He hasn't ridden for me before but there's always a first time. The horse can get a little edgy when the jockey gets up, but he is fine on the track. |
He is a very impressive horse. The plan was to make the running if no-one else was ready to do so. |
He'll just have to run a little faster now. We're giving a lot of ground away and ground given away is ground lost. It was going to be hard, but 14 makes it even harder. |
He's trying the dirt for the first time, so whatever dirt turns up it will be new to him. Tomorrow we'll take him to the track to see how he likes it. He'll have a faster canter on Thursday. |
It was a blow out and looked good; we're happy. I estimate he'll be running five or six yards further than the other horses. But if he takes to the surface, he might just do it. |
It was a proper pace and he was found out in the last furlong. It won't happen again. |
It's a bold decision to run in the Classic, but one I totally agree with. He's a fully mature, street-wise horse, and if you didn't try the Classic with a horse like him, you'd never try it. |
The Americans are at home and we are away. He's had a change of scenery and a change in racing conditions. There's less pressure if he runs in the Classic. If you run him in the Mile, he has to win. If he runs in the Classic and doesn't win, we can blame it on the dirt. All in all, it's very difficult, but it can be done. |
We got the 'visitors' draw. He'll just have to run a bit faster now. … It was going to be hard, but 14 makes it even harder. |