And She Didn't (Again)
Apologies for the problems with last weeks News. A few of you had noticed that the page had been loading quite slowly for a couple of weeks – and it seems that last weeks ramblings tipped the poor bugger over the edge!
The problem was soon rectified, and I hope that it is now loading promptly for everyone. It turns out that I have produced 2345 News Articles on the site (well done if you are keeping up!) each of which has between 10 and 22 images and videos – unsurprisingly it was taking a while for the system to load all of the ‘archives’ when you logged on!!
After dealing with that issue – there was nothing for it other than a quick trip out for a bite of Sunday Lunch. The Park in Bedford – listed as one of the top 8 local spots for excellent Sunday roasts – It felt like I had earned it. I am very particular about a roast dinner – and it has to be said that this one was up there with the best of them! A choice of meats – great Yorkshires – and a pretty good – although not top notch roast potato! We were a little late, so the side that I wanted was not available, but it was a good lunch – buzzing atmosphere in there, and the staff were excellent. It didn’t quite hit the top of my league table for roast dinners, that spot is still occupied by The Red House in Longstowe, but The Park is well worth a visit!
Monday morning, and the long-awaited declaration for And She Was in the concluding 4yr old fillies bumper in Wincanton on Wednesday. Getting her to the track has not been straightforward by any means – and none of it has been her fault! We had hoped to run her in the autumn, but she had proved slightly too immature and had needed a short break – she was then prepared to make her debut in Ludlow in January – only to get all the way to Ludlow and for the meeting to be abandoned due to a frozen track just before the start of racing - having passed a dreaded ‘precautionary’ inspection at 6.30am! After that aborted effort, we decided to wait for the right race for her and aim her at this race restricted to fillies of the same age – the ground in Wincanton given as heavy – but she would take her chance as long as we felt that conditions had not deteriorated by the time she was due to run. Alan keen to get going with her – she was ready to run. She has been working very nicely at home and is a filly that he likes a lot – so we were all looking forward to seeing her finally make her debut!
One that would not be running was Ridin Solo in Bangor – we have devised another ‘cunning’ plan for him! He is in great form, and the alternative route will give us a clear sight of where we go later in the month in a bid to win a big pot!
Cloud Dancer was in fine form when I saw him last week – and he earned himself an entry in the £25,000 handicap hurdle in Doncaster on Saturday. He won very nicely at the track in December, a dry forecast up there meant that he was very likely to get his ground, and this race would fit in perfectly with his plans.
In the afternoon I was keen to see how Isis D’Inor ran in Auteil. By The Grey Gatsby, she is a horse I enquired about buying from her owner/trainer as a three year old – by a sire that we obviously like a lot, she was running on the flat, but looked to have the ideal profile for a juvenile hurdle campaign. The owner was not willing to sell – and instead transferred her away from her yard to Marcel Rolland. That move showed us that we were right to try and buy her – she had won 4 of her 6 starts over hurdles – her last 3 being two Listed Hurdles and a Grade 3! On Monday afternoon she added a further Grade 3 hurdle to her ever more impressive roll of honour! Another high calibre jumper for The Grey Gatsby!! There are just two unreserved shares remaining in the very exciting 3 yr old that has just come into pre training – he is a stunning individual and will be aimed at Junior Bumpers and National Hunt Juvenile Hurdles in the autumn. We hope that he will prove up to a crack at the nice Listed Bumper in Cheltenham on New Years Day – a race we try to target each year! His full details are on the For Sale Page – his sire is really producing the goods now and he looks to be great value!
The Grey Gatsby 3 yr old (photo as a yearling) Just two unreserevd shares remain.
The Grey Gatsby 3 yr old has wintered with Jason Maguire at his Ivy Lodge Farm and he was joined by the Masterstroke 3 yr old filly who travelled down from Will Kinseys Cheshire base on Monday morning. She is a lovely looking filly, who is strong and moves well. Being a half sister to Hidden Beauty, she is a filly that we have all been really looking forward to getting going with – over ¾ of the 25 shares are reserved – we will let her settle in for a couple of weeks with Jason and then get all the paperwork out to those that have put their names down for a share. She will head into training with Fergal O’Brien and will be aimed at the Junior Bumpers and National Hunt Juvenile Hurdles for fillys. You all know how good Hidden Beauty was – this young lady will hopefully take after her half sister!
Tuesday – good to get an update from Olly Murphy regarding Itchy Feet. Itchy is very much ‘up the 18th’ in terms of his career, it looked unlikely that he could win a handicap hurdle off of his mark, against horses with much younger legs, so we decided to give him a fun ‘swansong’ in the Hunter Chase field for the rest of the season. Having completed the qualifying period, it is time to get cracking with him, and he would get his first two Hunter Chase entries this week, Firstly Southwell on Monday, and Catterick on Wednesday. It will be good to see him out again, in a discipline that he should find a lot easier than the competitive handicap hurdles he has been running in.
A sign of the times – at lunchtime I had to pop into Bedford to pick up a pair of glasses! I have found driving, particularly at night a but tricky of late – so an eye test and a pair of glasses were needed – at least I am less likely to hit you now!
