End of March update
Another quiet week and a feeling of being caught in limbo between the inevitable post Cheltenham wind down and the turf flat season, which kicks off at Doncaster next weekend.
It was disappointing not to have been at Newbury yesterday with Surrey Lord, although the winner was very impressive and it would have been a big ask to have beaten him. Having spoken to Toby again this week, he is convinced that we made the right decision not to run, both in terms of the immediate well-being of the horse and the longer term interests of the owners. His physical presence and occasional belligerent attitude will serve him well in the future but there was a real risk that his immaturity would have resulted in him boiling over at a big event like Newbury. The good news is that Lord has done two really good pieces of work this week and if the good work continues the plan will be to organise a racecourse gallop early one morning, probably at Kempton, as part of the learning process and to see how he copes.
Staying with the NH horses, the good news is that Surrey Quest is well, ready to race and we can expect an entry to be made this week. What is not so clear are Nicky’s thoughts as to the distance and whether to run him over hurdles or fences. When I spoke to Nicky on Thursday he was on holiday but Quest was schooled over fences on Friday and he promised to call us early this week to discuss the options depending on how he schooled. Nicky gives the impression that if they can get his jumping right he believes Quest has more potential over fences than hurdles but let’s see what Nicky has to say over the next few days.
Finally, with the jump horses, we have Surrey Fortune who continues to pick up his work with long, steady canters. He wasn’t able to have his first spin at Towcester last Tuesday as there was essential maintenance work being carried out at the track but the plan is for him to do so next Friday or Saturday.
Surrey Noir is raring to go and he will run at Kempton on Wednesday with James Doyle onboard. Noir worked on both the turf and AW this week and Charlie felt he was happier and better on the turf but the Kempton race just looks a better place for a debut.
The Kempton race is a Restricted Race for horses in Bands B, C & D and few owners have asked what this means. In Restricted Races, horses are placed in a Band according to the purchase price of the horse when bought at a public sale, with Band A being the most expensive. A 2lb penalty applies as you move up each band. This means that for the Kempton Race the most expensive Band A horses would be excluded but Surrey Noir as a Band B horse would carry 2lbs more than a Band C horse and 4lbs more than a Band D horse. A more detailed explanation of how restricted races work is provided below:
It was good to see the recent photos and videos of Surrey Knight as the transformation over the past 2 months has been remarkable. He will have one more precautionary scan before returning to Charlie’s around mid April but the last one was clear, so we are not expecting any problems. By the time he leaves Culworth Farm he will have done plenty of work and will slot straight back into the routine in Newmarket. We caught up with Charlie earlier this week when he explained that with the past injury in mind, he will make an adjustment to the way Knight is trained this year. Rather than shorter, faster work up Warren Hill or along the Al Bahathri all weather gallop, the emphasis will be on repetitive longer gallops on the turf to build up fitness and stamina. If Knight was a sprinter this may be a problem but it is an ideal training regime for middle distance horses. Those that have visited Hughie Morrison’s yard will know that this is Hughie’s preferred method of training as he has the luxury of a long grass gallop. Charlie will use the Long Hill turf gallop at Newmarket. We will organise an owner’s visit to the yard, probably in early May once Knight has had a chance to settled in.
As regards the horses with Hughie, there is nothing new to report. Surrey Belle is half way through her two week break, Surrey Fire remains slightly ahead of schedule and Surrey Charm is coming into her own in the warmer weather and being prepared for a run in April.
Surrey Mist came out of his race well. Despite being a shorter race, the average speed was slower than the race in Deauville and in the last 400m Mist was 6km/hr slower than his previous win. It does tend to confirm the view expressed on the day that the drying ground was sticky and that Mist wasn’t 100% race fit being the first run of the season. We are looking towards the end of April for his next run and there are options in the UK, France and Germany.
Surrey Fortune continues to put in the groundwork with plenty of steady canters to strengthen the muscles, bones and tendons and so far so good.
Good luck to the Surrey Noir owners this week and there is plenty to look forward to over the next few weeks with Quest ready to run again and Mist and Charm being aimed at races in April.
Have a good week
Possible races and events
March
Wednesday 29th Surrey Noir – Kempton
April
Sunday 2nd – Surrey Noir – Doncaster
Saturday 22nd April Surrey Mist – John Porter Newbury
Sunday 23rd April Surrey Mist – Gerling Preis – Cologne
May
Tuesday 16th – Surrey Racing Golf Day