That was the second time I’ve won on Raintown this year, and he just seems to love Lingfield. We didn’t go very quick in the race, and I had to pull him out just over 3f from home, as it turned into a sprint. He’s a very tough horse who you know will put his all into a finish, and thankfully we came out on top by a head. His trainer, Stan Moore, has always been a great supporter of mine, so it was nice to pay him back with another winner.
Away from Lingfield, we had a good weekend of racing, especially at Doncaster. The race I enjoyed watching the most was the St Leger, where we had a close finish. It was great to see Sean Levey win on Jan Brueghel, who remains unbeaten after four starts. His trainer, Aidan O’Brien, said he could be an Ascot Gold Cup horse next season, so it will be interesting to see if he goes down that route.
Moving on to this week, I’ve got a few rides that will keep me busy, starting with Kempton on Monday night.
Monday
Kempton
6.00 – Stacey Racey (Keiran Burke)
She wasn’t beaten that far at Kempton last time out over 6f. This time she’s stepping up to 7f, which could suit her as she was keeping on well inside the final furlong. It’s another competitive race, but she doesn’t have a bad draw in Stall 5, and I can see her being in the mix.
6.30 – Treasure Bay (Mark Gillard)
He’s still lightly raced, though he hasn’t shown too much on the track. This time around he’s running over 6f instead of 7f, so it will be interesting to see if he can improve for the shorter distance. He’s a horse who will probably come into his own once racing in handicap company.
Thursday
Yarmouth
5.35 – Global Effort (Phil McEntee)
His last two runs have been a bit below par, so we’ve freshened up a bit at home. Sometimes horses can just take a bit of time to come back to form, so hopefully he can show some promise here. We’re also stepping up to 7f, which might unlock some improvement in him, as he’s not had too many goes at the trip.
Friday
Kempton
7.15 – Alafdhal (Phil McEntee)
His last few efforts have been a little bit disappointing on the turf, but hopefully he can show some spark coming back to the all-weather. He won around Kempton before, which will be a plus. Phil does have a few other entries in this race, so we won’t know until later in the week if he’ll take his chance.
I hope you all have a good week and I’ll check in with you again soon.