Plans In Place
Summer arrived then! Two days of above average temperatures, and already the wheat has changed colour and the verges are looking frazzled – it’s as if we never had the rain we had over the winter!!
This week was all about putting the plans in place to get the team back into training after their summer breaks. Most will return to their stables tomorrow, July 1st, but a couple will have a little longer in the field as they are young horses, and for one reason or another, were late getting out – so they have not had the break that the others have had.
Monday, and it was time to ring around the trainers and start getting the plans in place. Donald McCain the first one to tick off the list. Donald will have three of our horses in training this winter. Dino Bellagio returns after what can only be described as a disaster of a 2023/24 season. He had shown, when winning two bumpers as a juvenile, what a talent he is. It was no shock that he could win two bumpers, his homework had been very good from the start, and he was expected to run a massive race in the Listed bumper on New Years Day in Cheltenham, only for the saddle to slip after 2 furlongs. After winning his second bumper in Doncaster in January it was all systems go for Aintree in April. To win two bumpers takes some doing, to do so as a juvenile is even more impressive, but sadly his preparation for Aintree was far from straight forward, and he didn’t run his race there. Even so Brian Hughes had seen enough of him to chalk him down in a few pre season publications as his novice hurdler to follow last season, but that soon changed after he got an almighty fright at the second flight on his hurdling debut in Bangor and was pulled up. He was given plenty of time to recover as Brian thought he may have hurt himself in the process and was in the process of running a very nice race when he sustained an injury a couple of furlongs from home in Doncaster in January. We couldn’t quite get to the bottom of what he had done – so he headed down to Newmarket for an all over bone scan, where it was found that he had actually suffered a rare hind leg fracture in the race. His recovery has gone very well, and the vets are very happy for him to return to training. If there is anything good to come out of the whole affair – it is that he remains a novice for this upcoming season – so the route that we had planned for him at this time last year is still open to us. Twelve months ago, Donald had put an early season plan in place that would see Dino move swiftly into pattern company, and contest some of the better races for novice hurdlers in the country – hopefully Dino can still get there – just a year later than planned.
Dino’s half-brother, Old Blue Eyes is summering up with Donald, and we agreed that he will have an extra week in the field and return to his stable on July 8th. He, like Dino had put in some very impressive pieces of homework before we gave him a break mid-winter. Only a 3 yr old, with a proper, slow maturing, National Hunt pedigree, he was just not quite mature enough to stand the rigours of training at that stage and returned to Ivy Lodge Farm for a spell. He returned to Bankhouse in the spring and was going very nicely, but we ran out of time to give him a run or a racecourse gallop, so we turned him away for a summers break. As Donald wanted to get as much education into him as he could in the spring, he went out slightly later and will therefore come back in a week later. The final one that Donald will have (for now) is The Red Sash Racing Club’s, Ridin Solo who has summered at Peel Hall with Will Kinsey. Ridin Solo will head back to Donald tomorrow, he has summered well and has shown in three runs over hurdles that he has plenty of ability, and that he is a fantastic jumper. He looks like he is well handicapped and will relish a step up in trip. It also looks like a switch to fences could well see him improve again, so we go into the 24/25 season with what could possibly be a horse that will be well handicapped twice! That doesn’t happen very often! If you are an existing member and have not yet renewed your subscription (£49 all inc) please do so using the link that was emailed to you – if you would like to join in the club, then head over to www.redsashracing.co.uk and sign up - £79 all inc for the season – and you get a host of free bets from our partners at The Tote! We will be pairing up with several other organisations over the next couple of months – and your Red Sash membership will unlock several opportunities with some nice looking discounts!
Tuesday – and three that have summered at Ivy Lodge Farm came in from the field. Jason likes to get them in a day or two before their departure, so that they can have a bath, have their manes and tails pulled and their feet tidied up and a new set of shoes put on. Dino Bellagio and Cloud Dancer headed to their stables, along with Tintagel Queen.
Cloud Dancer started of his season very brightly with a superb run in Ascot but was subsequently plagued by a host of niggly little problems, and we certainly didn’t see him at his best in his subsequent runs. His break will have allowed his body to ‘reset’, and we can start this season with a clean slate, and as a result of his interrupted 2023/4 season, he is now on a handy mark, and will stick to better ground this term – we now know he really doesn’t appreciate deep going. He heads back to Gary and Josh Moore tomorrow.
