The 'Trail' Went Cold!
It was quite the week weather wise! Rain, sun, snow, fog and frost – we had it all – and it hit racing hard.
Last Sunday I was up early, I had to put the finishing touches to the weekly writings before setting off for Plumpton where Cloud Dancer was due to run in the Sussex Stayers Hurdle. The track had called an early inspection, which it had passed, with no further inspections planned – their ground now given as soft, heavy in places. Josh Moore was on early to say that Cloud Dancer would be a non runner – he has shown us in the past that he really doesn’t handle testing conditions – and with all the heavy overnight rain, the ground had definitely gone for him. In fact, Josh was amazed that the meeting had got the go ahead – Plumpton is their local track, and Josh said that he was ‘Shocked with how much rain that had fallen’, and was ‘not at all confident that the meeting would get past the third race’ as the rain continued to fall in East Sussex.
With the blog written and published the rest of the day would be spent working on some catalogues and watching the racing in the afternoon – how far would Plumpton get through their card? The answer – they wouldn’t start it– as the rain continued to fall, the meeting was abandoned later in the morning. Josh had been spot on – which raised the question – if Josh could foresee the meeting being abandoned why couldn’t the clerk of the course in Plumpton? I know it was a big day for them – but it seems as though it was clear that the overnight rain, along with the rain forecast that morning would be too much for the track to handle, and they really should have called it a day when they inspected early on. It didn’t affect us – but there would have been plenty of staff and horses on the road to the meeting when it was called off – all costing money – that expense could have been spared. That left just Chepstow to watch – once again – fog made that tricky, but one thing we could see was that the going was very testing – they only managed two races before that meeting was abandoned – not a great day for the two tracks – not a great look for racing!
The remainder of the week was to bring more weather chaos – frost and snow taking over from rain and fog. Greyval, who has not been seen out since a very encouraging outing in Wincanton when she was stepped up in trip for the first time, had three entries later in the week. Fergal was on the phone early on Monday morning to run through the options with her. Taunton on Wednesday had gone soft after the weekend deluge – so that was ruled out. We put a line through Newbury on Thursday for the same reason, which just left us with Doncaster on Friday. Doncaster can offer some of the best ground around at this time of year, and we know that she runs well at the track, having won her Listed Hurdle at the track, so it made sense to aim her there. Now the meeting just had to avoid being frozen off – and that was going to be a long shot!
The frost started to get a hold on Tuesday, Fergal once again on the phone to discuss a few plans – nothing in the short term – Intrepide Sud coming back from another below par scope – and nothing in the programme book for Greyval for the next few days. Chevelle had transferred across to Ivy Lodge Farm last week – and it was great to see her in the lunge ring on Tuesday morning. She had been diagnosed with a back issue which had been treated. The vet had prescribed a period of non ridden exercise, with daily lungeing in a specific training aid called a Pessoa.
The Pessoa is named after the Brazilian showjumper Nelson Pessoa who invented it. Pessoas rope/pulley systems have long been popular, with numerous variations throughout the years. The pessoa aims to encourage correct “rounding” while collecting the hindlimbs with the most popular placement leading between the front legs to adjoin to a ring on the girth of the roller, designed to “stretch the topline” while engaging the hocks. It was really good to see the system having an instant effect on her outline – her back issue had led to her locking out the muscles along her spine, which resulted in a high head carriage, as you can see from the video the pessoa really was working – getting her to drop her head, lengthen her back, releasing those muscles and engaging her hind quarters. Chevelle will be exercised in this way for the rest of the month before returning to ridden exercise in February. She shows plenty of speed and ability on the gallop, this treatment and rehab will help her jumping, and she should be lots of fun in the spring on the better ground.
Tuesday morning is also the day that the handicapper releases his weekly updates – this week we had a few to look for – Itchy Feet dropped a pound to 138 for his pipe opener around Cheltenham on New Years Day. Tintagel Queen down 3 after pulling up in Exeter on the same afternoon, and Rockola up 3 to 100, for her win in Huntingdon. All of the new ratings are fair – we are all delighted that Rockola only went up 3 for her win, as it means that she can run again in the same grade that she has won in the last twice. She was possibly a shade lucky to win last time out – so the handicapper could not go to ‘mad’ even though there was a yawning gap back to the third. I did fear that he would put her up to 101 and force her up a grade having won her last two, but this keeps her in the same grade, and hopefully we can find another suitable opportunity for her. She will certainly step up in trip now and will be well suited to the spring ground when it arrives. I don’t think her winning is done for the season.
