Entries next week ground dependent

Saturday, 17 April 2010

You will see that the yard has quite a few entries in the coming week, principally Gaselee and Indian Valley as it will be too firm at Folkestone for After The Show. Both want a bit of cut in the ground so given that the sun is shining everywhere they seem unlikely to run. Gaselee may run on the all weather if there is no rain. Meanwhile work continued on the peat moss gallop with some going 5 1/2 furlongs (Serious Attitude & Corton Charlemagne; Jeninsky & Midnight Fantasy; Mighty Aphrodite & Filligree) and others 6 1/2 (Gaselee & Retrato; Indian Valley & Conciliatory; Dancing Jest & Melinoise; Calm and Serene & Eye of Eternity). Thankfully, everything went well. Second lot the more forward two year olds went up the gallop and the less forward cantered up Hamilton Hill or trotted.

Serious Attitude

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Trainer Rae Guest left in Serious Attitude at yesterday’s scratchings stage for Wednesday, May 12’s Duke Of York Blue Square Stakes as connections mull over the four-year-old’s seasonal starting point. The six-furlong Group 2 at York is very much under consideration for the daughter of Mtoto, who is already a course and distance winner, having landed the Group 3 Cuisine de France Summer Stakes last season. After that success, Serious Attitude had one more run in 2009, finishing eighth in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest in Deauville.

That was only the second reverse from six starts for the filly, who has Group 1-winning form to her name thanks to victory in the Cheveley Park Stakes as a two-year-old. Serious Attitude has enjoyed a lengthy break over the winter but is back in action again on the Newmarket gallops and Guest is considering the Duke Of York Blue Square Stakes as well as a couple of other possible targets. The Newmarket-based trainer confirmed: “She is a York course and distance winner - that's why we put her in. We would like to go there but we will see what our options are closer to the time. “She is very well and will do a couple more gallops before we decide if she is going to race there or not. “We will take it as it comes and she is on schedule for that race but it is not definite yet. “There are also fillies Listed races at Nottingham and Haydock in May that she'd get into with no penalty. So it will be one of those three races. “Jimmy Fortune will ride her in a piece of work a week before and we will make our decision after that. “I couldn't be more happy with her.

"She was turned out for three months and has come back in very well and strong.” Jimmy Fortune last rode Serious Attitude competitively in the Cheveley Park Stakes in 2008. Guest confirmed that Fortune, who is now a freelance, will be first in line for the ride again with Eddie Ahern (who was aboard the day she won the Cuisine de France) also in the picture. Guest said: “They are two good jockeys. As long as Jimmy is available he will ride her. If he was not available, Eddie is our second choice.”

Runners update

Sunday, 25 April 2010

Indian Valley endured another frustrating defeat last night at Wolverhampton, once again finishing second, this time to Michael Bell's Bakongo who won well and is clearly a good horse. She did nothing wrong, leading most of the way under a sensible ride from Martin Dwyer. Surely she will win soon? This week we have two possible runners, both on Thursday at Folkestone - Hill of Miller and Midnight Fantasy. The latter definitely wants rain but Hill of Miller is likely to run in order to break his duck. Most of the horses in full work went up the Peat Moss again on Saturday, as did the more forward two year olds. Serious Attitude went well again under Robbie Mills, drawing clear of Corton Charlemagne under Emma-Jane Jenkins.

Serious Attitude succumbs

Saturday, 08 May 2010

Serious Attitude was the latest this week to succumb to seconditis, finishing in the frame but beaten half a length at Nottingham in the Kilvington Stakes today. Although everyone would have preferred it if she had won, she did well considering that this was her first race in almost nine months and she was impeded at a crucial stage in the race. Owners Derek Willis and Rae were philosophical in defeat and are aiming to get her back on the winning trail as soon as possible. Another second this week was Gaselee who looked a certain winner at various stages of the race, but as a front runner was always going to be vulnerable to a late flourish and so it proved. In the main, however, the horses look well and are running well and it can only be a matter of time before they get in that first spot in the winners' enclosure.

News update

Sunday, 16 May 2010

Rae is getting a bit frustrated with the lack of rain at HQ and elsewhere and feels that he was lucky to get the right ground for Serious Attitude last week as it would not have been in evidence this week. She is fine after her race and has done nothing more than a couple of steady canters this week. Her target is the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot but that is ground dependent. We have had a few horses with multiple entries unable to take them up owing to the fast ground everywhere. Rae is keen to get a run into, for example, Conciliatory and Eye of Eternity but not keen to jar them up so they will have to wait until conditions are more suitable. Most likely runners are Dancing Jest and Hill of Miller, the others are waiting for rain.