There is something especially satisfying about attending racing on a Monday afternoon knowing most other people are working whilst you are enjoying yourself. This feeling is even greater when it's an unseasonably warm and sunny October afternoon and you are nursing an ice-cold Guinness in your hand.

After attending racing the day before at Bath I was starting to realise I could really get used to this lifestyle and I thought if the Guild ever had enough spare money and a large enough string of horses to employ a full-time reporter I'm the man for the job.

A small group of Guild members (3) were present and we met up with Stuart and Neil to discuss Molly. Stuart, as ever, was frank and realistic in his assessment of Molly's chances and this was reflected in her pre-race odds of about 66/1. However he was hopeful a first time visor would help keep her mind on the job.

In the parade ring Molly was very much on her toes. It was the first time I had seen her pre-race and I was told that in her previous races she had been much more laid back.The visor obviously had an effect.

Stuart and the jockey, David Kinsella, discussed tactics. It was agreed to drop Molly in, give her a lead and try to produce her later than in previous races. Honestly, that was the plan before the race.

So with that plan in mind Molly jumped out in front, raced into the lead and was in front for about 4 furlongs before being swallowed up by the pack. She finished well down the field. It was very similar to her previous runs but I felt she stayed competitive for very slightly longer in this race.

Unfortunately Stuart had to attend to one of his other horses straight after the race so I was unable to get his views in detail but I did manage to speak to Kinsella. He said the visor had actually had the reverse of the desired effect and made her keener at the start and for this reason he had let her go off in front. He also said that she showed great speed and therefore needed an easy 5 furlongs rather than 6 as she didn't have the stamina for 6 furlongs and, in his opinion barely had the stamina for 5. He recommended a course like Lingfield (which has a downhill 5 furlongs) where she could show her pace off to maximum effect.

Bearing this opinion in mind I wondered if it would be a viable option to give Molly one more run at Lingfield over 5 furlongs if a suitable race could be found in the near future to test out this theory. From the way she set off in front today she is obviously in good heart and she wasn't blowing particularly hard after the race. I realise this is just one members opinion but I would be interested to know what other members think regarding the best distance/tactics for Molly. I don't think we really learnt alot from today's run.

I'd like to thank Stuart and his team and David Kinsella for providing information and opinions which helped make writing this report so easy.

The rest of the day was really enjoyable despite there only being a small number of members there and I look forward to (hopefully) seeing Tim and Paul at a future meeting.

Finally I'd like to say thanks to Paul who went out of his way to chauffeur me to the course from Reading and back. It's having members like that which makes it really worthwhile being in the Guild.

P.S. For future reference Stuart mentioned he is planning to run Muffin at Lingfield on 24th October. No doubt this will be confirmed (one way or the other) nearer the time.

Cheers Anthony