SORRY!

I argee we'd all like to be told of 16/1 certainties, but ALASI did only just win by a short head, in the last stride!

As i've said and you've realised, most of our runners have needed their first run and there is no doubt that ALASI will improve no end from her's, it's just that she has had an extra two weeks before her debut, but even she has not worked on the grass.

Yesterday was particularily thrilling as ALASI is the first winner for Shully Liebermann, who is such a tremendous supporter of Cropredy Lawn and has supplied us with some ALASI (jumping second) winning at Lingfield.

very promising fillies. Sadly Shully was

unable to attend his 'maiden winner', but i'm sure will be present for many, many more. Many

people thought ALASI to be the pick of the paddock and as she stands nearly 17 hands, she did tower over many of her rivals. It was a promising effort as the field was made up of some good bumper-winning fillies, we hope this filly has a bright future.

JUST VICTOR runs at Warwick today in a small, but tricky-looking race. He wears a tongue-tie today which i hope will help him to finish in the first four.

Somehow Haydock has survived its early morning inspection and racing goes ahead today, after some very pesamistic predictions yesterday. The heavy ground is perfect for APPLEADAY, but it will test his fitness on his first start of the season. This is not his big aim, but he is very ready to run. William Kennedy will have to settle him early, as he flew the first fence and then ran too free with Dominic in the Midlands National in April. However the horse cannot lie out of his ground as he is not very quick, a proper test for our jockey today, to get it exactly right!

In this business it is very important to appreciate the good parts of the day, such as the horses looking healthy, being healthy, working like the wind(!) and schooling well. These two pictures represent the best part of this trainer's day.....Today.
You saw the first picture of our newest purchase, GTAAB on the web-site yesterday; now on his sixth day at Cropredy Lawn, you can see his first experience of jumping!
Talk about 'a natural jumper', this is
as good a pupil as we've had here.
What is also so impressive is his
temprament, as he is still a colt He is
just so cool. I really do not think this
horse should remain unsold for very
long, so if you feel the faintest
temptation, please give me a call
a.s.a.p.

Plenty of horses 'schooled' well this morning with AUSTRALIA DAY showing 'no worries, mate' from his unfortunate fall at Kempton. He will probably swerve Wincanton this weekend in favour of Taunton or Cheltenham next week. ASHES SUMMER continues to thrive and jumped well with TIME FOR RUPERT, LLAMA FARMER and HERE'S THE KEY. Three fillies worked well together, with OSMOSIA, BLACK ANNIE and an un-named Overbury all showing promise.
Sadly all the pleasure of these performances was wiped away by Andrew Thornton disappearing through the wing on a hitherto completely reliable jumper. This horse's name has been with-held to prevent ambulance-chasing, so-called 'lawyers' from contacting me or the horse's owner. Andrew's almost legendary experience of injury told him instantly that he'd damaged his left shoulder. He was quickly, but legally, driven to see his surgeon at the Ridgeway Hospital near Swindon and sure enough his own diagnosis was proven too accurate. He has sustained a fracture to his left scapula which will mean 4-5 weeks on the sidelines.
The ability of National Hunt jockeys to find a chink of light in a dark, gloomy tunnel is well-documented and it is that very spirit that can inspire recovery from injury and frustration that would reduce normal humans to gibbering basket-cases. Andrew's reaction to this frightful injury was to ring his pal Dominic Elsworth, who is also on the injured list. Poor Dominic had a horrible fall at Ffos Las two months ago and is still feeling the effects of his concussion. As their favourite pastime golf (?) is off the agenda right now, they plan an unusual treat for National Hunt jockeys...... Lunch!
The only honourable thing for a trainer to do was to offer to sponsor their 'theraputic troughing'! Just wish i'd qualified to join them, but currently neither wearing a sling or having a headache, I did not deserve an invite! A few moments later I receive a picture text of Marco Pierre White's pub, The Yew Tree near Newbury and then one merely saying, "Dom Perignon or Cristal?"
More proof, though none is ever needed, of just what special people, "The Knights of the Pigskin" really are. Let's hope the day has ended a tiny bit better than it looked like doing earlier.

HERE HE IS............ FOR SALE.

GTAAB.

3.y.o. B. C. Cape Cross- Nabadhaat.

16.2 hands, strong, rangy colt with an excellent temprement. Bred by Shadwell Stud, by the sire of SEA THE STARS and his grandmother Roseate Tern won the Yorkshire Oaks. Trained by Ed Dunlop, GTAAB ran with promise three times as a two year old, but then proved too backward with little 'niggly problems' to run this summer. Has been given the time to mature and develop and has a fantastic frame to make into an excellent dual-purpose prospect with the scope to jump fences in time.

Bought by myself and Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock for 16,000gns at last week's Tattersalls Horses-in -Training sale where he was Lot 976. Please give me a ring to discuss GTAAB in more detail.

What a delight not having to drive along the A14 today, as commuting to Newmarket for the four days of the Horse in Training sale becomes a bit of bind. However well worth all the study and hardwork to purchase GTAAB fron Ed Dunlop and Shadwell Stud. Pictures and details will appear on this site very shortly, so please take interest.
KENTMERE returns to the racecourse after 397 days at Uttoxeter today. He was an intended runner at Towcester last sunday, but although they had done their best and indeed a good job watering the track, the take-off and landings of the fences were still very quick. Sadly no sprinklers seem to manage to reach these areas as evenly as the rest of the course and there is also a tendency for take-offs and landings to become compacted and unforgiving. This a much hotter contest than the one he had to miss where he was a 7/1 'morning-line' chance, as opposed to a 25/1 shot today. He will run better than his price suggests but may be too 'rusty' to win.
Saturday's plans are still not confirmed, more later.

A moderate week so far on the racecourse but plenty being achieved at home as the horses work towards their seasonal debuts. The trainer made (yet another!) error by under-cooking MRS. TRELLIS, who 'needed' her run more than i had expected at Worcester on wednesday. She jumped and ran very well until she 'blew up' quickly, two hurdles from home. Sorry, but do not lose any faith in her, she is a good filly in the making. The rain came at exactly the wrong moment for RED BIRR, and he could not cope with the loose, chewed ground at Ludlow. A mid-winter wind operation awaits him after a little holiday.
LASKARI is extremely well, in fact i'll ruin his chances by saying that he's never looked or felt better. It is a competitive veterans chase today but he usually runs very well when fresh and I hope he's fit enough, there's the doubt after last week's nasty surprise. JUST VICTOR has thrived for his little summer break and has an each-way chance in a warm maiden hurdle at Stratford. DUDLEY DOCKER makes his debut over hurdles and although working and schooling well, there has to be a doubt, or at least it is unknown, whether he'll get the trip.

Cropredy Lawn Update.

The weekend did not go according to plan. ASHES SUMMER ran very acceptably in her first hurdle race and loved the jumping bit, finishing a very creditable third, but AUSTRALIA DAY got no furhter than the landing side of the first! Seldom has a horse had conditions so in his favour, so for Lady Bad Luck to intervene was nothing less than a bloody nightmare. After slipping on landing the horse scrapped himself up of the floor, jumped two steeplechase fences, went to the front again, won the race by 35 lengths and then did an extra lap of the track! Somehow, he is pretty unscathed a will hopefully have the chance to make amands before the weather finally turns wetter. COME APRIL was a complete cow at Pontefract and let us down badly, enough said.
Today MRS. TRELLIS runs in a very hot mares only hurdle race at Worcester. She ran very adequately in her mares bumper in the spring and has physically thrived since then. She schools well and will run well, but may still only finish 3rd,4th of 5th in this spicey contest.