It's been a long time coming but Hidden Pearl finally earned a '1' next to her name after her rousing three-length victory at Bath on Tuesday.
She is a mare who rarely runs a bad race, and she had previously been placed on nine occasions, several times losing out on a win by mere pixels in a photo finish. But Tuesday was her day to shine, on the fast ground that she loves, and under another good ride from Harry Davies, who won for us on Dereham at Newmarket a few weeks ago.
There is a lovely friendly syndicate behind Hidden Pearl and Turn Of Phrase (pictured together above) known as the Sisters of Mercy, many of whom have been attached to our yard for a while in different ways. It was especially pleasing to see Neil Hilsden and his wife Vale enjoying their first win with Hidden Pearl at Bath. Neil comes to the yard practically every Saturday morning and is such an enthusiastic supporter of all our horses so we were delighted he was able to enjoy this special moment with Val.
Hidden Pearl has had a productive season so far, with a win, two seconds and a fourth-place finish from her four starts. We hope to see her back out relatively soon, particularly while this dry weather persists.