Gimli’s Rock our best chance of a weekend winner
As ever, for the organisers and the public, you want the weather to stay nice because that really does make a big difference. If they get it, they’ll get great crowds. There’ll be plenty of glamour but there’ll be brilliant racing too.
People will say that the Derby isn’t as good as it might have been with the first three from Epsom staying at home but it’s still the Derby. Whatever happens, it’s still a hard race to win.
For all the speculation beforehand, it’s only afterwards that you know if it has been a good Derby or not. It was said before Epsom that that race was sub-standard and afterwards people were drooling over Workforce.
There is a huge social element of course. Everybody is there. I have some friends who have come all the way from Australia. I hadn’t seen them in 21 years before they arrived on Thursday night. They said they decided to make the trip because it didn’t look like I was going to head Down Under!
There’ll be a party at our neighbours, Rick and Sue Barnes’ place in Grangecon tonight and I’m certainly looking forward to that.
It’s always a fun weekend but it would be even better if I could have a winner. I’d love to because it’s the big flat meeting of the year. It would be a real target and we’ll have some chances. The handicaps are very competitive but we’re there with a shout in a couple of them. Mind you, I’d say every other trainer is saying the same thing.
Gimli’s Rock has a great chance in the Dubai Tennis Championship EBF Handicap tomorrow though. He was only just touched off by a short head over course and distance last month and is in great form. Fran Berry rides so you’d have to be hopeful.
I run a nice two-year-old in the fillies’ race today called Laughing Lashes. It’s always exciting when another two-year-old starts out because no matter what they’ve done on the gallops, you don’t know about them for sure until they go to the track but she’s a nice filly.
Later in the week, Roicéad runs in his first handicap on Thursday in Leopardstown having won his maiden and I’m looking forward to that, while on Tuesday Bobskier goes in an Auction race in Sligo. That’s a big drop in class so she should go well there.
I was at the Tattersalls Sales this week and you felt that while it’s nothing like the heady days of the Celtic Tiger, it’s no longer doom and gloom either. There were definite signs of the tender green shoots of an upturn. The top price before I left yesterday afternoon to head for racing at the Curragh was 250,000 for a lovely Presenting, so the money was there.
There were some three-year-olds going into the sales that were bought at the top end as foals and the market is not at the level it was so I’m sure some people lost money.
But if you had a nice horse with pedigree you good a good price. Indeed, even if you had a nice horse without a standout pedigree, people were paying for them.
I had two orders and bought two nice horses. On Thursday, I got a Generous while yesterday, I bought a King’s Theatre who is out of a mare I trained called Market Lass, who won five times. It looks so like the dam it’s unbelievable and I was really happy with that. Hopefully they’ll make racehorses because that is always the dream.
Johnny sold a Kayf Tara he had bought as a foal and there was money made on him, so it was a good day overall for us, as well as the industry.
Since last week I have only had six runners before last night and they ran last Saturday and Sunday. Fantoche ran very well to finish third in the Ulster Derby on Saturday in Down Royal. Sadly he can’t run this weekend as he’s not EBF qualified so he’ll have to wait a little bit longer.
Spanish Auriga was a bit disappointing though in Gowran Park on Sunday. He was odds on favourite but could only finish second and I don’t really understand what happened. I’m still scratching my head. Maybe something will transpire but for now, I just don’t know.
Meanwhile, Lady Chatterbox had an operation last Tuesday at Anglesey Lodge and is back home.
She had her palate cauterised and she’ll be back riding out in a week’s time. As I said last week, it’s amazing how far technology has advanced. She won’t have missed much work at all and with the wind problems sorted, she will hopefully be able to fulfil her potential.
