Gloriously Hot!
It’s been hot, hot, hot baby! And judging by the comments during and after racing in Uttoxeter yesterday evening, I am so glad that we have moved away from Summer Jumping. Uttoxeter must have been in an impossible situation given the recent hot and dry conditions and erred on the side of caution and put plenty of water on the track over the last 7 days which led to the ground riding very much on the soft side, some actually describing it as soft ground. Safe ground – but not what you need when you are taking a horse that needs good ground to the races and have planned his/her campaign for that very reason. As I say, an impossible position, as it would have been very easy for them to fall short on their irrigation, resulting in ground that would have been too fast, with an increased risk of injury. One person who was not at all disappointed with the ground was Louise (Elms Stud) who’s mare For Gina whom she owns and bred won the mares handicap hurdle there, the first success of For Gina’s career. Congratulations Louise!
We have seen a bit of Louise this week (I must be her lucky charm!) On Monday I popped over to The Elms to see the horses there. They all look fantastic and are all now out in the field relaxing and recharging the batteries for the season that lies ahead for them. George, the Golden Horn colt foal is a very very nice individual, and he really looks the part at this stage. Sadly, he will not be having a young brother or sister next year, as having scanned in foal to Golden Horn a few weeks ago, when his mum Savingforvegas was scanned on Friday, at the 42 day stage, it showed that the embryo was no longer there, and she had reabsorbed it. Around 80% of mares will get to full term and produce a live foal and they can reabsorb an embryonic foetus at an early stage, no one will ever know the reason why. No reason to be upset, I had considered giving ‘Vegas’ a year off anyway – and now she has done it for herself. It will open up the options of which stallion we can use next season – as she will be able to travel overseas without a foal at foot should we wish to do so. The winter months will be spent studying the stallion rosters! Such a shame but having given me 5 bay colts in 5 years without hardly a vets bill, I really can’t complain – the fact that the first one to run, Dino Bellagio, has proved to be so talented also bodes really well for the future! She can have a year off with my blessing! The remainder of the squad summering at the stud look great, and it will not be very long at all before they are heading back to their respective trainers to start their preps for the 2023/24 season!
Gorgeous George - Golden Horn x Savingforvegas
On Tuesday it was good to chat to Kevin Philippart De Foy about plans for Reflexion Faite at the end of the week – we settled on going to Goodwood on Friday. RF is a May 10th foal, and is a small and slight individual, she has plenty of ability, but just at this stage of the season she lacks a bit of strength but that will come as the summer progresses. Having been a private purchase (even though it was at the sales in Deauville) she has found herself in Band B when it comes to the restricted novice races, instead of Band D where she should be, so not only is she a bit weak at the moment, but she is also having to run against some pretty stiff opposition. So winning a novice/maiden at this time of the season isn’t really going to happen, so plans for her at this stage are to let her develop and strengthen, while gaining valuable racecourse experience, and then when she can compete on a more level paying field in Nurseries from next month, she should have a better chance of being more competitive. For this reason, it doesn’t really matter where she runs, so a nice evening trip to Goodwood on a Friday looked like a nice night out for her owners! Tuesday was also a busy day on the share sales front too. All three of the remaining shares in ‘Barry’ our Blue Bresil 2 yr old were snapped up – so he is once again sold out! We wish Tony and Charlie, Olly and Dan and Chris and Rachel the very best of luck with him – he is a lovely horse! His 3 yr old full brother, Old Blue Eyes was also popular this week, and we got to welcome Ann to the NBR ‘Family’ when she took a share in him and were thrilled when existing clients Dave and Diane expanded their NBR portfolio and also decided to get involved with him alongside the other horses they have shares in with us. Old Blue Eyes has been very popular, and shares are now very limited in him. He is currently on a short break at The Elms and will head back to Jason Maguire on July 3rd to continue his education before going into training with Donald McCain when Jason thinks the time is right – probably some time in August. He will be aimed at Junior Bumpers and National Hunt juvenile hurdles this season. On Tuesday night it was good to catch up with Paul and Jan for a little ‘planning meeting’ at the Kings Arms at Cardington. Plans made for Royal Ascot, and a couple of scoops and a quick bite of supper. A lovely warm summers evening to enjoy their outdoor dining area, the staff did as well as they could but sadly the weather was warmer that the food! Always good to catch up with Paul and Jan, and we got the planning done anyway!
Wednesday – Reflexion Faite declared in Goodwood, Ray Dawson in the plate. Another strong heat – but as mentioned – a lovely track for her owners to visit on a warm summers evening. With our team ever increasing – we found ourselves having to register a new syndicate on Wednesday. As you will know we have a couple of different ‘in house’ syndicate structures – the horses that run under the banner of Nick Brown Racing are horses that are owned or leased by 25 people, and our smaller groups horses run in Partnership names, named after local villages. A change of rules meant that we were unable to register a new syndicate with the word Partnership in the title – a real shame, as we feel that these ownership group names are part of our identity. The lady in Registrations at Weatherbys was apologetic, but in the end very helpful, and I am delighted to say that after a phone call to the BHA in London we have now registered our new syndicate as The Pavenham Partnership, who will be the owners of Old Blue Eyes. Now for the convoluted process of getting a new bank account and the VAT registration sorted – the VAT part now seems to take months!
