On Thursday it was lovely to meet some of the GO ON MY SON syndicate at trainer Clive Cox’s yard. We got lucky with the weather; the Champagne Breakfast was enjoyable and we came away pleased with what we saw from our Showcasing 2-y-o Colt.
It was the first time Go On My Son had done a half speed breeze but despite being very green he did everything nicely when the penny dropped. He was ridden by experienced jump jockey Ciaran Gethings which was handy as he gave us some very useful feedback.
Ciaran said he was really fresh, went nicely, had a good blow after the breeze but coped very well considering it was his first attempt. He’ll be much sharper for his first day and will improve over the following weeks. Clive Cox added that his ‘stalls work’ will start this coming week. We’ll know a lot more in 2-3 weeks but the hope is that Go On My Son will be ready to run over the cusp of July & August.
CLAIM DU BRIZAIS was pulled out of Worcester on Thursday after rain hit the course. And it was very much 80/20 against running at Newton Abbot on Friday evening after 30m of rain fell the previous day but knowing the track we felt it would dry back.
Harry Skelton rode stable mate and odds on favourite Belle Le Grand. They cut out the running whilst Heidi Palin (excellent 7lb Amateur) had Claim settled in behind the leaders. Heidi followed the plan to attack after the last flight to perfection which saw Claim Du Brizais get up to win by a neck.
Claim’s last run was disappointing (Fakenham 6th May) but we simply ran her back too quickly after her bumper win so we’ll not make that mistake again. She will continue to make hay during the summer months.
On Saturday both Noel and I jumped out of bed (separate beds, of course) with a spring in our step as ASCENDING STAR was making his debut at Chester under Ciaran Fallon for trainer James Owen.
He would be our first 2-y-o runner which opens up a completely new chapter for the company. It was hugely exciting for everyone involved to get our flat season started.
Running at Chester can be a worry. With the track almost circular in shape it would be a nightmare to be given a stall out in the car park but we got lucky – stall 3 of 10 which was ideal.
Ascending Star was sluggish from the stalls but Ciaran gave him a chance to find his stride. Despite being green Ciaran elected to switch in between horses at the furlong pole to educate him. Pleasingly he picked up very well with just one tap to finish a close and fast finishing 3rd place. The horses two in front of Ascending Star all had experience so it was a very promising run.