Shades of Midnight placed at Ayr

Beaten under a length, Shades of Midnight ran a fine race and came agonizingly close at Ayr today when finishing 3rd in the 2m 5f handicap hurdle. He was in the van throughout, and went for home after 3 out but the winner (Runswick Royal) was travelling ominously easily and pounced on our favourite after jumping the last.

There are a couple of options open now to Shades of Midnight, about which we'll sit down and have a discussion with the Potassium Partnership. The gelding does hold an entry in the Pertemps Final at the Cheltenham Festival, a handicap hurdle over 3 miles. There's also a nice race at Kelso towards the end of March too, so we'll all have a good think.

Shades of Midnight (Stuart) leading a couple of stable companions