Blog

Back to Dundalk tomorrow night after a few weeks off. Beach Bar runs in the mile handicap at 6.30, Wayne Lordan rides. 8 run and we’re drawn 8. Lovely. We’ll have to see what Wayne can do from there with one of the hardest pulling horses in training. He appears well and should be fit but it’s hard at the moment with frozen gallops and waterlogged fields to keep him in a routine. He thrives on a routine. Exercised and out in a field before the rest have finished their breakfast. Once the weather improves I think he will improve and hopefully we can start to find the other stone between where he is now and his lifetime best. We’ve had a busy few weeks. Completing an additional 6 boxes and there’s 18 riding out. Small numbers but 6 times more than this time last year. A few new faces, a few old ones and fingers crossed once the season starts proper they can stay healthy and take plenty of racing. More numbers has it’s challenges. Seperate to the increased workload, mornings take a bit more thought. David O’Meara emphasised the importance of training small numbers as if they were part of a bigger group. It allows for numbers to increase without having to change a routine that works. Hopefully we’re succeeding, the next 3 months will tell a lot.