Good and bad yesterday. Quaker Parrot ran no sort of race, but we were fairly unworried. She fell out of the stalls in a heap and never got moving – she’ll learn from the experience and will run better next time. Tikka Masala was more of a concern – she ran no sort of race and we couldn’t explain it away. Tom thinks that she may have come into season – we’ll find out in the next day or two.
Theophrastus looked as if he was going nowhere for most of the race but found another gear at the end and won by 13 lengths going away. He is an out and out stayer – we’ve always believed that but this is the first real proof. He needs to smarten up his jumping – he still hurdles like a baby, which is not surprising as he didn’t see a racecourse until he was seven. I am more convinced than ever that he has talent for the chasing game – we have to hope that he can learn his lessons.
Marine Boy goes today in what looks like a winnable listed race at Ascot. He showed enormous promise in his first run, but has thrown it away every time since by running too free. He’s headstrong and it’s not unusual for a horse like him to do this – the first time he ran he didn’t know what was going on and did as he was told, but every time thereafter he’s got excited beforehand and burnt up all his energy before the race and pulling too hard in the early stages.
If and when he becomes a pro he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Today could be the day – his draw is ok to bury him in the pack from, which we failed to do last time from the one draw at Newmarket. Ascot is a relatively short journey. I’d prefer the ground a little softer, but he’ll go on it. I think he’ll win.