20th August 2021

I’m on Snap ran her race and will win again when we find the right race and maybe she gets a bit of slack off the handicapper.  

Yesterday we schooled Tea Clipper, Adrimel, Velasco, Thomas Patrick and Rosmuc Relay over fences. Pounding Poet, Scipion, Glory and Fortune, Benito, Highstakesplayer, Immortal Fame, Argonauta, Ginny’s Destiny, Roger Rarebit, Hesque de L’isle, Lossiemouth and King Ferdinand over hurdles. All jumped nicely, we will concentrate on schooling the horses on Wednesdays until the season gets up and running when we will cherry pick our schooling sessions around races.  

I was unable to get to Stratford yesterday but have been told that Worcester and Stratford were heaving with spectators. Why does racing have such a fantastic ability of talking itself down. It is a great product and Racing League is just another great incentive to entice further interest in the sport. Those who want to cry about it will cry about anything and everything and need to accept change.

I listened to an interview about jockey coaches yesterday on Racing TV, they are hoping to have coaches for jockeys throughout their careers and not just to the end of their claim. As it was mentioned Roger Federer and many more top sportsmen have coaches throughout their careers but jockeys don’t. I heard a claimer saying last year that jockey coaches were a waste of time. I know if I were a top sportsman I would want a great team behind me. I would welcome any help with technique, mind set etc. Competition plays with the mind and if someone can help with any aspect of competing it can only be a good thing. I feel that some good things are being done within the sport but racecourses need to remember that they are race courses and not live arenas for bands. Hunting Percival boiled over at Market Rasen as a result of some brass band revving up in the pre-parade ring wasting any chance he had of running a respectable race. It is unfair on the owners to allow theses things to happen, the other horses may have coped but if one doesn’t that is enough to make changes to start time of bands if they really must have them.