Return to action for Baby Ticker

We head to Ayr Racecourse on Wednesday, with 2 horses from the yard. The advance going is heavy. Callum is in the saddle for both.

Baby Ticker takes in the extended 2½m mares handicap hurdle. This is a qualifier for the Northern Lights Mares Hurdle series for which the final will be run at Musselburgh at the end of March over 2m 4f.
You'll no doubt remember this Northern Lights series being run at Carlisle in early December, but the hurdle races have been switched to Musselburgh on the Friday, chases to Carlisle on the Sunday, with a new day slotted in at Kelso on the Saturday featuring top class events. This forms a 3 day Northern Festival weekend, a new BHA initiative for 2020 and, well, it quite exciting to be honest.

Meanwhile, couple of runs in qualifiers is needed to run in the final, and Baby Ticker, runner up in her final 12 months ago has her first run since. She will need the run and is not getting any younger, but is full of beans at home.

Race previews seem to be a broken record these days, but this is a very competitive race.
Kinneston Nick's improving mare Off The Hook takes a drop in class off top weight, and acts on heavy. She was a classy novice and should go well here.
Dianne Sayer's Legalized was a progressive sort over hurdles last season, but didn't run with much promise on the flat at Catterick recently. She'll have to put that run behind her to figure.
Much the same can be said for Gordon Elliott's Irish raider Holy Motivation as after fine form on good ground during the summer, she has not been competitive on more testing conditions recently. Daryl Jacob booked though.....
Scobie's River Icon is very interesting, generally progressive over hurdles during the summer, she has since run three cracking races on the Flat in the last couple of months. She looks to be one in the shake-up.
Lucinda's Aurora Thunder is a progressive novice hurdler, very impressive at Hexham last time in testing conditions. Upped in class here, but she could be ahead of her allotted handicap mark of OR112.
Sweet Vinetia is another progressive mare who won at Hexham last time. Acts on heavy , stays well, couldn't be ruled out.
Goldie's Pammi is 3-38 on the flat and has completed two quick hurdle runs (placed each time) and takes in her first handicap hurdle here. She could be up against it in this class so quickly.
Susan Corbett's Heartasia ran in the void race at Musselburgh last week, so will have come on in fitness terms for that 2 mile outing. A dual bumper winner, placed in all four hurdle races, she tries a new trip here but may be found out by the testing conditions.
Ian Duncan's Jessie Mac is another racing on the back of a win last time. Dropping back in trip, but a good stayer and off a light weight she will be staying on at the finish.

Quite a race then, and this is just a qualifier!

Baby Ticker (Laura)

Our Elsie makes her debut in the bumper

Racing for Steve and Barry Chamberlain, Our Elsie makes her first racecourse appearance in the bumper. Being a daughter of the 4 time hurdle winner Well Disguised and a half sister to triple winner Eternally Yours, this Yeats filly has a couple of impressive performers close up in her pedigree. Both of these horses have won races run on heavy going.

The filly will face 8 opponents, and 5 of these have invaluable racecourse experience. The best on form shown to date would be Jimmy Moffat's Lady Bowes who, when runner up in a bumper in October, had subsequent winner La Chanteuse in third. She sets the standard.
Timetoroe and won an Irish Point and was also a bumper runner up on Rules debut when 2nd at Fontwell in October. She has a stout pedigree and is a half sister to fairly useful chaser Timeforben.

The most interesting of the unraced fillies is She's A Rocca of whom her trainer has been noted as describing as 'a nice filly'. She's a half sister to numerous jumps winners including a bumper winner.

Our Elsie has been working well with our horses each morning in recent weeks, although that may be false praise as our runners to date have needed the run. It is rare for the yard to have a first time out winner in bumpers, but we have trained several winners in this sphere in recent seasons. She'll benefit from the run in this race and is a promising horse for the future.

Good luck to the Chamberlain Brothers and friends tomorrow, and enjoy the day.

Our Elsie (Ollie)