The league is fast approaching with only a few weeks to go before season 2 gets underway.

Here is a summary of some of my horses I'm looking forward to seeing race on trails day 3.

I've been in this league for a long time, going back to the very early days. My current flat team are the most talented bunch of horses I've ever had in any previous leagues and I'm very much looking forward to the season ahead. Never thought I'd say this about the flat league, it's not usually the one I focus my attentions on. I'm more passionate about the NH league.

My NH team are still lacking real quality in some areas. But there is definitely room for major improvements over the coming weeks to get to a position good level.

Good luck to all this week in the trails.

Flat Horses

Race 1 - 1m2f 3yo
Waltz Sandhurst - This Colt as a mixed bloodline coming from one of my previously best CK filly milers out of an above average old CK 2m5fH horse. My trails around this trip throws up so many different results but he's consistent enough and should run a good race. I've another Filly I may change at the last minute called Meditation, she's from an awesome CK bloodline and her father is my Number 1 Derby horse and the mother his a real gusty mare who was class in my CK and will be in my league team as a 4yo.

Race 3 - 1m 3yo
Inverted Appeal - One of the best 3yo milers in my game and the CK I've ever had. Still in my game at present and unbeaten in over 20+ G1's. Very rare that actually happens to be a freak in the game and also in the CK. I've better than him now at home but want to see what he can do over this tricky favored front running track. He can handle good ground well but is more effective on dryer ground. He's an hold up horse which this track doesn't suit, all that been said if he times his run right he will be thereabouts at the finish.

Race 5 - 6f 2yo
Grovey Project - My best 3yo miler I've ever had in any leagues previously. She's even beating my older milers which are top class, from my trails day 2 1m2f winning horse Danberry Note out of a super quick CK sprinter. Another one I really want to see have a race before we start the season. She's also very quick over the sprint trips as a juvenile. Expecting a very good showing from her.

Race 7 - 1m4f 4yo+
Trojan Attack - Ran a solid race on trails day 2 and seems to love the dirt and this track. Only found out recently he's a bit of a freak over the 2m trips and regularly clocking in the low 3m25s on good ground. Just entered my breeding barn and expecting some real quality offspring. Hopefully get a few at the right age to trail and see if they are worthy of a league spot.

Race 9 - 2m2f 4yo+
Redruth Skye - This mare is a jumps breed horse and did absolutely nothing in my game until she hit 7yo. Why she is any good on the flat is a mystery but she will take her place in this race and I'm very hopeful of a massive run from her. Some of her offspring are looking very good indeed and cannot wait to trail them before we kick off. Stays 2m and clocks group class times in my trails.

Race 11 - 1m1f 2yo
Sequel Eclipse - Love this horse so much she's back again to see if she can pick up another trails win. This time maybe not from the front. She's still racing as a 7yo in my game so not had the chance to breed with her yet. Her bloodline is more NH that flat so it's a mystery why she's very good on the flat. Was hopefully seeing if she became a NH star for me. Still time for that now she is 100% peaked with her potential. So much class just like her mother Fable Master out of my Supreme Novice winner. Will be thereabouts at the finish.

NH Jumpers

Race 2 - 2m1fH 5yo+
Rule Of Maze 8m - This is my only experiment this week in my trails. Was going to go with Crafty Customer again but as a 7yo this time, but feel I need to know just how good she could be or not. Still a possibility I will enter her either at 6 or 7yo.

Race 4 - 2m1fC - 5yo+
Making Memories 7m - Not even trailed at Brooklyn and not sure why we don't have a Cheltenham race over this distance. But hey this is a total guessing game and she's a new recruit to my CK and testing the waters to see how she get's on. I could have put in 10+ horses in this but I really enjoyed her in game form and the races she won.

Race 6 - 2m4fH
Playful Wisdom 7m - Pure jumps pedigree been by my 1st season league mare Esteride Jubilate and my Supreme Novice Winner Honor Robbers. This distance throws up so many different results it's frustrating to say the least. Not sure who is my best over this trip and to make it worse I get the GENERROR which means I cannot race the same horse at different ages. Tried to email Mark numerous times left posts on the forum. Nothing come back with a solution. A lot of my NH horses will be a guessing game again

Race 8 - 2m5fC 5yo+
Cheekz Gold 7m - Same situation as my 2m4fH horses so many mixed results and not sure which is my best horses. Another who I loved in my game and won so many races over a variety of distances. Want to see what he can do this week before deciding on my NH team. Does love it around here like most of my NH horses.

Race 10 - 3m1fH 5yo+
Indochina Felice 7h - Having said previously this was an area I thought I'd improved a lot maybe I'm not to sure about that now. Very curious to see how she get's on in this race. Trails consistent over this trip/ground/course think I have way better but deserves her chance. The GENERROR is making life extremely difficult in finding the very good ones.

Race 12 - 3m5fC 5yo+
Caring Emma 7m - Very happy with how far my stayers have come and trails day 2 showed that, with my stayer winning the 4m1f race even though she is a GN horse and the trip was a little on the short side. I'm still not sure if I'll enter her just yet, all of my other trails are done but this one needs more trails doing and will decide Friday. She's very talented and not sure what her ideal trip just yet.

Looking forward to these next trials, they've come along quite fast and I haven't had a whole load of time to play with work being so busy! Having said that, I'm happy with having a decent sized stable ready to go when the league starts and whilst i'll be way behind the likes of Hemz and Leon, I will have some good horses to have a fun season with.

Runners for trials day 3 below. I'll also hopefully be on some of the comms for half of the races and hope you enjoy those.

