Jake won!!!  And in some style - He came off the lorry looking as though he seriously meant business and towed Laura around the paddock. He has never looked so good and you could tell that all he wanted to do was to get on with it. Pete took his time and was very mindful of the soft patches and just let him hunt over those, at one stage I thought that he was being just a bit too casual as Jake was nearer the back than the front, but then he got to the home bend and just let him go. Jake cruised to the lead and powered up the hill winning by 12 lengths. It was such a relief that he still wanted to do it after his Cheltenham run, and that he hadn't been put of by it, in fact he now seems more enthusiastic than ever. He has come out of the race so well that we are wondering whether to run him again this week-end at Mollington, as he seems to be better the more often he is raced.
Ponty and Dolly (Velvet Royale) did us proud and finished fourth and fifth, Ponty hated the soft ground and as it was Dolly's first run (with a jockey on board!) she was being given a lovely gentle ride by Toby. Flash was disappointing but her race turned out to be one of the fastest races of the day, so it wasn't surprising that she couldn't go the pace as her forte is jumping and staying, and she was pulled up two from home. She has had some time off due to her badly cut leg so she will come on enormously for the run.
A great days racing and we celebrated accordingly..............hence the rather brief posting