Santapietra’s run at Haydock Park

Santapietra ran at Haydock Park yesterday (20/04/2024), finishing 6th in the 3:15pm Maiden Mares’ Hurdle. The ground was quite tacky, which she struggled with from the start, never really settling into the race. The tough conditions were confirmed in the following race when just 4 of the 8 horses that went to post finished the race with three pulling up. Santapietra is bred to stay, and despite not liking the ground, Derek Fox (Jockey) mentioned that she may have a wind problem. This would explain a lot as her breeding would suggest she will be a stayer in future.

 This morning, Santa was checked by Eugenio, the vet, to see if there was any explanation for her below-par run, and he found that Santa had an unstable and fragile soft palate, which meant she was only taking in around 65% of air, which explains why she declined drastically through the race. Horses with a wind problem will start to decline when they are asked for more from their jockey but can’t take in oxygen. Due to Santa not liking the ground, Derek had to ask her for more a lot earlier in the race. Santapietra, following her operation, will have 4–5 days off and then go back into training ahead of another one or two runs on better ground this spring.

Obviously, we were hoping for more from her run, but she returned home safe and sound, which is the most important thing, and we hope that we have found the reason for her first couple of runs.

Next week, when Santa returns to training, it will be a fresh start, and fingers crossed she can show her true ability!