Tantamount is our only runner today and performs in the first division of the two year old maiden race at Nottingham this afternoon. I am not sure that he will be suited by the soft going but today is the last opportunity to get another race into him before the end of the season. He was a bit free in his last race at  Haydock and unfortunately he is drawn in stall 17 on the wide outside which will not be to his advantage.  I hope that he will show improved form but his future will be in staying handicaps as a three year old.

Definightly's chances were improved considerably by the rain that started at Maisons Laffitte and continued  up to his race turning the ground soft.  He ran another genuine and consistent race and perhaps should have finished second behind the runaway winner Iver Bridge Lad who was also suited by the ground. Definightly is a great traveller and so easy to deal with and indeed he seems to enjoy his overseas trips. His owners the Emmet's,  always go to see him run and I think enjoyed their day at Maisons Laffitte. There is one possible race remaining this year which I hope will suit him at Fontainebleau on the 24th November where the ground is likely to be soft or heavy.

Both Definightly and Cityscape travelled through the night via the ferry and were safely back at Beckhampton by 5 am this morning.

Definightly is our only runner today and goes for  "a repeat"  in the Prix De Seine-Et-Oise at Maisons-Laffitte this afternoon. Unfortunately the ground will be riding considerably faster than is ideal for him but there is a forecast of rain this afternoon. Last year he was drawn 1 and Thierry Thulliez stuck to the stands rail and won the race by one and a half lengths with the 3rd horse a further eight lengths away. Today he is drawn wide but there are very few opportunities left for him and this will be only his fourth start of 2011. He travelled over with Cityscape on Friday and I gather he is very happy and in great form but todays race looks well up to Group 3 standard.

Definightly

Unfortunately Mac Love decided that  Saturday was not a going day but he did manage to win the £100 prize for the best turned out horse in the race. Steve reported that he seemed very happy and relaxed before the race but decided not to exert himself in the closing stages, he will now have a winter break being turned out at Sally Doyle's farm near Hook in Hampshire.

It was a great and successful trip to Saint-Cloud and a pleasure to see Cityscape have such an easy race to win his first Group race in France. He trotted up sound this morning and will travel back from Lamorlaye  (where he has been stabled with Definightly) on Tuesday evening.  There is a possibility that if he gets an invitation, he may travel to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Mile Gr 1 on December 11th. I have been concerned in the past about running him on fast ground but he coped well with San Siro on good to firm ground and he does seem to be a more sound horse this year. He is definitely unsuited to galloping downhill or on an undulating track having twice been injured at Newmarket.

Mac Love is a truly remarkable horse and runs in the Ben Marshall Stakes at 2.05 pm this afternoon at Newmarket. He started life in the Brocklesbury on the 20th March in 2003 when trained by Mick Channon. He must have realized by the end of that season that he was at "a tough school" having run 16 times as a two year old and winning 3. He has since been trained by John Akehurst, Jeremy Noseda, myself in 2006, Stef Higgins and finally back to Beckhampton. He has been a remarkably consistent little horse having run 73 times winning 10 and earning nearly £400,000 in prize money. At the ripe old age of 10 he has retained all his enthusiasm on the gallops, always full of zest and moving as well as ever.  Todays race is competitive as you would expect, but there may be a lack of pace which may not suit him, as he can be quite keen.  I hope that he will have the chance today to show that he has retained all his enthusiasm and ability.

I have just received word that Cityscape and Definightly had a trouble free run to Paris overnight. They will have a quiet day being lead out before Cityscape travels onto Saint-Cloud for tomorrows race.

Cityscape

Definightly is declared to run on Tuesday at Maisons Laffitte where any additional rain will be appreciated by him.

Definightly

Photographs taken this morning of the horses out at exercise,  returning home.

It was great to see Moidore  not only behave well, (as he can be a highly strung character) but also to win in good style virtually making all. He probably ran to a mark in the low 70's in his previous race at Leicester and I would imagine that he is likely to be handicapped in the high 70's after yesterdays performance. He should develop into a nice staying handicapper as there is plenty of stamina on both sides of his pedigree. Both Loxton Lad and Ali Hope were given every chance to run well but failed to deliver and will be heading to Doncaster Bloodstock sales next week.

We have no runners today but Mac Love will be declared to run in the Ben Marshall Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday and Cityscape remains an intended runner for the Prix Perth at Saint-Cloud on Sunday.

We managed to sell all the horses at yesterdays Horses in Training sale with the exception of Rex Imperator who did not reach his reserve price and has returned to Beckhampton. It is a tough market unless you have all the boxes ticked as a jumper or to go to race in Dubai or Hong Kong.  We still have two quarter shares available in the Dark Angel yearling colt and Compton Place yearling colt.  Please see our Horses For Sale page.

