It was a long weekend and it’s a relief to be back at my desk. We had a fifth child to look after and my mother came all day Sunday – it’s nice to be living in a big house but it takes a lot longer to clear it up.
It rained all afternoon so we decided to watch a DVD – I organised an X-factor style elimination. I picked out seven DVDs and put them on a table in our living room – each of the children had to go in and take one away that they didn’t want to watch. The final two were Up and Despicable Me. I sat the children round in a circle insisting on complete silence – they had to choose a post-it note with their preferred film written on it and on a count of three they had to stick in on their foreheads. They sat staring at each others heads – there were four Ups and one Despicable Me. 5 year old Ollie was the only Despicable Me – he had a huge grin on his face as he looked around the circle, but it dissolved into dismay, tears and a tantrum. I felt very sad for him but he settled and took it on the chin – it felt like a valuable lesson learnt.
I have a runner today – I own a piece of Flirty Gerty in the 1:45 at Carlisle. She is by Diamond Green and he liked a bit of cut – Tom thinks she will too, and the rains have come. She isn’t likely to be a champion but she should run well. It’s an interesting and possibly quite competitive race with a few that have run and look like they may appreciate the rain. I’ve heard a word for Fast On from Ed McMahon’s yard, and he may go well. The one I fear the most though is Mebsuta – this Amadeus Wolf colt is bred to appreciate softer ground and a glance through his two runs to date suggest a decent knee action. It all happened too quickly for him in those runs but he is progressing and should improve for the trip and ground.
I fancy another Amadeus Wolf tonight at Warwick – Lana goes in the 6:40. She is absolutely bred to appreciate cut in the ground – she’s running over 5f which may mitigate the fact that it is her first run. The favourite has been a bit disappointing – she just seems to lack a bit of speed at the business end of the race – and I’m happy to oppose her.