Cityscape clearly didn't stay the distance on the slower ground at Sandown yesterday. Having travelled well through the race he looked to have every chance 2 furlongs out but then faded to finish 4th. He is likely to have a short break before we look for another Group One target in September either here or abroad.

Cityscape is our only runner today and runs in the Eclipse at Sandown.  He is in great condition and his work has been very good but there  remains a question mark over whether he will stay 10 furlongs on soft ground.  He certainly gave me the impression when winning the Dubai Duty Free over 9 furlongs that it would be worth a try as there are so many good and valuable races over that distance.  He has got a very good and consistent record having only run 18 times over 5 seasons, but winning 6 of them and only being unplaced 3 times, for total earnings of £2.75m.  Fingers crossed for a big result.

Cityscape

I was pleased with Sanctioned at Newbury last night, he behaved extremely well and having missed the break stayed on towards the end. He will definitely improve as he gets stronger and more experienced.  As the Racing Post said this morning, Moidore really toughed out making all under a good ride from James Doyle. He clearly appreciates a trip but did not appreciate the soft ground.

Camberley Two runs at Sandown this afternoon in the  4.35pm and I was pleased to hear that they had escaped the rain so far and that the ground remains on the fast side.  Having had such a good season last year and the handicapper understandably taking his revenge, he needs to improve on his last run to become competitive and it remains a question mark as to whether he will be suited by 10 furlongs on a stiff track.

Camberley Two

With the forecast of heavy rain at Haydock, Cry Fury is an unlikely runner in the Old Newton Cup should the ground deteriorate more.

We have two runners this evening at Newbury with Sanctioned running for the first time in the mile and a half maiden race at 8.35pm. He is a half brother to Al Kazeem by Authorized and as you will see from his photograph he is a big lengthy gelding who is bred to stay well. He was too backward to be trained last year and may find this evenings opposition a bit too competitive at this stage of his career.

Sanctioned

Moidore runs in the mile and a half handicap at 9.05pm, he is in good form and he should be suited by todays trip and course, but I would have preferred the ground to have been faster as he is such a good mover.

Moidore

Just as I was beginning to think that some of the horses were not in great form, Saturday was one of those good days when everything seemed to go in our favour, including a Stewards Enquiry.  Thistle Bird put up a much improved performance to win the Midsummer Stakes but she unfortunately hung to the left in the closing stages causing a little bit of anguish and a long wait before we knew that she had kept the race.  I will be looking for a Listed or Group race for her between 8 and 10 furlongs.  Rex Imperator showed himself to be a smart sprinter winning his race with a certain amount of ease and he is likely to get a bit of a knee jerk reaction tomorrow from the handicapper which could raise his rating by 9 or 10 lbs. There will be very few opportunities for him in handicaps and I will be looking for a Listed for Group race over 5 or 6 furlongs in the future.  Zero Money ran an encouraging race and perhaps just tired in the closing stages and James Doyle thought that 5 furlongs was perhaps a better trip than 6.  Definightly as usual was tough, brave and consistent and with a great ride from Johnny Murtagh just managed to win his second Group race.   Having had such a tough journey, he deserves alot of credit as well as a few days turned out in his pen (should it ever stop raining).

Having had a quiet week with no runners since Monday, Definightly travelled to Ireland yesterday to run in the Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh this evening at 7.00pm  The going and trip should suit him but unfortunately he had a rather long journey and did not arrive at the racecourse until 2 am this morning as the crossing with the ferries was disrupted by strong winds, this will give a natural advantage to the local runners, some of which only have to walk across the road !   

Definightly

At Windsor Thistle Bird runs in a Listed race and the distance and course should suit her having won there last year.  Unfortunately Mac Love is a non runner having had a bad scope.  I hope we will be able to achieve some black type for her owner breeder. Thistle Bird being by Selkirk should improve as a four year old and she seems to have done well physically.

Thistle Bird

 Both Rex Imperator and Zero Money run in the 6 furlong Handicap where I hope the ground will remain fast. Zero Money was rather disappointing in his only race in Dubai earlier in the year and he may well need his first outing having had a nice break in the paddocks. Rex Imperator ran an encouraging race at Sandown over 5 furlongs in a race that was not run to suit him, having messed up in the starting stalls. It is tough for a three year old to take on the older sprinters but there seems to be few alternatives especially over the minimum trip.

Rex Imperator

Zero Money

Alvitude (USA) seemed to get rather unbalanced in what was a messy race at Windsor last night with no early pace and meeting plenty of interference, also he would have been better suited by faster ground.

I did not expect Genki to be only beaten 6 1/2 lengths by Black Caviar, it was certainly a very dramatic race for those that had backed her at odds on.  Genki again applied the handbrake in the closing stages but we will try again in the July Cup and hope to kid him into running a better race.

Alvitude (USA) is our only runner this evening at Windsor and runs in the mile and a half handicap at 8.40pm. It is his first try in a handicap and I hope that the ground will dry out as he is unsuited to slow going.

Alvitude (USA)

I have to admit to being rather surprised by Valiant Girl's victory at Goodwood last night, she had not been giving us great vibes of encouragement from her work. James gave her a great ride to get up on the line and he was of the opinion that she could improve and stay further.

My old friend Genki (Ire) is our only runner today and runs for the 10th time at Ascot. Not only will it be a very special day to see Black Caviar but also it is very exciting to have a runner in the same race as the great mare.  I am never quite sure what Genki likes or dislikes  these days but I am hoping the ground will continue to dry out as he is not happy when the ground at Ascot becomes lose, which it can do at the end of a long week. If he can reproduce his best form from last year when he was beaten a length and a half by Dream Ahead and Bated Breath in the Haydock Sprint, there must be a chance that he could pick up some of the prize money which goes down to 6th place.

Genki (Ire)

Considering the quality of yesterdays Ribblesdale Stakes, I thought that Inchina ran as well as could be expected but clearly she was not up to competing in that class.  As with all well bred fillies, it is more important to gain some black type either here or abroad in a Listed race rather than competing in handicaps.  Trader Jack was a shade disappointing coming under pressure 3 furlongs from home and not able to pick up. I am still not sure whether 8 or 10 furlongs is his correct trip and James felt faster ground would have been to his advantage. Consenting as we thought showed her inexperience,  but she will hopefully have benefitted from the race and show improvement as the season progresses.

Valiant Girl is our only runner today and goes to Goodwood for the fillies maiden race at 7.20pm.  Although she ran an encouraging race at Newmarket in the Autumn, she does not seem to have really found her form yet during  this horrible wet Spring/Summer.