Monday 3rd April, 2023

Oisin Murphy admitted he sat behind too strong a pace on Fighting Poet at Southwell on Friday.  It was noticeable that the winner came from the back of the field and Oisin also said that he would benefit from a bit of cut in the ground rather than an all-weather surface.  He is entered at Bath on Friday but looks unlikely to get a run in what looks a very competitive field thanks to the excellent prize money on offer.  If he doesn’t get a run, we look forward to finding something similar for him in the future.

We decided against declaring Fine Theatre at Wincanton on Wednesday as the race looked competitive enough and the track is plenty sharp enough for him.  He and Ned Cash are entered at Hereford on Thursday and we will make a decision in the morning about their participation.

Totterdown is entered at Haydock on Saturday in the ‘Challenger Two Mile Hurdle Series Final’ and being at £50,000 race, we will consider this as an option as long as the ground suits.

It was great to welcome James and Nicky Stafford to the yard yesterday.  We all go back a long way and James is an ex-Witney student like myself.  It was great to catch up with them both to discuss many aspects of the sport that we love.

An interesting weekend with the start of the turf season.  There were a fair few Classic pointers from Leopardstown and I was particularly impressed with Hans Andersen who looks to be a colt of great promise.  Fortunately I have him in my horse to follow list. Alexandroupolis was disappointing but he pulled hard early on and although he has won on similar ground – he might appreciate a firmer surface.