Monday 20 July

It was another really good run from Kikos on Satyrday. Racing from an all time high mark he was only beaten just over 3 lengths into third, and showed all his tenacity and bravery to battle it out from the last under a big weight. It was a thrill for all the Club members to have AP McCoy in the saddle, but it was always going to be a really big ask for him to dial into Kikos's cruising speed and rhythmn having never sat on him before, and because of this they jumped of at a helter skelter pace. In AP's own words 'too fast' and in his mind it was this that got us beat. Kikos could never jump with his usual exuberance as he was always travelling just outside his comfort zone, but the Champ did say that he thought he was capable of winning off of that sort of mark, and I feel we have lost nothing in defeat. A good day at the races with a huge crowd, it took me over an hour to get from one side of Market Rasen to the other (a good chance to listen to some cricket)on the way in, but some quality racing to see. AP's ride in the big chase was a cracker, and what a finish!! After racing we stayed up in the area with my sister Heather and her husband Mark, and had a meal out with niece Kate and nephew William. It was good to see them all again, and thanks for a great lunch on Sunday. A very wet drive home last night, during which Stuart called to say that Kikos was not quite sound in the morning, and he will be looked at again today,we hope it is just a slight muscle strain.