Racing this weekend

It will be interesting to see if the cheekpieces remain or are removed this time around.

There's still time to supplement Appreciate It for the KG unless there is a good race for him over there over the xmas/new year period?
He has 2 entries at the Leopardstown Festival - a 2m Gr1, and the Savills Chase, which is 3m Gr1, so no need to put him on the boat really unless to avoid the absolute catalogue of top names that are entered for those two races. The Savills Chase entries alone are absolutely mouth-watering, and include at least 7 horses who are double entered for the KG:
 
He has 2 entries at the Leopardstown Festival - a 2m Gr1, and the Savills Chase, which is 3m Gr1, so no need to put him on the boat really unless to avoid the absolute catalogue of top names that are entered for those two races. The Savills Chase entries alone are absolutely mouth-watering, and include at least 7 horses who are double entered for the KG:

OK looking at the Savills I would supplement him for the KG to ensure a top 2 finish with Gallopin 😂 that is one seriously seriously tasty race!
 
At the Newbury Racecourse gallop I attended NH stated that they use these "away days" to desensitise some of their hotter horses such as Jonbon. They decided not to bring Shishkin as they felt it would not further his training at that point. I wonder if he had attended it might have helped his frame of mind??
He also said they will often take horses out on the lorry to walk around without racing. I guess there is no rule against that if they are health compliant with on course stables access. No different from taking a young horse to a local show for a walk round.
 
At the Newbury Racecourse gallop I attended NH stated that they use these "away days" to desensitise some of their hotter horses such as Jonbon. They decided not to bring Shishkin as they felt it would not further his training at that point. I wonder if he had attended it might have helped his frame of mind??
He also said they will often take horses out on the lorry to walk around without racing. I guess there is no rule against that if they are health compliant with on course stables access. No different from taking a young horse to a local show for a walk round.

You can take "travellers & companions" on race days so long as their vaccs fit in with racing regs and there is space in the stable yard. We don't often. If we have something going away overnight and there will be no others staying we take an older, doesn't care where it goes, what it does, horse if it isn't running that week to keep it company. But as we have the 2 yards our horses are used to swopping yards and they are never in the same boxes at either yard when they swop (bar 2 or 3 special cases). So ours don't mind much when they go away
 
What a shame re Slate Lane, I really liked the look of him, I looked up his sire Ask, who actually stands at stud locally in Cheshire.
 
Tomorrow evening I am going to a Gold Cup preview evening at Newbury to listen to a panel of Lewis Knowles, Tom Scudamore and Dan Skelton hosted by Luke Harvey. Should be interesting!!
Seems a wee bit early to be having Gold Cup preview evenings to me!
 
I still call it The Hennessy as do many racing folk 😂
Ditto!!! There are gold cups all over the place (Cheltenham had one the other week too), but there is only one Gold Cup! I'm a Hennessy girl.

Did they have any conclusions? These big runner handicaps can be hard ones to unpick. I guess we'll know who's turning up after today's decs, but Mahler Mission has to be well fancied. Stumptown has a chance if he improves his jumping, and Gavin Cromwell is on great form atm. Dan Skelton is being pretty bullish about Midnight River, but then he was equally bullish about Protektorat...
 
He certainly won something at the meeting in 2021. And the Challow Hurdle over Christmas.

A certain Ahoy Senor definitely won on that card too, as I was there with a couple of Hennessey runners, and stabled next to him - it was the first time I saw him I think.

Yeah with the iconic picture of him cat leaping the water jump wondering what the hell is underneath him 😂
 
We possibly/probably will. We are on route to Newbury. If it was a more chilled horse we would stop at Haydock or somewhere instead for the night and wait for the inspection. But Hank is a worried traveller so it's best to just get him to where he needs to be and relaxed.
 
Why are Newbury(?) Racing today when arguably the bigger meeting is tomorrow? Wouldn't they be better off saving the track with the covers on until tomorrow? Maybe add a couple of today's races to the card?

Hope we don't end up with flipping boring all weather stuff and they show Fairyhouse instead
 
Why are Newbury(?) Racing today when arguably the bigger meeting is tomorrow? Wouldn't they be better off saving the track with the covers on until tomorrow? Maybe add a couple of today's races to the card?

Hope we don't end up with flipping boring all weather stuff and they show Fairyhouse instead

With the temperatures tonight tomorrow would be doubtful regardless so they may as well run today, get the TV money and the crowd. And there was decent racing there today too. The Long Walk Hurdle has just ran. 2 old favourites fought out the finish.
 
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