Road Trips, Rum and Reggae
The Spring Sale in Doncaster is always fun – but it does take a bit of getting over (if you know what I mean!) One of the country’s leading trainers was still feeling the effects midway through this last week – a full six days after the sales ended!
We have had a couple of runners in the last seven days – visited a few yards – and squeezed in a dinner with one of the most talented jockeys of his generation – we packed a fair bit in!
The week started in a very positive fashion last Sunday – when Paul Wells’ mare Kaydence made her long awaited debut in a Uttoxeter bumper. He has been very patient – it was virtually two years to the day since he bought her at the Doncaster sales in May 2023, but – as you will all have heard before – patience is always rewarded in horseracing, and given a very quiet, educational ride, Kaydence came from the very back of the field to finish a close fourth. She simply ran out of real estate and would have got her nose in front in another few yards. This was a race full of promise, and she now heads off for a summers holiday – her owner can dream of a few GBB bonuses while she is having a few weeks off!
Monday – decision day with And She Was, who had an entry in Newton Abbot on Wednesday. Alan had always said he would leave the decision to run or not until Monday morning, that way he would have seen her work on Saturday and also schooled her on turf on Monday morning. He is adamant that all of his horses should school on turf before they make their hurdling debuts, and with that part of her preparation going without a hitch he decided that the right thing to do was to get her started over obstacles. Alan would have two runners in the race – his other one, Sharp Glance would have the benefit of age and experience over ASW, and he was very honest in his assessment that ASW was unlikely to beat her but also felt that this was the right place to start ASW off over hurdles – a small field and a fair track. She was duly declared.
A Bank Holiday Monday usually means a meeting in Huntingdon – and it was great to see another one of our former store horses clock up another win. No Risk With Lou was purchased privately in France as a foal and sold at the store sales in the middle of the pandemic in 2020. A son of the mighty No Risk At All, he was a horse that we always liked – a very willing individual, who always wanted to be your friend and was a willing and honest pupil. Sadly, he didn’t quite grow as we would have hoped and on a sticky trade, he failed to make the sort of money that, given his excellent pedigree, we hoped he would. Thankfully, as I have proven time and time again with the horses that I have bought, a lack of height doesn’t mean they can’t gallop, and No Risk With Lou – after winning a point to point, has gone on to win 4 of his 12 races under rules for his owners.
Tuesday started with an Alan King video update – And She Was having a canter before her hurdles debut the day after. She did one up the Sharpridge gallop with Sharp Glance who would be making the trip to Devon with her the day after. Both horses moving great – hopefully a first and second tomorrow!
It was good to catch up with Jason Maguire. He is very pleased with the progress that Gatsby is making. I arranged to pop in and see him on Thursday morning to get round all the horses and go over some plans for them all.
The rest of the day was spent doing the monthly admin and organising badges for the ASW syndicate members for Wednesday. There would be a nice little group making the trip to Devon – with the weather set fair – it looked like it would be a fun day out!
Wednesday – a long trip ahead. Newton Abbot is not hard to get to – it just takes a while. I was grateful for a bit of company for the second half of the trip after picking Debbie up from near Cirencester. Arriving at our rendezvous point a little early gave me the chance to let all the members of the Dino Bellagio syndicate know that he had been declared in a 1m 4f Novice Stakes in Haydock on Friday night. A quick glance at the declared runners and riders confirmed that this would be a hot heat, as you would expect from a Haydock Novice, and that poor old Dino would once again have to shoulder the welter burden of 10.2 in the 10 runner race. The Weight for Age scale dictating that he would have to concede 17lbs to some beautifully bred 3 yr olds that had cost a small fortune as yearlings!! An impossible task – Dino will need his three qualifying runs for a handicap mark – and then he will be meeting his opposition on much more equal terms!
