AWOL

I read that Tom Dascombe didn't update his blog for a few days last week because he was too busy
drinking champagne after his wonderful double of the July Stakes and the Superlative Stakes (the latter victory coming with a 5,000 gns son of Traditionally, which made the win even more remarkable). That's what I call a good reason. Unfortunately, I have no such excuse for having left this site unattended for twelve days. What happened was that we had a few visitors during July week and I just let things slide - well, let this blog slide, even if I did manage to get most of my other assignments completed. So what kept me so occupied?

I think I last posted two Saturdays ago. The following day we had a very late night as we went to see Neil Young play in the evening in Kent, which was excellent. After a very late night (we didn't get home until 1am) I tend not to be at my most productive the next day - and then on the Tuesday Joff, organizer of the Empire (see Spaceage Juliet and Stoneage Romeo on the Horse Biographies section) arrived, having flown into Heathrow the previous afternoon and spent the night with Chris Aarons in London. Joff's girlfriend Wendy arrived two days later and they stayed until Monday. During their stay we had Julian Muscat here for one night and Cameron Plant here for one night, so that all kept me happily busy - and since everyone has left it has taken me three days to put finger to keyboard (in this context, anyway). Plenty happened during the period, so here's a selection.

Shortly after Joff's arrival we failed to sell Belle Annie at Tattersalls Sales, which was a shame, but no fault of the auctioneer Edmond Mahony, who gave her every chance to find a buyer. (Fingers crossed we have found a home for her now, so all will be well if and when it ends well). We then took Joff up to see two champions in Abington Place, wishing Seachange, plus Jane Ivil and Graeme Sanders, well for the 7-time Group One winner's farewell run in the following day's Falmouth Stakes and wishing Takeover Target and Joe Janiak (pictured) 'Bon Voyage' after yet another heroic visit to the UK. Takeover Target is possibly the first horse since Brown Jack to make the frame on each of six consecutive Royal Ascot starts, and the true joy about this fairytale is that it really couldn't have happened to a nicer man.


It was fortunate that Joff's visit coincided with Tunda still being here, because her being here allowed me to spend quite a lot of time pretending to be a proper trainer (ie standing on the Heath with our visitors watching horses work, rather than riding the horses while leaving our visitors to their own devices) which was great. Wednesday afternoon saw us enjoying an afternoon at the July Course, where Seachange was the star even in brave defeat.

We had a real treat on Thursday morning at the Darley stallion parade (top picture), viewing I think 24 stallions including (just a few names which stick in the forefront of my brain) Exceed And Excel, Red Ransom, Bertolini, Doyen, Lammtarra, Mark Of Esteem, Manduro, Tiger Hill, Cape Cross, Halling, Shamardal and Authorized. That was so pleasant that we didn't make it to the races, instead staying there until it was time to drive to Cambridge mid-afternoon to collect Wendy at the station. She earned ten out of ten for endurance because we went to an open-air concert by Crowded House in Thetford Forest that evening, from which we didn't get home until nearly midnight, and she managed to fend off jetlag impressively.

We went our separate ways on Friday, as I went to Ascot while the rest of our crew went to Newmarket. It was wet enough during the latter stages of the afternoon at Ascot, but I got off lightly compared to the tropical rainstorm which hit Newmarket during Fantasia's impressive winning debut. Sadly the rain which did fall at Ascot proved to be the straw which broke the camel's back for Brief Goodbye because, after the rain earlier in the week, the track ended up just too wet and loose for his liking. Even so, he ran his usual honest race, and Luke Morris rode him very nicely, so his last-place finish didn't detract from the pleasure of the afternoon: the modern Royal Ascot is too much the 21st century version of a Hogarth painting for my liking, but going to Ascot on a normal raceday is a delight, and my outing there really made me appreciate that it is now a wonderful place to enjoy an afternoon at the races.

Saturday morning included some more work-watching, plus dispatching Cameron to the station, before Emma, Wendy, Joff and I enjoyed an idyllic afternoon savouring the splendour of Cambridge, followed by a really good dinner in the Dyke's End pub in Reach. We went on another outing to another of the jewels of East Anglia on Sunday - the Hall, park and beach at Holkham in north Norfolk - before calling in to see Joff's godmother Susan Renouf, formerly better known as Susan Sangster, in Dalham in the evening, an engagement which nearly had to be aborted because of the astonishingly heavy traffic which made returning from the coast a very lengthy experience.

I dropped Joff and Wendy at Stansted on Monday morning - and now, on Thursday afternoon, I feel that I've made a decent impression on the backlog of tasks which I'd let slide during the past week. I didn't actually leave much undone at all during July Week, but there are always more things to do, and as yesterday included a trip to Kempton (where Jill Dawson ran) and the previous day included a trip to Ascot Sales (unproductive but interesting) with Hugh, running to stand still has been, as ever, easier said than done, especially with the very heavy M25 traffic which we encountered on both outings.

There are 101 reflections which are arguably worth discussing from the above activities, but I think they can wait a day or two. At least I've sort of explained my blogging absence, so that will do for one day.