The racing programme was very strange last week – there was barely a jumps meeting scheduled in the north – even before the weather wreaked havoc with the schedule. Donald McCain decided it was a good week to grab a few days of warm weather and headed off to Tenerife for a few days – he hadn’t told me – so he got an unexpected phone call on Tuesday afternoon! I left him to apply his Ambre Solaire, and said I’d call him back later in the week.
With little else on it seemed the right time to get ‘Barry’ our homebred 4 yr old gelding an official name. By the end of the day we had a good selection of names in then hat – the vote would happen on Wednesday.
Having seen what the handicapper had done with Rockola on Tuesday it was time to get the written race report out to her owners on Wednesday. She had come out of her race really well and will have a nice spell of easy exercise before resuming harder graft. She is a small, sparely made young lady, that needs a good break between her races. She tries very hard every run and needs a while to put the weight back on. It was nice to see her get a mention in Alan’s piece in the Weekender this week – although I think his comments about ‘Yours Truly’ will cost me a nice lunch!!
Fergal was on early – Doncaster had not passed their inspection prior to declarations and Greyval would not be heading there on Friday – back to the programme book. I feel for her owners, who have had to be patient while she recovered from a respiratory infection, only to be thwarted by the weather! We will look at getting her qualified for some nice series finals at the end of the season.
One interesting phone call on Wednesday afternoon could lead to a really exciting addition to the team this summer. A good friend has a beautifully bred filly that he has offered to us for the next couple of seasons. This filly is related to some top class horses and is by one of the best sires in the UK – we have such a strong team of new additions coming onto the squad this year. Some are already syndicated and there are only limited shares in a few of the others, but there will be plenty of shares available in a couple of them. They will be spread around our current team of trainers. All of them have pedigrees and physiques that mean they should all see the track in 2025!
The members of The Denton Partnership had until 5.00pm to vote for ‘Barrys’ official name. A close run thing – the winner – Nevada Samba – well done to Phil who put that forward.
Thursday – more sub zero temperatures – no jumps racing. Cloud Dancer got an entry in Newbury next week – the first of a few. There are a number of valuable 3m handicap hurdles in the programme book and I will be tracking entries as they come in to see if they are worth an entry. Having shown improved form on his first crack at 3m – winning with ears pricked, there looks as though there could be more to come from him, and this could be the time to have a crack at a big one with him.
Ireland had seen some very heavy snow- which had wreaked havoc with plans for the weekends annual Stallion Trail – where studs open their doors to breeders, industry professionals and members of the public for them to see their stallions ahead of the covering season. The weather did not deter our own Debbie Burt, who ventured over the water with her trusty camera for a tour round a few of the studs that were able to open their doors safely.
Friday, and an entry for And She Was – a 4 yr old only fillies bumper in Ludlow next Thursday. ASW had been entered in a similar race in Newbury last month, but Alan felt that race had come just a little too soon for her, and she needed a little longer. This is the right race for her, and she will be heading to Shropshire on Thursday. She is a beautifully bred filly, who goes well at home – she shows up well in her work, and seems to be very tough and hardy, relishing a battle when upsides. She is sure to learn a lot from her debut, but we are all looking forward to getting going with her.
Another one who could be out on the same day is Cloud Dancer who got an entry in a staying handicap hurdle in Wincanton – he will get further entries going forward.
Saturday, Jason sent a lovely video through first thing – three horses out in the field at sunrise!
The grey is our 3 yr old by The Grey Gatsby – he is wintering very well, having done plenty last year as a two year old. He will be going into training this summer – Jason will decide which yard will suit him best and he will be aimed at 3 yr old bumpers in the autumn. Given his impressive physique and great attitude, he will be well suited to jumping hurdles when the time arrives – he has done plenty of schooling already and is an absolute natural.
