07/07 Update
It was good to go racing again this week after a few weeks hiatus and it’s great the syndicate owners have more to look forward to over the coming weeks.
Surrey Shadow put in a good performance on Thursday at Haydock him just failing to get up in the closing yards. He’s still very immature and everything up to this stage is a learning process. The ground at Haydock was too quick for him, despite there being a soft layer that broke up on top, it was firm under that (which led to abandonment of the remainder of Saturday’s meeting). Those who watched would have noticed that Shadow hung left on the firmer sections of the track, the softest part was the final 100 yards where he did his best work.
Shadow shows plenty of immaturity at home and at times can be very keen. As a result, in the early stages of a race he can struggle to settle and therefore does need a quick 7 furlongs, rather than slower pace over further. Jack Mitchell was originally booked to ride but his riding style is fairly aggressive so when David became available, Tom felt Shadow would be better off with his more sympathetic approach. This was the best he has settled and after the race Tom commented that he felt that the horse had finally grown up.
Whilst we go into every race trying to win we are also conscious that it’s better early in a horses career to race the horse in a manner, that whilst competitive, he can also learn a few things. There really is no point winning a novice, learning nothing and getting handicapped to the hilt. We feel that, with a fair wind, he can win a big Saturday race and possibly the Lincoln in March. We have always been firm believers that it’s where the horse ends up and not what he’s like at the start of his career. Shadow was fine post race, although has a small cut that will require treatment and a few days off. The handicapper will give him a mark on Tuesday and we feel 82/83 is probably about fair and then we’ll look at the options available.
Yesterday wasn’t just about the football as attention turned to Surrey Force who in all honestly had a very underwhelming handicap debut back in May. He’s been gelded since but following that doesn’t look quite as bulky and it will probably take time to grow back into himself. Colts put on weight for fun but geldings do seem to struggle. Despite looking a little immature physically he still looked great and won the best turned out which is satisfying for those that care and look after him. Nottingham missed most of the weekend rain so the ground was firm and as it turned out, too quick for Force who seemed to struggle as lot, repeatedly changing his lead legs all the way down the home straight. Despite that he showed some effort (which had been missing) and battled to finish 6 lengths back in 5th. We know it wasn’t the best race of the day, he’s not going to be a superstar, but we think he will win races on softer and over further, 12 furlongs or more. The handicapper will knock him down a pound or two on Tuesday, we will then look at the options available but we’d expect him to be back out again fairly soon.
The other main news of the week is Surrey Fortune. He’s struggled a little early this winter with the wet weather not helping the grass produce the full nutrients he’s needed but more recently he’s really thrived in Cornwall and looks a picture. Credit again to Jackie for investing so much time and effort into our horses that enjoy their holiday in Cornwall and come back in great shape. Along with the owners, we have decided to move him into the care of Toby Lawes, joining stablemates Surrey Lord and Surrey Quest. Toby advised on the purchase of Fortune and is fully aware of the medical history, we do think he’s best placed to get Fortune racing and winning. We actually think that we will have the best 3 horses in the yard next season and with that comes preferential treatment for the horses and the owners, to us that’s a win - win ! We will organise a visit to see all three on the gallops once Surrey Quest returns to training but it’s going to be a very exciting NH season if!
Hughie didn’t think Surrey Belle was quite ready to race last week so she’ll probably run at Kempton over 2 miles on the 16th. Surrey Charm is continuing her patient progress on the gallops., whilst Surrey Noir is seemingly delighting Tim in Chantilly.
This week though we have two really big races for the owners, with two horses who have had issues over the past months. Surrey Fire, after 270+ days off returns in a class 2 novice at Kempton on Wednesday evening with the inform Clifford Lee booked to ride. Declarations are tomorrow but looking at entries there are horses that cost, 750k gns, €420k , 260k gns and 2 who were 200k gns, plus a host of blue blood homebreds, it’s going to be some parade ring! We just hope that Fire runs sound and backs up his impressive debut performance that then has us dreaming big.
And then on Saturday, Surrey Mist returns after an absence of 14 months in a class 2 handicap at Ascot. He’s been cut to a rating of 99 for his reappearance which is still a really tough opening mark for a horse that has had so much time off and we really don’t know how his injury will be until he’s in at the deep end. Both races have a prize pool of over £40k so fingers crossed we can cover some of the training fees.
Best wishes to the two horses this week, and to the very patient owners, fingers crossed both horses come back sound.
Possible races and events
July
Wednesday 10th – Surrey Fire – Kempton – 6.10
Saturday 13th – Surrey Mist – Ascot – 4.05
Tuesday 16th – Surrey Belle - Kempton – 8.30
Saturday 20th – Surrey Noir – Les Sables
August
September
Friday 6th – Toby Lawes Open Day