FIRTH OF FORTH (3.50) will make his debut for us in the Kelso bumper, he’s taken a bit of time to come to hand and been a bit green so we’ve had to take our time with him. He’s done a fair bit of work now but I won't pretend he's been drilled for this day, so it’s more about seeing how he gets on. It’s a newcomers’ bumper, a first outing to the races and a chance to get a bit of experience.
He got a bit of a write-up in the paper because he’s very well bred, which is a bit embarrassing because I’d be surprised if his run today reflects that! I hope I’m wrong, you never know, but from what we know of him so far this will be about education more than anything.
He's going to be a lovely horse for the years ahead so if you like what you see today, he's for sale so get in touch with the office.
We are excited about the Carlisle card tomorrow and go there with two runners on their Northern Lights finals day. First to run will be DO NOT DISTURB (4.05) who won the final qualifier race at Ayr last time out. It’s going to be a very competitive race because there is decent prize money on offer and a good field.
We were delighted with the way he won at Ayr and although he’s four pounds higher in the handicap now, we hope he’s still progressing. We think he will want further in time but two-and-a-half around Carlisle on soft-ish ground will be fine for him. So hopefully we will see him be very competitive again.
SEVEN EYE BRIDGE (4.40) delighted us winning at Carlisle earlier in the season and was then a good second at Ayr next time out. Lucinda Russell’s horse has franked that form by winning at Carlisle’s last meeting, so that reads quite well now. We took him back to Ayr for a handicap and he ran a decent race, so we think he’s on a fair mark for this.
He’s in good order at home and has course form behind him, so we’re going there on Sunday with a bit of hope for both of our runners.
I was thrilled to see HITMAN FRED finally get a win under his belt and it was great for his owners the Friday Lions. He’s been a solid horse for us and deserved to win one. His jumping has really come together and hopefully he’ll now be able to claim a few more in the spring.