24th May update

Last week we had the annual Surrey Racing Golf Day, thankfully we didn’t have the high temperatures of this weekend, I think a few of us would have melted on the course! As always, it was a competitive but fun event with only 15 points separating last to first which I think is the tightest we’ve ever had so credit to the players on a tough course. The winner for the second time in 3 years was Tom Clover who sheepishly shot off to Kempton before the prize giving. The handicap committee got it wrong this year; they won’t next year!

We hope to be racing on Wednesday as Surrey King will be declared for the (currently) 7.30pm race at Kempton, a 11-furlong novice contest, although we need a couple of horses to drop out for us to make the starting line-up.      

Surrey Etoile had his final X-rays last week and we’re delighted to report that the surgeon was extremely pleased with the results. The bone has healed beautifully and, in his words, “it couldn’t have been any better.” Both the surgeon and the local vets have now agreed that Etoile can resume exercise. He will remain at the stud in Normandy for the next 4–6 weeks, beginning a gradual programme on the walker with the duration steadily increased over time. Provided everything continues to progress as planned, he will then move to a pre-trainer for a further 4–6 weeks to help him get used to being ridden again, undertaking more serious exercise in a less pressured environment. If all continues to go well, the plan is for him to return to training in Chantilly in early August. There are still hurdles to overcome, but given the difficult conversations we were having with the medical professionals back in January, it’s fantastic to have come this far.   

Hillsyde Hope and Surrey Lord are loving life in the sunny paddocks, all we need now is Surrey King and Surrey Moon to mature (one mentally, Wednesday would be nice, the other physically) and Surrey Bolt to continue his stellar progress through the next few months,  hopefully leading a debut later in the summer. 

Good luck to all involved with Surrey King on Wednesday.

Possible races and events.                       

May
Wednesday 27th – Surrey King – Kempton – 7.30pm
July
Sunday 5th – Surrey King - Hamburg