Race 1 - 1m2f 3yo

Killing Eve 3yo - man I hate trialling around Brooklyn, so inconsistent with trials. But anyway this fella ran relatively consistently and won a few when getting a run through on the rail. He is one of my more nicely bred horses but this distance is one I have struggled with on both trials days so not expecting much more than a 7/8th place at best. Top 5 would be a great result for him.

Race 2 - 2m1f H

Hurricane Fly 8yo - Named after my favourite hurdler of all time, he is bred out of Piazza Navona who ran over 8f on last trials day which comes from the Living Legend line. So the speed and finishing kick should be there and the dam is a decent 2mile hurdler of mine so he was specifically bred to be a 2mile hurdler. I would love to see him run well but the competition will be very tough!

Race 3 - 1m 3yo

Two Doors Down 3yo - This horse was useless at 2 and actually one I started to see as being a possible NH horse however when I raced her and trialled her at 3 she seemed to beat the majority of my 3yos in the CK. Bizarrely she wins some races comfortably but then finishes way down the field on others and I think it has something to do with her running style - she needs to hit the front early and hold horses off rather than battle past others going into the final 2f. Given Goodwood is a tough track for hold up horses I decided to give her a shot and hope she can run better than my last 8f runners.

Race 4 - 2m1f C

Alice In Wonderland 7yo - I must admit I trialled for this on Cheltenham and she is a soft ground specialist so I have no idea how she will perform. Perhaps a front runner would have been more appropriate given the track and I have one at home called Jack Sparra who is arguably my best 2mile Chaser. But I want to give her a go given the distance and if she runs well I could have a very exciting set of 2mile chasers on my hands this season as I have 4/5 that all finish very closely together.

Race 5 - 6f 2yo

Living Legend 2yo - the legend is back! My star performer from trials day 2, giving me my first win and some confidence that I can be competitive with certain horses in the upcoming season. The finishing kick of this horse is head and shoulders above anything else I have and even in the barn at 14 I have bred nothing that can outperform him at 2,3,4yo. I have a decision on my hands over what age to upload him at and this race will probably help me decide. 6f is stretching him at 2yo, he needs it at 3, but if he runs well here he will go in at 2yo so I have both 5-6f races to target. Goodwood can be tough for hold up horses too so I don't expect a follow up win but a top 5 would cement his place as my star juvenile and flat horse for the league.

Race 6 - 2m4f H

Our Connie 7yo - I love this horse, named after my 1 year old niece and absolute monster in my CK. She loves Aintree and Punchestown particularly but she is also very consistent around Cheltenham and I really am hoping she can prove herself to be group standard for the league and the dream would be to target her at the Mares Hurdle at the Festival and the Aintree Hurdle after that. She is also another sired by Living Legend

Race 7 - 1m4f 4yo

Tides Out 7yo - another horse who I thought was going to be a jumps horse but trialled over flat given the full potential bar and flat pedigree when 6&7 yo. Makes me realise that I have given up on, sold, or retired a lot of horses who would actually have matured late and turned out to be a great horse. But never mind, I've learned my lesson and will be keeping a closer eye on my horses from now on. Ideally I want to see him race close to the pace and use the finishing kick he gets from his dams side to finish the race out well. Again, not a great flat distance for me so hoping for a top 7 finish.

Race 8 - 2m5f C

Take The Knee 7yo - aptly named for what is happening in the world at the moment, this is another flat bred horse that turns out to be pretty good over fences in my CK. Weirdly his stats bar would scream 6/7f on the flat or 2miles on the NH side but he really needs 2m5-3m to be at his best. Consistent performer on soft ground against my other chasers so I'm hoping I can rely on him to give me a top 5 and help me get over the awful NH performance from the last trials day.

Race 9 - 2m2f

Vieux Carre 4yo - named after a french cocktail I've never even drank before, or have no idea how to pronounce, this colt is now 7 in my game and has won multiple staying group 1s. Weirdly he seems to be more consistent at 4yo in my CK than at 5/6 so I want to give him a try. American Woman surprised me massively with a 3rd in a 14f race last trials day when i thought my staying division was weak so eager to see this race to gauge how my longer stayers are. He is a hold up horse and I did have a front runner in mind given the track but I really wanna try this fella out and see how he gets on against the likes of Hemz, Leon, and Paul who all have great stayers. Hoping 14-16f particularly could be a fun distance for me as American Woman isn't my best horse over any distance any more.

Race 10 - 3m1fH

Sauce It Up 8yo - I was really disappointed with Traude Beau in the last trials day but am hoping it was due to the distance and ground being less than ideal. She is definitely more ground dependant than Sauce It Up and both are closely matched in my CK. I'm not sure i'll pass them by the time the league starts so they are very likely to be my two staying hurdlers for the league this season. Sauce It Up should stay all day up that hill but Hemz and Leon have monster hurdlers so I just hope my mare is still on screen as they pass the winning post.

Race 11 - 1m1f 2yo

Casablanca 2yo - this colt is another from the Living Legend line but has a lot of stamina on the mares side. He often leaves his run a little too late and is probably more suited to 10f than 9 but he performs ok in my CK so wanted to give him a try. One trials day 1 I managed a 4th with a juvenile and I have a few better than him now so hoping for a decent performance. I may have chosen the wrong one for the track though so will not take too much disheartenment from a poor run.

Race 12 - 3m5f C

Good Timing 8yo - Trialled this guy last night, been racing through the seasons to get him to export age as he showed potential to smash my chasers at a young age. Really pleased with his consistency in the CK and he seems to be pretty good anywhere from 3m-3m5f and so i'm really hopeful he is another one who can run well and make amends for some disappointing Doncaster NH trials. Would love the confidence boost going in to the NH season as my horses are way past the level of trials day 1 where I fared ok over jumps. This guy should race close to the pace and stay all day long