Thursday 24 November

Yesterday was a day to forhet all round!! It started Ok, a quick visit from Paul Wells who go to see his three horses all canter. Paul has the Kalanisi 3 yr old, a share in the Flemensfirth filly, and a share in Pull Together. All went very nicely. A quick cuppa, and in the lorry with Chandos Belle to Wolverhampton, for her debut for the yard. Bought to go hurdling, her intended debut (over hurdles) never happened when the meeting was abandoned, so plan B was a spin on the flat to get to know her. It is about now that the day started to go wrong - a burst water pipe on the lorry led to a slick reversing manouver up the entry slip road of Junction 1 of the M6, before finding a farm yard to park up in. A quick call to John Butt, and just over an hour later he arrived in his box to take me, Nula, and Chandos Belle the remaining hour to Wolverhampton. Stuart reamined in the farm yard with his tricken lorry to wait for a mechanic. I then received a text from one of her new owners, who was looking forward to seing her for the first time, to say that he had broken his nose, and was off to hospital to get it reset, so wouldn't make it. Another of her owners is ill and couldn't get to see her for the first time either! Traffic on the M6, and we arrived in the nick of time in Wolverhampton. CB was literally off the lorry, in her stable for a quick brush, and in the pre parade ring. Thanks to John Butler who helped me saddle her, and it was straight into the paddock - hardly the ideal prep for her. She was very well behaved, which was the main reason for getting her out on the track - so that part of the day went well at least. John Egans instructions were to bounce out and ride a race, which is the other thing that went to plan, she broke well, and led. It was on the first bend that it became clear that she was not going as she should be - she was on the wrong lead leg, and looked to be crabbing around the tight bend. John tried every which way to get her to lead on the correct leg, but she was unwilling to. This means that she was unbalance for a good part of the race, and John was understandably easy on her. He did say that she is a nice filly, but felt that something wasn't quite right with her on the day. CB was fine after the race, and when she had cooled off, we loaded up and headed for home. Stuart at this stage was still stuck on his own in a farm yard. Then the travel home - we somehow managed to get on the wrong slip road and ended up drifting off of the M6 - down the M42, no great drama, it just meant a trip round the Coventry ringroad, and as the junction at the A46/45 has been completed, we were not expecting to be unduly inconvenienced. We we were then almost taken out by a bread lorry, forcing John to take evasive action and go up the kerb to avoid a collision! Stuart's recover wagon arrives - but finds he has no side marker lights, and there is a moment when he feels he may have to wait for another wagon! They decide to push on! We meanwhile get to the reconfigured A46/45 junction, and missed the signs, and realise as we are half way under the new underpass that we should be on top of it!! Nose to tail traffic as we emerge, and a 2 mile stretch to the next round about to get to double back. In the end we get there, and normal service is resumed. Stuart has the trip from hell in the reovery wagon, that crawls back to Northampton, only narrowly avoiding two accidents, (that it caused) on the way. It was a releif when we were all home in one piece, and the day form hell was over!! CB has pulled out very stiff and a bit sore this morning, looking back at it, she definitely did not handle the tight turns of Wolverhampton, or the Tapeta surface. Stuart says that she looks jaded after her day yesterday, and he is going to give her a very easy couple of weeks to perk her up. Then normal service will be resumed and she will be over hurdles on bigger tracks and on the soft surface she very much prefers. I think we learned yesterday that her flat mark is a bit too high as well. She is still a nice filly, and will show herself in a much better light over obstacles. Molly Childers is declared in the bumper (3.40) in Doncaster tomorrow. A race confined to Conditional Jockeys so the excellent Cieran Gethings will take the ride. Cieran is one of the best Conditional riders in the weighing room, and is the yards go-to man in these races. Molly is a really nice filly, and works very nicely at home. She looks loke she will face at least one nice rival, but she will run a nice race.