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However the horses form doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. He was in a sense very lucky to beat Art Proffesor who hit a flat spot at Lingfield. AP looked a lot stronger than him at the finish and would have won easily in a few more strides.
Can’t agree with that at all. Lemon Silk will never win any of his races by a wide margin since he tends to idle once he goes 2-3 lengths up thinking he has done enough. Due to the heavy ground at Lingfield we decided to take it up at the 2nd last rather than the last, which was clearly too early. He went 2-3 lengths up on Five Dream and idled. AP almost took advantage of that but was still held. At Cheltenham LS was traveling as well as anything into the straight, but "choked"on the heavy ground. The choking issue has been taken care of and tomorrow he finally gets ground he loves (Sandown being the only time he has encountered it before).
I’m not saying he will beat Katchit tomorrow, but I do believe he will be in the shake up and his price for the Supreme Novices will be considerably shorter by the end of the day.
Ground will be ideal for him GC…..anything just to the soft side of good is perfect, and with Katchit in the line up should get the strong pace he needs.
As tough an ask as it may seem on paper, I wouldn’t be so quick to discount Lemon Silk on Saturday, although were he to beat or get very close to Katchit the knockers will come out in force devaluing the form rather than giving LS any credit no doubt. What I do know is that LS has improved a huge amount, is flying at home and will be very surprised if he isn’t in the shake up. He carries my money Saturday and in the Supreme Novices.
Won’t happen mdwillis, Johnston has stated numerous times about his reluctance with jumpers. Hopefully naps could shed some light on this subject, as far as I can tell, he owned the only horse Johnston has sent jumping in recent times, namely Riyadh.
Very true DJ. MJ said from the start that he wanted no involvement with jumpers but finally agreed to have a go with Riyadh as a favour. Perhaps if he had a more willing animal more may have followed , but sadly Riyadh only helped reaffirm his original decision that he was sticking to the flat.
Well done with him Naps – I wonder how many owners with a string of two (or are there more?) are going to be running both of them at Cheltenham.
Thanks AP…..something to really look forward to. The string is at 4 currently, the latest recruit being the 4yo Regional Counsel. Was a high class 2yo in Ireland winning a Gp3 and not finishing too far behind Teofilo.Lost his way as a 3yo but with the change of scenery has been working and also has schooled extremely well. Needs good ground so is a possible for the Triumph if he gets some experience under his belt, otherwise he will go for Aintree. Will be v ery nice to have 3 at the festival who are no forlorn hopes.
Thanks BH and GD. More than thrilled and more that a few quid on! Big run was expected since he had come on so much for his last run (17kgs lighter). We had the option of going to Newbury in what looked like a much tougher race (Big Buck’s) where he wouldn’t have got an uncontested lead for a 10k pot or go to Ireland for a 100k pot and weaker race…..made sense to bypass Newbury. In addition, we needed a run that would bring his rating up enough to get into the Jewson at the festival, so hopefully that did the trick. Can’t praise my young trainer Kahlil Burke enough.
For those that pm’d me about Lemon Silk, he is still mine after buying him back in for 90k.
Cheers.
Actually, for the time being he has called it a day. I’d like to think that after a year or so, after a great deal of soul searching, he will come out of retirement and use his undeniable talent with a new attitude.
Thanks Drone….much appreciated re Gardasee. I asked Kahlil about his name and he informed me that after reading "The Prophet" his mother named him after the author, Kahlil Gibran.
Trust that clarifies your "blood" query
Thanks Fist…….needs to sort out his jumping out to the right. Here’s the link for the race if you want to see it.
http://www.attheraces.com/WatchVideo.asp?va=SDG_2008_01_08_03_1400
Thanks BH…..don’t let the typos interfere with the drinking
Not bad for a man whose formative years were spent at the Ted Caine School of Hard Knocks and Lovable Fatties (see also that other emerging young handler Kevin M Prendergast, and some bloke called Jim Crowley).
One tends to forget the period he spent with Aiden O’Brien. In my opinion this is where Kahlil learnt the major part of his trade. His attention to detail has to be seen to be believed and I hope that with success, a better grade of animal comes his way. Having been with numerous "bigger" trainers in the past where info about your horses is scarce or merely the standard "he worked well today" , it is refreshing to be able to talk to Kahlil anywhere from 3-5 times a day, getting fully informed about every aspect of your horses’ progress….good or bad.
Over the past few years I had begun to lose interest as an owner, but I can honestly say that moving to Kahlil has brought all the old enthusiasm back, helped of course by his transformation of Lemon Silk who was destined for the scrap heap before Kahlil took him apart then put him back together.
After Gardasee today, racing has become fun again!
Hmmmm, thanks, I think, Colin! My involvement comes from paying his bills….nothing any more sinister
It’s a shame you don’t feel you can provide an explanation because facts are a lot better than speculation. If he has been an idiot surely he will learn far more if the story is exposed rather brushed under the carpet.
Can’t say I agree with you Stilvi. All of us make mistakes. Do you think you will learn alot more if your mistakes are announced to the public as a whole? I think not. Most people are capable of realising they have made mistakes ……. usually by way of repercussions. Public himiliation isn’t necessary. As I said before, Paddy is a hugely talented rider (having witnessed his schooling sessions 1st hand) and I sincerely hope he gets his career back on track to give his riding the chance to fulfill the potential it deserves.
I am fully aware of what happened with this Merrigan saga but, for obvious reasons, it isn’t my place to say. Suffice it to say that he is sadly constantly pressing the self destruct button. A jockey of huge potential, unless he changes his attitude considerably, trainers will avoid putting him up on their charges.
How is it that horse racing athletes (horses) seem to be the only athletes in sport that are not surpassing previous achievements?I would genuinely love to know the answer.
Because the Fist says so!
That’s correct AP….I think it’s clear that the handicapper realises he has overrated the juveniles initially and it will take some performace now to be raised.
