Ending spring in form, if not sunshine

It is really nice that we seem to be bang in form.  The only drawback, of course, is that being in form when one is having roughly one runner per week isn't likely to attract too many headlines.  But we've just got the three horses ready to race at present (we've also got So Much Water, but I gave her an easy fortnight after her early-May debut, so she's not quite ready to run again just now) so that makes it hard to make too many waves on the wider pond.  But those three seem to be in great heart: Roy third at Brighton on Friday, Indira second at Chester on Saturday and Hymn For The Dudes (seen here coming back in after the race) third at Wolverhampton yesterday (Tuesday) all put in fine runs.

Hymn For The Dude's run was so good that he was sent for a dope test afterwards (he had shown little in his three previous runs and went off at 25/1, but ran a nice race yesterday) but I wouldn't read too much into that.  Yesterday's race was his first outing since he went to Nottingham on 3rd August last year, but he's a lot older than he was then, and he's a gelding.  Yesterday's third place (admittedly beaten over four lengths) was very pleasing, although one should probably temper one's view of its promise by considering that he was pretty fit yesterday so isn't going to improve much in that respect.  He had been eliminated a couple of times in recent weeks and should ideally have resumed earlier in the month, so he had done plenty of work by the time that he was finally allowed to run.  But the outing was good - unlike the weather, which has been in these parts truly grim for the end of spring and start of summer, not that Roy (pictured here today) seems to mind.