Good Morning, Friend

I hope you've had a good couple of weeks and backed a few winners. I forget when I was last in touch but I've been away in Croatia having a great time and trying to fully switch off. However, it's now back to the day job.

Over the next few days I will have some Royal Ascot content for you. There's the superb free magazine I send out every year, there's a special offer from a tipster in form who I've told you about before and who does very well at Royal Ascot, and I'll try and dig out some trainer / jockey angles for you.

Before that... The Plumber... and your chance to earn £50 cash...

One of our RTP Syndicate horses, The Plumber, ran at Southwell on Monday. He ran another decent race in 2nd, (2, UP, 2, his form for us now) bumping into another one. But so much more to come from him.

If you click the above video image, you can see a short film of a 'day in the life of an RTPS owner' - we do try and have a great time and it was another decent turnout. 'The Boss', Amy Murphy, generous with her time as always and some great feedback from Jack, which you may have seen if you follow me on twitter. He doesn't mind being recorded pre and post race, giving his thoughts, and it allows me to bring the races to life for those members who couldn't make it track-side.

We do know how to have a good time and it was great to see so many track-side again.

Do give it a quick watch HERE>>>. You may wish to join in the fun...

We were confident of a big run and most members backed him EW at 11s>5s, some did the forecast with the winner having been flagged in my preview as the main danger.

Below you can also find the race review email I sent to members yesterday, with my own thoughts on the race, his performance, what we can ponder and where we go next.

I thought some of you may find it an interesting read.

Before that, your chance to earn £50...

All of you reading this have no doubt long considered whether to live your dream and join our third syndicate with our 'could be anything' future chaser, Give Me A Boom.

But if not, you can find out more HERE >>>

And get in touch with us here... rtpsyndicate@gmail.com

We still have a few shares left. Your help would be appreciated...

IF you know any friends, family or colleagues who may be interested, do point them towards that link and let them know.

If you send anyone our way who signs up, we'll give you a £50 referral fee in cash, transferred direct to your bank account.

Thanks in advance!

Right... the post race review email I send to The Plumber's owners, I'm sure they won't mind this time...

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The Plumber

It was great to see him bounce back to form, evidently trying his best and finishing off his race, a step back in the right direction. 

He has shown enough both at home and now on course for us to be fairly confident he will be winning races, it's just a question of when, not if. We've been on the edge of our seats turning in on every start so far which is half the battle and he should keep improving with each run. He will win races, which is exciting. It's our collectively job to get the best out of him and place him into races he can win. 

The form... 

We shall see how the form of the race works out but he was beaten by the right rival for me, who'd shown plenty on the flat and in two previous hurdles starts, the last of which had worked out well. He's clearly useful enough and with any luck can uphold the form in time. We also had the well fancied Alan King horse in behind. I suppose that was an example of how hurdles and time can transform horses - the winner was last winning off 69 on the flat, the 3rd was rated 84. I think we also bumped into a half decent one at Market Rasen. 

It should be noted that on the Racing Post total race times, our race was a shade quicker than the 2m C4 handicap hurdle later on the card. Given that was a race for more experienced handicappers, we can take positives from that also.  

Jumping... 

The biggest positive from The Plumber's run was how he jumped. As per Jack's post race review video, he was delighted (shared on WhatsApp, do email in if you didn't see it/would like us to share it), jumping low and fast, like a pro. He did edge out to his right at plenty of jumps but Jack thought that more a case of him lining up the hurdles, organising himself and putting himself right. He jumped plenty straight enough and at this stage we're not sure it's a right-handed / left -handed issue, however we are keen to get him back right-handed ASAP so we can at least learn something there. I think he will just improve for the experience and will have more confidence in himself next time. Of course it was also pleasing how he responded for pressure, maintaining the gap back to third. 

Hanging... 

You will have also noticed that he did hang to his left, as he did at Worcester. He was awkward at times and made it difficult for Jack, who had to concentrate on keeping him straight, rather than helping him forwards. 

This will pose up some head-scratching until he stops doing it. 

My own view is that he may well have been searching out the rail, as some sort of comfort blanket. Both at Southwell and at Worcester he was away from the rail up the straight for the most part and I do wonder if he's just gone looking for it. He was right up against it late on yesterday after the last, touching the paint, but then continued to run forwards. At Market Rasen he was up against the rail, stayed straight, head down, trying all the way. 

Now, that's just a theory and there could be nothing in it. 

It could just be a quirk of his that will straighten out with experience or maybe one day with some cheekpieces. 

I am keen to see him run at a track over hurdles up against an inside rail for the whole trip, just to see if that makes a difference. 

Really Super (the Summer Plate winner I had a share in previously) did a similar thing on her first few hurdle starts, hanging in behind horses/ducking left to a rail, before she learnt not to and then took off. You wouldn't have called her a future Summer Plate winner after her first few hurdles runs. But these young horses can take massive strides forward from one start to the next, one season to the next, and it's that potential which keeps us all excited. 

The ground...

