A day at the races with Asdaa

This week I had my first experience of being an owner at the races with Asdaa running at Chelmsford. It was a bit strange being at the races during Covid restrictions, it was only those who needed to be there for racing to take place plus a maximum of 2 owners per horse. So it was eerily quiet.

It was fantastic to have a bit of normality by being back at the racecourse. I got to the parade ring nice and early before my race. Asdaa was the first one into the parade ring so it was nice watching him strut round with the ring to himself. He looked fantastic in the ring and had a knack for looking over at me, ears pricked, every time I took a photo. Unfortunately they aren’t the best quality as my phone seemed to struggle with the floodlights a little.

One of the favourites

Asdaa went into the race as one of the favourites and with his handicap mark having gone down quite a bit recently it seemed like a promising race for him. I was quietly confident he would be in the mix towards the end, but not really expecting too much.

He ran really well. Running in the front group the entire way round. In the final two furlongs he really started to pull away with the eventual winner, finishing a really strong second. Just look at the final stages of the race below.

Quick chat with the team

After his incredible finish I headed back over to the parade ring. Due to covid restrictions only the winner could come back into the ring after the race. But I waited by the corner and the jockey Joe Fanning came over saying he was “brilliant” and that the other horse just got away from him in the last furlong. One of the assistant trainers for Mark Johnston echoed this, saying they were really pleased with how he ran. Asdaa’s handler even circled him around a few times so I could get a good photo of him after his race too.

While this wasn’t the usual experience you would get from having a placed horse at the races, the way they manage it in Covid restrictions is fantastic. I was really pleased and really appreciated the team coming over to give me their feedback after the race.

I feel that this has been Asdaa’s best run for a while now and hopefully there is more exciting runs to come!

My other Owners Group horses

Tambourine Girl & Wouldubewell

Both these mares are ticking along nicely. They are both building their fitness with Wouldubewell being aimed at racing in December. Tambourine Girl has settled in at her new yard and we will hopefully see her returning to the racetrack soon.

Chez Hans & Paris Dixie

Since her fantastic first run where she finished 2nd, Paris Dixie ran a slightly disappointing race against all boys where she finished 5th. While I was hoping for more, I wasn’t too disappointed by this run. But after some investigation she might be having a wind op to hopefully improve her performance.

Chez Hans is recovering well from his wind op and is back in work. We will hopefully see him back on the racecourse in the new year. I recently wrote about wind ops and why horses have them.

Cupboard Love

Cupboard Love is still turned out and apparently loving life as a broodmare. We should hopefully have a decision on what stallion she is going to soon and fingers crossed for a better result this time round.

Last Updated on 27/11/2020