Later in the morning Nevada Samba (Barry) headed up to Martin Keighleys for an ‘away day’ gallop. He has been doing plenty of cantering at Ivy Lodge Farm, and it was time to get him on a lorry and away for a piece of work. Jason rode him in his work and was very happy with him. Twice up, he joined his workmate with 2f to run the second time and worked very nicely. Jason would have ridden a few nice ones in his time, and he continues to hold this horse in high regard. He has always liked him from day one, and this piece of work did nothing to dent his enthusiasm for the future for him. He says that he ‘Does everything so easily – and I will be amazed if doesn’t develop into a very nice horse’. It was important that Jason rode Nevada Samba in this piece of work, as part of the process is to determine where he thinks he will be best suited to going into training. I will have a chat with Jason next week and put the options to his owners.
Nevada Samba near side under Jason Maguire
Donald was back from Tenerife – not sure he was enjoying the 35 degree temperature difference when I spoke to him on Saturday afternoon! With the freezing temperatures this week, the team at Bankhouse had been on tick over. It is always a risk working horses hard in freezing temperatures, the cold air can cause respiratory problems – so with most of the horses fit at this time of the season, most trainers just keep them on tick over through very cold spells. This didn’t really affect our three up there, as they all ran over Christmas, and have had their flu jabs in the last two weeks. As the temperatures rise next week, so will the level of intensity of their work, and Dino Bellagio and Ridin Solo will have entries again very soon. Old Blue Eyes will continue on tick over, as he will not be asked to run on the deep ground at this time of year – he will wait until there is some nice ground around in a few weeks time.
Sunday – and I am not the only one that has been busy typing this morning. Debbie has kindly sent through a piece about the first part of her trip to Ireland – I have taught her well – her report includes the all important hotel and food reviews along with details of the horses and their handlers that she met! Having asked her for a few snaps – this piece was above and beyond her brief – Thanks Debbie.
Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Irish Stallion Trail 2025
The ITM Irish Stallion Trail is an annual showcase for the Irish thoroughbred breeding
industry, with stallion farms across Ireland opening their doors on two days in January of
each year. The ITM Irish Stallion Trail took place on the 10 th and 11 January, including
Over 30 stallion farms participate in the Trail, including Ballylinch, Boardsmill, Castlehyde,
Coolmore, Irish National Stud, Kildangan, Rathasker, Rathbarry & Glenview, Tally-Ho, and
Yeomanstown.
However Ireland (‘they never have snow in Ireland’ according to one of my editors) got
rather more snow than I did in Chiseldon and unfortunately several studs decided it wasn’t
safe to have the public in. Sadly this included several of the Coolmore Studs, so renewing my
acquaintance with City Of Troy wasn’t to be, nor was a trip to Whytemount Stud, where I’d
hoped to see new arrival Valirann, sire of Potter’s Charm.
Though I and my ‘driver’ Red Sash Racing Club member Ally Stares had both been to Ireland
before, neither of us had experienced the Stallion Trail, which conveniently had been on our
bucket lists for a while. The Route des Etalons (France’s version a week later) is also on the
same mutual list so watch this space in 2026! Having kennelled Mouse with her buddies Ted
and Tommy on Wednesday afternoon, I drove to Ally’s for a rather splendid and weather
appropriate oxtail stew and after a good red wine assisted sleep we headed to
Southampton airport for a 9.30am flight to Dublin.
The flight was on time and we were soon sorting out the hire car at Dublin airport and
getting a few travel warnings about the bad roads in various regions that we’d planned to
visit. Fortunately we’d taken a laid back approach to what we might achieve – 30 studs in
two days was never attainable – my friend Alex Cairns who now works for ITM reckoned
we’d managed ten. First stop was to check in at our hotel in Mullingar, a two bed
apartment, basic but clean and warm and came with it’s own pet crow that lived on the
boiler pipe on the balcony. The bonus of an underground car park paid off the next morning
as we didn’t have to scrape ice off the windscreen!
Having already found an absolute gem of a café restaurant the day before in Days Bazaar,
we spurned our inclusive breakfast and headed back up the high street. This time the
waitress seated us in a little booth ‘because it’s warmer’ and we both had a hipster
breakfast of poached eggs on avocado and sourdough toast. Only being Ireland, there were
a couple of generous slices of black pudding under the eggs – outstanding. We’d also
spotted their deli counter and ordered our lunch to go – roast chicken salad sandwiches,
plus carrot cake for me, millionaires shortbread for Ally. The food was so good, if we come
back next year we’re already planning to stay in Mullingar again, just so we can eat there!
