BORN TO RUN

Weblog: The story of a racehorse

Much to like in our foal after three weeks at sales

Having been away from the day today running of Tweenhills for three weeks, due to sales at Newmarket andDeauville, there was much to catch up on last week.

It was certainly interesting going out and having a look at our Born To Run foal with Ben Hyde, the stud groom at Tweenhills.  In the same way there was a huge differencein my 18-month daughter, Fenella, so it was with the foal. Both have developed in personality very quickly.

Obviously foals develop at even greater speed than children. Born To Run has just been moved to a larger group of foals andwhen they move from one group to another it is just like a kid going to a new prep school - they feel their way for a little while.

But she is very much king of the pile now and is in great order. She looks much more mature, much more like a future racehorse rather than the bundle of fur we were looking at earlier in the summer.

When you are looking at your foals you are keeping a close eye on their size and conformation, on their front and hind legs, whether their feet are turning out or in, or whether they are getting too heavy.

As they get that bit older, and they start to look like a sized-down racehorse, you are able to see more of the balance of a horse and the quality of it. I have always thought that judging foals at the foal sales is almost easier than judging yearlings, which are going through much more exaggerated growth spurts.

Looking at this foal, it was noticeable how much she is developing, getting a nice muscular shoulder. She is well-balanced has got a good bit of presence about her. We are much happier with her generally.