Unfortunately this week things haven’t been so good. A couple of days before Cilmery I arrived at the yard to find Wesley’s vehicle parked up and nobody at home. I let myself in the house, got changed and started about my work. It was only as I was mucking out Sammy that Mrs B came home from work and explained The Boss’ absence. The week before, as you may remember me mentioning, Laddie went down to Gloucestershire to live with a couple of Wesley’s horses. Everyone thought he had settled fine, but unfortunately over the weekend an altercation appears to have happened between him and another horse, and he managed to get himself caught up in a fence and barbed wire. He was taken to the vet and patched back up, and on Monday The Boss went to collect him.
I must admit, he made a pretty sorry sight when he came off the box. Laddie is such a spirited little chap normally, but he was obviously feeling very sorry for himself when he came home because he walked quietly into his stable and stood with his head over the door to be stroked by myself, The Boss and Mrs B who came out to see him. The main wounds looked quite nasty, although it was what was under the bandage on his near foreleg that was most concerning. The Boss is on strict instructions to change the dressing daily and keep an eye on it, and to be honest I can’t think of many other people I’d happily leave a poorly horse with.
Laddie is in good hands now for his recovery period, and you’ll be pleased to know that when I visited the yard a week after his return he was back to his usual self. He’s clearly still sore but the superficial wounds appear to be healing well and his attitude has returned. He’s back to thinking he’s the world’s biggest horse and nothing is more important to him than feeding time!
Unfortunately things with Mac didn’t go too well at Allensmore either. Allensmore is one of my favourite places to race; I love the layout between the lorries and the track – you can watch the racing while you work, and if you have time to wander across to the track it’s a 30 second walk. The quality of the races held isn’t what it used to be (economic crisis has impacted racing perhaps?) but nonetheless, it is still one of my favourite tracks to visit. Anyway, I digress; Mac let himself and us down at Cilmery but The Boss had had new back shoes delivered and had put them on a couple of days before. He warmed up without a glitch and went out for the last race of the day drawn 2 (of 2) on the gate in the ‘Mature Mile’ (or the over-50’s race). The horse drawn 1 failed to get up to the gate by the start and Mac flew out and was on target to be tucked in on the rail in front by the first bend when BAM! Legs went everywhere and he was galloping with the same ferocity as he had at Cilmery. For one awful moment I had visions of him hitting the deck but somehow The Boss managed to get him settled somewhat sooner than at Cilmery and by the second bend he was still on the rail but tucked in third place and pacing again. He travelled down the back straight smoothly and then disaster struck again on the top bend – he was back galloping again and this time The Boss struggled to get him to settle and he was tailed off at the back of the pack when he finally came back to the required gait. It later transpired that another driver had completely cut poor Mac up on the far corner and he was lucky to come back without a scratch on him.
I headed back to the lorry before the race was over because I was bitterly disappointed. I’ve had a quiet belief in Big Mac from the beginning, or rather a hope that he’s better than everybody thinks. I like an underdog after all. Something is wrong though, I’m convinced of that. When I visited the yard the following evening to muck out I suggested to The Boss that maybe something is hurting him. He has a habit of getting himself cast in his stable and following a discussion I had with my osteopath about the problems of having a long back (I’m a touch on the tall side), I thought perhaps the same principles applied to a horse with a long back. The Boss said he’d look into that, because Mac isn’t knocking himself anywhere and there doesn’t appear to be any problems with his legs. Getting to the root of the problem, if it’s pain-related, is paramount, and we both believe it is pain-related because Mac has been pacing comfortably for weeks and at race-speed (in qualifiers at Leominster and racing at Walton).
Jingo and Sammy also let us down a bit on Sunday. Sammy was drawn 1 off 10 yards and shot up the inside to start, landing comfortably in third on the inside rail. He made his move down the back straight on the first lap and took up the lead for three furlongs. When challenged down the back straight on the second lap he looked to be lacking his normal fire and he finished in the latter half of the field. Jingo was also running off 10 yards and he was caught up behind a galloping maiden on the first two bends which hampered him. He never seemed to recover and again he came home in the latter half of the field, not as impressively as he had finished at Walton after making a mistake. Hamish didn't come to Allensmore with Mervyn as he had suffered a bout of colic the day after Cilmery, so all in all not a good week.