Tally-Ho Stud was first, you’ll find that most places in Ireland are ‘only ten minutes away’,
and this one actually was! There they brought the horses out on rotation, with nine stallions
to see, there was always a horse out of its box. What became a theme for the two days was
how impressed we were with the condition of the older gentlemen, in this case Kodiac who
is 24. He knew the drill, quick walk round the yard and then pose for the cameras, an
absolute pro. As a sire of over 100 stakes winners on the Flat, he’s still getting them at the
top level such as last year’s Group 1 winning two-year-old Babouche, and he’s also a top
broodmare sire getting the dams of Charyn and Platinum Queen. He wasn’t the only big
name sire there as Mehmas was out next, along with Cotai Glory, Persian Force, Starman
and new boys King Of Steel and Big Evs. Though we were both very impressed with Good
Guess, a Group 1 winning son of Kodiac, a good model with a good walk, we look forward to
seeing his foals.
Next on the list was Yeomanstown, where we saw multiple champion flat sire and legend
Dark Angel, along with Supremacy, Shaman and another young eyecatcher, Mill Stream.
Then on to Darley’s Killdangan Stud, which as you’d expect, was manicured and buffed to a
high shine, and that was just the facilities! Breeders Cup Classic winner, Raven’s Pass was
the old man there, the dapples on his coat for a pensioner in winter were impressive.
Ravens Pass
Earthlight
Blue Point was in good order, but was clearly questioning the point of the day, neither myself of
Ally got a picture of him ‘smiling’ he looked thoroughly bored and keen to go back to bed!
Guineas winner Night Of Thunder was as professional as Kodiac had been and clearly lapped
up the attention.
Then what was really the highlight of the day was drive further south to Carlow to see
Jukebox Jury, sire of our team’s Cloud Dancer and Rockola. Though we both follow the Flat,
Ally and I are National Hunt girls at heart and we were both keen to see Jukebox, whose
more notable top class winners under both codes include Farclas and Il Est Temps, as well as
the popular Princess Zoe. The roads were a lot more challenging and we were concerned
that we might not make it up the drive, however we got a warm welcome from a chocolate
labrador (clearly he could smell the remnants of lunch!) followed by a pack of terriers.
Victor Connolly then appeared and treated us to our own private view of his stallion, though
not before we’d helped shut the terriers in an adjacent shed. Jukebox for all his delightful
demeanour with humans, will go for dogs in a blink of an eye! He also warned us not to
expect great pictures, as Jukebox isn’t ‘one for Hello magazine’ apparently taking his stud
card picture was a test of endurance for all concerned.
Victor Connelly and Jukebox Jury
JJ gets a bit of fuss from Debbie
I was happy with what I got, though they wouldn’t be ‘stud card grade’ pics and he wasn’t definitely much ‘smilier’ once he was
back in his box! Victor also gave me a little video interview about his horse which will be
online in due course. Jukebox was certainly the horse I’d most like to have taken home, and
I can see why Nick has been so keen to add his progeny to the string.
We then gingerly departed for another Burgage Stallion ’10 minutes up the road’ in Sea
Moon, who tuned out to be a very imposing son of Beat Hollow. Managed by former
showjumper Michael [Hughes?], he was stunning, but not as scratchable as Jukebox, having
earned the pet name of ‘the snapper fish’! However he had no malice, it was all just stallion
fun and like with Jukebox, it was lovely to see horse and handler so at ease with each other.
Sea Moon will not be so familiar, but he was a classy middle-distance horse winning three
Group 2’s trained initially by Sir Michael Stoute, then a spell in Australia, to return to Ireland
in the care of John Oxx. He’s done well from limited opportunities and I’m sure represents
good value at the lower end of the market.
Michael and Sea Moon
A fairly hairy drive back to our hotel at Abbiliex concluded day one, with the promise of
more jump stallions to see on day two, including Blue Bresil, sire of Old Blue Eyes.
Well earned girls!!