A trouble free trip down to Devon – and we arrived on a bright and very warm afternoon. In the email I received regarding the Owners and Trainers policy at Newton Abbot, I had noticed that they mentioned that Owners would be served ‘bowl food’ – now, as you know, I like my food, but I did have to be schooled on what ‘bowl food’ was! As it turned out – it wasn’t even bowl food – more like little bites brought round on trays! You would have called them canapes – until the sausages and roast potatoes started doing the rounds! Great to see the trainer at the races – Kingy’s first visit to Newton Abbot since lock down!
And She Was looked really well in the paddock – she has certainly grown since her debut and benefitted hugely from a little break away from Barbury Castle after that bumper run. She showed signs of inexperience in the paddock – having a good look at the signage around the paddock on her first circuit, but she soon realised they posed no threat and settled nicely. Tom Cannon was in the plate – with Tom Bellamy riding Alan’s other runner Sharp Glance. There has been a slight rejig in the jockey ranks at Barbury Castle this season – with Bellamy taking over the role as first jockey and Cannon filling in as No. 2. The plan was to settle And She Was in rear, educate her and get her to settle and jump. If all went to plan, she would be in contention turning in, and from there we would see if we could cause a bit of an upset. Everything went to plan. And She Was settled nicely off an even gallop and jumped very well. It was especially pleasing to see how nimble and accurate she was when she got in close to a couple. As we hoped, she was travelling well in third place as they turned for home, and for a split second it did look like she would be causing a bit of an upset, but the front two started to draw away from her on the run to two out. On landing it was clear that Tom was not having an easy time of things, it transpired that his saddle was slipping, and he was unable to move very much. By this time ASW was in a clear third, but was now left on her own, and as a result she just started to run around a bit on the run to the last where she jumped slightly left, causing Tom to land with all of his weight on his left iron, which in turn caused the saddle to slip right around and left him at the mercy of gravity. An unfortunate unseat, but ASW had shown plenty of promise on debut, and although she finished without a jockey and we left third place prizemoney at the track, she didn’t fall – so has no confidence issues going forward, she was soon caught and didn’t run lose for very long and came back seemingly without a bother on her. There is plenty of fun to be had with her, and she could well have another run this summer before a short break. That decision will be made by Alan, but should she go again you could be in the paddock with her – with the chance of winning your share of a GBB bonus! There is a single share available in her – call or message me on 07909 518902 or email nickbrownracing@gmail.com
Although the afternoon had not quite gone to plan, it was a nice afternoon in Devon and spirits were lifted when we received a few videos from Jason in the afternoon – our 3 yr old The Grey Gatsby gelding doing a lovely piece of work on an away day to Martin Keighley’s gallop. Jason was delighted with his work – he continues to progress, and we would have a chat about him when we met up the following day.
We headed back up to Cirencester and onto Timmy Murphy’s Cilldara Stud where we have a couple of horses enjoying a short break. Floyd (Faclo x Savingforvegas) and Finbar (Falco x Molly Childers) are at Cilldara having completed their ‘Secondary School’ at Ivy Lodge Farm. Both are well – Finbar looks great – Floyd suffered with a few ulcers this spring and as a result, was not asked to do too much. Finbar will return to work in a month with a mind to starting off in a junior bumper in October. There is still a share available in this athletic young horse – the cost of the share, like the costs of shares in all the horses that we have available will rise on July 1st in line with the costs incurred on the training fees per each shareholding – so get in touch now – call or message 07909 518902 or email nickbrownracing@gmail.com to book your share in any of the horses that we have availability in!
Floyd
Finbar
Finbar - a share available - see the FOR SALE page!
Having only had ‘bowl food’ during the day – it was off to The Stump for a couple of pints and a bit of supper. On the way back from Newton Abbot I had made quick stop at The Stump to check into my room and to do so I walked through the pub to get to the bar. As we stood in the field at Cilldara I got a message from one of our longstanding syndicate members asking if I had just walked into the stump? He had to ask, as although he has been a member of NBR for a number of years we have never met or even spoken on the phone! I said I had, and that I would be back for a pint in a short while – so it was great to finally meet up with JP and D for a couple of drinks before we had dinner! JP actually has a share in And She Was, so he got a personal debrief from the run that afternoon. It was lovely to meet them both, and for all of us to put faces to names! Hi JP – he tells me he always reads the blog on a Monday morning! When JP and D left we stayed on and had a bite to eat – great to get the chance to sit down and chat to Timmy Murphy about the people and horses in his glittering career – it was a good night – Timmy even treated us to dinner – mine a very succulent steak – his partner Megan had a Pizza and Debbie enjoyed a chicken dish. All excellent – The Stump is a very popular spot and well worth a visit if you are in the area. I stayed in their newly developed cottage – in what I am led to believe is the honeymoon suite – a lovely room it was too. Not only is the food great – the accommodation is very good too!
