Royale Harvest runs out of luck.

After winning three straight at Ascot, Royale Harvest was brought back to earth with a thud on Saturday.

What I considered to be a very winnable race on Saturday, turned out to be a nightmare for smart mare Royale Harvest on Saturday. From the time the horses got to the barriers on Saturday, things started to go wrong.

The race was ten minutes late starting with three unruly mares playing up badly and helping to delay the start. All three have a poor record with their barrier manners and it seems unfair that well educated horses have to stand in the barriers for extra time while these horses continue to hold up starts. Especially in BLACK TYPE races.

After jumping well from an awkward barrier, the mare could not go the early pace of the race as was expected. What I did not expect however was the intense pressure throughout the race dished out by a few other horses and riders who all seemed as though they wanted to be in the same spot. As we all know, eight into five does not go and something had to give.

After racing tightly for the first 800m of the race and being continually buffeted about, "Heidi" eventually said "enough is enough!"

The mare has received a number of cuts and knocks to the legs which will require treatment and hopefully everything settles quickly with her.

She will have a few easy days while we let her get over the race day trauma's.