The witching hour is fraught with aging badly!

The Witching Hour For some, the witching hour is best associated with ghouls, ghosts and goblins. Spells and potions are conjoured. Halloween has passed but the RaceClubs.com clock keeps ticking and for many the sands of time have run out. For others, a new dawn brings fresh promise. The birth of something special, maybe? A new quest begins for those who have the talent and enthusiasm is hype. There may be a few tears along the way and tales of joy or misfortune but for all the hardship, time and dedication given to this glorious game, the inevitable will occur. Our stable stalwarts have reached the grand old age and lay resting in cyber space for eternity. The empty spaces in your stable where your champions used to bed are cleaned out for the last time. The memories remain, even if the horses don't. The scent of anticipation wafts slowly into the distance as your stable star fails to live up to expectation and you are forced to evaluate your old and existing breed, ready to lay down the challenge in another dramatic chapter in your journey as a trainer, I speak of course about one thing, the new season. As the clock struck twelve, four of RaceClubs.com's greatest ever horses said farewell to the track for good. El Nino Got A Bro, Sir Sam Silver, Urban Legend and Ultimate Fantasy were and will remain legends of the track. Between them they have posed for the camera ahead of the pack on 685 ocasions within the garded and challenge scene and amassed a remarkable share of £50,181 and all will leave their legacy with claim to being a challenge final winner. The end was sweet for Sir Sam Silver and El Nino Got A Bro, as both horses signed off with a win on World Challenge Day but alas, Urban Legend and Ultimate Fantasy failed in their quest to leave that last lingering smile on their trainers face, although it will be their presence that will be missed, rather than the memory of that last win. Whether you're a lover or hater of the monsters, if you feel they belong in the game or not, they will be missed, mainly by many for the wrong reason. So, it is hear we bid them a fond farewell and all head to the sales ring to try and catch their clone, however, something tells me that we won't be seeing any of them again for quite some time as the new breed of monster reigns supreme. As many a flame dies, there are many more that stand on the precipice of uncertainty. It's enough to send shivers down your spine and have grown men and women scream blue murder at their computer screen. Many a dog or cat have be scorn by the fury that some trainers have displayed when hitting the training button for the very first time, come age change. We are all night owls when it comes to season's end. Happily brewing up the tea and sat waiting for the moment to come. Hair loss has become the norm for some and drastic measures have been taken by the few that claim to have no hair to pull out. For they have put the shaver over, down to the wood as hair pulling can become quite painful, especially if the age change is not good for you. A very wise tactic! The trainers at RaceClubs.com are of all walks of life, a diverse batch of society who love nothing more than shouting and cheering when their virtual nags head allcomers at the line. Fickle, some would say, personally, most of us are mad. We are addicts beyond normality. We crave success, longing to be the one who nutures and unleashes a champion to have his foes look upon him or her with envy, wondering why we couldn't have pulled that one from the ring.  We all love this game, in our own little peculiar way but we all share one thing in common, nobody is safe from the despair of a bad age change. Caterpillars must all coccoon on the first day of each RaceClubs.com trimester and sprout wings in the bellies of all trainers, just before midnight, as there are shed loads of butterflies to be seen at this time. The trainer that takes it all in his stride is the one whom we all want to be. The one who shakes off a bad age change as if nothing more was expected. For they are the royal marine, lethal in their ways, cold to the core, nothing raises their eyebrow. They show no weakness, no fear and have a bring-it-on attitude but even the hardened player can't escape a bad age change. We talk it up and then we play it down, some quiver in the corner of the forum, afraid to mention how badly their yard has been affected but many keep quiet, why is this? Maybe it's because they fear the backlash from the forums if they even mention they've had a good age change. No, it's because they play their cards close to their chest, poker faced to the end. Thay are not about to mention all the good age changes they have had because you don't remember them, you only remember the bad ones. The age change can be bad. It can also be good but the fundamental thing you all have to remember when tackling the age achnge is to resist the urge to fire up your virtual gun. Over the seasons many horses have been shot because they have not been given a fair crack of the whip by their trainers. It is certainly not unsual to witness the best of a horses age change after maybe four or five training cycles. It is all too easy to think you have had a bad one because your first flip is poor. Don't let this deceive you. More often than not you have jumped the gun in more than one way. The first thing to consider after the age change is to train some more and then train again. Look for the maximum and push your horse to the limits, you may be pleasantly suprised. The second thing to consider is that you may not be the only one who has suffered such a fate. Think about it, your horse has aged and trained on but how do you know how he or she will compete if you don't even give them the chance. The way to see things is from another perspective. Maybe your horse has had the best age change in their age group, it's possible. You will never know this if you hastily reach for the bazuka. Training times vary from season to season, so do age change pecentages, too many horses are the subject of abuse post age change, it's a crime, somebody call animal welfare! Member Submission: Moletown

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