We have three horses heading up North to run at Nottingham this afternoon. Loxton Lad (Ire) runs in the Seller with James Doyle at 2.30pm. On the ratings, he should have a good chance as long as he can recover the form he showed two races ago at Leicester. His two subsequent races have been a little disappointing, but perhaps there were good excuses, but we will see.

Loxton Lad (Ire)

Moidore and Ali Hope (Ire) run in the 3.05pm a mile maiden race for two year olds.  Moidore perhaps was a little unlucky last time not to have finished closer to the easy Godolphin winner Mojave as he was pushed out on the bend and lost a couple of lengths. He seems at long last to be maturing mentally and strengthening up and I hope his form will continue to progress but ultimately he will be a mile and a half handicapper next year.

Moidore

Ali Hope (Ire) has been extremely disappointing in two runs to date but there have been legitimate excuses as he hated the kickback at Kempton and he was unsuited by the very soft ground at Ffos Las. He has been a rather backward gelding but I hope that with the help of a pair of blinkers he will run a much more encouraging race today.

Ali Hope (Ire)

Saturday was another exciting day at Newbury with lots of good racing and our three runners performing really well. I thought Estrela was impressive in making all and winning her race by over 4 1/2 lengths.  There are no more races for her this year and it will be interesting to see how far she stays as a three year old as there is a mixture of speed and stamina in her pedigree.  Al Kazeem ran as expected, gamely and put up another consistent effort but unfortunately we were beaten by yet another William Haggas hotpot who could well be a Group 1 horse in the future.  Inchina ran a race full of promise staying on without being given a hard time to finish 3rd against fillies that had more experience than her. She would have appreciated a bit more cut in the ground and should continue to progress over staying trips as a three year old.

We have a fairly quiet week with three possible runners at Nottingham on Wednesday and I am hoping to send Cityscape to France later in the week to run in the Prix Perth  Gr 3 at Saint-Cloud on Sunday.

It was a good day yesterday with most of our two year olds running well, with two winners and plenty of promise from the others. I was pleased with Camberley Two's run at Doncaster as he was perhaps a bit fresh and keen in the early stages, but he stayed on really well to be beaten 3 1/2 lengths having come from off the pace.  He won't run again until the Spring but there is promise of more to come as a four year old.  Dedication was a little disappointing but she choked up in the closing stages and I hope in time, we will see some improvement from her.

At Newbury Daffyd showed his immaturity by misbehaving in the paddock and unseating poor Steve Drowne but luckily neither were hurt. He was a little on edge but he settled well in the race and stayed on in the closing stages. I hope that he will continue to mature during the winter and reappear in a maiden race next April.  You have to wonder what happened at Windsor when Priceless Jewel was so disappointing but yesterday the penny had truly dropped and she put up an eye catching performance to make all. As a May foal and by Selkirk, she could be an exciting prospect for her owner breeder Bjorn Nielsen. She may stay a mile but there is also plenty of speed in her pedigree.  I was really thrilled with the way Trader Jack ran having missed the break and being stopped in his run two furlongs out. He is a big strong colt with plenty of improvement to come and he may stay 10 or 12 furlongs as a three year old.  There was a bit of a turn up in the second division with Waterclock staying on gamely to repel the opposition in a faster time than division one.  Although James Willoughby was rude about his dam Waterfall One's progeny on television, he is in fact a half brother to three previous winners. There is plenty of stamina in his pedigree and he should be suited by a mile and a half as a three year old and it is exciting that Notnowcato has now sired 8 individual two year old winners in his first crop. Captain Cat showed plenty of promise and speed for such a big colt and George Baker thinks that he will make an exciting staying horse for the future.

Today we have three runners at Newbury with Estrela running in the first division of the fillies mile maiden race. She showed plenty of promise at Salisbury, will be suited by fast ground and the trip and should have an each way chance.

Estrela

Inchina runs in the second division, who is a lovely big filly from the Inchinor family and quite closely related to Miss Keller  who won the E P Taylor Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday.  She would prefer a bit more cut in the ground and will make a better three year old as you would expect from a daughter of Montjeu.

Inchina

Al Kazeem has been a very tough and consistent horse throughout the season having finished 1st or 2nd in his four races to date and on each occasion showing improvement. He certainly knows his way around Newbury having run five times out of six of his races there.  Todays race looks competitive but I am hoping that he can win his first Group race having been 2nd in the Great Voltigeur and Arc Trial.

Al Kazeem

Waterclock