THREE runners at Carlisle tomorrow and another at Alnwick point-to-point after what was a rare Saturday with no runners this week.
JONNIESOFA (1.35) makes his seasonal reappearance in the 0-140 handicap chase. He will be off top weight but he’s in fine form at home and has a good record fresh, so we’d be hopeful of a good run.
It’s two-and-a-half miles on soft ground, which will be tough and will take some getting, but we think he’s fit enough and are hoping he’ll give a good account of himself. He’s won at the track in the past - beating a certain Nuts Well and Happy Diva - so we know he likes the place.
We have decided to step back in trip because he’s taken too much out of himself by pulling before. I always thought he’d be a real good three-miler, but while he ran well in the Rehearsal Chase he pulled far too hard in the Rowland Meyrick and then again in a Veterans’ Chase at Doncaster.
So we’re dropping him back a bit so we can let him go earlier in the race and don’t have to try to hold him up for so long.
We also run SEVEN EYE BRIDGE (1.05) who is on a bit of a recovery mission after disappointing us at Hexham back in October. He’s better than we saw that day so hopefully he’ll put in a better showing this time around.
SHANBALLY ROSE lines up in the opener at 12.00 after two outings so far at Newcastle. A longer-term project, she is a mare who will benefit from experience.
It’s great news that the Alnwick point-to-point is going ahead and will be streamed so people can watch the action over the internet.
Worcester Pearmain will be our runner there, she loves the track and will give James Rowbottom, who works for us, his first ride. She’s a yard favourite here so hopefully both Apple and James are successful.
We were delighted to get a win with Definite Wisdom at Musselburgh on Monday. At the tail end of last season he had his excuses with the ground, but we were disappointed with him at Kelso last time out.
So we pinpointed that race for him because he’s run well at Musselburgh in the past and thankfully the first-time visor did the trick. It was a bit of a wait, but we were really happy to see him bounce back to form in front of all his owners, who were able to get to the track and enjoyed seeing him win.
Above is a picture of him on Monday.
It’s good to see some of the tracks around the country get more people back through the door and hopefully things keep going the right way because a day’s racing is definitely enhanced when there’s some atmosphere around the place.