Tarruji, one of the three new horses we bought in Newmarket at the July sales, will run in Deauville on Saturday, trying out a 1,500-meter claimer on the fibersand. He seems to have settled in well and certainly likes French cooking. His manger is always licked clean and he’s working well, so now he’ll get a chance to stretch out and show us what he can do.

Turfani, meanwhile, has an entry on Deauville’s fibersand next Wednesday; she works tomorrow and I’ll make a decision on whether or not to run after that.

The two other English newcomers, Blessing Belle and Derringbay, are following divergent paths. Belle is doing very well, and hopefully will be ready to race by mid-August. She had some back stiffness to work out, but seems on the right track now. Derringbay has soundness problems, unfortunately, and I’m not sure when – or if – he will be ready to try something. He may be looking for new employment, but I’ll wait until the end of August to decide. He got loose today and seemed sound as a bell when sprinting for home, but I think there are still issues to resolve. Meanwhile, all eyes on Tarruji…

Pixie’s Blue had a disappointing run in Chantilly yesterday, but Hard Way finished a courageous third in his handicap, so Champagne all around anyway. Hard Way fought well down the stretch and should have been second; he was thrown into the rail by the horse that did eventually finish second, ridden dangerously and nastily by Anthony Caramanolis. There was an inquiry, but the placings weren’t changed, unfortunately. Despite being slammed, Hard Way kept his wits about him and fought on, and we’re very pleased with him. He’s still learning (unfortunately a bad lesson in how NOT to be afraid of other horses) and he will improve from this. Still, picking up 3,600 in purse money, plus the 1,700-euro premium for his being a French-bred horse, is not bad at all.

As for Pixie, I’m not sure what to make of her race yet. Her character has drastically changed from last year, when you couldn’t hang onto her in a race. Now, she lobs along like she doesn’t have a care in the world, which is usually not such a bad thing but in her case is slightly worrying. She did put in a slight effort toward the finish, but too late, finishing only 7th. I will have to find the solution. At the moment, I don’t see many excuses. The ground was slightly softer than Maisons-Laffitte and Chantilly is a right-handed track, while Maisons-Laffitte ran left-handed that day. But I don’t think these factors had much to do with it, frankly. In any case, she seems to have come back well, as did Hard Way. Both horses ate up everything overnight. And so we cracked some Champagne last night. It turned into quite a party, actually, so stay tuned. The party is sure to get bigger…

As most of our friends know, Champagne is a major food group around our house. When you deal with horses, you develop a thirst that only properly chilled Champagne can quench. This can clash with supersition, of course. I have two horses running Monday in Chantilly, and frankly, they both have good chances (Hard Way probably a slightly better chance than Pixie). Then again, I expected to win two races last week and came home with a fourth and a seventh. So, stock the fridge and risk jinxing your chances or make sure you’re prepared with the best happens? We’ve sort of solved the problem by reserving the bottom shelf for bubbly, but sometimes when you’re not paying attention, the stock runs down. I’ve got a good, fun bunch of owners so this can happen pretty quickly.

Hard Way has only 11 runners in his handicap, which is unheard of here – usually the second half of a Tierce would be a full field of 18 or 20. Pixie has slightly tougher company in her claimer, but I think she’s in with a good chance, too. Check this space Tuesday for the excuses if the two of them don’t win…but meanwhile, I’m off to the cellar to pop in a few bottles, just in case.

Pixie and Hard Way galloped this morning in preparation for races Monday in Chantilly. Hard Way will run the 2,400-meter handicap that is the second half of the big “Tierce” race, and Pixie will run an 1,800-meter claimer. Pixie’s trip is a furlong longer than in Maisons-Laffitte, and the company will be tougher because the price is higher, but I think she should progress from her last effort. She came out of that race well and worked well this morning. Hard Way hasn’t run since his handicap in Compiegne on the 30th of June, so I’m anxious to get him back out.

Turfani also worked this morning, but I’m waiting for softer ground before I can risk running her. She is very well but will have to wait until Aug. 5 on the fibersand in Deauville. The new horses, meanwhile, are settling in. Belle got her back put back into place by the osteopath and can now start doing slightly more work. Derringbay is just a big lazy growing boy, who is more interested in eating and sleeping than anything else. I will work with him for a few weeks and then decide whether to go ahead with training him here or send him up to Normandy to grow for a bit. He is still backwards and I’m not sure he’s up for racing just yet. Tarruji is doing well and will have an entry for Aug. 1.

Skid ran a handicap in Chantilly today, the same course and distance as when he was second about 10 days ago, but only managed to finish 7th in a field of 11.  He missed the break and never really got into the fray, and when Nadege asked him for speed, he didn’t have the same fluid acceleration as he showed last time out. I don’t see any immediate reasons for the subpar performance, but this was his fourth race in rather quick succession, so I think we just need to give him a bit of time. Normally I like to keep at least three weeks between races, but Skid seemed to take his racing well, so we went ahead. Now I’ll give him at least three weeks before we ask him again, depending, of course, on how he recovers. He seems to have come back well, so we’ll see. So far in his career, he has never managed to string together two good performances. But I’m sure he’ll be back strong next time out – hang in their Mark and Pippa, we’ll get you some black type yet! He’s a good, solid horse and we haven’t seen the best of him yet.

