Skid runs well, and busy days ahead

Skid’s comeback race at Longchamp yesterday went pretty well.  He finished 9th of the 19 runners, handled himself well and came back in good shape. He had no chance to do better from the wide draw; our jockey did manage to get him moved over toward the rail so he could settle in the back of the pack and then move forward when the sprint began. Just to show how bad the track bias is on that course, the first four home came out of stalls 1 through 4. Anybody who bet that made a good amount of money! Skid broke from the 19 hole, and he also confirmed that 1,400 meters is a little too long for him. His distance is really 1,200 meters, although we may try the 1,000 meter sprint at Maisons-Laffitte next.

Blessing Belle gets another try tomorrow, running a 2,400-meter handicap at St. Cloud. I really don’t know what to think of her chances. She seems in great form physically and is her usual dangerous self in the box; at the moment, she appears not to be in season, which could be a minor miracle if she manages to hold herself together for tomorrow. Theirry Thulliez was still keen to ride her, so hopefully he can find the right button.

After that, we have Timelord at Chantilly on Monday, and that should be very interesting. This little horse has been quite a challenge, but he’s looking fantastic and worked a blinder this morning. He is a horrible boxwalker, so he spends his afternoon in the paddock, where he seems happy and calm. At some point every night, he lives up to his name and travels back to the 14th century by spinning around his box. When I feed him in the morning I have to cross the well-trodden piste he has built and then he gets tied up, which is the only way to stop him! All that said, he seems to be really ready to run, and he has a good record in England, so we’ll see what happens.

And finally, we have a new filly, Rapsodie du Desert, who will run Tuesday in Maisons-Laffitte. She is coming back after a year off with an injury, so this is really an exploratory race to see how she goes. She is working well and might not quite be 100 percent ready, but the entry is good and she is fit enough to run. It would be great if one of these guys might follow Bay’s lead and give us our second winner this year.