Sit-down Saturday

They make 'em tough up north. Today's going pretty easily so far, with things running smoothly to see us catching action galore on the television. Things got off go a great start when it became apparent that our usual ATR Aussie 2.30 to 5.30 slot, which had seemed devalued since the clocks had gone forward here and back in Victoria and NSW, had been extended by a couple of hours, which meant that we got the full Golden Slipper card, complete with five Group One races, from Rosehill. I don't know whether this will be an everyday extension, or just for today's special programme, but we'll be very much hoping that we can get the 2000m handicap from Wangaratta tomorrow: the meeting's definitely being shown, but I haven't checked the times yet - but fingers crossed we can see the mighty Joolzy, our Empire mighty mare, attempting to take her record to two from two since we were welcomed on board as very small partners. To be able to sit here at home and watch our horse running at Wangaratta seems just too good to be true.

Anyway, the reason for my opening observation stems from the obvious fact that Rosehill is far from the only meeting we'll be viewing today. Obviously Nad Al Sheba is the main focus, but there's also the Lincoln/Brocklesby (usual suspects step forward) card at Newcastle, presented by the excellent Gordon Broon. At what I believe is called the head of the programme, Broonie appeared standing on the track, resplendent in shirt, tie and blazer, looking very summery. As he beamed at the camera, he enthused about the combination of good racing and good weather, saying (with no hint of irony) that the forecast was for the temperature to reach a very pleasant high of fifty! For those who have ceased to be au fait with the old scale, this is ten degrees centigrade - hence my observation that they breed 'em tough up north.

Fortunately it's considerably balmier than that here, as a few photos which accompany this blog might suggest. It was a lovely morning, which prompted me to put into action a plan which had been germinating in my head for a while. Emma gave me the little digital camera for Christmas, which I've been using frequently, and the plan was to take a few shots from horse-back. So today it was a lovely morning and I was on a lovely horse (Lady Suffragette), which of course meant that this was too good an opportunity to miss.

We (ie Gemma on Belle Annie, Nikki on Brief Goodbye and little Lady S and I) actually had Southfields to ourselves, but it seemed as if the world and his wife were using the gallop across the flat parallel with the Rowley Mile. As we walked over there Michael Stoute's huge string was coming back, and as we walked home we had first Luca's (above)) and then Henry Cecil's strings walk past us on the outward journey. I was really pleased with the action shots I took cantering down, walking across at the far end of the Heath by the Rubbing House and looking back towards the racecourse stands and the rising sun, and galloping home. There was one shot which is just all ears and mane of Lady Suffragette (left): I must have been (by my standards) adopting a relatively stream-lined position at that instant. Emma, however, is less pleased with the photo-shoot, as she reasons it indicates too cavalier an attitude towards basic common sense and safe practice on my part; but I have reassured her that I had taken the sensible precaution of looping the camera's strap around my wrist to prevent it having a fall. She didn't seem that impressed by this, but at least she's agreed to put up the pictures - even if she's warned me off repeating the exercise.

What was particularly nice about my morning was that it was a typically easy Saturday morning and I only rode two horses - and they were both Lady Suffragette. That really is the recipe for perfection: the only thing better than riding her once is riding her twice. All was done at a disgracefully early time when Chris Dwyer rung to say it would suit him to bring a two-year-old grey filly by Dr Fong (pictured), whose arrival had been pencilled in for tomorrow, to the stable at 11.30 this morning, and to have a ride on her up Warren Hill when he did so. So: step forward one volunteer, please ... ah, Lady Suffragette, of course. So Chris and I had a very pleasant canter up the all-weather together.

That concluded an easy morning for me, but Chris, a tireless worker, is having a far harder day: he'd started it by taking a mare up to Shadwell, near Thetford, to be covered by Storming Home, and said he'll be ending it by taking a mare to Dalham Hall Stud for a MIDNIGHT covering by Tiger Hill - with his son Mark a nomination salesman there, one might have thought he'd have drawn a slightly better gate than that! This new arrival which he brought looks to have been extremely well educated, as you'd expect, and she should be ready to run in a small amount of weeks. She looks very nice. It will be interesting firstly to see her gallop, and then a bit later on to see how Imperial Decree (Diktat filly) goes with her, because the latter is coping with her daily canters with Martha very well, is looking stronger by the day and has so far seemed to be the model two-year-old pupil. Long may that scenario continue - but of course with all horses, particularly young ones, setbacks and disappointments can throw themselves into your path at any second. Poor Vince Smith discovered that a few minutes ago: I don't know how well or badly he was expecting his Brocklesby runner to fare, but I'm sure he wouldn't have anticipated that she'd be squeezed out by the horses around her two furlongs from home and suffer a really nasty fall. She looked to get up unharmed, but it will have given her confidence a tremendous jolt, so fingers crossed she isn't mentally scarred for life.

Having started the day watching the Golden Slipper, it's hard to enthuse over the Brocklesby. The Slipper was wonderful, and really pleasing to see the winner ridden by Damien Oliver - filling a notable gap on his superb CV - and sired by Flying Spur, whom I've had the pleasure of seeing twice: at the Irish National Stud in 1997 and at Arrowfield in 2006. He's a lovely horse whom I've admired for years. As for the younger pretenders to stallion stardom, Dubai Destination is already off the mark, having sired the winner of Britain's first juvenile race of 2007, the maiden auction on the all-weather at Lingfield on Thursday. This winner was out of the lovely former sprinting filly Blue Iris, but whether the form will amount to much is debatable. Kyllachy sired the rather attractive Brocklesby winner Mister Hardy, with sons or daughters of several first-season sires behind him. I didn't notice the Catcher In The Rye, but the Choisir looked to run semi-OK, as did to a lesser extent the Viking Ruler, while the Hold That Tiger ran atrociously, which will probably surprise Richard Sims and no one else.

That's enough of that - I'm off to watch some more Nad Al Sheba action.