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JERRY MCGRATH |
Weblog: A young jockey making a name for himself
They aren't working in the snow at Seven Barrows, but at -9C it feels like it
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)It's pretty Baltic down at Seven Barrows
As if the fact we can't race isn't bad enough, it was -9C when we were riding out this morning which wasn't fun. My housemate's car wouldn't start this morning and it was seriously cold, it took me some time to get warm afterwards.
A spanner in the works
It's not just jockeys that are being disrupted, Binocular, and probably Oscar Whisky, will both miss their preps for Cheltenham this weekend, while it'll be difficult to put the finishing touches to our runners for Newbury next weekend if the weather continues much longer.
We're pretty lucky with the excellent facilities at Seven Barrows, our indoor school is great and the gallops are rarely out of action, but for smaller yards weather like this is a total nightmare. It couldn't come at a worse time with everything starting to gear up for Cheltenham.
The weather has certainly snuck up on us and it's frustrating, but it's the same for everyone; trainers, jockeys, clerks of the course... I'm due to ride at Musselburgh on Sunday and there have been some positive noises about it going ahead but we'll know more on Saturday. It'd be great if it's on but it's a fair way to go for it to be abandoned so I'd much rather they made an early decision.
Newcastle is a long way to go to pull up
I made the journey all the way to Newcastle earlier this week and when we set off we weren't sure if it was going to be on, but they called it pretty early which was good.
It was a long way to go for one ride, especially to pull up, but she's a nice mare and the ground was far too tacky for her, otherwise she'd have had a chance. I won on her last week and thought she'd have a chance but the ground got the better of her so I looked after her.
Keeping busy
With no racing I've been doing all those menial tasks I've been trying to put off for weeks, such as renewing my health insurance, which just makes matters worse!
I'd be massively in favour of the all weather bumpers that were put on last winter if the cold weather continues for much longer. It helps everyone out a bit financially, is good for the horses as they get a run under their belts to put them spot on and it's a fun day as it's something a bit different.
I rode a fair bit on the Flat as an amateur and obviously it's very different, so I think it'd be good. I have a pretty good record in bumpers as well so hopefully I'd pick up a few rides as I could do with them.
Congratulations are in order
It was good to see the Alan King yard having winners at Cheltenham last week, they've been through a quiet spell the last two years but this season they've been in brilliant form and it's great to see. It's especially good to see Wayne [Hutchinson] having so much success as he's one of the most under-rated jockeys around.
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