Commodus Day update
Indeed, on 17th March 1,846 years ago Commodus became Roman emperor, thus allowing, via an array of other consequences, Joaquin Phoenix to go completely bonkers on a cinema screen near you. But what of the recent performances by the horses? It vexes me. I’m terrible vexed. But we were able to display the four chief virtues – Wisdom, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. This was because the horses did not initially buzz all that much after the last update. The “great potential” bit was DANCE AGAIN making a very respectable debut in a bumper at Huntingdon, although even then having had nearly a year off since her Irish point run meant that she did fade a bit in the latter stages to make the raw result appear to make for less than the performance and we were pleased with her effort. In the picture below, Dance Again is 11 and her stablemate Wait In The Wings is the eminence gris.
BACK BEFORE DARK ran better at Lingfield, with jockey William Carson confirming that a mile is her trip but maybe turf racing being a better fit for her.
We then moved on to a more frustrating few days where there were some good runs that failed to produce a win, when the combined efforts of the horses would make you think it was possible to pinch at least one victory from amongst them.
It began at Fontwell with GOLD CLERMONT finishing third over hurdles, beaten less than two lengths. She made a bit of a phaff of the second last when holding a fractional lead and exacerbated the impact with a little stumble on landing. Losing some ground immediately, she was clawing it back on the run-in and lost more with that little error than the margin she was eventually beaten. After pulling up in desperate ground at Exeter, this was the sort of enthusiastic drive that we wanted to see from her. The show drifted east to Plumpton for two more hurdling mares making a good shot at the job. Having been outpaced before staying on late in her yard debut, we decided to make the running on LOLA DE MAGNY. Approaching the home straight she was still in front but a couple of rivals just saw out the race a bit better than she did – one of them had been competitive in some pretty decent company prior to this, so was expected to be a tough nut to crack. Although, having cracked before, not an impossible one to dislodge the shell from. Apologies if you have a nut allergy – not sure which analogy is allergy compatible in this scenario. Later that day EPHYRA finished second over two and a half miles. She did not have much luck in running, with one rival lurching her way on landing at the third last and the winner jumping across her line at the final flight. The Shovelstrode opinion polls on would she have won with a clearer path are mixed, but Gemma certainly felt that the loss of momentum was material to the result. Better luck awaits.
Lola De Magny (7) at Plumpton, probably with a lap to go
Somkiyr at Plumpton, also probably a lap from the finish (a proper correspondent would likely have made a note of these things)
Ephyra turning her back on the third placed horse in disgust as he was the one that gave her a problem three hurdles from home