It was squelchy enough at Southwell again, much like Worcester. The only time he's visibly 'quickened' was at Market Rasen, the quickest ground he's run on by some distance. There is every chance he does just want a proper 'good ground' surface. The AW gallops he's worked on plenty at home will feel like proper decent ground and numerous times Jack has observed how much pace he shows at home - able to work alongside flat horses. He hasn't yet shown that same spark on course, bar possibly his first run, which poses questions also. It could simply be the ground...

Headgear...

He has shown that pace at home while wearing the hood. They did take it off last week and he somewhat 'ran away' with Jack. Amy is desperate to get it off him one day just to see if he can be tamed with it off and what impact that has on course. Depending on how he goes at home without it, if they try again, may dictate whether on his next one or two starts we remove it, launch him forward and see what happens. (that could range from him loving life and nothing getting anywhere near him, through to burning far too much energy and fading from 3 flights out - I'm preparing you here! :) ) 

Tactics...

We are still learning about him and he is still learning about himself. He should keep growing for another 1-2 years and he should keep taking steps forward mentally with each start. 

You will have noted that he's run from the front on all his starts to date. In all three races there hasn't really been much pace on and Jack's been happy to put his pointing experience to good use, and his stamina, jumping out in front. 

At the back of my mind I have been pondering whether he may be the sort of horse who actually enjoys running through/past horses, enjoying the competition and fending off rivals. That certainly appeared to be the case at Market Rasen when he was challenged three times and just kept finding, until fading in the final 50 yards through a lack of fitness more than anything. 

Again, there may be nothing in that view point at all but we have a few different 'changes' we could make in the future that may, or may not, elicit an improved performance again. His half-sister Glan, who Gordon Elliot trains (now rated 130+), relishes being buried off a strong pace, running through horses and being delivered late. Maybe he's one of those. 

I do say that in the context that if we took away yesterday's winner he'd have won comfortably in his own right, as he would have at Market Rasen, and at some point he will stop bumping into one. And you can overthink this game/get too creative! 

Distance...

As per Jack's feedback he thinks The Plumber may benefit from a step up in trip to 2m4f. That's exciting and another reason for improvement at some stage. 

The future...

At this stage the context of the race programme is important. The Plumber does not have to run in handicaps for two more runs. He may well get a handicap mark after his next start. We are keen to use his next two starts to try and learn something, in line with many of the comments /potential changes we can make, touched on above. That is the purpose of maiden/novice hurdles also. 

However, we are keen to keep him to two miles for his next two starts, and to keep a distance move in our back pocket, until he steps into handicaps. This move in distance could be the main reason for a massive jolt forward in performance - we'd rather he shows that jolt forward in handicaps having picked up more experience on his next two starts. Also, there's a strong chance he stops bumping into one and can win over 2 miles, we don't think he lacks the pace, especially back on faster ground. 

He could keep bumping into one with more pace over 2m, as per yesterday, and if we experiment taking the hood off, we simply won't know what's going to happen! We'd rather experiment in novice/maiden hurdles, up against inexperienced horses, and likely smaller fields, over 2m. We will all learn plenty on his next two runs. I also don't think he's yet matched the quality he's shown at home in a few pieces of work. It's our job to unlock that on the racetrack. 

So, that's the plan at the moment. 

Race targets...

Looking ahead, given Amy thinks he needs 21+ days off, there are three options jumping out over 2m...

28/06, Stratford, Maiden hurdle.
29/06, Worcester, Novice hurdle
05/07, Uttoxeter, Novice hurdle

You will note there are no options right-handed anytime soon. There is a 2m4f novice at Market Rasen but as per above, we don't wish to step him up in distance just yet. We will try and find a race that way round in two starts time. 

Of those three options, Stratford would be our preference at this stage. Firstly it's a maiden hurdle as opposed to a novice, so no danger of bumping into previous winners carrying penalties. (our nemesis from yesterday may well turn up in one of those) 

Of more importance is the fact that at Stratford, the hurdles track is on the inside, with a rail to guide them the whole way. The Plumber would never need to leave the rail and certainly wouldn't be able to drift very far. He'd have it to run up against the whole straight and, combined with better ground (fingers crossed) could be a reason for an improved effort again. (again though, a repeat of yesterday would be good enough to win a fair few summer maiden hurdles)

At this stage we are just looking at his next race. There are no fancy long term plans as yet, obviously what he does on his next few starts, and if/when we step him up in distance, and what handicap mark he gets, may dictate any longer term plans. We always live in hope there could be a half decent pot to be won somewhere down the line, and a 'big day out'. For now, one race at a time. 

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I think that covers our thoughts at this stage. We will obviously discuss all of the above with Amy and see where we go next. 

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So, you now know as much as us and what we're thinking. We do our best to take members every step of the way, pre race, post race, and everything in between.

You can join in with our next potential star HERE>>>

Or refer a friend and earn yourself £50 if they end up joining :)

As always thanks for any help and for reading,

All the best,

Josh