Parole Officer Set for Yard Debut at Newcastle

We send out one runner today, with Parole Officer lining up in the 5.10 at Newcastle for his first start since joining the Ewan Whillans team. He’ll be ridden by Greg Fairley, who knows how to get a good tune out of a newcomer to the yard.

Parole Officer has been going nicely at home since arriving. He’s settled into the routine well, shown a willing attitude, and we’ve been pleased with the way he moves through his work. That said, there’s only so much you can learn on the gallops — today is about seeing what he’s like under race conditions, how he handles the tempo, and how he finishes his race.

This will be very much a fact-finding mission. The plan is to drop him in, let him relax, and ride him to have a positive, educational experience. If he runs a big race first time out for us, that would be a great result, but we’re mindful that he could also need this run to bring him forward fitness-wise.

With a long season ahead, we’re looking for something today that we can build on moving forward — be it his preferred trip, how he handles the surface, or what sort of riding style suits him best. Whatever he shows, we’ll take plenty from it and shape his campaign around what we learn.

Best of luck to all connections — here’s to a promising first step with Parole Officer!