Unfortunately the heavy showers that arrived during the day at Windsor had made the ground on the slow side which did not suit Lovage, which was not a huge surprise as most of Exceed And Excel's progeny love the fast ground. She ran well to finish 4th from what turned out to be a poor draw as they finished the race up the far side.  I withdrew Sergeant Troy as I thought he would be unsuited to the conditions.

Keys has now been raised 16 to a rating of 94 by the handicapper which is I suppose to a level that we thought he might have reached after winning his Listed bumper at Cheltenham in January.  Quite where the huge improvement came from having run in 3 maiden races I'm not sure and most of the staff were a little shocked or surprised by the manner of this victory at Newbury.  The plan is to run him again at Ascot on Friday with a 6lb penalty in the Brown Jack Stakes and we will see if the handicapper is correct.

Today I am planning on having two runners at Windsor this evening, with Lovage running in the 7.10pm.  She completely missed the break on her debut at Newbury and did well to be beaten around 5 lengths in a race that looked weak at the time but several winners have now come out of it.  She is well drawn and it would be a disadvantage should she miss the break again and I hope that she runs well.

Lovage

Sergeant Troy has been a little disappointing in his last two races and as long as the ground does not turn soft, he will run in the 8.40pm. He wears a visor for the first time and it will be interesting to see if he produces a better performance. The last time he ran at Windsor, he was carried wide across the course and was virtually pulled up !

Sergeant Troy

Yesterday was a rather long day and a frustrating trip to France having left Beckhampton at 8am in heavy rain and with a forecast of heavy rain expected at Maisons Laffitte by midday but unfortunately it didn't arrive until 6pm ! There had been a strong drying wind over night and the ground was riding good to firm so sadly not good enough to risk Cityscape  I thought that it was very noticeable how few people were at the races on a day when there were two Group 3 races, the stands looked a bit like a morgue or Kempton at one of their winter evening fixtures.  I decided not to run Sea Of Heartbreak at Newmarket as they had 7mm of rain before racing and the ground had turned slow and the race turned into a bit of a slog which wouldn't have suited, she does hold an entry at York on Friday.  Keys was a revelation at his first attempt in a handicap having been placed in three maiden races over 11 and 12 furlongs. He had started to look a bit disappointing having started favourite on two occasions and being narrowly beaten twice at Kempton. The handicapper gave him a mark of 78 which seemed fair and the only hope was that he would improve by going up by 4 furlongs in distance. He won with Jamie Spencer doing '' hand-springs'' and with considerable easy which was certainly a bit of a surprise, it will be interesting to see how his performance was viewed by the handicapper on Tuesday when the ratings are published. He has an entry at Ascot on Friday in The Brown Jack Handicap over 2 miles which is worth £14,000 to the winner and 60% more than his Listed bumper victory at Cheltenham in January. Should he run he will have a 6lb penalty taking his rating to 84.  Having had a rather frustrating few days with 4 seconds from 8 runners it was very acceptable to have a winner again.

Alvitude was slowly away but moved up to join the field and then tired in the closing stages to finish in the middle and will improve as the season progresses, I would suspect that it was a decent race.   Lucy Limelites ran a brave race from the front to be beaten less than 4 lengths but Steve Drowne thought that she did not quite get the trip, so we will be dropping back to a mile next time.   It was frustrating to see Federation beaten on the line at Newmarket by Red Eyes (who is a half brother to Zamarelle and the only three year old in training bred by me)  especially as they stretched 9 lengths clear of the remainder. It was nonetheless a very encouraging performance and she should have little difficulty winning her maiden.

Today we have three runners and I am on the way to Maisons-Laffitte where the ground I gather is good with rain due this afternoon to saddle Cityscape in the Prix Messidor.  I was keen to take Cityscape to France in pursuit of suitable ground but also to see how well he travels and todays race I hope will be within his capabilities. 

Cityscape

Sea Of Heartbreak is in Newmarket to run in The Aphrodite Stakes at 2.35pm which is a Listed race for three year olds plus fillies over 12 furlongs. She has been very consistent in her three runs to date but todays race is competitive and we are also moving back up to a mile and a half to see whether she gets the trip for the future.  Sea of Heartbreak has always been happy on fast ground and should the going turn soft, her participation would be in doubt.

