Monday at Ayr - Side of the Road 4th

Only a 4th place finish but Side of the Road jumped and travelled well for most of this race. Dropped back in trip to 2 miles for the first time over hurdles, the mare was settled in the rear as several of the runners disputed the early pace.
Her jumping is electric and this enabled Callum to make steady progress at the end of the back straight to be on the heels of the leaders turning in for home.  However, she wasn't able to quicken and came home a bit one-paced in 4th, albeit just 3 lengths off 2nd place.

Carlisle Sunday - Stainsby Girl 3rd

She was carrying a 7lb penalty for a course and distance win in December, and racing on faster ground than preferable but it was neither of these two factors which were against Stainsby Girl on Sunday. She finished a close 3rd in this mares' bumper but she pulled very hard from the off, and was still tugging at Callum's arms as the field met the rising ground at the end of the back straight.

Disputing lead 2 furlongs out with the eventual winner Paris Dixie, our mare stuck on gamely in the final furlong but her earlier exertions had told by this point and didn't have any more to give.

This was a slowly run race, and most of the field still held a chance two furlongs from home, so it's hard to rate the form too highly. However, we feel our mare has come on from her previous run and has a bright future........if she learns to settle!

Footnote : it's always nice to hear kind words about our horses on TV, and full marks again to RTV's Peter Naughton for correctly identifying Chris Rea's song of the same name as the source for naming our mare....and quoting the lyrics into the bargain.

Some girls stole your heart
Like most girls do
But a Stainsby Girl could break it in two

If she continues to pull so hard in races, she'll certainly break Al's heart in more than two!!