Catch 22

I remember being utterly bemused when, as a teenager, watching the film adaption of Joseph Heller's novel 'Catch 22'.

I mean, what was that all about?

The innocence of my youth I suppose. Immature, with no real experience of the vagaries of life that the author was portraying in his satirical novel set in 1940s war torn Italy. Nevertheless, it stuck in my mind and these days the use of the phrase 'Catch 22' is commonplace.

The theme of the Catch 22 novel and film, repeated ad nauseum, was along the lines of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'.

We've a couple entered in at Carlisle on Sunday.

Shades of Midnight is rated 148, and in every season in his racing career, has taken a couple of runs to get fully tuned. For a first run of the season, we do not want to pitch him into Listed Hurdles which means running in handicaps.
Except that he can only go for Class 2 handicap hurdles in the 0-150 band. Where he'll be carrying a top weight of 11st 12lb, giving weight all round to some smart, progressive types from the southern yards. On his seasonal bow.
Hmmn!!

Baby Ticker is at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of experience of racing. Although she has run 3 times - generally the minimum number of runs required to be handicapped is 3 - and been placed on two occasions, the BHA Handicapper will not give her a rating. His prerogative of course, but it means that Baby Ticker is not qualified to run in a handicap.
So we have entered the mare in a novice hurdle where the maximum number of runners is 14. There are 28 entries, but Baby Ticker is second in line to be balloted out should more than 14 declare, so there's the fair chance she won't be able to run.

Catch 22?

Baby Ticker (Milky) leads his stable mates in a recent gallop

Our Spadoun gelding on the easy list

A brief update on one of our purchases from 2015, a Spadoun gelding, stable name 'Spud'.

The good moving 4 yr old gelding has suffered a stress fracture of his near foreleg, and will miss this season. He'll be given the required box rest, and with a subsequent spell at grass next summer will be brought back into training at Dodlands as a 5 yr old for the start of the 2017-18 season.

It's a pity as we originally thought he would be the type to need a bit more time to mature, but this was not in fact the case and he was showing up well in the morning. 

Oh well, that's racing.....but it's still hard to swallow.

 
'Spud' tracking 'Katie' in a late summer gallop