All About Beds
A long week at the sales in Doncaster – a good chance to catch up with plenty of our trainers – with lots of fun along with it. Obviously, there was plenty of work done too – but the Goffs Spring Sale is a great opportunity for the Jumps community to come together, have a few drinks, plenty of laughs and unwind a little. As is always the case with this week of the year there are always plenty of ‘tales’ to be told – most of which could not be published on these pages, but I will sneak a couple in!
We headed up to Doncaster late on Sunday afternoon – in a client’s new horsebox – he would be driving his new one home at the end of the week – we would be going home in his old one. After checking in the Hilton, we had a quiet night, with just a couple of pints and a quick bite to eat in the hotel restaurant.
Room with a view!
Monday morning – a dry week forecast, with temperatures varying from day to day. I caught up with Fergal O’Brien early in the day – he reported that Intrepide Sud was fine after his lovely run into third in Bangor on Dee two days previously. He hadn’t been able to trot him up on Sunday morning, as he had lost a shoe, and was a little sore with a few cuts and scrapes, but with his shoe back on, and a further 24 hours recovery – he was fine. Saturdays run was a very welcome return to form for ‘Suddy’ – he had struggled on soft ground through the winter, but returned to a sound surface, and with two runs over the bigger obstacles under his belt, he showed that he still retained the ability and will to win races and we were all delighted with his run.
Due to being badly let down by a handful of his syndicate, who simply decided to walk away from their shares, with no thought as to the consequences, there are three of the 12 shares available in Intrepide Sud. These are FREE – as the previous owners walked away from the syndicate, they will receive no payment for their shares – the monthly fees are fixed at £200/month, with the term of the contract running through for the summer when IS will be running. He is a fun horse to be involved with – Johnny Burke is sure that he is very close to winning again – he has improved every run over fences, and a return to a more suitable track will see him in an even better light – with bigger galloping tracks like Uttoxeter and Worcester (he has won at both venues) suiting him far more than the tight turning Bangor on Dee. He will have entries at both tracks in the next few weeks – join us at the races with this lovely lad – who is made to be a chaser and looks to be on an upward curve now. Call me on 07909 518902 or email nickbrownracing@gmail.com
The trade for stores was strong for the type of horse that was on offer – these were certainly not the cream of the crop, but there were a handful of lovely horses for sale and these really stood out. My pick of the bunch was a flashy chesnut gelding by Nirvana du Berlais, who had the most athletic walk and really looked like an athlete. He is a horse we will see plenty of in the future, as he heads to Alan King. Regular readers will know that we have a lovely filly foal by NdB and Savingforvegas has scanned in foal to him again this time round – so it is nice to see his stock in good demand.
Just before midday, we decided to pop Dino Bellagio in an ‘all age’ maiden in Beverley on Saturday. The ground at the Yorkshire track was a little on the quick side, but there was rain forecast for the end of the week – and we felt it was worth popping him in and having a little look.
Alan King was in fine form all week – but I showed great self discipline and managed to avoid ‘celebrating’ his new purchases until later in the afternoon – but that being said – we did seem to make up for lost time when we did! Having spent the last couple of hours at the sales complex with another leading trainer and former Champion Jockey we were the last to leave, and only just made it to Whitbys in time for a fish and chip supper before they closed. Fed and watered we made our way back to The Hilton, where there was a fun group at the bar that were determined to make the most of the evening before what was due to be a blank day at the sales on Tuesday – and have plenty of fun on Monday night. It was a fun end to the night!!
Tuesday – more than a bit groggy at breakfast! With the day set aside for inspections and no horses going through the ring we had envisaged a busy day – but the complete reverse happened. A really quiet day – which dragged on if I’m honest, under blue skies and a very warm sun. It transpired that we were not the only folks that had had a pretty big Monday night, a few didn’t even make it to the sales. One that did was a stud owner from the south of England, who had had a rude awakening at 6.30am that morning, when he was awoken by an Irishman who barged into his hotel room, flopped on the bed beside him and promptly started to snore loudly. A good prod in the ribs roused his surprise guest, who was clearly on his way back from one of the clubs in town and was obviously in the wrong room, and he staggered his way to the door. He didn’t quite make it all the way out though and our rudely awoken stud owner had to call reception to ask them to arrange the removal of his visitor!
One thing that did lift the spirits was a video from Jason Maguire – ‘Gatsby’ our 3 yr old by The Grey Gatsby doing a lovely piece of work at Tom George’s gallop. He has developed into a really nice horse – he has it all, great looks – size, scope and a wonderfully athletic walk with a great outlook on life. The only thing he doesn’t like is a day off! He goes really well in his work, and Jason thinks he’s a nice horse. He has plenty of ability and will give his syndicate plenty of fun through the upcoming season. He heads into training with Olly Murphy, who is really looking forward to training him. I had a long chat with Olly at the sales during the week, and we have put a plan in place for the horse – he will be kept in work all summer, and the bulk of the work will be done with him at Ivy Lodge Farm before he heads up to Warren Chase. He will be aimed at a Junior Bumper in October, after which we have the option of remaining in bumpers with him for the season should he prove up to running in a nice one in the spring – or her could switch to national hunt juvenile hurdles as he has already schooled over hurdles and is an absolute natural. All avenues are open for this lovely horse, and he really is an exciting addition to the squad. There are just a couple of shares left available in him – have a look at him on the For Sale Page and get in touch!