Tintagel Queen is a beautiful big mare, with an outstanding pedigree, and showing some nice form in a couple of bumpers the previous season, we were all really looking forward to her debut season over hurdles. She ran a superb race over an inadequate trip on her seasonal/hurdles debut, and we hatched a lovely plan for her for the rest of the season, only to be thwarted by the very wet winter and meetings being abandoned. Then just before she was due to make her second start over hurdles, she suffered a fracture of a hind leg, and missed the remainder of the season. Her recovery and rehab went really well, and she is A1 once again – like Dino, she remains a novice over hurdles, and we will look to go down the same route that we had mapped out for her last season, which includes a crack at a Listed novice hurdle.
Wednesday – the first day of the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale in Fairyhouse. Nothing selling this year – and nothing to buy -so we missed it for the first time in a few years. That did not stop me logging on and watching when I could – the beauty of the live stream on Youtube – watching the 50th Derby sale on my TV! Trade was as expected – slightly sticky – the best lots will always sell and make money, but the middle and lower end of the market is tricky for vendors.
Thursday – Alan King called early to give me an update on the new filly (by Lindas Lad) that has been broken in by Jamie Magee at his yard just over The Ridgeway from Barbury Castle. Jamie is thrilled with her. She has been a lovely filly to break and has taken all of her education and work well. He is in no doubt that Alan can crack straight on with her, and Kingy is keen to do so – she will join him at Barbury next week. She is an exciting filly for sure – she has a wonderful pedigree – a half sister to 6 winners on the track (two of whom are black type performers) and a point to point winner. She is well built and athletic, and Alan has a plan in place to start her in junior bumpers in the early autumn before heading into national hunt juvenile hurdles. There has been a very good take up of shares – a few of those who reserved them over the last couple of weeks need to get their syndicate agreements back to me as soon as possible, but as it stands there are just 2 shares unaccounted for – no capital outlay – free lease – all inclusive monthly fees of £130 – stable visits, and an owners badge every time she runs! Great value – get involved – just to see the set up at Alans yard is worth joining for alone!
Alan and I also chatted about Rockola, who will be returning to Barbury Castle tomorrow. Rockola has summered at The Elms and looks great. She started life in junior bumpers last autumn before switching to hurdles. She was placed in two bumpers before she went hurdling, and after unseating Tom Cannon on her hurdles bow, she was a good second in Hereford. The best form she showed was when she encountered the best ground she ran on and was certainly not suited by the very deep ground in the spring. She will be a much better mare on better ground, and she will be a lot of fun through the season in mares hurdles! There is a lot of improvement to come from her! Louise will be dropping her off at Barbury Castle late morning Monday.
The rest of Thursday was spent sorting out the monthly admin – with half an eye on the second day of the sale in Fairyhouse.
Friday – more plans – this time the team with Fergal O’Brien. Ferg was in good form – he had been at the sale for two days and had just seen Mamoon Star do a sparkling piece of work up the hill at Ravenswell. MS has lost his way – but certainly retains the level of ability that saw him placed in a listed bumper and win on his hurdles debut in Taunton. Since then, things have slipped away, and he will be sporting a bit of headgear when he next runs. Sadly, there are no immediate options for him on a right handed track which would suit him, but we are keen to see if we can get him back to form and if we have to run left handed we will. He will be out again in the next couple of weeks. Ferg and I also discussed the horses that are due to return to training. Greyval has summered with him, and will be back into work tomorrow, along with Intrepide Sud. Greyval is another that was never really right in the early part of last season – and was then held up with all the wet weather. She ran two lovely races in the spring on better ground, where she was unlucky to be beaten on both occasions – it did at least show that she retains all of her ability, and she will be a well handicapped mare when she starts her season again in October. Intrepide Sud had a couple of runs in the spring after a long layoff with a leg injury. He showed that he is well up to winning a novice hurdle and was put away when the ground became a tad quick as we were not going to undo all the hard work, time and money that had been put into getting him back. Johnny Burke really liked him, and he is another one that will be lots of fun to follow this winter. Fergal and I both agreed that Maria’s Flame should have another couple of weeks in the field. She spent the second half of the season and the early part of the summer either on box rest, or in rehab after a pelvic injury curtailed her season. She had shown up very well and was a real eyecatcher on her debut in a bumper in Ludlow and was expected to run a big race when next seen in Newbury, but she was very disappointing that day – and we were left scratching our heads a bit. A few days later she was lame at home, and it transpired that she had injured her pelvis – probably an injury that started in Newbury which explained her poor show. She is a filly that Fergal thinks has a very bright future, and judged on her homework she will be lots of fun this season. She absolutely loves her jumping; I have rarely seen a young filly take to it like she did – and we are all looking forward to seeing her in mares novice hurdles this winter. As a young filly, the time she has had to mature and develop will not have been wasted and she is sure to give her syndicate lots of fun this term!