Alan King sent through a clip of And She Was having a breeze before her run in Wincanton on Wednesday - she goes well - fingers crossed for a nice debut!
A long chat with Josh Moore in the afternoon – chatting through the Saturday entry for Cloud Dancer. With the ground drying up and at a track that we know he performs well on we decided it was the right move to run - it would give him a nice break between that race and his target race in April, which we feel is important for a horse that runs well fresh. Having looked at the race it looked very likely that he would be carrying a weight of 10.3 – with Caolin Quinn in Newbury, and Nial Houlihan not quite able to get down to that weight, Josh and I looked at suitable jockeys. We both agreed that Brian Hughes was the right man for the job. Josh obviously rode with Brian for many years, and it was his suggestion, describing Hughes as ‘The best jockey in the country’ Nothing more to be said – Brian is top class, his knowledge of the form book is second to none, and he is very strong for a man of his size! Brian would have no problem riding at 10.3 – it took all of 2 minutes for Josh to book him!
Wednesday – Wincanton – wet. On what was already Heavy ground, it had started raining early – not ideal for And She Was, but the plan remained in place, we would go and make a decision whether to run or not when we were there. A couple of hours later that decision was taken out of our hands when the meeting was abandoned. They had been forecast 2-5mm which they felt the track could take, but they had got more than that by 8.30am and with no signs of it easing up for the rest of the morning they took the decision to abandon the meeting. Once again – all dressed up, and nowhere to go! When Alan phoned later in the morning, he said ‘We are not having a lot of luck with her are we?’ I replied ‘Not much luck? I think we are cursed!!’ ASW will now have her third crack at a debut run in Huntingdon later this month! Expect 6 feet of snow, hurricanes, tsunamis and even a plague of locusts around that date if you live in the area – something is bound to stop her going!!
A good catch up with Jason Maguire in the afternoon – he is in good form. The Masterstroke filly had settled in well, and he would be cracking on with her towards the end of the week. He likes what he sees. As we head into March it is time to get all of the three year olds that will be joining the racing squad back into work for their ‘secondary school’ education. We arranged for Floyd (Falco x Savingforvegas) and Finbar (Falco x Molly Childers) to head down to his Ivy Lodge Farm on Monday 3 March – we will then have all 4 of the youngsters in and continuing their educations. A limited number of shares will be made available in Finbar – and I am yet to decide on a plan for Floyd. Jason and I did discuss the possibility of sending him over to Ireland in the autumn to get the very best education in their system, but we will play that by ear.
Masterstroke x Ma Councha filly - 'Red Bikini'
Thursday and as planned Cloud Dancer was declared in Doncaster. Brian Hughes in the plate, and ground drying back nicely. He should run a nice race. Two got entries in Catterick next Wednesday – Ridin Solo in the 3m1f handicap hurdle. Itchy Feet in the Hunters Chase. RS trying the trip for the first time – a point to point winner on very testing ground - by Ocovango out of a Classic Cliché mare everything suggests that a step up in trip will be right up his street! This run will qualify him for the 3m final of the Go North series, and as he is already qualified for the 2m5f final of the same series we have all options covered with him. He can go to whichever final we think he is best suited to. Brian Hughes believes that the step up in trip will see him to even better effect – so we are very likely to head to Catterick with him all being well. We would wait and track declarations and decided where Itchy Feet would run. Whichever race he heads to, he will be ridden by the UK’s leading amateur jockey James King.
Talking of Champion Amateurs, when Donald McCain saw that Itchy Feet was entered in Catterick he was quickly on the phone! He had been putting together a master plan with one of his old chasers and had even booked the best amateur jockey that has ever ridden a horse, Derek O’Connor, to travel over from Ireland to ride him – he wasn’t happy when he saw Itchy Feet entered – fearing that we would derail his plans! When he had finished giving me my ‘bollocking’ he gave a positive update on all the horses in Bankhouse – Old Blue Eyes very well and would work on the weekend. Dino – being Dino – absolutely flying as usual, and Ridin Solo very much on track for Catterick.
Later in the morning Alan King sent through a video of Nevada Samba striding out up the Sharpridge Gallop. He is a great mover with a super attitude for a youngster and really does do everything very easily! Alan is delighted with him, and he would swing up a bit quicker at the weekend.
I had a chat with Fergal O’Brien in the afternoon – Chevelle would resume cantering on Thursday, after having her wind tweaked on Monday – after undergoing an overland scope, the vet Ben Brain called with his diagnosis, and plans for remedial treatment – what he had found was a little unexpected, but it was a positive, and the ‘fix’ would not keep her out of work at all. Greyval was very well, and they were looking at entering her in Ayr on Saturday 8th March – there are other options going forward for her too. Intrepide Sud has recovered from the burst blood vessel he suffered in Taunton last time out -and will head over fences now that we have gone into March. He will have entries in the next couple of weeks. Better ground and a fence are what this horse has been crying out for, and hopefully it will help him show his best again.