We can’t forget that he was gelded relatively late, in February, and he’s still adjusting. Also, this time out he was really calm, so maybe we overdid it a bit on relaxing him. I ran him with earplugs last time and again this time, but I’m pretty sure we’ll go without them next time out.

Pixie ran 4th of 17 runners today in her first race back since January, and while I had hoped she would win, she ran probably the most relaxed, best race of her career. Her gallop was relaxed and steady, with no pulling, which is a miracle for her. She has a bad back, and she tended to want to bowl along out front in her previous races; she won wire-to-wire in Maisons-Laffitte last year and was beaten in races since because she insisted on trying to do it again. But today, she sat in the pack and finished very well, which is really encouraging for the future. She decided to take a big breath just as the pace quickened in the stretch, then was blocked when she had the gas to move. When she did find room to run, she came on wonderfully and fought back to steal fourth place by a head. She recovered quickly and came home well, so it seems we’ve done our work with her and now can finally enjoy it!

The strategy for the race was really just to see how she wanted to run it. I told Nadege that if she needed to go to the front, go ahead, but see what was best for Pixie – the primary objective was not to fight with her and see how she wanted to run. She is a very touchy – but talented – horse, and it’s best not to get in the way sometimes. So given that, I’m really pleased she ran correctly and relaxed. While this race was just a low-level claimer, it was a big step forward for her in running style and I think we can look for better things to come. (It also, despite being the easiest race on the card, was the fastest mile of the day at 1 minute 38 seconds.) We will probably try her at a slightly longer distance next time out, possibly 1,800 meters in Chantilly on July 27th if she rebounds well.

Pixie’s Blue, our four-year-old Hawk Wing filly, will make her comeback to racing after five months off tomorrow at Maisons-Laffitte. She has been a challenge, to put it mildly, so we’re really looking forward to seeing how she does. Pixie is very talented, but has back problems that were compounded by ulcers over the winter. She had a layoff in Normandy while the ulcers were treated, and she has built up substantial back muscling to compensate for her touching vertabrae and seems fit and ready to go now. She has been an eating machine since coming back into training, and the extra work toward the race has not dented her appetite, thankfully. We’re dropping her into a really easy claimer at a mile, so now it’s up to her. If she wants to win this, she certainly has the ability, but it just depends on where her troubled head is tomorrow! Nadege is up, and she knows the horse well, so that’s a plus. It will be hot and the going will be good to firm, but trifling exterior factors like that never seem to bother Pixie. She’s in her own world, and if she decides to run her race, the going and the temperature won’t matter.

I made it back from Newmarket late last night, and the three horses we bought arrived this morning. It was a very tough sale, and we’re all exhausted. Only 423 horses catalogued were actually sold, and more than a quarter of these went to Kuwaiti buyers, who paid silly amounts of money for horses that should have gone for less and really skewed the market. We managed to get three three-year-olds, a filly and two geldings. None of them have as strong a pedigree as I am usually able to buy in England, but they are all correct, nicely made animals, so I’m sure we can  find races for them to win. The filly is especially nice – a big chestnut called Blessing Belle, by Traditionally. She will carry the colors of Steve Collins, a new owner. The two geldings, Derringbay by Mull of Kintyre and Tarruji by Verglas, are available for lease and will run under my silks for now.

For the moment, all of the horses are in better accommodations than their trainer. My bathroom is being redone and our house looks like a bomb dropped. This was exactly the moment, of course, that my husband’s back decided to give out, so he is stuck in the bedroom immobile amid the chaos until the pain eases. The deep bed in Blessing Belle’s box is looking pretty inviting right about now…

Skid Solo finally ran the race I knew he could today, finishing a great second in Chantilly. The first three past the post came home six lengths in front of the rest of the pack, and Skid just nosed out the favorite to take second just a length behind the winner. Nadege rode a great race, and managed to find cover in only an eight-horse race – something our previous jockey couldn’t manage to do in a field of 18. Skid was relaxed for most of the race, then stretched out nicely for a nice finishing kick, which we hadn’t seen before. It would have been even nicer to win, but the second made us very happy, especially since we got the thrill of finishing in front of some of the biggest trainers in France, including Andre Fabre! This gives us something to build on, and certainly sends me off to the Newmarket sales in a good mood. Off to buy more good horses…

Skid Solo runs tomorrow at Chantilly, again his usual 1,200-meter straight sprint. It’s a great entry, a maiden race with only eight starters, and it makes me regret running the handicap 10 days ago. He seems fit and ready, but this is the third race in relatively short order for him and I’m always a little worried about going to the well too often, especially in the heat. The weather has turned a degree or two cooler, and apparently it has rained in Chantilly, so those are positives. Nadege will take over pilot duties this time, and I’m hoping the change of hands does us good. We can’t seem to get lucky in the draw, though; last time we were outside in No. 17 and this time we’ve got the No. 1 hole. I’d have loved to be in four or so, right in the middle, because it will be very hard to find cover in this race and I was really hoping to do that this time. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.