This One's A Filly!
A wonderfully warm week – plenty of sunshine and plenty going on although not much on the track for our team – that wonderful weather scuppering plans for one and not being quite ‘wonderful’ enough for the other.
Monday morning – an early chat with Donald McCain – Ridin Solo with an entry in Catterick on Wednesday where the ground had dried back to good – with over 48 hours until he would be running, the ground likely to dry back further. We decided to declare – but if the ground did dry back too far, he would not make the trip over to North Yorkshire.
If the ground drying back was an issue for Ridin Solo – it was a necessity for Greyval who got an entry in Ayr on Saturday 8th. Their ground Soft on Monday morning, Greyval needs a sound surface, so no point making that trip if it didn’t dry up, but a dry forecast meant that it was worth the entry in this 2m5f mares handicap hurdle.
Alan King sent through an update on Rockola who has been down with Jamie Magee for a couple of weeks. Originally, we had planned to bring her back into training this week, but Alan has decided to leave her with Jamie for a couple of extra weeks – she is doing really well for her break – putting on a lovely bit of weight and really benefitting being away from the hustle and bustle of Barbury Castle for a while. She will now return after the Cheltenham Festival and will have a season that will be extended on into the late spring and summer to get full benefit of decent ground which she must have.
Will Kinsey called to chat about the debut victory of a certain, Lyreen Og in a Point to Point in Ireland the previous day. Although proving to be somewhat unruly in the prelims and at the start, the son of Blue Bresil ended up the comfortable winner of this maiden and looks like he has a nice future on the track. Why the call? Will bred him, and he is a half brother to Hidden Beauty and our 3 yr old filly by Masterstroke. A nice pedigree update for the family and our 3 yr old filly who is cantering with Jason Maguire and moving well. To all those that have reserved shares in her, I have not forgotten about you, but instead of starting the syndicate payments in March, they will now commence in May – This gives me time to update the syndicate agreement in readiness for the new season (May 25) get it out to everyone and have the signed copies back and on file. I have a pretty hectic schedule for the next few weeks and felt that it was best left to the end of the season.
Two more headed down to Ivy Lodge Farm on Monday to join her and the 3 yr old gelding by The Grey Gatsby who has also started pre training. Finbar (Falco x Molly Childers) and Floyd (Falco x Savingforvegas) headed back to Maguire for some ‘secondary schooling’. Both looked great leaving The Elms where they have wintered well, and travelled down to Jasons’ very well, arriving safe and sound and not having ‘turned a hair’. Exciting times – four lovely horses in pre training, and all bound for trainers later in the year!
Floyd leaving The Elms
Finbar leaving The Elms
Later in the morning Jason called to confirm that all was well with the new arrivals and had a few interesting things to say about the previous days bumper winner in Huntingdon. A horse that had been with him since it was a yearling, and one that had had gone through the system with Nevada Samba. This horse a 4 yr old son of Walk In The Park, now called Mydaddypaddy was the hugely impressive winner of that Huntingdon bumper the previous day, and it was very nice to hear from Jason that when he and Nevada Samba were both going through the system together at Ivy Lodge Farm, he could not separate them – they are both very nice horses, which is lovely to hear! Hopefully Nevada Samba can emulate his classmate and do what he did on debut!
Tuesday and it being a work morning at Barbury Castle it was a good day to make an early start and enjoy some glorious weather and views down in Wiltshire! Although Rockola would not be back it would be good to see And She Was and Nevada Samba up the hill. Lovely to see Debbie, who took the chance to try out more new equipment ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, and take a few photos of the pair warming up and out on the Sharpridge Hill.
And She Was would only do one canter, the poor love has been brought up to ‘concert pitch’ twice now, only for her runs to be aborted by ‘on the day’ abandonments of the meetings where she was due to run! There is only so much of that a young filly can take, both physically and mentally, and she really does need to run now! On Tuesday she simply did one canter, she is fit, has been fit for a long time, and Alan will just need to put the finishing touches on her before she runs again in 10 days time.
