A good day at the office.....

Wayne Hennessey has been unbelievably patient and understanding. Oscar Close has always been geared towards jumping a fence, but this particular plan was "holed in the water" by his Ffos Las fall back in November. On that occasion a novicey mistake put paid to a promising effort, and on his subsequent run at Bangor he showed that slithering along the Welsh countryside on his nose had done nothing for his confidence......

Back to the drawing board. A board at which racehorse trainers spend a lot of their lives. Plenty of schooling. On the horse's terms. Plenty of work on his back....

And so to Huntingdon yesterday. A bit of an "acid test". Which is a test that racehorse trainers spend a lot of time taking. Oscar "ballooning" the first few fences. But then settling into a rhythmn under another highly competent ride from Trevor Whelan, who remains great value for his 7 pound claim. And who helped reduce an otherwise prohibitive weight that Oscar would have had to carry....

A 20 length winner. "Hacking up", to coin a phrase. Not a great horserace. But a huge relief to see Oscar back on track. Like so many horses, he thrives on confidence, and yesterday's dismissal of the opposition will have done him so much good. He got an extra carrot, and a special hug from Tallulah last night.....

I was at Lingfield. Thrilled with Beggars Banquet on debut. A fine stamp of a horse, he was given a lovely ride by Chris Catlin. BB will come on a ton for this, and remains a fine prospect for the months ahead. And Thundering Home not really getting the run of the race when squeezed off the home bend. Running a little "flat". We will freshen him up.....

"In other news".........

Candida will be riding at The Cheltenham Festival. A sentence I never expected to type !! A huge honour to be selected from an application of hundreds to ride in the Charity race that concludes Thursday's card. 61 days to go. Discussions aplenty already about a suitable mount for the 1 mile 5 furlong contest. A nervous, but very excited, Mrs Baker......

Comments

[Richard Farquhar]

She really ought to ride George Baker, but I suppose he doesn't have the required stamina!