse on Wednesday night. It was quite a rough race for a seven-runner affair but he wasn’t beaten very far.
He has since been bought by a syndicate and will stay in the yard. He’ll probably run again on the flat and we’ll aim him at the first three-year-old hurdle of the season, at Roscommon in early August.
Looking forward, we’ve only got three runners this weekend and I’ve already mentioned Newberry Hill, who runs at Limerick this afternoon. We’ve also got One Fine Day in the fillies’ handicap at the meeting.
She ran very well to win a maiden in testing conditions at Listowel last time and this will be her first run in a handicap.
She’s been given a mark of 83, which I think is fair. We hope she might be a bit better than that and she should run well.
Remember Alexander is our only runner at Cork tomorrow. She’s stepping up to a mile and a half for the first time, which we hope might suit her. She’s in great form and has won on soft ground so we’re hoping for the best.
Another one I’m looking forward to running this week is Burn And Turn, who is in the qualified riders’ maiden at Leopardstown on Thursday.
Royal Ascot will dominate the action this week and I must say I feel sorry for people going over. The forecast is for more rain and that can ruin the racing, and you get funny results.
We’re still struggling with the weather at home and if it keeps up I think we’ll have to teach the horses to swim.