Friday brought some very sad news – the passing of Richard Botterill after a short illness at the age of 60. Richard was well known and even more respected in the bloodstock community. He had started his own business selling sport horses in the 1990’s and when his company was taken over it led him to setting up the first sales in the Centaur at Cheltenham. In the latter years he has been an auctioneer for Tattersalls Ireland both in the UK and Ireland and had been a great help to me when both buying and selling in both countries. I greatly valued and appreciated the chats we had, often over a cigarette and a coffee, and he will be missed by many, not only as a colleague but as a friend.
A sad day, but spirits lifted slightly when I received a call from Debbie, who, having been in Newmarket for a couple a days, rang with some very exciting information, that if it all comes together will offer interested parties a very exclusive ownership opportunity and experience. There will be more on this in next weeks News, but over the course of Friday and Saturday Debbie passed on more details – and things seem to be moving in a very positive direction. To say this will be a serious ‘bucket list’ tick would be an understatement – stay tuned for updates!
The day ended well when we saw Horaces Pearl win very impressively in Newbury - a graduate of one of our Pinhooking Syndicates - having won the Aintree Bumper last season he is now 5 from 5 for his owners Matt and Sally Burford - who simply adore him! They have been the making of this horse as he has needed lots of time, and they have been extremely patient with him. Their patience has been the making of him and he looks like a horse with a massive future ahead of him!
Horaces Pearl at The Elms Stud
Horaces Pearl as a two year old.
We would not be setting off for Doncaster until 11.00am – so time to do a bit of homework before we set off. A study of Cloud Dancers race – just to see where the pace was going to come from. Not much evidence of anyone that would be keen to crack on, which would not be ideal for CD. We would have a chat before the race and decide on tactics.
Alan King sent through another clip of Nevada Samba striding out very well up the hill. He settled better and was really using himself – I hope to get down to the yard next week and see him for myself.
The question of where to run Itchy Feet was answered early doors – nowhere. He had cantered and schooled in the morning, but had a poor trach wash afterwards – and would not be running at either Southwell or Catterick next week.
So up the A1 we headed. An absolutely buzzing atmosphere at the track – 1000’s of students in enjoying a sunny afternoon at the races! It was great to see so many young people enjoying a day out at the races!
Before Cloud Dancers race it was good to bump into Donald McCains assistant Adrain Lane, who gave me the latest on that mornings work. Dino had ‘destroyed’ his work mate – we chatted about options for Dino, and he agreed that it could be a good idea to look at changing things up with Dino slightly and giving him a run or two on the flat. He is by far the best workhorse in the yard – but having been so impressive in winning two bumpers he is sure that he is not simply a ‘morning glory’. Adrain feels he has enough speed to run very well on the flat, and that the change of discipline will also help with the issues that he has been having. Dino’s form has only dipped since we put a flight of hurdles in front of him – take them away, and with less stress on his system – we could see him show on the track what he does at home. All we have to do now is get him into a set of stalls and then get him to come out of them – I’ll keep you posted! Adrian reported that Old Blue Eyes had worked well that morning and was pretty fresh. As we head into March and get some spring ground he will be out again in another bumper. Ridin Solo worked great, and we chatted about the step up to staying trips. Adrian asked me if I felt that it would suit, because if he does stay, Adrain said he would be a very nice horse as he is certainly not a slow horse! We will find out on Wednesday!
Cloud Dancer looked great in the parade ring. The massive crowd led to a real buzz around the parade ring, and he was nicely engaged with that. We had the chat about the lack of pace in the race, and Brian had asked whether he could go forward with CD – and that did look like a logical step, but Josh and I thought that it would be best to ride him exactly as we had done when he had won there in December, and try and pick them up late from off then pace.
Brian got CD travelling really well, and they passed the stands he was going better than he had done when he had won there. When Pretending made a bad mistake at the fifth, he was hampered as he jumped into the back of her, which although only costing him about a length, did check his momentum, and when you have a horse that races lazily, anything that interrupts their rhythm or balance will have a greater effect. He was instantly under a bit of pressure, but as ever kept finding – and as they turned for home he really started rolling as we know he can. His best part of any race will always be the final three furlongs, and he was really motoring up the straight – but in the end couldn’t quite pick up two horses that had definitely improved for a step up in distance. It was once again a gutsy effort from CD. Brian came back with some very positive feedback – he feels that he is still very much on a winnable mark, and that the plan we have in place for him is a very good one. He also said that he would be even better over fences, and that he has a very bright future in that discipline! All good to hear!
A buzzing atmosphere in Doncaster
Cloud Dancer coming back in
Happy Team!
Sunday – good to hear that Cloud Dancer came home, ate up and has come out of his race fine. Our plan is very much on track – he will have a nice little break now to freshen him up again – and he will be out in April!
Cloud Dancer Sunday morning
Around the rest – Rockola will be back with Alan King next week after her ‘spa break’ with Jamie Magee. Having been too keen on ground tackier than ideal when upped in trip last time out – she will be better on some spring ground and is not finished winning this term.
Tintagel Queen is still at Warren Chase but will move to a new home next week and start her broodmare career.
Next week looks like being busy! I hope to get to a yard, there will be a days racing on Wednesday (hopefully) – sadly two funerals, but we end the week with a lunch in London with a few ‘lads’ on Friday!
