LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SUPER SPRINT TOMORROW: I had a really interesting week since last Friday. It was great to get another winner yesterday at Leicester with Ghania for Pam Sly but the next few weeks promise to be very busy for us all in the weigh room.
This is the time of year where there is a lot of racing on so we’re all racing almost everyday.
Glorious Goodwood is just around the corner also and I’m really hoping to have some rides there as it’s a meeting I love and it’s a track that I’ve done really well at in the past.
This festival is one of the most popular ones of the year and you probably don’t get to enjoy it as much as a Jockey as others do. When you talk to many of the owners and racegoers, so many of them say that Glorious Goodwood is their favourite meeting.
I’m not sure yet if I’ll be there or not but I’m keeping fingers crossed that I will be.
KEEP AN EYE ON LANCELOT WITH SOME RAIN
The last week was a very interesting one. As I say, I had a nice winner last night for Pam Sly at Leicester and that was really nice to get. She won nicely enough in the end but will probably prefer some more give in the ground. She was always just doing enough and the hill at the finish really helped here.
I got a really good ride from Lancelot Du Lac in the July Cup and although we finished 8th, I was only beaten about four and a half lengths. They didn’t go quick enough for him, he’s got a really serious cruising speed and in hindsight, I wish I had just let him bowl along in front. He’s one to keep an eye later in the year, especially when the rain starts to get into the ground a little more and I’m looking forward to riding him again.
Another that will be really suited to some softer ground is Sirius Prospect who I rode in the Bunbury Cup last Saturday. He wasn’t beaten far but he looked after himself a little running down the hill. He’s getting a little wiser as he gets older but when he hit the rising ground he ran on again but he does need a little more rain.
The same can be said for Funding Deficit. He’ll probably take a drop in class from his last run and he should run well then with a little more juice in the ground.
HOPING FOR A SUPER SPRINT AT NEWBURY
Looking ahead though, I’m looking forward to some good rides today and tomorrow at Newbury and Newmarket.
Today in Newbury, my first ride is one for Brian Meehan, Ride The Lightening, that I don’t know much about apart from that he’s entered for next year’s Derby. I’m not sure how much that means at the moment but I do know that Brian’s horses are in great form, as I’ve said before, and they look great so it should be an interesting ride, if nothing else.
I’ve got a long wait from that one at 2.00 to my next ride at Newmarket this evening at 8.55, He’s My Boy which is trained by James Fanshawe.
He usually takes a while to come to himself and this was around the same that he won last year and he’s time he’s run this season he’s shown a little more so I think he’s one of those horses that has their time of year. This looks to be his time and I’m expecting him to run well.
Tomorrow at Newbury, I’ve got Princess Kodia in the Super Sprint, another for Brian Meehan. This is always a fun race and there are only a couple of different weights to be done and there are a lot for the lightweight Jockey’s.
I’m really happy to be riding Princess Kodia even though it means that I won’t be having any breakfast tomorrow! She won well last time at Bath, going away at the finish and I think she will have learned quite a lot from that run so I’m quite happy to be on her.
The draw is not a massive deal but it all depends on where the early pace will be. If I had to choose, I’d probably go high but I’m not overly concerned about being drawn in 5 for this one tomorrow.
BEST OF THE OTHERS
There are two horses running, that I’m not riding, that I think have great chances today and tomorrow and both are for William Haggas.
Bella Nouf runs today at 3.05 and I think she will be really hard to beat. She won really well at Goodwood last time and I think Newbury will suit her much better. I watched it win that day and I thought she’ll improve at lot from that. I rode quite a lot for the owners and they have a great strike rate this season.
Tomorrow at Newmarket is Arabian Comet, at 3.15, the Listed race. It ran well last time which was it’s first run from a long lay off and was third behind Miss Marjurie and Dream Child, who runs also but I think Arabian Comet can overturn Dream Child this time.
WETHERBY GOING DESCRIPTION WAS THE ONLY DRAWBACK
On Monday I’m going back to Wetherby where I rode for the first time last Monday. I was due to ride a horse for Ed Dunlop called Pyla that I fancied but it was taken out due to the ground.
If the ground is right I’m planning on going to Wetherby again and I hope that I can add there to the list of tracks I’ve won it already.
Although I really enjoyed riding at Wetherby, it’s a really lovely track to ride and I’m looking forward to going back there on Monday to ride Pyla.
When I got there last Monday, it was raining and because I hadn’t ridden there before I walked the course. In my opinion, after walking the track, the ground was on the slow side of Good and that was after the second race but they had kept the going description for the first four races as Good to Firm.
All the Jockeys were walking in after each race caked in mud. It was splashing everywhere throughout the race and it was clearly on the soft but even then, it was only changed to Good and mine got pulled out as a result.
I do think it was very unfair though particularly for owners or people backing horses in those early races because the going was being described as Good to Firm even though it was probably more like being Good to Soft and no one would have known any different. I just couldn’t see the benefit in not changing it especially as all the other Jockeys were saying it was on the soft side as well.
It’s just very frustrating for everyone and it just isn’t good enough.
Rant over!
All in all, it was a really good week over the last week and I’m looking forward to the week ahead. Next week will be really interesting with the King George on next weekend and I’ll hopefully have some more winners to talk about then.
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