Leopardstown April 14th
We’re Leopardstown bound tomorrow with 3 runners. It’s a bloody hard place to get a result but we have bits of chances. Eloso runs first in the 7f 3 year old only handicap. His form has been steadily progressive in Dundalk. The last night I thought he had won as they flashed past the line. That was an easier opportunity than this and he went up 3 lbs for getting beat. He will need to have jumped forward significantly to cope with these. Ger appears to have his 3 year olds with Alex D’s profile razor for their first runs so he will be hard to manage and Aidan’s fella could be thrown in. It’s the right race for our fella. Let’s see. Golden Valour goes in the next race. He should have had a winter campaign but had a nasty accident in transit last November and has been recovering for a large portion of the time since. It has been a long road back. He seems well, I have struggled with his weight and while he has a lot of graft under his belt he needs to shed a few kilos to be competitive. 7 furlongs is short of his best, he has won twice over the extended Dundalk 10 but a really fast run mile is what he wants. With tomorrow behind him hopefully we can build towards something nice with him. Musalsal goes in the last and this race looked like a great opportunity for him until I saw his draw. He’s in stall 17 and for a horse that jumps slowly and is sluggish early he is going to face a fair task to get on the premises late. Sooner Scott than me. When a horse pings and is generous early it must give riders loads of options to find the spot where they want to sit, the alternative is a headache. It would be lovely to grab a winner but I’ve a feeling I’ll be giving myself a little pep talk on the way home tomorrow evening. “The wheel is going to turn, it always does”. Rachael Blackmore winning The National has sealed her annus mirabilis. This is some thrill watching her doing what she’s doing. The same thrill the year Geraghty owned Cheltenham or Johnny won every Group one going. That rarefied place a sports star can get themselves to, everything works. Long may it last. Henry has had to up the ante with his own achievements. Winning all the main events wasn’t cutting it, he’s taken to having the first and second to grab a few column inches. After the Dublin Racing Festival I concluded that Willie was out on his own, different class. Wrong again

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