What A Weekend!
He is just such a tough horse who always runs his race and tries his best. It was also great to give his trainer, Keiran Burke, and owner, Michelle Cook, a high-profile winner. They’ve been good to me over the last year, so it was nice to pay them back.
The race overall was run at a steady pace. We had to overcome a wide draw, so we decided to ride him handy to get him into a position. Once we did that, I was able to kick on in the home straight, and we were able to clear away from the rest of the field. He’s a horse who could still have more improvement come on the all weather. We just don’t know where his ceiling lies.
Moving on to this week, I’ve got a few rides at Epsom and Salisbury towards the end of the week; that’ll keep me busy. It would be great if we could get another winner on the board.
Thursday
Epsom
4.20 – Run Joy Run (Adam West)
I rode this filly last time out over 1m at Lingfield, and she just seemed to get outpaced. For this race she’s stepping back up in distance, which should suit, but I am not sure if 1m4f might just stretch her stamina. A couple of starts ago, she ran a promising race at Chepstow over 1m2f. I think she can run up to that level, then she could be in with a chance of being in the places.
Friday
Salisbury
5.33 – Sixfiveseven (Keiran Burke)
This will be his first run for Keiran since joining the team from Richard Hawker. He’s only been to the racecourse a couple of times over jumps, and he didn’t show too much. If you look at his pedigree, you’ll see that he’s bred to be a Flat horse. It will be interesting to see if he can take a step forward switching to the level.
6.35 – Alafdhal (Phil McEntee)
I rode him at Brighton on Monday, where he just got outpaced going down the hill. He’s got a couple of entries this week, including here, but it’s yet to be decided where he’s going to run. He’s a horse who likes to be kept busy, so I’m sure he’ll be out again soon. If he does run and the ground has a bit of a cut in it, then he won’t mind that, as he won on soft ground before. He’s also down to a good mark, so it might not be long until he’s back around and in the places.
Looking Forward To The Leger
Elsewhere, we’ve got some really good racing to look forward to this week with the St Leger Festival at Doncaster. The feature race is, of course, the final Classic of the season, the St Leger. When it comes to my thoughts on the race, I think Illinois could be the one for Aidan O’Brien. He’s got a fantastic record in the race, and he looks to have a strong hand this year. Illinois does have a few entries, but has always looked like a St Leger horse since he won the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot. The son of Galileo just looks a proper stayer, and you always need stamina to win the St Leger. It’s a race I am very much looking forward to watching.
I hope you all have a fantastic week and you’ll be hearing from me again soon.