And She Was
Alan is delighted with Nevada Samba who has settled into his new home and regime really well. Like Jason Maguire, Alan has found that NS does everything very easily at home and to my eye he looks like he has an above average level of ability – he’s a gorgeous horse.
Nevada Samba
Heading Home
Debbie and I got to chat about the ‘bucket list’ venture that I alluded to in last weeks news. As many of you will be aware, Debbie was once secretary to non other than Sir Mark Prescott and had popped in to see her old boss at evening stables the previous week. That visit had kick started a chain of events that had led us to be in line to have a horse in training at Heath House this season. I had made, literally a handful of calls when the situation arose, and had everyone to whom I pitched the idea of having a horse in training with Sir Mark Prescott say they would be very interested indeed – who wouldn’t, the ‘legendary’ trainer only has 50 stables, and to have a horse in training at Heath House would be THE most wonderful opportunity! A case of the right person in the right place at the right time. The timing seemed perfect, but sadly it wasn’t to be as there was a syndicate structure in place and it didn’t fit in with our model on this occasion, but what the last week has done is hopefully open a door, and after talking to Sir Mark’s assistant in mid week, I am hopeful that one of the 50 boxes at Heath House will have a horse in it next spring – which will be running in the Red, Black and White! William and I have discussed the sort of horse that we would want to purchase, and where to source it – and I will be popping over to Newmarket in the summer to chat through things in more detail with him and Sir Mark. If you would like to be involved in this ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to be involved in a horse trained by Sir Mark Prescott, then please let me know – the syndicate size will be limited to 10 members, so get your names down on the list quickly, I already have 5 shares spoken for after this weeks ‘near miss’!
As I was leaving Debbie’s it was good to get a call to confirm that Tintagel Queen had a new home in the Cotswolds. I am thrilled that she has gone to a lovely new home, where she will have the very best of care – we wish her new owners the very best of luck with her and will keep up to date with her progress as a mum.
Wednesday, and at 7.24am, Fiona Needham, Clerk Of The Course at Catterick updated their ground to GOOD GOOD TO FIRM in places. At 7.26am I typed the following Whatsapp message to Donald McCain ‘Good to Firm in places??’ A couple of seconds later just as I was about to hit send, I received this message from McCain – ‘Good to Firm in places?’
We were both obviously thinking the same – were we willing to risk Ridin Solo on that ground. To make sure that we had done the full ‘due diligence’ I asked Donald to call Fiona Needham and get her honest opinion about the ground. She said that the quickest part of the track would be ‘at the end of the back straight, around the quarry bend and down the hill into the home straight’ This is just where tired horses would start to get unbalanced and at the greatest risk of injury in the race. Fiona also said that there was not a great covering of grass in that area either, so Donald and I were left in no doubt, RS would not be running. A bit of a blow, as a run here was all part of the ‘master plan’ to qualify him for another £50,000 final later this month and give us the choice of two to run in, having tested him over 3 miles for the first time. Having missed this race, he will now head straight to the 2m5f final in Kelso.
While on the phone to Donald sorting out the Ridin Solo situation, it was good to get an update on Dino Bellagio. Donald has employed a new vet to take care of Dino, and a fresh set of eyes (and stethoscope) has prompted a few changes with him. He will have a different training regime, along with some new supplements that Alan King had recommended when we were chatting on Tuesday. As mentioned last week, we have decided that a few runs on the flat would be hugely beneficial to Dino – we have seen that he has an abundance of ability, both in winning two bumpers and in his unbelievable homework. Ever since he has had to face a hurdle his form has deserted him, despite working like an absolute aeroplane at home. With his physical issues dealt with, we feel that a little campaign on the flat would be perfect to restore his confidence and give his owners a bit of fun! His syndicate will be restructured in April, when he should be making his debut on the level – so if anyone would like a bit of summer fun with DB just let me know! Now we just have to introduce him to a set of stalls!
