Hope Is High returned to the winner's enclosure at Bath on Wednesday, winning for the sixth time after dropping back in trip slightly to a mile and a half.
Now six, Hope retains all her enthusiasm for racing and ran on very determinedly under a good ride from Megan Nicholls, bursting through a small gap and getting a whack on the nose from a rival jockey as she surged for home to deny the 5/4 favourite Geetanjali by a neck.
Her six wins have now been split equally between Bath and Yarmouth and the plan is to return to Bath on Sunday, 15 April for the Summer Stayers' Series Final – a race which she won two years ago (when it was transferred to Yarmouth) and in which she finished third last year. Now we have to keep our fingers crossed that she makes the cut!
The attached photograph is one of four taken by course photographer Robbie Stephenson which we were allowed to download from the Bath website free of charge after the race. It is a nice touch by Bath racecourse to offer this service to winning owners, and although it is almost an eight-hour round-trip to Bath from Newmarket we always enjoy going there - especially for the cream teas. Let's hope that we have another successful journey on Sunday.