Always expect the unexpected

Our trip to Nottingham should have reminded me always to expect the unexpected (as regards the storm, that is).  In fairness, Nottingham had warned us that there might be rain, but the specification that it could be "up to 0.8mm" had rather allowed me to drop my guard.  As I found to my cost when the heavens opened.  Even so, I was pretty confident yesterday evening when we headed up to the July Course that conditions would remain balmy through the evening.  And in that (extremely easy prediction) I was proved correct.  Where I was considerably less correct, however, was in the manner of Wasabi's running.

I'd shown our visitors, the Ritchie family, around the track earlier in the afternoon and pointed out that the first four horses would go to the unsaddling enclosure next to the weighing room, while the also-rans would unsaddle in front of the thatched saddling boxes.  What I hadn't bargained for was that our runner wouldn't even get that far, but would be unsaddled where she ground to a halt around the three-furlong pole.  This is my 18th year training and I'd never previously trained a horse who'd bled to the extent that he or she had been pulled up, but I suppose all that that had meant was that I was overdue for it to happen.  And that's what happened yesterday.  When one sees one's horse being pulled up and dismounted down the track, it's actually a relief to find that they've 'only' bled, because the alternative is that they've broken down.  And, really, bleeding isn't the end of the world, just as long as they don't make a habit of it.  And as Wasabi (pictured under Martin Lane looking terrific before the race, winner for Hugh of the best-turned-out prize) had never shown any signs of it previously, let's hope that it was indeed just a one-off.

So that was unexpectedly bad.  But today we've had some things unexpectedly good.  When Mark Ritchie was out on the Heath this morning with his childen, I happened to glimpse Frankel in the distance second lot and pointed them in the right direction.  So seeing him was an unexpected bonus for them - and then this afternoon we treated ourselves to a visit to Duxford Air Museum, where the unexpected bonus was seeing a Spitfire flying.  Duxford is a truly special place which is great under any circumstances, but the chance to see the Spitfire going through its routines really couldn't have been predicted, and turned a really good afternoon into an outstanding one.  Just another illustration of the fact that one never knows what's around the corner - and sometimes it's something bad, but sometimes it's something good.

Tomorrow we're off to Market Rasen with Kadouchksi.  We're in a pleasingly valuable race (well, it's pleasing if we're lucky enough to finish in the money; otherwise it's academic) but it should be valuable as it's a 0-130, with us on bottom weight.  And, as it is, it's below-tarriff - as, amazingly, is every race on the programme.  Do I feel bad about running in it?  Of course not: over jumps, as all the major jumps trainers have shown themselves to be completely (and shamefully) indifferent to whether or not races meet tarriff (ie are completely indifferent to whether or not their owners are being taken for a ride by the racecourses) then who am I to be any different?  So if trainers such as Tim Vaughan, Hughie Morrison, Peter Bowen, Tim Easterby, Lucinda Russell, Brendan Powell, Ian Williams, Evan Williams, Jonjo O'Neill, Donald McCain, Neil King, Sue Smith, Charlie Mann, Charlie Longsdon, Micky Hammond, Alan Swinbank, Paul Webber and Nicky Henderson are all happy to run in sub-tarriff races at Market Rasen tomorrow, then John Berry would be fool of the year to take a stand and say that it's beneath him.  And the Worcester boycott?  Well, if those trainers were serious about it, why had they entered in the race in the first place?