Old Blue Eyes had worked very well on Tuesday but does have a little splint that is a bit sore at the moment. It will be fine when it settles down, and just when you think it has, a good piece of work just aggravates it again. Donald is going to get the vet to start a bit of stronger treatment, which will sort the problem, and he will be out again in a bumper in the next few weeks.
Later in the morning, Tintagel Queen left Warren Chase Stables for the last time and made the short trip to her new home. She will travel to Ireland and be covered by Martinborough (sire of Majborough) this spring, and we will keep all of her syndicate up to date with her progress in her new career!
Fergal on to talk about the likelihood of Greyval heading to Ayr on Saturday – he was keen to run – me not so much – I didn’t feel like the ground would dry back enough for her up there, and if we travel up, we would be duty bound to run her on unsuitably soft ground. After chatting it through – evidently my argument was more persuasive, and we decided not to take her north.
Thursday, a sad day, the funeral of syndicate member Jeremy Bartlett in Hertfordshire. I had originally thought that I couldn’t attend the service, but thankfully the day came free, and I was in no doubt that I had to be at the service to pay my respects to one of the nicest men you would ever meet. I was not alone – hundreds were there to do the same – the crematorium filled to overflowing – I took my place in the lobby – no room inside for a few of us. A lovely service, and a beautiful eulogy from his daughter Amy, who referenced the joy that Jeremy had always got from racing and how much he had enjoyed his stable visits and runners on the track. She concluded by saying, as I had a couple of weeks ago – Jeremy was not only a Gentleman, but he was also truly a gentle man.
On the way back from the service I nipped into the John O’Gaunt golf club to meet up with a couple of reprobates! A pint of Guiness raised to Jeremy and a couple of frames of (very poor) snooker – I was beaten by an arthritic 86 yr old!
Jason Maguire was cracking on with the 3 yr olds. New arrivals Finbar and Floyd had had a trace clip and were being ridden for the first time in a few months – both behaved very well – even Finbar – who can have his moments!
Friday – a day out – Jolly Boys outing to London for a Cheltenham preview themed lunch at Balls Brothers in Mincing Lane. Alan Brazil with a few tales and Cornelius Lysaght with some potential winner next week.
As I was catching a train to London – Fergal O’Brien was on another heading down from Newcastle. We discussed Intrepide Sud and his entry in Stratford on Monday – both deciding that the right thing to do was to run. The track will not be his cup of tea for sure, but the ground is more important to him, and we feel that it will be the right time and place to start his chasing career. He can have a run round here, get his first run over fences under his belt and then we can make a plan with him. He hasn’t got the best wind, and the winter ground has caught him out on his last two outings – hopefully a bit of fresher spring ground will help him and with a fence in front of him he can get back to the form he showed over hurdles last spring.
Alan King sent through a video of Nevada Samba going up Sharpridge upsides for the first time.
As we were enjoying a couple of pre match pints in the sunshine near the venue, we caught sight of Alan Brazil arriving, looking like he had just got up, and seemingly having enjoyed a pint or two before us! It turns out that it was Ray Parlours birthday, and the Romford Pele had persuaded his mate Brazil to have a few celebratory ‘Sherberts’ before lunch! Safe to say Cornelius arrived in slightly better trim but sadly seemed to suffer a nasty cut to his lip which bled profusely throughout his after lunch speech! Brazil was as entertaining as ever, tales of his footballing career and a couple about Cheltenham and other racing jaunts! Very entertaining! Safe to say he was in ‘full flight’ by the time he left the venue and stopped to chat on the way out!
Alan Brazil in full flow
We decamped around the corner to The Ship tucked away off of Eastcheap and enjoyed a few more pints - it’s always a quandary whether to answer your phone to a Group 1 winning flat trainer when he calls you, when in the company of a bunch of likely lads who have had a good lunch – but I did – I think I got away with it! Thanks to Matt for a great day out!