Sammy had bloods taken by the vet on Monday because The Boss said he doesn’t feel like he has in the past, however the results came back yesterday and everything seems to be ok. Perhaps it’s just taking time to get him to full racing fitness, or perhaps (more worryingly) age and the number of races he has run have caught up with him. At the moment we don’t know, but I do know that Sammy’s wellbeing is the main concern of us all at the yard, and of his owners Mervyn and Isobel and their family.
On a slightly more positive note, Meg (the PC member who helped me at Cilmery) came with us to Allensmore on Sunday. She really threw herself into helping, by walking the horses, helping harness up, washing down and loading and unloading the horses on and off the lorry. It was a long day with 16 races but I think she enjoyed herself. Her help was much appreciated when I couldn’t decide which photo to buy of my family’s 2yo filly Fresh Ayr (Daisy) who ran in the first qualifier of the day, and I think she’s taken quite a shine to Daisy’s trainer! Also, word from over the 'other side', Wales & Border Counties, said The Fuffer Man (aka Derek, Deckers, Derek The Dog) won his nursery race last weekend (similar to a qualifier). He has at last been able to show the ability on the track that he showed at home when he was being broken! Here he is doing his thing in style:
I won’t be going to Ammanford races this coming weekend with the team, nor will I be helping at Aberystwyth the following week as I’m away with Smarty (York and Cullingworth) and then helping him at Aber. I will of course keep you up to date with the efforts of the horses, and will continue to post full results with each blog.
Full results from Allensmore:
Race 1 - Santana Lad Memorial
1st Tuco
2nd Summers Dream
3rd Kruger
2.12.9 neck & 2L
Race 2 - Maiden
1st Ynyston Seelster
2nd Epynt Flying Pan
3rd Talavary Zac
2.14.4 1L & neck
Race 3 - Grade 2
1st Vally Jasper
2nd Luck Matters
3rd Jango Fett
2.09.9 1/2L & 1/2L
Race 4 - Grade 1
1st Limelights Frankie
2nd Lakeside Dragon
3rd Mill Road
2.11.5 head & 1/2L
Race 5 - Grade 3
1st Colonel Mustard
2nd Any Dream Will Do
3rd Vyrnwy Shark
2.09.6 2 & 1/2L
Race 6 - Grade 4
1st Duggans Pride
2nd Saorlas Glory
3rd What About Me
2.09.2 2 1/2 & 3L
Race 7 - Novice & Grade 1
1st Caenwood Dafydd
2nd The Govenor
3rd Frisco Mick
2.18.1 2 & 3L
Race 8 - Grade 1
1st Rhyds Panache
2nd Ayr Union
3rd Forest Gump
2.11.7 1 & 1L
Race 9 - Grads 5 to 7
1st Meadowbranch Josh
2nd Joleen
3rd Blue Bop A Loola
2.07 5 & 2L
Race 10 - Members Pace
1st Kruger
2nd Hilltop Control
3rd Evenwood Lipstick
2.16.2 1 & 3/4L
Race 11 - Members Pace
1st Johnny Thompson
2nd Hilltop West Art
3rd Jaja Binks
2.10 1/2 & 5L
Race 12 - Maiden
1st Wellfield Chloe
2nd Duggans Law
3rd Brywins Jewel
2.14.5 1/2L & distance
Race 13 - C Class Drivers
1st Sunnyside Iris
2nd Duggans Panache
3rd Symlog Dart
Time & Distance not recorded
Race 14 - C Class Drivers
1st Merrington Missile
2nd Another Toto
3rd Tantalizing
2.11.7 5 & 6L
Race 15 - Maiden & Novice
1st Runaway Girl
2nd Wellfield Alfie
3rd Rhyds Jigsaw
2.13.6 neck & 6L
Race 16 - Mature Mile
1st Tuco
2nd Talavary Activator
3rd Young Will
2.13.4 1/2 & 5L
Here's a link to the write up from Ceredrotian's press officer, Kayleigh Evans, who describes the highlights of a very looooong day at Allensmore:
http://ceredrotian.com/en/news/story/allensmore-23-june/
Over and out,
Sarah (#1 Groom)
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