2nd November 2015

2nd November 2015

Last week started badly when a couple of horses were ruled out for lengthy periods of time due to injuries. Telling our owners bad news is the of the worst part of my job; it's so frustrating for both parties having a horse only a week off racing then it having a setback that will mean months out of training. Although these injuries tend to be few and far between we have been extremely unlucky having three in the last month and  we were in real need of a boost.

Fortunately we got one at the weekend; it was an early start for everyone on Saturday with my mum Gill feeding the two Ayr runners, Cornborough and Oliver's Gold at 4.30am and Emma and I setting off on the 5hour journey  in the horse box at 5.30am.  Cornborough made his debut over hurdles in the first race at Ayr, his jumping was slick and he travelled very easily throughout the race allowing him to quicken clear of the odds on favourite after the last. He looks a really exciting recruit to our jumping team.  Next it was Oliver's Gold, he looked up against it on paper as it was a very good race with a lot of fancied runners, however he jumped with accuracy all the way round and in similar fashion to Cornborough when Jake Greenall his jockey asked him for maximum effort after the last fence he really quickened up and beat the favourite by 3/4 of a length, the drive home from Scotland seemed a short one!!

Sunday and it was back up north , not quite so far this time, to Carlisle. Shimla Dawn was to run over fences for the first time and it was also his first run since breaking a blood vessel in his lungs at Haydock 11 months ago. Jake Greenall had him in a prominent position from flag fall and went to the front with a circuit to go, jumping boldly he stayed on strongly all the way to the finish winning by a length. He could be a real star and I have a few big races in mind for him if all goes to plan. He is not an easy horse to train but with the help of Emma who rides him out every day and all the team I am confident we can keep him in good shape.

All in all a great weekend for the yard and all the connections of the winning three horses. A great team effort from everyone at Cornborough Manor, hard work paying off!

Below is a picture of the weekend winners. From left to right, Cornborough, Shimla Dawn and Oliver's Gold.