Thursday 22 February

Classic Ben was on a bit of a retrieval mission yesterday - since his arrival last spring, he had run twice in bumpers in the Autumn, running huge both times to be second to very good horses. He has then gone on to win his two novices' hurdles over the winter, again conquering some highly regarded types in the process, and in doing so earning himself a crack at graded company last month. Sadly that went wrong - he never looked happy on the ground that day, and finished tailed off. We came back scratching our heads a bit, but settled on unsuitably soft ground for the reason for his poor effort, so we went back to Doncaster on slightly better ground yesterday to see if he could get his season back on track. He didn't disappoint! Travelling through his race the best he ever has, he was left in third at the second last, but stayed on with some purpose after the last to come home a fast finishing second. It was by far his best run, and sets him up nicely for a crack at the Stayers Challenger Series Final in Haydock on Easter Saturday. CB is a super horse with a bright future, and I am sure that we can squeeze another few pounds of improvement out of him for that! His form figures since we purchased him now read 221172 - a superb return from his first season! Long term he will be a very good staying chaser, and will take his owners to some very nice places!! He seems fine this morning. Next engagements have been found for a couple of them - Kaloci will have an entry in Doncaster on Friday 2 March, in a 2m Mares handicap hurdle, a qualifier for the Mares Hurdle on Challenger Series Final Day in Haydock on Easter Saturday. This will give us another string to our bow in terms of targets, although the 2m4f of Newbury could suit her better than the 2m2f of the Haydock Race. Pull Together is another that we have been looking for races for, and he will also have an entry in Doncaster on Friday 2nd, in a 2m 3f Novices' Hurdle, and will also have an entry in a 2m3f maiden hurdle in Lingfield on March 5th. His placed efforts this winter will protect him form a low ballot number, so he should be able to run where we deem most suitable.