1st December update
No runners this week but it was good to meet up with nearly 20 of those connected with Sea Presenting for our first chance to get a good look at her. She certainly radiated on a gloomy Saturday, and Freya riding in her bright pink cap looked the part. Galloping with a string of older geldings, you could certainly tell who the mare was as she artistically trotted past . She wasn’t fazed by the crowd and patiently took in all the owner’s photos afterwards. We can’t wait to see her on the racetrack in the new year which could be on January 6th in Ludlow, and judging by the conversation over breakfast afterwards, Ludlow has experienced an influx of hotel bookings for that evening!! It was also great to see Surrey Fortune looking well as he recovers from his injury.
We also saw an impressive Surrey Quest and Surrey Lord going through their paces. Lord is still putting Gareth on the floor but has that an aura about him. Apart from his misbehaviour he has been working well and is set for a return to racing next week. Quest is looking imperious on the gallops; he was certainly the recipient of some admiring glances on Saturday. The handicapper raised him 2 pounds this week to a new career best (and the all-time highest rated Surrey Racing NH horse) of 139. He’s bypassing the Welsh National but has eyes on the Tommy Whittle at Haydock on December 21st, the Mandarin at Newbury on December 28th or the Warwick Classic on January 11th. The first two will be too short for him unless the ground is soft. With the Grand National weights set to be announced after performances up to February 9th Quest would probably struggle to get to 145 which is probably the minimum rating for a race that has now been reduced to 34 runners. The Scottish Grand National is very much in his plans but we wouldn’t want him much higher in the ratings, however, he will run on merits in every race as you never know what’s around the corner and we’ll see where he ends up.
Next to run will be Surrey Noir who is set to run in a 1600m handicap at Chantilly on Tuesday week (10th) with entries tomorrow. Steve and I will travel over and get the latest on Surrey Etoile.
Surrey Moon and Surrey King have completed their pre training phase and will be joining their respective trainers this coming week. Surrey Shadow is back cantering on the gallops, but he won’t be getting serious until mid-January and finally Surrey Fire is well and enjoying a low-key end of the year.
For Christmas present ideas, we do have a tiny share left in Surrey Fire, 2 shares in Surrey King and 3 in Surrey Etoile !
Have a super week ahead