Autumn in August

I've recently finished reading a beautiful novel entitled 'Summer In February', which phrase evokes a lovely image, which becomes even more special once one reads the book. Unfortunately, we have the opposite. I'm tempted to say that we have the absolute opposite, which would be winter in August, but autumn in August is probably more accurate. The government, talking heads and boffins will be happy, because this summer has pretty given the global warming theory a severe jolt, but I'm not. And I don't know if seeing York on television bathed in sunshine makes things better or worse: here we've had two days of solid rain (again), the type of days on which a hot bath is the automatic choice once morning stables eventually end. However, other than the fact that my theory that shorts are the preferred attire for riding PARTICULARLY WHEN, rather than unless, it's raining has been severely tested (and I'd maintain that it has passed the test, because I'm sure I'd have been even less comfortable in long trousers), today has actually been a very pleasing morning.

We - ie Cliff and I - had an early start today, because he and Imperial Decree departed at 5.30 for the Curragh, on a truck which also contained two horses trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam. Our filly and her travelling companions are due to run in the Tattersalls Sales Race on Saturday, which is an exciting thought. It will be a very competitive race, but she has earned the right to be in it. The prize is very good so it was an easy decision to take her there - the main aim is to finish in the first ten, which would make the trip profitable - despite the fact that I would be more confident of her chances if the race were over a furlong farther. We have a very good jockey engaged (Wayne Lordan, who used to ride quite a bit for us when he was over in Newmarket one winter five or six years ago) so, now the filly is on her way, there is nothing to do apart from look forward to what will be our first Irish runner since Largesse finished third in the Blandford Stakes (Group Two) at the Curragh nine years ago.

Once the filly was safely on the road, the usual morning's work could begin, and three horses stick in my mind as having earned top marks. Aisling was extremely pleased with Lady Suffragette's work and I was similarly delighted with Brief Goodbye when we took them six furlongs along the Cambridge Road all-weather strip; and then Filemot was a model pupil when Kirsty, accompanied by Martha on Millyjean, gave her some stalls practice in heavy rain at the end of the morning. Filemot might/will probably make her debut at Musselburgh next Thursday, and Marvin Gardens, who galloped this morning with Martha up Railway Land, will probably accompany her to Scotland. That, too, is something to look forward to, especially as they will be our first runners for maybe four years at a course where we have been very successful in the past. It won't feel right spending the afternoon at Musselburgh without the late, very much missed, Joe McCarthy, but I know that he will be with us in spirit, and he will be cheering the two horses on from above. Between now and then, in addition to Imperial Decree's run in Ireland, Millyjean will probably run at Newmarket tomorrow (one might be tempted to scratch her because we have eschewed wet tracks with her in the past, but I think that the evidence that she doesn't handle them isn't conclusive: granted she ran very poorly in soft ground at Yarmouth earlier this year, but then again she has run similarly poorly on various other surfaces as well); Lady Suffragette might have run at Cartmel on Saturday (Eliminator permitting - and I note that the stable yard there isn't big!); and we hope that Jack will have had a safe - fingers very much crossed - steeplechasing debut at Huntingdon on Monday. And I hope that by then it might have stopped raining.