I thought that Cactus Valley handled the conditions really well at Sandown last night and he stayed on well up the hill to finish 5th. This was a definite improvement on the form he had shown at Kempton. Supreme Quest was an intended runner at Bath this evening but with a forecast of more rain to come she will be declared a non runner. She is an exceptionally good mover and needs fast ground to be seen at her best and it is disappointing not to be able to run in a race that looked very winnable. 

Just the one runner today with Cactus Valley (Ire) visiting Sandown this evening for the mile and a quarter maiden race.   As we look out of the window at the pouring rain no doubt the ground will deteriorate into a bit of a bog this evening which will be an unknown quantity for him. The form of his first race at Kempton where he ran well to be 4th has not worked out, so there are no great expectations for this evening.

Cactus Valley (Ire)

Just in case anyone is interested, there is a programme on ITV1 at 8 pm called Countrywise which I gather pays tribute to the Queen's country interests which naturally includes horses and there maybe some footage of the horses at Beckhampton.

Primevere travelled well in her race at Haydock on Saturday and moved up with two furlongs to run as if she might win or at least be 2nd but unfortunately she "emptied out" and failed to get the trip. She will drop back to 10 furlongs and I hope to find a Group race at some stage either here or abroad. for her.  Mince seemed to be in good form before her race but she clearly did not run up  to her recent progressive form. She was in a good position but failed to pick up and James was quite easy on her when her chance of being placed had gone. Perhaps it was one race too many having run 3 times in a month. She is likely to have a short break before running in a valuable handicap at Newmarket on July 13th and worth £62,000 to the winner !  Lovage ran another consistent race but she was not really suited to the rain softened ground, staying on to be 4th. 

We have no runners until Thursday.

Cry Fury ran a good race having been slightly  unbalanced and unsuited to the contours of Epsom, he also met with a little interference but was staying on in the closing stages giving me the impression that a mile and a half will suit him next time. We will think about Royal Ascot but he may be better on a more conventional track.  Mac Love ran a truly remarkable race to be beaten a length and a half to finish third. It was arguable that he ran right up to his best form and perhaps with a faster run race who knows, he might have won it.  If only there was a mile Group race at Brighton as he is better suited to the more complicated tracks and does not seem to run well in a straight line.

Today Primevere (Ire) and Mince left Beckhampton at 5.30am to travel to Haydock to avoid most of the bad traffic. Primevere steps up to a mile and a half for the first time in the Pinnacle Stakes, a Group 3 for older fillies at 3.10pm. It will be interesting to see if she gets the trip and I hope she will run well, but there are plenty of others in the race that you could give a chance to. 

Primevere (Ire)

Mince steps up a grade into Listed company against three year olds and older fillies in the EBF Play Poker with Grosvenor Casinos Stakes (Registered as The Cecil Frail Stakes) at 4.40pm.  She will need to improve again as her current BHA rating of 95 would suggest that she has a length or two to find on the better fillies in the race. She has in fact improved with every race and at home she loves her food and takes her work really well, so there is definitely more to come in the future.

Mince

Clearly last nights result with Top Offer at Sandown was a huge disappointment to everybody here. He got rather warm at the start and looked a little reluctant to be loaded and then pulled too hard for his own good for at least 4 furlongs which not surprisingly ended with a tame effort. It will be back to several "drawing boards" before making plans which are unlikely to include Royal Ascot.

Cry Fury returns for his first start at Epsom in the mile and a quarter handicap in the Investec Wealth & Investment Stakes. He is a free going horse who needs to drop in and settle which makes winning at Epsom more difficult but he did handle the contours of Goodwood last summer to produce his career best effort and he should be suited by a fast pace.

Cry Fury

Mac Love is a remarkable little horse who started his career in the Brocklesbury Stakes in 2003.  In his first season he ran no less than 16 times and his total career has resulted in 10 wins from 75 starts. He ran in the Diadem Stakes in 2005, 2009  when he won beating Confront and again in 2010 when he was beaten two and three quarter lengths to finish 5th, so he has certainly proved that he is consistent and handles Epsom.  At the age of 11 it would be quite a turn up to win again, but he seems to be in remarkably good form and we are hoping for another good run.