Saturday, and the early phone call was very welcome, and excited Louise to let me know that Savingforvegas had foaled overnight – and this one had broken her sequence of 6 bay colts – a chesnut filly! Mum and daughter both well – foal – now called ‘Nancy’ – up and sucking in short order. Vegas is such a terrific mum; she takes such good care of her newborns – she manoeuvres herself into such a position that leaves her foal with little option than to find her teat and then pushes them into position to suck. She has been a fabulous mare for us – and we now have a lovely big filly foal, who, should be chose to, we can continue the family line with.
Welcome to the world Nancy.
A quick visit to the stud mid-morning with co breeder Steve, who uncannily had flown in from Las Vegas on Friday, and who looked remarkably well considering! Great to see his other filly – ‘Wendy’ – now a yearling and who we had purchased in Doncaster in November. I was absolutely thrilled to see how she has grown and filled out – she really is a gorgeous filly, and as she has a very smart pedigree – she can go down any route that Steve chooses for her in the future – be that a sales ring or a racecourse.
Steves lovely yearling filly.
Back home to watch an afternoon of great racing from Sandown. Unbelievable scenes in this house when Laurens Bay came from out of nowhere to land the EBF Final! In doing so he wrestled the spoils from Off The Jury – giving us a one two for our pinhooking syndicates. An amazing result! Both horses were purchased privately and raised at The Elms Stud. By pure coincidence while we were having a coffee at the stud earlier in the morning, Louise had brought up the photo she had taken a few years ago of 5 horses with their heads over a gate – in that photo were (l to r) Off The Jury, Cloud Dancer, Dino Bellagio, Romeo Coolio and Laurens Bay! How spooky that the two at either end would end up being first and second in a competitive handicap hurdle in Sandown later that day! How good would it be for Romeo Coolio to win the Supreme on Tuesday – what a bunch of horses in the photo – I am getting this one framed for the office wall!!
The Famous Five
The day got even better – as when Louise had asked over coffee, what would win the Listed Mares bumper I confidently tipped Charisma Cat to win – and she duly obliged! This was especially good to see, as this very talented mare, who is unlucky to not be four from four in bumpers having not handled the track in a Listed bumper in Market Rasen last time out, had worked in a group with And She Was last month – and And She Was had worked very nicely in behind her!
I had been so confident that Charisma Cat would win - I took a photo of her on Tuesday for this weeks News!
Looking at the ground and seeing the times of the races in Ayr – very happy that Greyval remained in Gloucestershire.
Late last night I got an update from Tintagel Queens new owner – she has settled in well at her new home, in a field with four other mares – she has made a new friend as is very chilled out!
Tintagel Queen in her new home
Sunday – Debbie in Cheltenham to photograph the Irish horses having a leg stretch ahead of the Festival. Jason Maguire there to sit on one for Gordon Elliot, and she even managed to get a few shots of Romeo Coolio!
Romeo Coolio exercising Sunday morning in Cheltenham
Something has tickled Maguire!
Fergal sent through a video of Intrepide Sud having a pop up the fences under Johnny Burke ahead of his chasing debut tomorrow. He looks really well – now I just have to organise the badges for a large group of his owners!
Around the remainder – Chevelle is back cantering after having her wind tinkered with again. Cloud Dancer is fresh and well after his run last weekend and will head straight to Haydock on Easter Saturday. Itchy Feet is well, and after a mucky scope ruined the chances of him running last week – he is back healthy and should be making his Hunter Chase debut in the next couple of weeks.
Next week Cheltenham – sure to catch up with plenty of you down there! It will be a fun few days – no runners there through the week – but we will be watching three very closely – Romeo Coolio who we owned in the Supreme – I expect him to be first or second – Mister Cessna will outrun his odds in the Fred Winter later on day one – a horse I purchased privately in France for Fergal O’Brien last autumn, and Herakles Westwood in the National Hunt Chase, a horse that is another product of our pinhooking syndicates, and who I believe will relish this marathon test and also out run his odds! Perhaps an each-way patent!
Have fun everyone – enjoy the racing – and hopefully see you there!
