On Tuesday 13th October Stay Coul headed to Leicester Racecourse to run in his first Nursery Race having gained a handicap mark of 60. On the back of his last run at Kempton which proved to be a strong race and he certainly didn't disgrace himself we all felt quietly confident that Stay Coul may run a creditable race at Leicester, although following all the rain, the ground was heavy, and given that his last three runs were on Good ground, or Good to Firm ground we didn't know how he'd take to running on heavy ground.

​

Stay Coul looked a picture in the parade ring and took the race preliminaries all in his stride. The draw was in his favour (2) and we were hopeful of a good run.

​

He missed the break slightly, but jockey Josephine Gordon didn't panic and she gently coaxed him into the race. He raced on the inside of the rail, at the back of the field for quite some time but looked comfortable with the going and was settled enough during the race. At the 2f mark Josephine picked him up and pushed him along beautifully and he soon made his way the front and, despite still running a little green, he won impressively and comfortably by 2 and 3/4 lengths!

​

A huge thanks must go to Josephine who gave him a fabulous ride, in fact she has ridden him in 3 of his 4 races and it has been an absolute pleasure to watch him progress enormously since his debut. David Menuisier and his team have been fantastic all season and a special thanks must go to Heather Stevens who looks after Stay Coul day in, day out and has made him the horse that he is!

​

I am personally absolutely delighted for all Stay Coul's owners involved in the syndicate and must thank them all for their support during my first year of running a syndicate! Onwards and upwards and there is sure to be a lot more to come from Stay Coul who looks like a progressive type!

​

Pictures below taken by the official photographer for Leicester Racecourse, Tony Knapton

​

​

​