Forthcoming entries

Quite an exciting week in prospect.

Top spot is with Shades of Midnight, who will have a first tilt in Grade 2 company at Newbury on Friday, in the Bet365 Long Distance Hurdle over 3m 52yd. Our gelding will appreciate further rain (current going is good-to-soft), and.......well, he's in fine form at home but appreciate that this is a fair step up in class for the 6 yr old - the race was won last season by Thistlecrack.

Also in line for a step into the unknown, so to speak, is Tomahawk Wood who will be aimed at a steeplechase at either Newcastle or Carlisle next weekend. Tomahawk Wood is a winning hurdler, and it is with eager anticipation that we await his chasing career.  He may have to start off in a handicap (his hurdle rating is OR90) but there are some races coming up in mid December and early New Year, so we'd like to get cracking with him sooner rather than later.

With these targets in mind, the pair did a fast piece of work on Saturday morning, pleasing both their riders Callum and Pinky

 
Shades of Midnight (Callum) and Tomahawk Wood (Pinky)

Before that however, we hope to have run another couple of our horses - both at Musselburgh on Thursday. Bollin Julie will not have run for 647 days by that time - © Racing Post - and has been dropped down to OR76, accordingly. She is looking very well, and working quite nicely in the morning gallops but we would prefer some ease in the going (advance description is 'good'), so it would be no surprise if she ended up needing the run.

Bollin Julie (Kingy) leads Goodknight Percy (Pinky) and a couple of stable companions

Keeping with the theme of this stable update, Paper Roses may make her hurdling debut in the 2m mares' novices hurdle at Musselburgh, and is another who we would expect to come on for the jumping experience.

Goodknight Percy will receive an entry at Newcastle on Saturday in the juvenile hurdle, where - you've guessed it - he would be making his hurdling debut.

Which just leaves handicap hurdler Hartforth who will have an entry over 2½ miles at Carlisle on Sunday.

Hartforth (Sarah) on the right with 'Katie' (Garry)

And also from the Saturday gallops

With all of the horses involved in the first 2 lots on Saturday at, or nearing, race fitness, it was left to the 3rd lot to be taken at a more steady pace - this involving three of our unraced youngsters.
'Sid', 'Zidane' and 'Arthur' were taken on a couple of spins on the Up the Middle gallop, and are all doing everything asked of them at present.

'Sid' (Callum) leads 'Arthur' (Pinky) and Zidane ('Kingy')