WITH RESPECT BACK TO HIS BEST
It was a special win at Southwell for our six year old grey WITH RESPECT who was back in the winners enclosure for the first time since his debut success as a two year old. The son of Gutafain has had a truncated career, with a bad tendon injury putting him on the sidelines for over two years. Prior to the injury he showed some smart form in handicaps, with a career high handicap mark of 89 as a three year old before the injury struck. He returned to training last year and had his first run back just before Christmas.
As expected, he blew up on that first start back but his next two runs showed more encouragement, looking enthusiastic in his runs at Lingfield but just running out of steam late on. The choice was taken to send him to a more galloping track to see if that would benefit his running style.
Southwell is a track that Hughie Morrison trained horses have done well at and it certainly suited WITH RESPECT, he broke well and was always travelling nicely. He kept a handy position under jockey Jason Hart who asked him to go away and win his race which he did so well.
It may have been a small handicap by class but it was a huge result for the horse who’s racing career hanged in the balance when he first was injured. The expertise of the vets and the superb handling of Hughie Morrison and his team have ensured he has got back to his finest. We can now look forward to the rest of the season with him and hope his grey head can appear in front again.