31.8.21. With one exception this hasn’t been our best week so let’s start there then with the positive: Noduff Aria won back in A5 company. His two 630m outings appear to have done Fred good as he charged home like a proper stayer coming from last to first to win by a head. He was rewarded with an outing in A4 yesterday and was back to his old tricks of falling out of the boxes. That enabled him to rail inside the trouble at the first bend and he finished strongly again to go down by just 1.5 lengths. Had he not been forced so wide at the last he could even have won!

Supreme Odin cut his foot in the paddock and is off for a few weeks as a consequence. Luigi simply has too much energy for his own good!

Noduff Bellagio plodded round in A3 company and has been rewarded with a quick downgrade to A4 level where she won last time. We would like Bonnie to come into season but, if she hasn’t done in the next week or so, she will probably go to Perry Barr to trial with some of the kennel stars. That change of scenery might pep her up a bit.

Noduff Caesar’s recovery with the assistance of Tvati continues. Nothing further to report at present in relation to Bertie.

Noduff Dunes is still in season and Mia is still very lively.

Noduff Excalibur finally ran in a D1 sprint this week following his open race debut and subsequent outing in which he showed up very well to the bend before being squeezed out. The same can’t be said of the D1 in which Jock was slow away and never recovered. What is even clearer is that he doesn’t want trap 4. He railed so closely off the last bend that he even clipped the rail! Discussions as to his seeding will be taking place shortly.

Noduff Flamingo had her final grading trial this week. With luck Raspberry will make her debut in A6 or thereabouts in the early part of next week.

Noduff Grand ran in his second A3. Having previously been put in the wholly unsuitable five box he was drawn this time in two. He missed the break but was running on stoutly when turning for home and would probably have finished third until he and the five dog tangled on the rails and he was knocked over. Wallace was bruised but no long term damage was done and he will trial again soon to show there are no ill effects.

Finally, Noduff Hacienda had his final grading trial yesterday – or at least it should have been his last. Inexplicably he checked at the sough on the first circuit and lost most of his momentum. Second at the time, he dropped right back only to run on strongly, hugging the rails but his time of 29.41 is likely to prove too different from his previous trials to be acceptable to the racing office. Subsequent inspection of the video suggests he was distracted by a parader’s red jacket at the pickup.