We’ve been giving Cast No Shadow plenty of entries over the last week or so just trying to find the right race for him to get off the mark.

We had him in a race at Chelmsford last weekend, but Jack Channon had a nice type in there called Jungle Mac who I thought would take plenty of beating, and he ended up winning by about seven lengths at long odds-on, so it was probably the correct decision not to go there.

We’ve had him entered in races at Southwell and Kempton this week too, but I’d say the race at Newcastle on Friday night will be where we’ll head with him. I’m sure he’d have a decent chance in any of the races to be honest, but there are only eight entered in that Newcastle race, and two of them aren’t even qualified for it, so we’d be left with a maximum field of six, of which we would be the highest rated in there. It’s a restricted novice race over 5f, and we know he handles that stiff finish at Newcastle well, so it looks an excellent opportunity for him to finally get off the mark.

I haven’t decided what to do with regards to headgear yet. I know Jason [Hart] got off him the last day and said maybe a pair of cheekpieces would help him, so we’ll maybe work him in them this week and see how he responds, but we may also try a visor as well as different horses respond differently to certain types of headgear.

I’ll keep everybody updated with the plans as the week goes on, but I’d say all being well we’ll head to Newcastle on Friday evening.

Hugo Palmer, Coral Racing Club Trainer