Weekend racing review

Three runners in the NH sphere plus a runner on the level.
Two second places, one third place and one that probably reappeared too quickly. And that was on the back of a couple of horses beaten ½ length and ¾ length respectively the previous weekend.

It was the esteemed Rudyard Kipling (of Jungle Book fame) who stated :
"If you can meet success and failure and treat them both as imposters, then you are a balanced man, my son"

Well....just how many winners has old Rudyard trained?
Balanced? I mean, at the moment we're about as balanced as any true Scotsman.......carrying a chip on each shoulder!

There were a couple of the yard's horses in those valuable Go North Series finals, but we probably rushed Shoeshine Boy's preparation a bit and he ran flat in the 3 mile handicap hurdle at Musselburgh on Friday, finishing a well beaten 10th to Rebecca's Curley Finger. Started favourite but much as we feared in our race preview, his race at Hexham 8 days prior on heavy ground took its' toll here.

But now onto the real heartbreak.

Ann Marshall's Both Barrels is by an unfashionable sire, with a sparse distaff side and is a flashy chestnut with 3 white stockings.
But there is a fair size engine and an even bigger heart in his frame. Starting at 66-1, he still looked a bit green in the Go North bumper final at Kelso on Saturday but Craig Nichol kept him prominent off a reasonable pace for a bumper. Knuckling down on the turn for home, our gelding actually led for a few hundred yards but the ease with which the winner Bertie's Ballet was travelling 2 furlongs out couldn't be ignored.
Both Barrels battled on gamely to the line only to be beaten a nose for second spot by Lucinda's French import Idem.

Bertie's Ballet actually won this very race last season too. C'mon Dianne, haven't you heard of novice hurdles?

And it didn't get any better on Sunday at Carlisle. In the 3 mile handicap hurdle, Nights In Venice jumped well and was in a prominent position throughout. Still travelling on the bit 2 out, he took it up and was soon pressed by market rivals Piaf Bubbles, Shantou Moon and Sadler's Bay. Shaking off those challengers he jumped the last a length or two to the good only for Topkapi Star to produce a run to pip our gelding in the last 150yds.

Gutted.
As for supposed balance (!), we're not even going to give a name check to the winning trainer.......

Oh, in hindsight we'd been warned as to how he weekend was going to be played out, on the All Weather at Newcastle on Friday evening. In the 10f handicap, our flat horse Pallas Lord led inside the final furlong before being agonisingly headed close home and going down by a head.

Lucky white heather, anyone?