It was certainly an understatement to say that I was thrilled to watch Bated Breath win in such style running over 5 furlongs for the second time in his life when he lowered the course record to win the Temple Stakes.  His time was .3 of a second slower than when Dayjur broke the course record at York in the Nunthorpe Stakes on fast ground.  Being a half brother to Cityscape and from a wonderful Juddmonte family, he will surely be a popular stallion when he retires to Stud at the end of the season. He not only has consistency but a wonderful temperament, together with an excellent conformation.  It is likely that his next race will be in the Kings Stakes  Gr 1 at Royal Ascot.  Moidore on the other hand ran a disappointing race and with no apparent excuses, so back to the drawing board for the time being.  At Goodwood Trader Jack ran a great race to finish 2nd having been a little too free in the early stages of the race but he handled the fast ground and undulating track which is encouraging for the future.  Our good run seemed to peter out somewhat at Newbury with both our runners in the  6 furlong maiden race running below form.

This afternoon, Tantamount goes to Kempton with Ryan Moore on board to run in the mile and three handicap at 3.45pm. The trip should suit him but I was looking for a turf race but unfortunately there were none on the horizon. He stays well but lacks a turn of foot.

Tantamount

This evening at Windsor, Genki (Ire) goes back into bat having run in this race in 2009 when he had a handicap rating of 97 and was having  a prep race before the Wokingham.  He is becoming an increasingly lazy worker at home, so he is difficult to predict but he looks well and is fresh and happy. I hope there will be plenty of pace this evening as with a small field these races sometimes lack the competition of the big sprints.

Genki (Ire)

Alvitude (USA) in the mile and a quarter maiden race having been slightly disappointing at Kempton where he had a poor draw and he was never able to get into the race but he did stay on well up the straight over a mile. He has been slow to come to hand but he is starting to progress in the right direction and I hope will show a little more encouragement than he did in his last race.

Alvitude (USA)

Another busy weekend for us with runners at three different meetings.  Trader Jack goes to Goodwood to run in the first with Eddie Ahern and I hope he appreciates the faster ground than he encountered at Sandown recently. He gives the impression that he will stay 10 furlongs but he was a bit free over a mile at Sandown.

Trader Jack

Moidore has his first outing of the year in the mile and a half handicap at 2.00pm at Haydock this afternoon. He is a very good actioned son of Galileo so should be suited by the current fast ground and his pedigree is full of stamina. His form was progressive last season but he is a rather highly strung individual who needs to relax as much as possible before and during the race.

Moidore

Bated Breath has been a wonderfully consistent horse and he seriously deserves to win his first Group race having been placed in most of the top sprints. He is in good form, looks well and ready to go and todays race will tell us whether the option of the Kings Stand is a good alternative to the Black Caviar route in the Golden Jubilee.

Bated Breath

At Newbury this evening, we run both Daffyd and Selfara in the 6 furlong three year old maiden race at 7.50pm. Daffyd has been gelded and had a minor wind operation since last year and seems to be in good form.  Selfara is dropping back a furlong having been unsuited to 7 furlongs at Lingfield when she did not really handle the bend.

Daffyd

Selfara nearside

I was really pleased with Clowance Estate who made a winning debut in the mile and a half maiden race beating a well bred colt of Sir Michael Stoute's and finishing 11 lengths clear of the 3rd. He handled the fast ground and gave the impression that he would stay beyond a mile and a half if and when necessary.

Today we have four runners with Silver Lime (USA) running for the first time since his victory in a mile maiden race at Ffos Las in October. He looks well and should handle the faster ground and I hope he will run well, he may well be suited by further in the future.

Silver Lime (USA)

Estrela runs in the fillies 10 furlong Oaks Trial which was formally know as The Lupe Stakes.  Todays trip should suit her better than when she ran last time over 12 furlongs on the polytrack at Lingfield. Having finished 3rd in a Listed race and we are now hoping that we can build some more black type for her pedigree in a race where most of the fillies have a good chance.

Estrela

Supreme Quest runs at Salisbury in the fillies 6 furlong maiden race and would appear to have the Andrew Balding trained Swan Song to beat who made a very encouraging debut at Newbury last year.  She is in good form, needs to stay the extra furlong and will love the fast ground, so fingers crossed she can get off the mark.

Supreme Quest

Zamarelle was perhaps a little disappointing on the polytrack at Kempton when she weakened in the closing stages. She gallops and stays and is capable of running better on her home work.

Zamarelle

We only have one runner today with Clowance Estate going to Lingfield for the 2.30pm race a mile and a half maiden race. He was an immature horse last year but he is a good mover like most Teofilo's and should enjoy todays ground and he seems to gallop and stay well. Lets hope he continues the good run of our three year old maidens.

Clowance Estate (Ire)