Tuesday 4 November

Not often I complain, but today I do on behalf of all the stable staff that were on duty at Huntingdon on Sunday. You really have to feel for both them, and the horses that they look after. The facilities in the stables at Huntingdon are simply awful. There is a sand and gravel base that they harrow, and after the rains on Saturday it just became a complete mud bath! Worse still, the hot water facilities that are vital to wash down the horses after each race are rubbish, definitely not able to keep up with the volume of runners, and Trish even said there was no hot water to be had even before the first race. The horse walk from the stables to the paddock was hock deep in mud, and the staff were wet footed and filthy when they arrived in the paddock - in fact Trish refused to walk Ogee back along the proper route and resorted to going back down the road - much cleaner!! This is not the first time these issues have been raised, but nothing ever seems to be done about it. Large sums are spent on new Offices, Champaigne Bars and entrances, all of which were perfectly good before the upgrade, but nothing is ever done about the stables and the facilities for both horses and staff. Huntingdon need to take a look at Towcester where facilities are A1.I know for a fact that all of the staff were complaining, and certainly 2 very high profile trainers who were there voiced their thoughts - let's hope something gets done!! College Ace declared there tomorrow but I don't suppose things will be any different. College will be sporting cheek pieces for the first time and may run well.