We had the Jockey’s International this past weekend. I have to say I am not sure it was quite the event it was cracked up to be. There was plenty of funny old politics going on behind the scenes and stuff that should have been stopped a long time ago, writes Joey Ramsden.
I really don’t know why it has been allowed to continue. South Africa fielded a nice, strong team.
The internationals were, let’s say at best, an interesting bunch.
It was lovely to see Hayley Turner ride a winner. She is extremely accomplished and she rides as well as, and is as strong as, any man. I truly mean that as a compliment. It is a great shame that she is giving up but she has not had the year or two with injuries that she has had in the past and it must be disheartening not getting the rides she is used to.
Who knows: maybe she will take some time off and start a family. It will not surprise me to see her coming back again. I really hope she does as she has the talent to make an impression on racing anywhere in the world. Maybe fun in the sun in South Africa has tempted her and led her to think about coming here.
Disco Al – still on track for Summer Cup
It has been a funny couple of weeks. Our horses have been flying in Johannesburg. Sadly, poor old Disco Al had a small setback but this should not hinder his Summer Cup preparation.
He has been doing really, really well and the form from his (and St Tropez’s) first Johannesburg race has stood up really well. I could say the same for Brutal Force’s form. He won a very good race under Andrew Fortune the other day.
Down here in the Western Cape, we have been stuck with a strong case of ‘seconditis’.
Nothing is more painful than watching the horses getting beaten a head/short head. Hopefully we can start turning them around and moving things along. I make no secret of the fact that I am not a fan of the old course and at the moment it is running particularly fast. This does not seem to suit my horses. As I said, hopefully things will change soon.
We have the first of the CTS races coming up in Cape Town this week.
The Stone Thrower – unlucky last time
I think we have a strong contender in The Stone Thrower. He was extremely unlucky not to win last time out.
Obviously there are some higher rated horses in the race and they will be tough to overcome. However, we have quite a good record in the sales races and hopefully this continues.
The Conglomerate will also be out. He is doing very nicely. We picked up a tiny problem with him last time so hopefully we can overcome that.
Act Of War will also be out and about. He is doing exceptionally well but has a sticky draw to overcome. Someone came up with a rather interesting observation: maybe because his name begins with an “A” it sets off alarm bells in the draw machine. All I know is that he is quite good at cracking a big one. However, he is in very good form and we will have to take our chances with the master, Marcus, in the irons.
Hard Day’s Night – could be better than rated
We round off our day with the lovely Hard Day’s Night. He could well be better than rated. He certainly put up a smashing gallop the other day but does have a tough draw to overcome. He is a horse I have always liked and his name makes him that much more special to me as I come from a huge ‘Beatling’ family.
The hunt is on for Kieren Fallon, a man who knows how to go missing better than Lord Lucan.
Let’s hope, unlike the Lord himself, they find him fit and well. I am sure he is and he has probably just mislaid his cell phone. He is fellow with all the talent in the world but a touch of the full moon madness comes across every now and again.
I know he is also extremely frustrated at not getting the type of rides he used to but many people will say he made his bed and now has to lie on it. It is a great shame to see a talent like that wasted. He is another who loves his golf, loves the sun and it would be fantastic to attract a man like that over here for a period of time. He will certainly keep our stipendiary board, who seem to see no evil and hear no evil, on their toes.
A boring weekend of football with England – who sadly had to overcome bigger opposition than Gibraltar or one of the other minor nations consisting of a couple of thousand inhabitants – 50% of them being women – getting well beaten by the Spanish.
Thank God for that touch of reality for Roy Hodgson, who must be the most boring England coach ever to have appeared on the football scene.
All the Spurs supporters that I know are happy. We have many amongst our owners but all I know is that West Ham is breathing down their necks.
Brutal Force RTR graduate
It is a busy week for us, not just with the CTS race and a fantastic day’s racing on the card for Saturday but also the CTS Ready To Run sale.
We will be watching the gallops on Thursday morning and attending the sale on Friday 20th November.
There are some really nice pedigrees on the sale and something smart and ready is sure to come out of it. The gallops will be fast and furious and there are some pedigrees to go along with it.
Read the whole story on www.joeyramsden.com