It is safe to say that the rest of the day dragged on – and I was very glad to get back to my hotel room at the end of it. There would be no repeat of Monday night for me – an early night was needed!
Wednesday morning – and I felt a whole lot better than I had the day before. A full day of sales – Point to Pointers going under the hammer – and there was a pretty vibrant trade. It was another fun day – spent with friends, trainers and other owners! Good to chat with some folks that we had not seen for a while – an interesting catch up! As it was another warm day, it was important to keep hydrated, especially as one of our trainers was buying! A trip to Doncaster would not be complete without an evening in Vivo’s – another lovely meal in there! A short walk up to The Salutation as my mate wanted to watch the end of the Man Utd v Spurs game – a game that, if played in my back garden – I wouldn’t open the curtains to watch! Evidently the worst Cup Final ever played – glad I hadn’t spent the whole evening watching it! A stroll back to The Hilton – a quick one in The Earl Of Doncaster on the way, and then to our beds at a reasonable hour.
Thursday morning – I met Alan King on the way into the sales – he had an update about And She Was who he had entered in Newton Abbot next Wednesday. He would be giving her a piece of work at the weekend and then schooling her on turf on Monday and if he was happy with her, she could take her chance. ASW has yet to school on grass, and it is very important that she does so before she makes her debut over hurdles. Her participation in Newton Abbot will depend on how she gets on in her schooling session on Monday.
The next trainer I saw was Donald McCain – he would not be declaring Dino Bellagio in Beverley on Saturday. Reports were that the ground down the hill was still pretty quick, and with a bit of rain in the forecast for the next few days – we would wait. Donald reports that Dino is in great form – he is thoroughly enjoying life, coming very close to wiping his trainer out on his way back off of the gallops last week! I am really looking forward to seeing him out again – life is always going to be tough for an older horse like him to give so much weight to beautifully bred 3 yr olds in these maidens, but as soon as he has a handicap mark – we can really go to war with him, and he will be plenty of fun for the remainder of the summer! Donald also gave me an update on Old Blue Eyes who is out in the field enjoying some R&R. He too has a very nice future, it is a shame that we didn’t get to see him after his run in Aintree on Boxing Day, but as I said at the time – I felt that that bumper was a well above average race, and that the form would work out very well – the winner went on to run in the Champion bumper in Cheltenham – the second, fourth and fifth all went on to win bumpers later in the season. OBE simply got stuck in the very deep ground that day – and he has a lovely future ahead of him. He will head over hurdles this season – and will repay the patience of his owners for sure! Ridin Solo is on his holidays in Shropshire.
Regular readers will know how much we like the stock of The Grey Gatsby – Greyval has been a poster girl for the sire in the UK, and I have already said how much we like our unraced and unnamed 3 yr old that is heading to Olly Murphy, so it was very good to see another one of his daughters realise £145,000 in the ring on Thursday. Timetoshine won her first three starts over hurdles and now heads over the Atlantic to continue her career in the USA. Don’t miss out on our 3 yr old – you’ve seen the video of his latest piece of work – this is the show video we did last week!
The end of a fun four days in Donny – I was ready to get home – and I was soon in bed when I did get back at 9.00pm!
Friday – a quiet day – just a few things to catch up on. Debbie sent the following article over – another hotel and restaurant review – this one could be handy in the future if our plans to have a horse in training in Newmarket next season come to fruition!
Henry’s Bed…
After all the excitement last week of defending the troops at Fontwell (!!), it seems it’s a
slow week for NBR and so I’m stepping up to the plate with another travel review from
earlier this month. Not such an exotic location as Dubai, but definitely historic, the village of
Worlington is recorded in the Doomsday Book and has one of the UK’s smallest pubs. More
importantly it’s also a mere 17 minutes from Newmarket’s Rowley Mile and Worlington Hall
was on offer on booking.com when I needed a bed for the Saturday night of Guineas
weekend. Basically, a country house hotel, I’d paid precious little attention to the details as it
was a last minute (end of tax year) booking that fitted my needs and budget. Throughout
the day my colleagues were asking where I was staying, and at that point I couldn’t even
remember the name of the village…
Having been impressed with Ruling Court, and my goodness what a weekend for Appleby,
Buick and Godolphin, I got away from the track in decent time having worked as second
camera for course snapper, John Hoy, standing in for Megan Ridgewell who had a 70 th
birthday to attend. Pulling into the hotel’s drive in my old Golf (still dented from an
inconsiderate Royal Ascot reveller) I worried I might have got above myself, deciding not to
park next to the shiny new Bentley. Tucked away by the bins, I carried my kit and my bag in,
and couldn’t have been more charmed by the lad who greeted me and showed me to my
room, ‘Henry’ (more on that later). This made me smile in itself as that’s my Dad’s name and
I was already looking forward to telling him!
