Saturday was an emotional day at Cheltenham, where I rode Beer Goggles for the Woollacott stable. He ran a decent race and jumped well but hung badly to the right all the way. It wasn’t the track; something must have been aggravating him. Hopefully they will find a reason for it. He was fine immediately after the race but obviously plans are up in the air.
The Chepstow racecourse staff had an awayday at Hereford on Monday, which was half work and half play for them. I had a session where I tried to point them in the right direction as regards the racing that day and my rides. I probably did a very bad job, but at least I won the last race, so I hope they didn’t give up on me.
Hereford, apart from being local for me, is one of my favourites. It rides really well, just the same as it did before its temporary closure. It’s a good place for younger horses to start their careers. The industry needs the smaller tracks like this, so that horses and jockeys can get a good grounding before going on to bigger and better things.
The only regular downside of this job is the travelling. I went all the way up to Newcastle yesterday. I don’t often get to ride there. Happily a winner made the long journey worthwhile!
I’ve just been in Cheshire, where I’d been invited to take part in a track day with Bentley Motors, test driving one of their new 4x4s. It was great – a very different horsepower to what I’m used to! From there I’m going on to Leicester, where I ride an odds on shot for Philip Hobbs and two others for Evan Williams.
Though the weather is still making planning more than a day or two ahead difficult, I very much hope to be at Chepstow for their meeting on Friday. If I am I’ll be looking in on the restaurant and some of the boxes to give my thoughts on the afternoon’s card as part of my ambassador role. With luck my tips will be better than some of those I gave at Hereford!
