Getting by with a little help from my friends

Nothing really to report tonight, but there's no harm in knocking off a quick chapter of the blog anyway.  More storms overnight, but today has been (almost) rain-free, warm enough (after a chilly start) and with some sunshine, albeit also with too strong a wind.  We had a straightforward morning in the stable, aided by some help from our friend Kiersten Duke (home from Australia for a short visit, and pictured here walking down the side of Long Hill this morning on a two-year-old filly by Motivator) and from John Egan, who kindly worked a very nice Cityscape two-year-old colt, for whom it is still early days but who is at least now (almost) ready to gallop.  Since then I have watched plenty of racing on TV, which is the perfect way to spend any Saturday afternoon (unless one is actually at the races).

I was encouraged to hear James Willoughby on RUK pointing out the extent to which our rules and their implementation currently work against the principles of fair play.  (The catalyst for these observations was the finish of the Geoffrey Freer Stakes, in which the winning jockey knowingly took the ground of the strong-finishing runner-up, thus making sure that the runner-up could not catch him, while knowing that he ran no risk of demotion despite what one could justifiably describe as the unfairness of his tactics).

Regular readers of this blog will know that the daily, unnecessary and unjustifiably ever-tolerated interference in British racing is a bee in my bonnet.  It was good to be reminded that the same bee is buzzing around in James' bonnet too.  On the same RUK coverage of Newbury I was pleased later in the afternoon to see Georgia Cox ride a winner on Squats for her boss William Haggas.  That was good to see, just as it was good to hear James observe before the race that her 5lb claim is a free 5lb, on the basis that she already rides as well as many senior jockeys.  Anyone can point out that Ryan Moore is a very good jockey; punditry that highlights the less celebrated assets is more useful.

Georgia won't be claiming 5lb when she rides tomorrow because she can ride at whatever weight she likes on the horses because it will be trackwork rather than race-riding: William apparently does not need her to ride out tomorrow (one of her regular rides, Theydon Grey, is running at York in the week so presumably will be exercising tomorrow, but Georgia only rides him in his races, not his homework, because William's wife Maureen always rides him in the mornings) so she's coming in here to ride two lots rather than lying idle on a Sunday morning.  That attitude is excellent and illustrates why she is one of our best and most successful apprentices.

That work ethic is also particularly appreciated as far as I am concerned as there are a few horses whom I would like to get worked tomorrow (I try not to ask whichever member of staff is working the Sunday to ride out, as they work hard enough without making their Sundays any busier than they need to be) and I don't have unlimited time as I will need to be away by 9.15 to head over to the ATR studio in Milton Keynes for the Sunday Forum.  But if I canter Hope Is High, and then Georgia and I gallop firstly Sussex Girl and Roy Rocket, and then White Valiant (seen in the final two photographs having a very successful schooling session on Friday morning at the Links from Jack Quinlan, who is another always ready to offer much appreciated assistance) and Kilim, I'll be able to get all the horses fed and those which need to be worked worked in time.  It will be a busy day, but it's better to be busy than bored.