Rothwell bags sweet double in Tramore
Sun is shining and we had a double in Tramore
WHAT A great week it has been, the sun is shining and we are all set to enjoy a few barbeques, who would have thought!
Most exciting is that the horses seem to be thriving at the moment and it was far from a bad week here at Fairwood.
I was a bit disappointed at Wexford on Friday evening when I arrived to find the ground hadn't dried out quite as much as I had hoped and the going was officially soft, which didn't help any of my runners.
The dead ground was nearly harder on them than loose soft ground but they still ran very respectable.
Cross To Boston has a preference to run left handed but unfortunately there are very few left handed tracks and no races for him at the moment but he did finish fifth.
Beneficial Spirit also finished in fifth place and I was very pleased that he came come safe and sound.
It was back to the grind stone here in the yard on Saturday with lots to catch up on and Tramore to look forward to on Sunday which turned out to be both very productive but also somewhat frustrating.
Vincent Row was the first of my runners on Sunday and I thought he had a great chance in the maiden hurdle with Barry Geraghty on board but it was not to be.
He slipped up on the flat traveling really well; in fact Barry was confident that he would have won on him.
Vincent Row was very sore coming home and I was worried that this would be the end of the season for him but thankfully when I took him out on Monday morning he was greatly improved.
All Honours was next to run and he ran great to finish up in the 4th spot.
I had Notimetoserve up next in the handicap chase and I was expecting a big run from him, he had been working extremely well at home improving all the time.
He didn't disappoint and gave both myself and Andrew our first winner of the day. He jumped really well and eased up the hill to win by 2.5L.
My last runner on Sunday was Cheap As Chips, who was sent off a well-supported favourite, no pressure!
She just has such a big heart and although I wanted her to make the running she was challenged throughout for the front running spot which wasn't ideal.
I was delighted with Andrew's performance especially as I had told him to make the running he could have went crazy trying to keep her in front but instead he kept a cool head and gave us our second winner of the day.
It was lovely for Andrew to get his first double on the board.
Cheap As Chips is owned by my father in law and I know there was plenty of shouting back in Enniscorthy!
It was back to Tramore on Monday where we managed to secure a second and third placing. Catchin Time was only beaten 3.5L for third and I think he will improve considerably for his run. Udo's Choice picked up the other placing when finishing second with Mark Enright on board. He made a bad mistake at the second last and although it's hard to be sure I think he may have had the measure of the winner.
There is great racing to look forward to over the Easter period and I have a couple of horses lined up to run in Fairyhouse.
The big race on Sunday is the Powers Gold Cup and if I was to put my money down here it would be Felix Younger that gets the vote.
It's a though contest and will be interesting to see if all seventeen of the horses entered will run, it might just break up with a smaller number of horses. Felix Younger has the experience and I don't think that we have seen the best of him as of yet.
On my own front I hope to run Divine Rhapsody on Sunday in the 3 mile handicap hurdle.
He will love the ground and the big galloping track so I'd hope for another big run from him. I also have two entries in the Tattersalls Ireland George Mernagh Memorial Sales Bumper which is run over two miles.
The first of these is Rufino a four-year-old horse by Presenting.
I purchased him last year for his owner and think he is a lovely talented horse in the making, however, I am fairly sure I will keep him for Punchestown festival.
The second of my entries is Gotadime and I think he has strengthened up really well over the past few months.
I have given him two runs so far but wouldn't be surprised to see him in the shake-up.
All going well and provided that Notimetoserve isn't showing any signs of fatigue over the coming week he will run in the Handicap Chase on Easter Monday.
It's getting very close to the Irish Grand National with scratching stage on Wednesday and the final declaration on Friday. It's very hard to call whether he will get in or not? I am hoping with every bone in my body that he gets to run, it would be such a nice feeling to have him run on the day not just for me but also his owners and all the lads in the yard.
Saoirse Dun would just love this race and it was made for him. I'd be confident that he would jump really well and put in a great performance.
It won't be hard to imagine the mood here Friday morning if he is one of the final runners.