I am glad to report that the evergreen, ever wonderful Ever So Much (below) has continued his rich vein of form this year, and gave himself his third win of the year, at Hexham, in June. He is an absolute delight to have around the yard, and to see him record the tenth success of his career, all achieved for us, was extremely special. Back over the bigger chase obstacles, he looked in a class of his own the whole way round under Richie McLernon, and it was probably the least stressful race I have ever watched, as victory for his owner J.P. McManus never looked in doubt!
Ever So Much is a horse that is particularly reliant on Feedmark’s Replenish, as he is a very free sweater on the way to the races (frustrating, as you never feel him move a muscle when he is on the box!), which is particularly problematic in this heat. However, Replenish makes sure we don’t have to worry about this resulting in a loss of energy and performance, and it certainly seems to be doing the job so far!
Epeius (above), another older favourite on the yard, but this time on the flat, has also been keeping the momentum up well for the team. A big, consistent sprinter, he has only managed to get his head in front once before, but always runs his race well in defeat. Entered for an Amateur race at Hamilton, he was given the job of getting our yard Amateur Dylan McDonagh back on the track after a couple of years away from race riding – and boy did they make a good job of it! Fluffing the start, both kept their cool, and whilst it looked like mission impossible at the furlong pole, Epeius kept responding to pressure and they nabbed the spoils just on the line – I think a few voices were lost in the process! Yard morale at an all time high, both horse and rider hugely deserved it.
Finally for stand out performances, our best horse Castle Hill Cassie (above) ran yet another valiant race at the York, a very special racecourse everyone must visit. She travelled like the best horse in the race, but gets a little lazy once she hit the front, and took her second 2nd placing in a row here in a hot fillies handicap. Frustrating but better than coming last, and you cannot fault her. She is a very special girl who will hopefully be stepping up in class in the near future, powered of course by Formulate!
Alice Haslam