Viscount Wilson was declared in a 2m 3f Claiming Hurdle at Galway last week. This was another element of racing that was new to me. All the horses in this race were also up for sale with our horse available for £4000. Luke Dempsey was onboard for the race carrying the bottom weight and the going was soft/heavy. He travelled well enough but never looked like he had a chance and so it proved as he finished in mid division.
There were no takers for Viscount Wilson at Galway so he went in a 1m 4f flat race at Hamilton a few days later. The yard had this to say:
"Viscount Wilson runs in the Sodexo Handicap stakes. This is his first run on the flat since December 2018 when he finished 8th at Dundalk over 1m2f. Gordon is hoping that the switch back to the flat will sharpen him up after a summer of running over hurdles. We have also stepped him up in trip to 1m4f and he keeps the headgear on. Sean Davis claims a valuable 3lb and if Viscount Wilson is in the right frame of mind he could finish in the placings".
He got a a very early reminder after coming out of the stalls so Sean Davis obviously wasn't happy about something. They settled in mid division but again it looked like he was already running hard just to stay in mid division. From well before 3 out the game was up and it was just a matter of seeing where he could finish. In fairness, Viscount Wilson stuck to his task to come in a game fifth. What was more interesting was the winner was Chica Buena who convincingly beat Smiling Eliza over hurdles at Aintree last year. She hadn't been seen since January and was a heavy favourite and won easily. She really seems to like the soft ground and is one to keep an eye on this winter when she inevitably returns to jumping.
One horse who didn't like the soft going at Hamilton was Cozy Sky. "...She has snuck in at the bottom of the weights. It’s a straight 5f so it might help her to settle slightly and it looks an easier task than what she has faced in Ireland so far. She also has a great jockey booking in Joe Fanning so hopefully she can pick up a place". She didn't get away that well then steadily got herself into a decent position but as soon as the real racing began she looked like she was running in treacle and finished last. Alex had the debrief afterwards: "Joe Fanning said that Cozy Sky was very free on her way down to the start then struggled in the race to keep up with the pace. It was a disappointing performance from her as we thought we had found an easy enough race for her to pick up. I’ll speak to Gordon tomorrow to see where he plans to go from there but good news is she’s safe and sound after the race".
There was a further update from Alex this morning: "Unfortunately it was a disappointing day with runners yesterday. I’ve just spoken to Busty who is over in Hamilton with the horses and Sean Davis said that based on yesterday’s performance Viscount Wilson is going to struggle to win on the flat. The trip was definitely too short for him.
Both horses are fine this morning and have eaten up however Gordon has decided that Cozy Sky is to now be taken out of the club as she isn’t showing any signs of improvement.
Gordon has mentioned that he aims to run Viscount Wilson in Perth on Thursday which means leaving him in the UK today instead of travelling back to Ireland first. He has also said that Pat’s Oscar will be running at the 2 day Perth meeting".
Disappointing to hear that Cozy Sky will be leaving the club not because I think it's the wrong decision just because she looked like she had real promise at one time. However, she has gone backwards since. Hopefully she can fulfil her promise elsewhere.
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