many thanks for the comment, Equipment used for these pics was Nikon D3s and Nik 70-200 f2.8 VR, Nik 300mm f4 (& for the group head-on shot nik 300mm with nik 1.7x converter), also had a Nik 24-85 with me but just used it around the paddock. tried to keep the kit down to min (getting old & tired!!!) so left the 300 f2.8 at home as the D3s body allows me to shoot at higher ISO and still retain quality so the f4 was a lot more comfortable to carry.