Sea Of Heartbreak

Keys runs in the last race at Newbury, the two mile handicap and I hope that stepping up in trip will bring about some improvement. There seems to be a big gap between bumper races and the flat, as I got the impression that he would have been rated 85-90 on his bumper form but he has consistently run to around 80 in his flat maiden races.

Keys

I thought That's Dangerous ran another good race and probably stepped up a little from his previous  victory in a seller. He was perhaps a bit short of room early on but stayed on suggesting 7 furlongs will be on the agenda next, to be beaten a short head by the difficult to beat in a finish Keiran Fallon.  Finishing 2nd in a handicap is never a good result particularly when the first two were nearly four lengths clear of the rest and I would imagine that the two year old handicapper will raise his mark by 4 or 5 lbs before he can run again.  He would also appreciate a bit more ease in the ground.

We have three runners today with Alvitude (USA) running for the first time in the first division of the two year old maiden race at Newbury.  He has only been with us  since 28th April having been at Mr Adbulla's Irish farm Ferrans. He is a big colt who has shown a little promise but will definightly improve for the experience.  He is a half brother to four winners and by  a Juddmonte stallion, Aptitude who was second in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, but won the Hollywood Gold Cup and Jockey Club Gold Cup, both Group 1's as a four year old.  His half brother Acrobatic (USA) won five races for us, including a Listed race at Le Croise-Laroche in 2006 and in the process helping Juddmonte Farms win the Champion owners prize in France. 

Alvitude (USA)

Lucy Limelites runs in a fillies mile and a quarter handicap at 4.15pm which looks competitive and it would be helpful if she could have "an easy lead" which seems to suit her style of running.  Her form from her previous race at Nottingham is working out well as the winner and second have both won again subsequently.

Lucy Limelites

Federation travels up to Newmarket for their evening meeting and runs in the mile maiden at 8.30pm. She drops back in distance to a mile having finished 3rd at Doncaster recently over 10 furlongs.  She is maturing physically and mentally and I am hopeful of another encouraging run, but she may find one or two with slightly better form to beat.

Federation

That's Dangerous goes to Leicester for the first race this afternoon, a 6 furlong Nursery handicap.  Having won over course and distance in a seller for his owners who live locally, this race I hope will suit him but I hope the ground is not riding too fast.  I think it is a very difficult call to know whether any of these two year olds are well handicapped or not, but a mark of 68 would seem to be reasonable, however I am surprised to see that he is favourite.  That's Dangerous  gave me the impression that 7 furlongs would be within his reach but we will find out more after todays race.

That's Dangerous

Our next runner is at Leicester tomorrow when That's Dangerous runs in the first race with Keiran O'Neill who won on him on his previous visit to Leicester.   I am hoping that there will be enough rain in France for Cityscape to travel to Maisons-Laffitte on Thursday evening to run in the Prix Messidor  Gr 3, over a mile on Saturday.  The going is currently good to soft and there is more rain I gather forecast for Saturday. It will be his first venture overseas and it will be interesting to see how he travels with a view to running in France or Ireland as the season progresses.  The official handicapper confirmed my initial views that Bated Breath is the best sprinter that I have been lucky enough to train, when his rating was raised by 5lbs to 118 yesterday.  My initial thoughts are that we will run in the Nunthorpe at York as the going at Haydock for the Betfred Sprint Cup can quite often be soft which of course will suit Dream Ahead should they meet again.

Starlight Walk was a huge disappointment to me, her owner and no doubt many thousands of punters, but she was found by the racecourse vet to be lame after the race.  She has remained sound and healthy all season, so something must have happened during the race which we will investigate.  Rex Imperator ran a very encouraging race at Windsor to finish second,  having suffered a nightmare passage through the race.  He was constantly squeezed up, short of room and had nowhere to go for most of the race and received a couple of smacks over the head in the closing stages, so all in all he did well to finish second.

Today we have two runners going in different directions with Starlight Walk travelling to Wales to run at Ffos Las in a mile and a half fillies maiden race at 2.20pm.   I am hoping we have picked the right race as she deserves to win having been placed in her three races this season.  It would be a nice "follow up"  for her owner, as her half brother Tactician won the Listed race in very game style at York on Saturday.

