'Maybe it wasn't much fun for the husband!' - Ruth Carr ends tough year on high

Loulin, who came out on top in the 5f handicap, was the 17th winner of what has been a difficult 2020 for Ruth Carr for more than one reason.

The North Yorkshire trainer's runners have hit form with five wins in November and four this month, and she said: "It's been a very testing year. Apart from everything else, we just couldn't get the horses right when they should have been flying.

"I must say thanks to the owners, because we couldn't put our finger on what was wrong. I've been training for 12 years and it's the first time I've had a season like this, and 17 winners isn't a disaster, but it was hard in the summer.

"You've got to keep smiling and lead from the front, being enthusiastic for the owners and staff, but maybe it wasn't much fun for the husband!"

Carr paused her operation in March just before the official lockdown and added: "Did that have anything to do with the horses performing badly? I don't think it did, but people were saying, 'Ruth's horses aren't fit'.

"Whatever we did in March and April shouldn't have affected them in August. Turning them out is part of what we do here all the time and they were still getting a good ration of feed – we didn't just completely rough them off.

"A lot of people thought we put them in the field and forgot about them, but that definitely wasn't the case."

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