Cheltenham is over for another year, huge congratulations to all who were successful, commiserations to those of us who lost.
We were obviously delighted with Dashel Drasher, he is a star, he tries his hardest and has the heart of a lion. He made us proud with his performance in the Paddy Power Stayers Hurdle, in the betting we were the outsider, however the rain came and he was in good order leading into the race and we hoped he would run above his odds however there was little pressure. He jumped and travelled well throughout, we were slightly concerned as he went up the hill and the back straight for the final time, however when he turned down the hill, you can see he was going to tough to pass. There are a lot of sore throats within the team this morning from the shouting. It was a thrill to cross the line in second and to walk into the winners enclosure to the cheers of his fan club! The news of the Stewards Enquiry and the reversal of the placing was a huge balloon popping! We all felt deflated and frustrated that he hadn't been allowed to keep the position he deserved. He loves a battle and would have fought to keep his head in front of Teahupoo. However we will not dwell, and in our eyes, he finished second!
He is absolutely fine this morning, asking to go out into the field as early as possible and enjoyed the morning in the Exmoor mud and grass! We had a little party to celebrate his terrific run with the team, with plenty of bubbles and food to say a massive thank you for all their hard work over this season.
We were very lucky to be leading the Jockey Club South West Racecourses Frequent Runners competition and were spoilt to a table in the Charter Party on Tuesday. The highlight was obviously Honeysuckle's final farewell and Constitution Hill's phenomenal performance as well as the food and company. We also won the previous season and the prize is a Parade Ring Viewing Box which we welcomed 20 of our owners and friends for a great day's racing on Thursday. It is a brilliant incentive for the trainers to support the Jockey Club South West racecourses.
We ran a tipping competition within the yard and Helen got the bragging rights after it went down the the final race when Laura won half a point for Might I finishing fourth, but was still beaten by half a point! Congratulations to Helen, she won't let us forget for a while!!