Having been shown the entrances to the dining room, bar and cocktail lounge (yes really, in
a Suffolk village!), I decided to eat in. Though not having booked, I wasn’t sure there’d be a
table, but again, superb staff were very welcoming and suggested I eat in the bar, which was
quiet. I’d only intended to have some soup, but the menu looked so good, I went for the sea
bass on crushed new potatoes as the lighter option, sadly no wine as it was ‘a school night’!
It was reasonably priced and absolutely delicious, and as I was finishing, one of the owners
saw I was dining alone and came over to introduce himself.
He apologised for being a little worse for wear, having also been at the races, but he gave
me an interesting potted history of how he and his partner had bought the place (find out
for yourself on Channel 4’s ‘Four in a bed’, which they won). He also told me how my room
got its name. When I booked, all the rooms pictured were as you’d expect from a country
house hotel that had been recently refurbished, however my room, a little small, but no
problem for one, was panelled and had a four-poster bed in! Turns out when a farmer
bought it many years ago, he bought it a long with four plots of land, and the bed cost as
much as the land! Why so special? Well provenance says it’s Henry VIII’s and he’d slept in it
with four of his wives… A fun fact and it certainly looked old enough, however I knew Henry
was tall for the time and Google confirmed him at 6’2”. I’m 5’5” and when I moved the
pillows and got my head to the bedstead my feet were pretty near the bottom, it wasn’t
that wide either so it would certainly be cosy … maybe that was a contributory factor in the
high wife turnover rate!
Nonetheless with modern pillows and mattress it was very comfy and I had a perfect night’s
sleep, certainly fit for a monarch, and I woke up with my head still attached. Breakfast in the
dining room was as good as the sea bass, and having ordered poached eggs and avocado on
toast, I asked if I could have black pudding with it too (a great pairing that I’d discovered on
the Irish Stallion Trail). Nothing was too much trouble. It’s also very popular for Sunday
lunch (up to 150 covers most weekends), and I would definitely stay again. Hopefully in the
autumn - if our plan to join the ranks of owners at Heath House comes off - though next
time I’d check out the cocktail bar as well. In a literal footnote to the bed story, Nick told me
today that he’d caught a history programme (in between races from Angers or Compiegne
maybe?) that discussed the Tudors sleeping habits. Apparently they were so concerned
about the devil thinking they were dead and stealing their soul, they slept semi-upright,
propped up by pillows and a bolster to confuse him, so maybe it was Henry’s bed after all…
Fit for a King??
Breakfast
Dinner
Saturday – two sales catalogues landed on the doormat – and Arqana published the catalogue for their Summer Sale on line – so the day was spent making a long list from each book. Some lovely pedigrees on offer – some that we know very well. I could well be tempted over to Ireland to add a nice one to the squad!
Dino Bellagio got an entry in Haydock next Friday evening.
In the evening, we made our way over to Woburn – we would be staying at the hotel in the village and eating out at the Paris House restaurant in the Park. The Paris House Restaurant is a gem – a fine dining experience in a truly magnificent setting – in the heart of the park with deer grazing all around you! We had the six course taster menu – with the accompanying flight of wine – a fantastic meal – great service, and a wonderful night with good friends – the perfect way to celebrate Cheryl’s Birthday!
Around the team – at Ivy Lodge Farm – Floyd and Finbar are out together and enjoying a spell of R&R – rest periods are as important as work for these babies – the last thing they need is to be over faced at this stage of their careers, and Jason is very mindful not to overdo them. Finbar will be back into work in July, we could well leave Floyd for another few months. He has responded very well to his ulcer treatment, but the fact that he was suffering with them at this stage of his education is an indication that he is a horse that we need to take our time with, and he will not be rushed. His half brothers, Old Blue Eyes and Nevada Samba both look to have well above average levels of ability, and being patient with Floyd will be no bad thing as he too has shown us that he is following in the footsteps of the other members of his family!
Nevada Samba is turned out at Ivy Lodge Farm and has let himself down very nicely. I chatted with his trainer Alan King last week at the sales and – although never a man to talk his horses up – he did go as a far as to say that he was ‘very excited’ about Nevada Samba!!
Cloud Dancer continues his rehab from injury – it will be a long process, but he will be well worth the wait!
Chevelle is another one convalescing at Ivy Lodge. Sadly, her career is over, but she will go onto another chapter of her life when she has recovered.
Next week – possible runners in Newton Abbot and Haydock – and I hope to get to see a few of the horses on their holidays!
