Tuesday 24 April

Is it any wonder that we get frustrated with the game?!! Come to that- is it any wonder that owners are leaving our great sport? Kikos is a very lucky boy, he has a wonderfully loyal and enthusiastic band of owners who support him through thick and thin, and in return he never lets them down. But when we find out this morning that he has been put up 3lbs for getting beaten into second place last week it makes it hard to take. Surely the handicapper can see exactly where he is with this horse, he can win in the 0-115 grade, but struggles to win out of it and as the only races left open to him through the summer on his favoured sound surface are usually 0-135 contests, that are at least 2 grades higher, it makes life very difficult. The form is there in the book, and we usually end up running him until his mark drops to 115 when he can win again. Last week he failed to win off of 115, yet he has been put up. Imagine if you owned him on your own, in effect the handicapper has put the mockers on you winning a race for the foreseeable future again - and with prizemoney at these woeful levels I would be pretty sure you would not hang about in the sport for long! We can just about tolerate abject prizefunds if we can win a race once in a while, but when the opportunity is taken from you by very harsh rises in the ratings it makes it all very hard to swallow! We are, in effect being penalised for running the horse to form every time, something, I believe is required by the rules of racing. It took us 7 months and 7 runs to get him down 4lbs last summer, and in one run this year he has gone up 3 - AND HE GOT BEATEN!. If we stay over fences it will be a long lean summer for Kikos again! So we will have to find away to beat the system! And I think I may have just done it! More details will follow, but it is safe to say that, with the hike in his rating, his next run is unlikely to be over fences, as, (and Handicapper please take note), he can't bloody win off his new mark!!!!!! All very frustrating really!