The “trials” season is behind us, and we have seen a number of impressive performances in their own right, but now we have some big racing ahead, Cheltenham, (over by the time you read this!), then Aintree and then Punchestown over jumps, and the start of the flat turf season.
With all that is going on in the world at the moment, I am glad that I can still get my head down, study some data and some form, and work out a few bets on the racing.
My antepost portfolio has been building since Christmas and I have consumed a whole bunch of previews.
BG Racing – On and Off The Track
Both my two BG Racing horses are back from their winter break, and we could be back on the racecourse soon.
Dynamic Kate seems to have recovered really well from a minor op, where she had a hairline fracture pinned, and we saw her cantering when we visited the yard a couple of weeks ago. The break has done her a lot of good, and she has grown, which should stand her in good stead for a summer jumps campaign.
Far Too Beautiful is back at Epsom at Michael Attwater’s yard and she is doing really well. There are no suitable races for her early in the turf season, but she is very forward, so we will probably give her a prep on the all-weather at the end of March and then switch to turf.
Our experiment with Joeys Gift that I mentioned last time did not pan out well. After stepping forward on his second run, he took a big step back when pretty much pulling himself up at Fontwell the next time, and with limited ability and a bit of an attitude, we decided to find him another career.
I did however have a successful trip to the races, as I manage Neil Mulholland’s Racing Club for him, and I was at Hereford races a couple of weeks ago with the club horse La Cavsa Nostra. After over 800 days off the track, he only completed a circuit of Chepstow on reappearance, when almost brought down and losing loads of ground. We were fairly sure therefore that he would need the run at Hereford as well, but after looking like he might have run out of steam, he rallied in the home straight to win. I never tire of seeing the elation on the face of even a small shareholder when “their” horse wins, and this was no exception!
Podcast
We have been busy on the “Inside The Rails” podcast as well. In January, we interviewed Di Arbuthnot the Chief Exec of Retraining of Racehorses, and in February we were joined by Lee Mottershead, the Racing Writer of the Year, who writes for the racing post. As I am writing this, a Cheltenham preview episode with an interview with David Armstrong the Chief Exec of the Racecourses Association has been published. All are really interesting guests, and it was great to find out more about what they do. You can find the podcasts by searching for “Inside The Rails” on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify, or any other podcast app that you use. All episodes can be downloaded and played at any time. Feel free to let me know what you think!
Any Questions?
As ever, if you have any questions about racehorse ownership or about anything I mention in these monthly articles, please feel free to get in touch. I am always happy to chat about racing, and I would be happy to answer your questions personally, or even draft a future article on whatever subject you are interested in!
