For those who keep looking at the blog and thinking I've either died or lost interest, rest assured neither apply. It's simply that work has been absolutely crazy of late - two major projects that took a lot out of me, followed by an outside job that turned out to be a nightmare. That was followed by a ridiculously tight deadline, and then another tough outside job that saw me working around the clock. Only now have I started to look at the computer again without a look of dread in my eyes, so it's time to update stable movements and a few of the results at the very least.
Starting with the English horses, things have gone very quiet since Mick Jr left West Ilsley for a new life in Australia. It saw the end of the Lord Ilsley Racing enterprise, which was always a lot of fun, and a serious drop in the level of communication generally. The Box 41 nags have also seemed to fall off in numbers, and one wonders how much longer the Box 41 syndicate will continue if things go on the way they are. Dusty had a run at Newcastle in November, and came fourth before having a spell during the off-season. Both Macho Mover and Dusty were sold late last year apparently, leaving me with nothing left running in Box 41 colours.
In the meantime, The Jazz Singer has been replaced with Second Symphony in Ireland, and 'Rosco' has given me some Aussie interest again. The Irish pair have been disappointing, as the unusually dry weather ruled out jumps racing for week after week, month after month. When they finally did get to run, Godiva's Bay was brought down by a faller hitting the ground in front of him, and the newcomer just made up the numbers. Now we are in the middle of another long break, and I'm far from happy to be honest - had I not been so busy, making time pass by at the speed of sound, I'd be even more fed up. At least, Roscommon has provided some value for money, running five times already this year, with a fourth, a third, two seconds and a handsome win. We'll do the profiles in a bit...
PS. Another win for 'Rosco' on 9th April - a glimmer of hope in a sadly gloomy era. The dream of running a series of Godiva-named horses in the UK is now behind me, as it only seemed important to me (and an old mate from Coventry who wanted in on the act) - business must be hellish good if you can ignore a solid request for a horse. Looking into the possibility of another Aussie runner, otherwise my horse racing days are looking numbered. At least Rosco had another good run, coming third at Townsville on the 18th.
PPS. No news on the Aussie expansion from someone I was sure wouldn't let me down, although Jo Hassett has come through with news that she may have something on the horizon. Bless her! She's a beaut, and always has been over the years we've been together as a trainer/owner partnership. No improvement on the Irish horses - the campaign continues to be 2% pleasure, 38% stress, and 60% burden, which is definitely not what you get into the game for. Supposed to be a runner on 4th May, but the way things are going, I'd be surprised if it makes the start line, let alone wins. If ever there was a cure for the horse ownership bug, this Irish lark is it! My England campaign is also as good as over, so having a stake in a few UK greyhounds is a more important factor than ever in me trying to keep my sanity.
PPPS. Sure enough, Second Symphony did run, although simply made up the numbers - not the best of starts for the new Reiwa Era. It will be given one more chance, but personally, I don't think it deserves it after that performance! At least Roscommon had another good race, coming second in the 1830m Carlton Burdekin Cup at Home Hill on the 18th, and then fourth at the end of the month, thus earning himself a nice long rest. June saw the decision to give Godiva's Bay a rest in preparation for a proper Autumn campaign and the dropping of Second Symphony, so not much left to write about now...
