Perfect Soldier returns to the scene of his fantastic victory, which gave us all such a great thrill last year. He is fresh and in good form heading in to today’s competitive looking handicap.

After his last start he got about 3 weeks off out in the field to freshen up, and the day he was due back in he decided to break chunk off his foot, which entitled him to another 10 days off, so fingers crossed we have been able to get him fit enough in time, for what looks like will be a fast run race.

Perfect is drawn in stall number three and will have to go forward from it, and in an ideal world he would be left along in front, allowing to dictate at his own pace, and start winding it up coming out of the dip, like he did last year. However I don’t think he’s going to get his own way up front, as three others in the race have been know to like to force the pace, King Christophe, Remarkable Lady and Presecution. So if that happens, I’d like Gary to just sit behind these guys and let them do the donkey work, if we were able to follow them in to the dip, and try and slingshot around them in to the straight, I would be delighted. If he gets caught up in the pace, I think it could just collapse up from and something could end up coming from behind. Saying all that, races are an unpredictable thing, and Gary rides the place well, so we’ll leave it to him.
Big fingers crossed he is still the right side of the handicapper, in this competitive heat and can run a big race. After all it is Gawlay and it’s so hard to bag a winner here. Dermot Welds filly in the race caught my eye on her second last run in Gowran, and looks like one that could go close.

Best of luck everyone, it’s in the lap of the gods now.

Michael