Kinneston: Two Pads

Well, Mrs A came up trumps with an iPad2 for the big day and my present to myself from the Farm account was this different sort of pad, not quite as useful as the other one..

the pad

Please note the colour of the sky - a most fantastic day here today, a thoroughly welcome change, slightly weary yesterday after so many trips to and from Cartmel but re-invigorated by Clare's end of exams lunch at Castle Terrace - seriously good, a rising star. On the subject of eating, amongst many lovely presents received the elder daughter came up trumps with a Tasting Menu for Two at Scotland's very best restaurant, Martin Wishart, though apparently I have to take Mrs A rather than go twice by myself.

The Paddy Premium warms up for Perth on the Riverbank

I digress, sorry, this is meant to be about horses; at Cartmel on Wednesday Commercial Express finished 5th having been sent off favourite, he didn't look happy jumping off the loose watered ground and never really got into it, Lucy finished a close 2nd on Floreana, might have won had she not been badly hampered on the home bend, gave her a taste of her first Stewards Enquiry. The previous evening at Redcar the illusion that watching her flat racing rather than jumping was going to cause less parental stress was shattered when the horse she was riding lay down in the stalls prior to rearing a couple of times, oh dear, its going to be a long summer. On Sunday we run The Paddy Premium for Mark Fleming in the 3.30 at Perth, 8 run, Ryan Mania rides and the ground will be on the quick side of good, he ran very well over course and distance last time and if he can reproduce that on the faster ground he shouldn't be far away. Lucy rides Scotch Warrior for Mike Smith in the same race.
Some pics from Kinneston yesterday and this morning, I absolutely love seeing the horses out relaxing in a big herd - it is their natural environment, they run with the cattle, have masses of space, excellent grass, plenty of shelter when needed and are checked twice a day and have a bowl of Medlocks finest oats just to keep them a little hard. They work so hard for us all winter that they thoroughly enjoy their rest.... come and see them!