Tomahawk Wood on the mark at Newcastle

We knew he had the ability!!!

At the start of the season when asked to nominate a sure fire winner for the yard, Tomahawk Wood was the first name on our lips. He'd shown a fair amount of promise over the preceding seasons in bumpers and novice hurdles that once back on a realistic handicap mark, the Courteous gelding would be competitive.
Well, his mark did drop from that OR97 but he proved a wee bit of a weak finisher, flattering to deceive more than once. So we gave him a couple of months of easy work, and he did appear physically stronger in recent weeks, so.....

On to Newcastle, last Friday and a 0-100 handicap hurdle over 2m 4f. Callum's instructions were actually to lie up with the pace, but they set off a bit quick for Tomahawk Wood so Callum let the gelding settle into his own stride towards the rear. Around halfway, Callum showed the horse to the outside and clear daylight. This was the only invitation that the gelding required, and he made smooth progress to dispute the lead 3 out (normal 3 out omitted) and turning into the straight he was going best of the front group. Ridden out, he stayed on well, and won in the style of a horse with a good chance of following up next time.

So, key celebrations from his loyal, patient band of owners - Ian & Davie on course, The Gran Canaria connection and Fozzo in, er, Hawick.

Snapping Turtle runs at Kelso tomorrow

Off bottom weight in the 2m 6f handicap hurdle, Snapping Turtle makes another appearance at Kelso tomorrow (Monday).

He ran a bit better last time at the course when finishing third. We oppose the runner up Maggie Blue on 3lb better terms with 15l to make up and that gives an idea of the enormity of the task facing our gelding. But he remains fresh and well around the yard, so we'll take our chance and Callum will try to lead but there may be a few that are basically quicker on the good to soft ground.
It's a 0-120 event, but there are 8 of the 14 runners rated 115 or more, so it's a very competitive and quality race for a Class 4 handicap hurdle.

Snapping Turtle (Pinky)