Victoria Cup
09/05/2006
The wind was let out of our sails with Bayeux’s showing on Saturday. We really thought he had a very good chance of going close in what was a very competitive race. However the ground seemed to go against him. Jamie felt that it was a bit too quick and he could never get him into an even stride. Even though he didn’t perform near to what we expected him to , he was only beaten a few lengths. We will carry on with an entry in the Victoria Cup at Ascot on May 27th.
Our attention turns this week to Bonus running in the 7f Sprint Handicap at Lingfield. It’s quite a valuable race worth £60,000 and he’s in good form. I’m delighted to hear that they are expecting a bit more rain this week because I’m not sure if he will be all that good running on fast ground.
We have quite a few entries also throughout the week, probably kicking off on Wednesday at Newcastle with Penang Cinta. He ran reasonably well at Brighton, finding 2 exposed horses a bit better than him but he has been training nicely and I was pleased with the way he worked Sunday morning.
We have Super Frank in to run at Ripon. He also has quite a few other entries throughout the week but I’d like to look at this race. They had quite a bit of rain up there so that’s something to keep a close eye on. I’m not quite sure how effective he will be on soft ground, so this really will be a look and see job with regard to that race.
We have a few runners up in Scotland. We will be sending Shamila and Beauchamp Unique on Friday, and also Play the Ball in a claimer on Thursday night. Then we are scattered round the country but as I said our main attention will be on Bonus at Lingfield.
I am sorry to give you out this news about one of our stable stars Jack Sullivan, who has met with a tendon injury to his near fore leg. It will require quite a bit of time off but the vets are quite confident that we will get him back in time for next years Godolphin Mile. It is a blow but we have to deal with it and do the best for the horse and get him back to where he belongs. He owes us nothing and is a great servant for the yard. He has been my own personal pride and joy and has been carrying the flag very highly for us on the international scene. So fingers crossed, we need to be patient and hopefully time will cure his problem and I really look forward to getting him back in time for the World Cup meeting next year.
Nayyir is coming back nicely into action. We had a few little issues with him after his run at Kempton. We probably need to shorten up his trip and run him more back on grass and on a more straightforward track. He is getting older and probably wiser to the ups and downs of racing. He is in good form again and I am not quite sure where we start him back but it’s more a question of him coming to a race rather than the race coming to him and let’s hope we have a good run with him and we can get him back to a respectable level of form.
Forgery has started back into training. He has had a little bit of time off after his race at Newbury. I have to say that he seems very fresh and well and the plan is to go straight to the Royal Hunt Cup with him, ground permitting. I don’t think he will be as effective on fast ground but lets hope that the track is in good shape. I’m sure he will give a very good account of himself.
Compton Bolter is due to run on Friday at Chester in the Ormonde. I see Mubtaker and Day Flight are in there. They are 2 very tough nuts to crack but Bolter seems quite effective round there and he is in good form and let’s hope the ground stays on the fast side of good because I don’t think he would want it soft in anyway.
I am glad to say that Tarfah is back in action. She had a small problem with her near fore leg. That’s the reason she missed her engagement at Kempton, and we did also have the Dahlia Stakes in mind but the ground came up quite soft. The intention is to run her over in Ireland on the 27th May in the Ridgewood Pearl Stakes, or there is a valuable fillies race at Ascot on the same day over a mile and this will be very much on the cards. Like I said she is doing fine and is in full training and she is due to work at the end of this week. Let’s hope we get there.
