"We weren't planning to have any runners. We were supposed to be in Tenerife."
After a hectic December, Liz and Rab McNair had intended to have a relaxed January for both the dogs and themselves. However, plans changed, leading to six KSS runners arriving at Romford for the heats of the Coral Essex Vase, with five returning on Friday.
Rab stated, "Lib and I talked about it and decided to delay the holiday. We wormed them out and set about laying off most of them. But some of them hadn't done a lot of racing recently, so at the last minute, we decided to enter for Romford."
The outcome was positive, with Havana Top Note winning his heat in the fastest time of the night, 35.01. King Ezra, Queen Dusty, and Queen Georgia finished second, while Queen Leona was third, with only Queen Pink (fourth) failing to make the cut.
Rab added, "We couldn't do a lot with them. I managed to get a trial into most of them but couldn't get another because of the four-day rule. The ground was frozen solid, so we couldn't gallop them. Overall, I was delighted with how they ran because they would all have needed the run.
Semi-final draw and ante-post:
"I thought Top Note ran a great race. He has turned into a real warrior as he has got older. We had his sire, Eden The Kid, who was so similar. They take a while to really mature, well past two and a half, but he is a dog who never knows when he is beat.
"I don't know whether Romford is really Leona's track, but she didn't want trap one. I think she will run a lot better out of the middle. As far as Dusty is concerned, I was surprised to see her come away as well as she did. I pretty much turned my back on her, thinking, 'they won't pick her up.' When she got beat, I can only put that down to a lack of fitness.
"But the one who I really think will have got the most out of it is King Ezra. I'd be really disappointed if he didn't come on a bundle after that run."
Another quartet of KSS hounds made their first appearance of 2024 in Monday's trial session at Hove.
King Capaldi clocked the fastest time of the day, 16.17, followed by Queen Joni (16.20), King Sydney (16.33), and King Justin (16.59), all on -10 going.
Rab said, "It was the first run for a while for some of them. Capaldi, in particular, came off with cramp. I had booked 480 trials for Monmore for Saturday but have cancelled them and will go back to Hove for another sprint.
"The plan then is for the Winter Derby at Monmore, probably with the same four that trialled at Hove. That is going to be such a top-class competition. If you look at Patrick's (Janssens) dogs, Tom's good dog (Links Maverick), Richard's dog (Churchfield Syd), you name it, they'll all be there.
"Monmore is always the same because you get the best from the north and the south, all competing against each other."
Regarding the rest of the KSS stars, Havana Bale Out has been on the injured list after having a toe joint removed, and plans for her are still flexible.
Havana Lover clocked 24.21 (-50) in a Crayford 380m trial on Tuesday night.
Rab said, "We know that she runs Crayford well (33.44, 33.45 -540m), so we're thinking about the Golden Jacket with her. She stayed the Towcester 712m and the Perry Barr 710m well enough, and they are tougher than the Crayford 714m, I would say."