3rd time lucky

Having just been denied in the shadow of the post twice at Hexham this season it was third time lucky for Lucy yesterday when riding 20-1 outsider Thunder Hawk she just got the better of warm favourite Ardnaclancy for owner Robert Miller-Bakewell and trainer Stuart Coltherd; I was absolutely delighted for all of them but most particularly Lucy who has been working exceptionally hard all winter and was overdue a winner, it was also her first winner on the racecourse proper for an "outside" trainer - brilliant.

Lucy on Forcefield, if it rains they will step up in grade at the Scottish National Meeting at Ayr this week

Today I attended a Media Training Day at Musselburgh, it was extremely useful and well run by Racing for Change and Lesley Graham though having to watch myself being interviewed several times on a very large plasma screen with several of my peers was at times quite excruciating!  
Plenty of talk re the plight of racing and the completely muddled thinking of whoever is supposed to be in charge. Next week is a classic example of the frustrations all professionals in racing have with the raceplanning department - there is no jump racing in the North whatsoever until Saturday when they have managed to schedule Carlisle, Haydock and Kelso on the same day together with flat racing at Musselburgh not to mention our local point-to-point!  There is then no jump racing in the North again on Easter Sunday or Easter Monday, to my mind this is an absolute disaster for everyone involved - there are no winners here just lots of disgruntled racegoers, owners, jockeys,valets, and trainers many of whom are effectively denied the ability to earn a proper living; the racecourses split attendances as well and it just makes me want to go into a dark room and bang my head on the wall, it is nothing more than crass stupidity.
Sunday's runners have come out of their races well and here at Kinneston it has been a good couple of days so far this week with all the horses working hard in the two schools and on the all-weather.  Work is being done on the "riverbank" to give us somewhere to go a bit further and faster here and I am hoping to take a few to Lucinda's each day later in the week.  The horses seem really well, our last 13 runners have yielded 4 winners and two seconds so you can see why I am frustrated by the lack of opportunities.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrruuump!

Less happy times for Lucy earlier in the season, distant memory now!