Starlight Walk

Rex Imperator runs for the first  time in the six furlong maiden race at Windsor this evening at 7.40pm.  Most of our two year olds need the experience first time out but I am hoping that he will run well, his dam Elidore won four races and made her debut in June as a two year old.

Rex Imperator

Just for a second or two I thought Bated Breath was going to win the July Cup on Saturday, but Dream Ahead would have been an unlucky loser had he not won.  Bated Breath ran his best race to date to achieve a RPR of 122 which is a 1lb below his half brother Cityscape.  After the race the press correctly reported that he was the best sprinter that I had trained and this has been confirmed by the RPR ratings. Patavellian was rated 121, Harmonic Way 121, Avonbridge, Tamarisk and Tante Rose on 120 and Striking Ambition 119.  We now have time to reflect and decide as to where he should run next but the Nunthorpe at York in August will be considered.  As usual, Genki ran another brave and consistent race to finish 6th and had he not met with some interference in the closing stages, he would have been 4th. Our two runners at Salisbury were slightly disappointing, but Loxton Lad got tired in the final furlong and was not subject to a hard race. His future may lie in handicaps when he is qualified.  Thistle Bird is a complicated character and not easy to ride or train and she did not settle in a very slowly run race, but she did stay on well in the final furlong to be 4th. She deserves another chance over a mile before deciding her future.

Yesterdays runners at Newbury were depleted after Zamarelle misbehaved at the start and dislodged Steve Drowne several times. A disappointing performance in view of the fact she had always behaved so well at home and a little tuition from Gary Witheford and a stalls test will have to be completed.  Tiger Cub was always outpaced and showed her inexperience but she behaved well and hopefully will improve. I thought Sergeant Troy travelled well but rather like in his previous race, did not seem to pick up in the final furlong.

Today we have runners at three different meetings as long as the ground is suitable for Cityscape to run at Ascot.  Both Bated Breath and Genki travel up to Newmarket this morning to run in the July Cup, a hugely competitive race with most of the runners being separated by one or two lengths on their best form.  Bated Breath came out of his race in the Golden Jubilee in good form and he seemed to work particularly well last Saturday.   He did not have the smoothest passage through his Ascot race, being bumped by Genki and also the slow ground I don't believe was in his favour, but he needs to find at least two lengths to land the big prize.  He is one of the  most exciting sprinters that I have trained with a wonderful physique and temperament.  Genki is probably my '' bestest '' racehorse friend as he is blessed with the most charming character, always gentle but with plenty of humour and courage.  He deserves his place in the field and has constantly lifted his game from season to season. His last race at Newcastle when he won the Chipchase (Group 3)  was a fine effort, he travelled well and won with a bit in hand. On their homework, there would not be a contest, as Genki would literally be a furlong behind Bated Breath but Genki is extremely lazy and looks after himself at home ! The July Cup is a big and important race for Beckhampton and it was last won by the stable in 1982 by Sharpo (Jeremy Tree and Pat Eddery), when the race was worth £40,000 to the winner. 

Bated Breath

Genki doing dressage ! 

Cityscape will  only run if the ground is at least good to soft and at this stage he would look to be an unlikely starter unless the heavens open up.  He put up an impressive performance at Ascot behind Canford Cliffs and Goldikova and on that form should have a great chance as he is 3lb better off with Dick Turpin who beat him under 3 lengths at Sandown in May when Cityscape got very tired in the closing stages.

Cityscape

At Salisbury, I run Loxton Lad in the first race, a novice 6 furlong race for two year olds that cost less than £24,000.  He was bought at  the Doncaster Breeze Up Sales in April and he is by the exciting first season sire Lawman, out of a Giant's Causeway mare, who was a half sister to a Champion two year old in New Zealand.  It could be argued that he should be running in a maiden race rather than against previous winners, but his connections are both new to racehorse ownership and can both get to Salisbury to see him run. 

Loxton Lad

Thistle Bird has not run since winning a fillies mile maiden race at Nottingham on 29th May as there have been very few suitable races that she has been eligible for with her rating of 84. It will be interesting to see how she runs as I am under the impression that the handicapper has over assessed her ability, but she should be improving.