We enjoyed our first winner of the year on Friday when Off The Ground confirmed the promise he had shown previously when landing a competitive handicap hurdle at Sandown. Emma Lavelle has produced this lovely young horse extremely well and he looks to have an exciting future, particularly when he jumps fences next season. The Flat horses are doing plenty of work and we should have our first runners of the turf season at the beginning of April.
The cold weather has at last arrived and considering how mild the winter has been to date, it is no surprise that we are now suffering with arctic temperatures. A number of the horses have had to miss intended engagements due to the unpredictable wintry weather and with Cheltenham only a few weeks away, time is running out for both Edgardo Sol and Criqtonic, who are both heading for the Festival next month. Paul Nicholls is keen to skip a prep race for Criqtonic and he will head straight to Cheltenham for the Novices' Handicap 'Chase on the opening day. Edgardo Sol could run at Taunton on 21 February if ground conditions allow, but otherwise, he will line up for either the County Hurdle or the Grand Annual 'Chase on Friday 16 March.
