Off the Cold Trainers' List!

Well, that's a big relief. Although it had been months since we'd had a winner, the Cold Trainers' List hadn't really started to play on my mind, because we'd only been averaging around a runner a week, and when disappointments - not that there had been many, because most horses had run pretty much as you'd expect - are coming more as single spies than whole battalions, they are not too dispiriting. However, when I was at Great Leighs a couple of weeks ago for Kadouchski's race I noticed that we had indeed crept on to the bottom of the list: you seem to have to have around 20 consecutive losers to feature, and we'd had 22. And 143 winnerless days. So Kadouchski took us to 23 consecutive losers, and then Brief made it 24 the following week. However, good old Take Me There prevented the tally climbing to 25 by winning at Southwell yesterday, which must have been 157 days since Brief had scored at Windsor. So that's great - and the real bonus is that, however badly we do, we shouldn't be able to return to the list for another half-year or so, because I'd imagine it will take us roughly that long to have another twenty runners.

Take Me There was very brave yesterday. He really is a lovely horse. He looked set for a clear-cut victory, but he met the last wrong. If he'd fiddled it he'd have got over safely and slowly and probably lost the race, but he's a good brave horse and Jamie Moore is a good brave jockey, so he took it on on a long stride. He was just coming to the end of his leap as he reached the jump and landed rather steeply and awkwardly, coming down through it which obviously interrupted his momentum. Fortunately, Jamie's enterprising tactics meant that he still had four lengths in hand as he set off up the run-in, which was just as well because he was getting tired and the mistake had slowed him up, and it took all his determination and class to hold on by a short-head. And that set off very happy scenes from Paul Devereaux and his friends who'd accompanied him on the trip from Ireland for the race, Paul causing much mirth by telling Luke Harvey live on ATR that they'd have "a good piss-up" when they got home! It's a pleasure to be involved with such a lovely horse, and that was very much an occasion to savour.

So now we can look forward to Ethics Girl's debut at Goodwood on Sunday. Obviously it's a lot harder to envisage her winning than it was Take Me There, but she's been going about her work very pleasingly so, fingers crossed, she ought to acquit herself with credit. The glorious warm autumn sunshine is continuing, so if the weather doesn't spoil and she doesn't blot her copy-book, a Sunday afternoon high on the Sussex Downs ought to be a trip to savour.