Pinpoint first caught my attention in March 2004 at one of the stable breeze-ups. I only really noticed him because of his size although he seemed to display a willing nature and make a bit of a noise cantering. Sue took a video of the breeze-up. None of the horses really stood out in my eyes. I had spent many happy hours since November watching this group being broken and taught the racing game, but I was not much closer to choosing one.

At Pendley it is difficult for a watcher to get any idea of a two year olds ability until they go up the main gallops at Church Farm. Pinpoint started doing that in early April. He was soon in the most forward group which included Propinquity (by some way the best), Dahliyev, Viking Spirit, Arbella, Ample Note, Rock Haven and Sovereign Spirit. John Cullinan, who was in charge of the two year olds then, expressed the opinion to me that there were perhaps half a dozen of them that could win a two year old maiden race including Pinpoint. The other thing that drew me to Pinpoint, perhaps the most important thing, was the sprinters pedigree. Pivotal was now making his name as a sprint stallion with the likes of Somnus, Kyllachy, Needwood Blade, Ratio and many more. Pivotal had been most successful at five furlongs himself and the dam had been placed in a 5 furlong Listed race at three. Surely, unlike Tribal Prince, this two year old had to be a sprinter.

At the end of April I took the plunge and signed up for a share. For another month all went well with steadily faster gallops. Then towards the end of May he got lame on his way to the gallops. After some rest and treatment he seemed OK. He was named on the 13th June with only seven owners in the syndicate, so he was not really a popular choice. Four of us had been in the Tribal Prince syndicate.

Worries surfaced at the beginning of July. Walter checked him out on the gallops on the 6th July. Although sound at an ordinary canter he would not stretch out when asked to quicken to fast racing pace. A shoulder problem was diagnosed. He continued with light training in the hope that the problem would be short lived.

Despite only light exercise Pinpoint looked hard fit, which wasn't as it should be. He was losing condition. Eventually a respiratory virus was diagnosed and he was put on anti-biotics and given box rest. This went on for some weeks with a second course of anti-biotics. Meanwhile he had started box walking.

As the autumn approached it was obvious that Pinny would not see a racecourse at two years old. He was turned out in a field to recover and develop.

This was a little disappointing but all part of the racing game. I have talked to owners of four or even five year olds that haven't raced at all. They were always still hopeful that their pride and joy would get to the track some day.

When Pinpoint was brought in from the paddock in late October to his new accommodation at Church Farm he started box walking really badly. He was wild eyed and obviously a stressed horse. People standing watching him seemed to make it even worse. Mirrors put up on either side of the box to distract him made no difference. He circled the box at a furious rate, barely interested in food or water.

So it was in early November that Walter Swinburn took the decision to train him for the 2005 season from a field. For that to happen he needed to be gelded.

The idea was to keep him in a small paddock and just bring him in for training. This strategy had worked with a horse called Mister Muja who had won a race that season.

Well things did not go quite as planned. Pinpoint would still not fully settle in a small paddock, or a medium sized paddock for that matter. It was not until he was moved to a 25 acre field that he began to settle down!