Maria's Flame will have an extra couple of weeks in the field.
Saturday – another warm one! Auditoria got an entry in Newton Abbot next Friday. She remains over hurdles, and can hopefully go one better than her second place last time out. Talking to Olly this week - Itchy Feet will remain in the field for a few extra days and be back in work either on the 8th or the 15th July. I got a few jobs done in the garden before a well-earned, refreshing pint or two on our way back from the bottle bank! While sitting in a sunny pub garden the phone started pinging – Jason sending through video updates of all three of the two year olds that he has in at the moment. The first one that came in, and who is a bit ahead of the others is the The Grey Gatsby gelding. He has been a joy to break, and everything has gone well with him. Having been ridden around the arena, and done plenty on the sand gallop, yesterday was his first day in the lose school, where he would face an obstacle for the first time and learn a bit about jumping before having to do it with a rider on his back. It is here where you can get an idea of their natural aptitude for the job, and to say that he is a natural is an understatement. It was not a case of having to persuade him to go forward it was more a case of having to try and slow him down. He simply attacked everything that was put in front of him – and looks a real natural. There are a couple of shares remaining in him - the monthly fees are set at just £100/month until he enters pre training next year, and he looks to have a very bright future – in Maguires words – ‘He’s Class!’ Have a look at him on the For Sale Page and get in touch with me – 07909 518902 or email nickbrownracing@gmail.com
The Grey Gatsby 2 yr old - just look at his jump - to quote Maguire 'He's Class!'
The second ‘show reel’ through was Finbar (Falco x Molly Childers) – he has always been a hardy chap, and certainly has a bit of attitude, but Jason is simply superb with this type of horse, and he has been very patient with him. Every stage takes a little longer – but he is getting there now and is long reining around the arena. The fun will come when they start to back him.
Finbar - he's getting there - slowly!
One that was backed this week was Floyd – he is the polar opposite to Finbar, he has been a ‘Christian’ and went from being laid over on Monday – to ridden around the arena yesterday – he will be on the sand gallop by tomorrow and has simply been the model pupil. Floyd is out if Savingforvegas, and like all of his siblings he looks like a very exciting prospect – he has the size, the athleticism, and the looks of a nice horse!
Floyd - such a nice horse to break - the full process will be documented in the Members Area of the Red Sash Racing Club website - join now - and you will see what goes into producing a young horse ready for training!
All three of the ‘babies’ are lovely horses, one slightly more challenging than the others but he will get there. The future certainly looks bright with these horses on the team for sure!
With so many horses heading back to their trainers next week – it did put a little pressure on transport, so Dino made the trip back up to Donalds this morning.
Back to the grind for Dino
He is the first back – and so the whole cycle begins again. Last season was testing to say the least – but we start the new term with a fresh set of horses, all recovered and refreshed and ready to go again. We still retain a very strong squad of horses to run this season – and as long as it isn’t as bloody wet as it was last season, we will all be in for loads of fun!
July 1st is the time that our syndicates refresh, and as a result we have a very limited number of spaces in a few of our groups.
In our smaller syndicates, there is just a single share left in Old Blue Eyes – I can’t believe that this has not been snapped up – we already know how good he is – and he is very very good value at just £3,500 for the last 10% share!
There is a single share available in Rockola – and due to an unsettled debt – there is a single share available in Intrepide Sud.
In our larger groups – Dino Bellagio has two shares available (£25/wk) there 2 available in Maria’s Flame (£30/wk all inc) Also, due to the same person that had the share in Intrepide Sud, who went from bad payer, to non-payer, there is a share available in Tintagel Queen (£110/month), and as mentioned we have a couple left in the new syndicate with Alan King – (Lindas Lad filly - £130/month all inc).
Get in touch for more details on any of the above – they are all fun horses for the 2024/25 season!
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