It was a great pleasure to be able to travel, along with six members and guests, to watch and celebrate FTP`s return to racing after such a long, protracted absence of 542 days.
We knew we faced a stiff task, and had the meeting been held at a racecourse in Cuckoo land, we might have been optimistic of a big result, but on a spring like afternoon at the end of October, we found ourselves in Carlisle for a 3ml 2f hcp chase which had attracted some pretty formidable opposition.
This opposition had been known to us for almost 48 hours after declarations, and having realised the quality of the runners in the race, we were quite happy to resign ourselves to the fact that our beloved FTP had no b******g chance of winning, and the best we could hope for was to see if the enthusiasm to race was still there, and also whether or not he could remember how to jump a fence.
He most definitely did NOT let us down.
Timeforms assessment of FTP`s performance reads far more eloquently than anything your `umble servant could have come up with. It was short and to the point.
“After a non routine absence of 18 months, it was just a case of him getting his eye back in, patiently ridden (normally prominent) and spared a hard race once it got a bit much for him. “
Danny Cook could do little else, and, best news of all, he went home, ate up, and was bucking and kicking in Sues paddock the morning after…the horse that is, not Danny.
So, early days yet my friends, but Sue has plenty to work on, and at least its a start, and there is every reason to believe it shouldn`t be too long before we find a race in which FTP can be more competitive, and we can resort to the more aggressive front running tactics which is the way he likes to race.
Welcome back old boy !
