Cliff on the scales before heading to Ponte
IT’S a change of code for us today as we have a rare flat runner at Pontefract - our first on the level since 2015.
CLIFFS OF DOONEEN (3.20) came to us two years ago from Ralph Beckett, having not long run at Goodwood in the same two-miles-four race as Emma Lavelle won last week. He’s been going okay over hurdles but his jumping has gone a little bit backwards, so we thought we’d have a go with him in this.
The plan is to have a couple of runs then look at hurdles again later in the autumn when we can get a bit of schooling done with him on the grass.
He’s quite highly rated so has to run in a decent grade in this sphere, although there are only five runners so it will be a small field and hopefully that increases his chances. He’s seven now and doesn’t look to be particularly fancied in the betting, but he’s well-bred and has some decent form from his younger days.
He’s got a couple of promising three-year-olds of Jedd O’Keefe’s in opposition so looks up against it with them for starters. It’s a step into the unknown for us really and we hope the ground isn’t going to be too lively for him.
It’s fun to have Graham Lee back on board, he was our jumps jockey when we started out so it’s good to get that partnership up and running again. The last winner he rode for us was Some Reign in a Wetherby bumper back in early 2017!
We have never had a winner on the flat so this would be a good place to start and you never know, we might get the bug for it.
***
I was delighted to see Get With It break our duck for the season at Perth last week. He has really stepped up on his last two runs so we felt he deserved to get his head in front. We will give him a short break now and go back to the same venue in September.
He’s going the right way and we now know he stays all of three miles, so hopefully now he’s putting it all together there will be more to come from him later in the year.