The Young Ones

It's one of those transition years.

A significant percentage of the string this season are unraced or inexperienced novices. Nothing wrong with that of course but most of our winners come from handicaps, so our targets have adjusted accordingly.
Apart from those with bumper experience, 3 youngsters - all as yet unnamed - have arrived at Dodlands in the last 3 weeks.

They've all just finished the gentle cantering introductory work and are now joining their stable mates on the gallop in the mornings. You can see them in the Horses in Training section, and we'll give them their own web page in the next few weeks or so, but meantime here's brief introduction.

• 2011 Gamut filly - inexpensive (given her breeding) purchase at Tattersalls Ire in August
• 2011 Gamut gelding - rangy gelding who certainly looks the part, another August sales buy
• 2009 Endoli mare - home bred, out of multiple winner Baby Gee, impressing staff at this early stage

News from the gallops

With just 2 or 3 horses in light, road work (Ellistrin Belle, Bollin Fiona, Nearly May), the remainder of the racehorses were paired up in the morning work-out on the Up-the-middle woodchip gallop

• Shades of Midnight did 2 pieces of work along with Hawaii Klass
• Hartforth did likewise upsides 'Achilles', our unraced River Falls gelding
• Tomahawk Wood is doing well after his year off and he did a couple of spins with Bollin Julie
• Snapping Turtle also came up twice
• Charlie Bucket acted as a lead to one of our new fillies, coming up just the once

We expect our next runners will be Hawaii Klass (dropped 7lb since Hexham), Snapping Turtle (looking for ease in the ground) and Hartforth (another awaiting soft ground).