Thursday was another warm one, and another quick trip out to The Elms to meet up with Steve who was in to see the 3 yr old Jukebox Jury Filly x La Pelodette who heads into training with Alan King next month. Like us all Steve was really impressed with her and has snapped up one of the remaining shares. She is a gorgeous filly, who has proven to be very athletic in her pre training up to this point – she is another who will be aimed at the Junior Bumpers and National Hunt Novice hurdles, and she looks well up to going very well in those events this season. She will be our first horse with Alan King a trainer who just yesterday trained his 2000th winner – he is a top class trainer and a top notch man – the celebrations last night would have been memorable, and we are really looking forward to doing more than a bit of celebrating with him in the future! This looks like being a really fun syndicate – that will be having some fantastic times at the races and at Barbury Castle too – be quick if you would like to join in with the fun – shares in this gorgeous girl are selling fast!! Steve also got to see his other horses, Blue Bikini and Tintagel Queen who are summering there too – what a lovely bunch of horses – he is involved in some very nice ones!
Jukebox Jury x La Pelodette - a really nice filly - limited shares available.
Greyval
Mahler x Hillcrest Fire - Shares £30/wk all inc - goes to Fergal O'Brien next month
Friday – The Ashes commenced – the greatest sporting rivalry on the planet! England bringing their new brand of cricket to the party against a tough, hardy and talented Australian side. It promises to be such a good summer, and what a way to start – England in scintillating form, and it was a good listen on the way down to the south downs! A beautiful evening in Goodwood, Reflexion Faite, winning the Best Turned out – she is now 2 from 2 on that front, and ran another nice race as part of her education. Again, she was a bit sluggish out of the stalls, and was then carried wide by an opponent. The plan had been to educate her in amongst horses, but trapped wide she got a bit revved up early and was keen on the outside. Once again, she travelled well mid race, but faded in the final furlong. Ray Dawson was very pleased with her, and was surprised with how much speed she showed, suggesting a drop back in trip may suit in the future. We know from her home work that she has speed, so that may be an option we take up in the future. One thing for sure is that we are certain she is going to give her owners a fair bit of fun as the summer progresses, and she strengthens. Thanks to Matt who did the driving on Friday!
No better way to spend a Saturday than a trip down to Ivy Lodge Farm to meet up with Chris and Rachel who were in to see two of their horses which are there – their new boy Barry and Cloud Dancer who is summering there too. Jason and Lauren are so welcoming, and it gives me a chance to thank all the yards, studs, rehab operations and breaking and pre training yards that we use, as everyone is so welcoming and generous with their time – it is so important to make the sport as accessible as possible to all the syndicate members and share holders that are involved in our horses – and those that yards that we work with are great with that. Saturday night and a meal at the Horse and Jockey in Ravensden celebrating a friends 60th birthday. A big table, lovely company and a good night had by all!
Barry - Blue Bresil 2 yr old - now SOLD OUT!
Chris and Rachel saying hello to their boy Cloud Dancer - 1 share available in this winning 4 yr old!
Around the team – very little to report, At The Elms – the two yearlings by Falco – out of Savingforvegas and Molly Childers are developing very nicely. The ‘Vegas’ yearling is vey similar to Dino Bellagio and ‘Barry’ – he will be somewhere in between them size wise and like the otyher two, is a lovely correct individual, The yearling out of Molly Childers is more typical of a first foal – he is slightly smaller but looks to be coming along well. They will both remain at The Elms until next spring when they will head down to Ivy Lodge Farm to be broken in. The girls all look fantastic on their summer holidays. Greyval will be the first back into training on July 3rd, when she returns to Ravenswell in preparation for her seasonal debut in October, Old Blue Eyes will return to Ivy Lodge Farm on the same lorry that day too. Fortune Forever, Tintagel Queen, Auditoria and Volkovka are all relaxed and looking well. The Jukebox Jury x La Pelodette filly is out with Blue Bikini and the Mahler 3 yr old x Hillcrest Fire. The Jukebox Jury filly will head to Alan King in mid July, and the other two will go to Ravenswell Farm on the same day. Mamoon Star is out with a small bunch and is looking fantastic – hopefully his niggles are well past him now, and he will show us what he can really do! At Warren Chase, Itchy Feet continues to enjoy his summer break, as does Dino Bellagio up at Birch Farm Stud in Cheshire. Down at Ivy Farm, the ‘big couple’ are having a lovely time – Hidden Beauty and Intrepide Sud are inseparable and really chilled out.
Intrepide Sud
Yearling by Falco x Savingforvegas
It has been a very busy week on the shares front, with plenty of shares sold and new owners welcomed into the fold. As at the end of every season we do have shares come available in some of our established syndicates for various reasons – most are on the FOR SALE page, but in addition to those there are single shares available in Fortune Forever, Itchy Feet and Auditoria – get in touch of you would like to join us - shares there to suit all budgets, some of which will take you to the very best meetings of the season. nickbrownracing@gmail.com or 07909 518902.
Next week we head to Royal Ascot which is always a good bit of fun – the very best horses running on the very biggest stage!
