Fresh and breezy this morning, some heavy showers this week and a good few of them have landed on Perth where I expect the ground to be mostly soft for the very welcome extra fixture they are staging tomorrow. We have five declared runners on a card that has attracted horses from all corners of the British Isles.

Le Coup d’Envoi

We start off with stable debutant Le Coup d’Envoi in the 2m 4f Maiden Hurdle at 12.55; he is a recruit from the battlefields of Auteuil and Pau and on paper he ought to have a good chance reverting to hurdles having been running over fences in France.  He certainly works like a horse with loads of ability but what is always uncertain is how long they will take to acclimatise to the British way of training and racing; another unknown is whether they are flattered by their French handicap mark.  Will be interesting, either way he’s a lovely horse to have in the yard – 8 run and Bruce rides.

Oor Wish

Oor Wish is declared for the 2m Maiden Hurdle at 13.55, she is just finding her feet over obstacles and will be better over further in due course but she can hopefully run a nice race and learn a bit more.  She did give herself a little over-reach schooling yesterday so it is touch and go as to whether she will make it there – 10 run and Bruce rides.

Dubai Days

Our veteran chaser and stable stalwart Dubai Days runs in the 3m Chase at 14.30.  He’s getting on but there are no signs at home that his ability is waning, unfortunately that continues to be reflected in his handicap mark which remains within 3lb of it’s all time high despite him being 12yo.  Will be tough and the weight will probably stop him against a bunch of younger progressive horses but I would still expect him to acquit himself well – 6 run and Bruce rides.

Shooting

Shooting runs in the 2m Handicap Hurdle at 15.05.  We had high hopes for him when he arrived from France to go juvenile hurdling last summer and we pitched him straight into a Listed Race at Wetherby, I think a tough regime in France had left his mark as he wasn’t really interested and didn’t run a race at all.  This was followed by a series of setbacks that were not of his own making and I am hoping that the enforced rest will have revived him, some days at home I’d say it definitely has but other days can sow seeds of doubt.  He’s fresh and well so let’s hope we see something tomorrow – 9 run and Dom rides claiming a valuable 7lb.

Ned Tanner

Finally Ned Tanner makes his seasonal debut in the 2m 4f Handicap Chase at 16.15.  Although he was placed in four of his eight starts last season he did seem to have lost his way a little, as a result the handicapper has relented very gradually and he is now 11lb lower than he was this time last year.  That should be a big help though he has tended to improve for his first run each season – 9 run and Sean rides.  With the exception of the small setback to Oor Wish the horses we are running tomorrow have been fortunate to have a perfect preparation for their races since they came in at the beginning of July.  This is down to the hard work and focus of our dedicated Team and the patience of their Owners, it takes a long time to condition a horse for racing so thank you to everyone.  These photographs were mostly taken by the talented Carenza Pinn at our Owners Day last month – one of my favourite days of the year.

The G Wizard

Our venture to Perth in late September went reasonably well, the highlights were undoubtedly excellent runs to be third from Beat the Retreat and The G Wizard.  Bel Amigo also ran well, Burning it Up unseated after a circuit whislt Anamanda and Maillot Blanc were both a little lacklustre.

Suspected – hopefully makes his chasing debut at Kelso next week.