Donald McCain 
/ Donald McCain / 23 March 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Cinders And Ashes got Cheltenham week off to the best possible start.
"Cinders [And Ashes] didn’t have the smoothest trip and if he hadn’t knocked the last out of the ground, he would have won by six lengths!
After a fantastic four days at Cheltenham with two winners and a Champion Hurdle second, Donald reflects on a week that makes all the hard work worthwhile...
It's been back to normality after the chaos of Cheltenham but it was a cracking week for the stable with Cinders And Ashes and Son of Flicka winning and Overturn running a blinder in the Champion Hurdle.
It was particularly pleasing to see Cinders And Ashes win like he did - I thought he would appreciate the better ground and he delivered the sort of performance I have always maintained he had in him.
I don't think he has necessarily been given the credit he deserved - I saw in a couple of places that Darlan was described as an unlucky loser, which I can't have. Cinders didn't have the smoothest trip and if he hadn't knocked the last out of the ground, he would have won by six lengths!
Cinders And Ashes has come out of the race fine and, at this stage, the plan is to head to Aintree with him. He has been on the go for a while though and if at any stage he shows me that he has had enough, he will be sent off on a summer holiday.
Of the others to run at Cheltenham, they all came back in good order with the exception of Reindeer Dippin - he had to have a couple of stitches in his leg - and most of them are likely to be kept on the go.
The two big disappointments of the week were Peddlers Cross and Weird Al and I have already gone on record as saying that Peddlers will be back over hurdles next season.
His work in the build up to the meeting had been great - he left Overturn behind him in one of his final gallops - but he just doesn't seem to jump with the enthusiasm that you need to at that level.
Weird Al bled in the Gold Cup which was both disappointing and frustrating. He has burst blood vessels in the past and whether he finds that intense competition just a bit too much, I am not sure.
Given the way the race panned out, it's a real pity as you would have to think he would have gone very close if he had run to his best.
Our Mick was another to run a cracker and with a bit more luck, he might have gone even closer - that said, I would have been happy with two winners and two placed horses at the start of the week.
Ebanour winning at Sedgefield on Friday took us to 131 for the season and it's a credit to everyone at Bankhouse - everyone chips in, I've got some great staff and weeks like Cheltenham make it all worthwhile.
After a frenetic week at Cheltenham, it's a quieter Saturday for the McCain team but there are still some live chances at Newcastle....
Donald has a few fancied runners in action at Carlisle on Sunday....
It's been a fine week for Donald already but he has some leading contenders on the final day of the 2012 Cheltenham Festival....
No comments:
Post a Comment