IT was a real shame to see Ayr go off today because of frost - the perils of winter racing I suppose.
We had travelled north with Jonniesofa but quickly decided he wouldn’t run after seeing how cold it had been up there. It's only three weeks since his comeback run, which is probably sooner than we’d ideally turn him out again, but with limited options there isn’t much for him in the programme book at the moment.
He’s in great form at home so it’s a shame we couldn’t get a run, but we’ll be looking for suitable races for him in the coming weeks.
We haven’t managed to get a winner over the festive season, which has been disappointing, but the heavy ground has played its part. Some Reign didn’t cope with it at all at Wetherby in the Castleford Chase, while Espoir Moriviere didn’t run well on it either.
Trooper Turnbull pleased us with his third in a handicap there, while Le Cheval Noir and Vintage Glen ran creditable seconds in their races.
Fete Champetre wasn’t suited by the way they crawled at Kelso and was far too keen as a result, but he will have learned from the experience of his first go over hurdles and we’ll see a different prospect the next time.
We have runners entered at Catterick and Musselburgh later this week so hopefully the temperatures rise and we can get racing again.
Happy New Year to everyone who reads our blogs and hopefully 2021 is a good one for you all!