Racing in the south east

I enjoyed our trip to Great Leighs yesterday. The disappointment of the trip had come beforehand - just over 24 hours beforehand - when it had become apparent that it wasn't going to be appropriate to run Polly, whom I regarded as easily our better chance. I was astonished to observe after exercise on Wednesday that she didn't look completely comfortable, and a blood test confirmed that running her would not be a sensible plan. It was, therefore, an easy decision to declare her a non-runner, albeit a decision which I certainly didn't want to have to take. This was the first time that I had scratched a horse by the new 'self-certificate' method, which isn't a particularly good description as there is no certificate involved. It is a good step forward, though, because having paid a vet to take a blood test to confirm that the filly shouldn't have been running, it would have been annoying to have to pay him again to write a certificate to say that, in his opinion, she ought not to run, which is what would have had to happen until very recently. I did, though, take the blood test print-out to the races with me to show to the stewards, because withdrawals from 16-runner handicaps are always viewed with scepticism by conspiracy theorists (ie Betfair Forumites and Racing Post Chatroomists), as are withdrawals of horses who are drawn very badly (eg 15 of 16 on a left-handed track), and I certainly didn't want any such aspersions to be made in this case.

So that left us just running Run From Nun. In an ideal world she would not have run, but the summer is a short one for horses rated in the 40s, and come the end of August there will be minimal opportunities for her. Even in the midsummer period of plenty there will be few enough opportunities so, although she still didn't look completely ready (see what I mean about on-course punters having a huge advantage over their off-course counterparts?) she'd done enough satisfactory work to say she was ready to run adequately, so it would have been crazy to turn down a rare opportunity to run (and to get the benefit which a lightly-raced horse receives from having a run) when we had one, particularly at a local track. As it was, whatever chance she might have had evaporated when she drew gate 16: she travelled really well for most of the race but, having had to work extremely hard in the first 300m to get a good position, inevitably she weakened out in the final 300m. Still, I came away happy that she remains a horse for whom a win in a low-grade race is a possibility. Certainly she is sound and genuine, which gives her a big advantage over a lot of her potential rivals.

Watching Run From Nun's race, therefore, wasn't a highlight, but it wasn't a lowlight either, and certainly was pleasing enough not to detract from the enjoyment of an afternoon at Great Leighs, which really is a very nice place. John Holmes, its principal, leads from the front and is ubiquitous on racedays, and I'd say that he is entitled to feel very proud as he patrols his domain, because he has created something good out of nothing, which is easier said than done. What is particularly praiseworthy is the fact that he hasn't just gone the way of Northern Racing (I'm not meaning to pick on them, but their name came straight to mind) and others of just putting on a 'racing product' at minimum cost: yesterday's programme was a really interesting and well-balanced one, with the essential low-grade races such as the ones in which I'd entered Polly and Run From Nun standing alongside two very good handicaps (71-90 and 76-95) and a conditions race. It's good to see good racing - but at the same time it's good to see a balance too: there are few enough opportunities for the likes of our inmates, so a racecourse which caters for horses at various different levels of the spectrum really is one to be welcomed.

And now I'm off to Folkestone, another track I usually enjoy visiting. I'll particularly enjoy today's visit if Filemot can win. If she reproduces and builds on her debut second there of last month she will just about win; I think that physically and mentally she is ready to do just that, but the big question is whether she will be able to do that on what will be much faster ground. Her pedigree and her big feet suggest that her soft-ground form is always likely to be superior to her fast-ground form, but all one can do his hope for the best.