Double Up – what a difference a week makes…

A great day for the team here yesterday. Av A Word put in yet another game performance at Brighton to pick up his third win of the season there. A slow learner he has gradually improved throughout his fifteen race career and is still seemingly going forward physically as well as as mentally. Time well tell as to the exact merit of what he beat but with the second and third well backed unexposed horses from large Newmarket yards one has to think that the race may prove to be a decent one in due course. We certainly felt that Av A Word was the best he has been going into a race and that everything was set right for him. His durability and toughness is a testament to Peter Onslow and Ann Harrison who bred and raised the gelding at their Sanfield Stud. Jockey Silvestre de Sousa believes he can cope with a small rise in grade and as his nature is not to win by too far he looks a horse made for gradually progressing through the handicap system.
A couple of hours later at Wolverhampton Mutineer followed up his comfortable win on Wednesday night with a dominating performance to win by five lengths and proves just how quickly a horse can progress once they get the hang of racing. It brought up a double on the day for the team but also for jockey Eddie Greatrex who has just a handful of winners to ride out his claim, something he looks sure to achieve very soon. The horse is co-owned by Ontoawinner with Capture the Moment and it was a also the second leg of a double for Ontoawinner. Mutineer is sure to receive a stiff rise in the weights going forward so it may well be that we attempt the hat-trick under a double penalty in the coming week.
Amazing to think a week ago we were left tearing our hair out after runners on consecutive days had to be withdrawn at the start. The first taken out by a loose horse on the way down at Ffos Las, the second when jockey Tom Queally was injured by the horse in the adjacent stall at Thirsk! They were some long drives home – yesterdays seemed effortless in comparison. It has been a great week for the team and there was a real bounce in everyones step this morning, their hard work well rewarded, even Charlie the labrador snaffled some of their pastries and biscuits! Adding to the excitement we put six of the two year olds through their faster paces this morning with George Downing coming in to sit on a few of them. With the sun shining over the glorious valley of the racehorse and owners visiting to see their winners its been one of those days that makes all the hard work worthwhile and we look forward to many more of them to come.