"This painting depicts a group of horses and their work riders on the gallops on Newmarket Heath. Early in the morning the Heath literally 'comes alive' with strings of racehorses, both large and small, converging from all directions and parts of the town to the gallops on the Heath. This small group had just completed their 'fast' work on one of the all weather tracks and congregated at an area known as the Chalk Pits before walking back to their yard.

I love to watch the various groups at this time as both riders and horses are generally relaxed after exercise and they drift along with the jockeys chatting to one another with their horses on a long rein, stretching their neck muscles.

On this particular morning the weather was fine and slightly misty, with the hint of a lovely early spring day in the air. It was late April, a week or two before the trees would burst into leaf. I enjoyed using the bare branches of the trees which frame the picture on the left, also painting their filigree shadows on the turf. In the background, horses can just be seen pulling up at the end of their canter and filing off in front of the trees in the distance."