Unlucky At The Abbot

It was a case of ‘what might have been’ at Newton Abbot yesterday where the stable ended up with two seconds and Dindin was a faller at the final fence in his chase with the race at his mercy from our three runners. We did not run Nibras Gold in the novice hurdle as we felt the ground was just a little too quick for our four year old. He does have some form on faster ground but he is a horse we like a lot and decided not to risk him on this occasion with the the official going described as good to firm in places.

Dindin was our first runner on the card and all looked to be going perfectly as he took up the running as they turned from home. With his nearest rival unseating at the second last fence it was the case of just jumping the last but unfortunately Dindin and Philip Armson came crashing down. The main thing is both horse and jockey are fine and hopefully they can gain compensation in his next race as our ten time winner in France seeks his first win in this country.

In the juvenile hurdle Free Chakarte ran another good race, leading and jumping well throughout before being collared by her nemesis rival, Mucuna. The pair have met three times and we have finished second best on each occasion but they appear to be the best juvenile hurdlers around at the moment and our filly is a great little horse who tries and jumps. We also have the option of going back on the flat at some point as well.

Defi D’oudairies was our final runner of our trio at Newton Abbot and returned to the smaller obstacles he put up his best performance to date since coming over from France. He was trying 3m2f for the first time and he saw the trip out really well only just being denied in a photo finish by the narrowest of margins. Some horses take a while to acclimatise to British racing after they cross the channel and it is nice this chap has improved in each of his three runs. Hopefully his turn should not be too far away. 

On Saturday things did not quite go as well as we might have hoped with out runners at Market Rasen. They were very competitive races and Romain De Senam ran okay back over hurdles while ideally preferring a bit more juice in the ground. Texard probably found the race coming a quick after running at Uttoxeter just a few days earlier while the handicapper seems to have caught up with Al Roc. All of the horses from the weekend have come home safe and sound which is the main thing.

With the temperatures likely to hit an all time high today it was sensible of the BHA to be proactive with both todays and tomorrows racing cards and abandoning those where temperatures were set to be the highest. There are still two meetings to keep us entertained however, they race on the flat at Ayr and over jumps at Cartmel. There is also racing in Ireland at Ballinrobe this evening. 

In our own attempt to ‘beat the heat’, all our staff were in an hour early this morning so we can get all the work done before the temperatures get too high, although we seem likely to miss the worst of it down in the West Country.

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India beat England by five wickets in the final One Day International at Old Trafford yesterday, to land the series 2-1.  Rishabh Pant made a superb 125 not out as the visitors replicated their recent scoreline in the T20 series.  England now take on South Africa in another one day series which starts tomorrow.

Somerset were out of luck on T20 finals day at Edgbaston on Saturday, losing in the semi-finals to the Hampshire Hawks, who went on to win a thrilling final by one run from Lancashire Lightning.

Cameron Smith won The Open golf at St Andrews posting a final round of 64.  Rory McIlroy looked a heavy favourite a the start of the day with a four shot lead, but with a round of 70, the Northern Irishman could finish only third.  I should have had a few quid on the winner as he shares the same name as my son...betting on names, normally a great way of losing your money!

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My wife is furious at our next-door neighbour who sunbathes topless in her backyard. Personally, I’m on the fence.

Have a good day everyone, and stay safe from the heat today...