With a name like Starboard Watch, there`s always going to be plenty of nautical terms used in the months ahead when the creator of this website is updating events regarding the progress of our filly.
Hence the headline relating to her first run on a bright and sunny Catterick afternoon, when, disappointingly, she finished 12th of 12 in a 7f Maiden race.
The frustrating thing for me was how well she looked in the parade ring before the race, only to witness a performance which most certainly didn`t reflect her looks.
The race itself, turned out to be a non event for us really, with James Given seen shaking his head in disbelief, and members looking somewhat perplexed at what they had just seen.
But this potential tale of doom and gloom soon began to change for the better shortly afterwards.
Firstly, jockey Tom Eaves told us not to be too critical, as his filly, on the undulating Catterick course, “just couldn`t get her legs right…especially on the bend into the straight”, and was “all over the place”…so much so he had “difficulty getting her to race straight”….”Catterick was the wrong track for her first race.” ” Next time I suggest you try her over a bit further…a mile or even 1ml 2f maybe.”
Yes you might say, but he`s got got to say something to appease the owners hasn`t he. !!
Having said that, James had also seen how she wasn`t handling the track, and that Eaves wasn`t hard on her.
So we took his comments on board and retreated to the bar, which is where I bumped into Shaun Harris, the Carburton based Trainer, who I`ve known for many years.
“You won`t be running her again at Catterick then will you?” was his opening shot.
When asked to elaborate, he said, ” I`ve got a Harbour Watch filly in my yard, and I specifically wanted to watch how your horse ran.
Without any prompting from myself, Shaun told me his view of what he saw…..which was almost exactly what Tom Eaves had told us earlier.
But the most telling explanation came the morning after the race with a phone call from James to say that whilst SW was back home and ok, he noticed she was walking slightly skew wiff at the back end, which, to his trained eye, was telling him there was a slight muscle strain, which no doubt happened in yesterdays race, and further explains her awkward action picked up on by Tom Eaves.
Physio and a few days on the easy list though should put that right, and all should be well.
So the learning curve has started and will continue, and, according to James, Starboard Watch will soon be setting sail again, but this time to calmer waters, such as Nottingham, Thirsk or Haydock.
We are an excellent bunch of guys, eight of us, newly assembled, who, despite this small setback, remain fully confident we have a decent horse, and that success is not that far away.
