Wednesday 11 February

Cloonacool update - Day 5 - Vets still very happy with him, again he has walked out sound this morning and is still on no pain relief. He completes his course of antibiotics tomorrow, and Stuart will head down around lunchtime to pick him up. Our vet will also talk to the team in Newbury, and the right course of rehabilitation will be decided upon. There is a slim chance that he could run again this season, but I do stress - it is slim! It seems to have been all vets this week. As mentioned on here Paddy The Deejay, who scoped 100% clean before his run in Towcester a couple of weeks ago, returned with a heavy nasal discharge. This was diagnosed as a sinus problem, and as 2 courses of different antibiotics hadn't touched it, he went in yesterday to have his head xrayed and to see what could be done. A fascinating afternoon resulted in PTDJ having a hole drilled into the side of his head below his eye, a rubber tube being inserted and stitched to the side of his face. This tube will be left in for a week, and first thing in the morning, and last thing at night the team at Fences will attach the lance of a pressurised canister (the type used for spraying the garden), and flush his left sinus with 5 litres of fluid, to help clear the problem. He will continue in light duties while he has the tube in, and will not lose much in the way of fitness. He will have to have a more permanent procedure done in the summer when he is off games. So for now Paddy The Deejay, is more like Paddy The Plumber!! We get to see the vet again on Friday, when he comes in to take some blood samples, and to scope a few. Hopefully this will result in getting the go ahead to run Benefit Cut, and to crack on with Smart Exit and San Telm, who have both had a touch of the sniffles. Native Princess continues to progress. Kayla will make her debut in Fakenham on Friday - only 15 entered in a mares Bumper, but it looks like a hot one!