An early start on Thursday – in at Ravenswell Farm for just after 7.00am to see Intrepide Sud. Suddy came right back to form last time out in Bangor on Dee when he was a fast finishing third – posting a personal best in the process. The winner of that race was very well backed and has gone on to win his next start by 22 lengths. The form of that race will work out extremely well – and we are all looking forward to seeing IS out again in a couple of weeks when he will be running on a far more suitable track! There is still a couple of shares available in this lovely chaser – FREE – no capital outlay as these are shares that I was left paying for when their owners just walked away from them – something that I can barely believe people would have the temerity to do! Again, you know the drill – get in touch!! Johnny Burke was on IS on Thursday morning – he cantered on the round gallop before having a school over 3 fences. He looked in great order.
Johnny and Suddy
From Ravenswell Farm we headed over to see Jason Maguire at his Ivy Lodge Farm. He paraded Gatsby, and we had a chat about him. Jason likes him, and believes he has a very nice future based on what he has seen of him since he arrived at Ivy Lodge Farm from the yearling sales in 2023. Gatsby will now have a short holiday before resuming training in early July. He will do the bulk of his prep at Ivy Lodge Farm before switching to Olly Murphy, who will put the final touches to him ahead of his planned debut in a junior bumper in the autumn. Olly has also seen him and having heard what Maguire thought of him is really looking forward to training him! Jason cannot believe that there are still a couple of shares left in him – he is a gorgeous horse who goes very nicely! If all goes to plan, he could well be lining up in Cheltenham on New Years Day – and a big strong gelding like him will be well suited by that track for sure! Like the others – the capital cost for the remaining shares in this horse will rise from July1st in line with the costs incurred in his pre training – so get in touch – don’t miss out!
'Gatsby' - Unnamed - and he goes every bit as well as he looks! A stunning gelding!
Cloud Dancer is recovering from his injury, and we discussed the plan for him going forward – he will be given all the time he needs to make a full recovery, which will not be a short process. He will be in rehab for another few months – have more treatment before heading out into the field. He should be back in work in early 2026.
Chevelle has been given the go ahead to start back on the walker. Her racing career is over – but we will rehabilitate her after her injury and find a nice home for her.
When we had seen a few more horses around the yard we headed down the road to see Nevada Samba who is on his holidays with a few friends. ‘Barry’ is summering well – and looks fantastic. He is a lovely horse who we think has an extremely bright future ahead of him. He had got everyone a little bit excited with his work at Ivy Lodge Farm last summer as a 3 yr old and did the same to those that rode him and saw him at Barbury Castle this spring – fingers crossed he carries on progressing!
On Wednesday I had been treated to dinner by one of the leading jockeys of his generation – on Thursday I got a cup of tea in this mug from his weighing room colleague! Typical!!
Home mid afternoon and badges organised for the members of Dino Bellagio’s syndicate that would be heading to Haydock on Friday evening. One over quota – but we managed to avoid having to pay for the extra badge!
Friday morning – Alan King called to confirm that And She Was was fine after her run. He will see how she is next week and make a decision whether to run her again or give her a break. He also reported Rockola to be in great order, and ready to run again. He had identified a race for her in Uttoxeter next week and we agreed to give her an entry. There is an option for her a few days later against mares, and she will have an entry in that race as well and we will look to see whichever race looks best for her.
I got the race report typed up for members of the And She Was syndicate and got that emailed out before setting out for Haydock. A trip up the M6 on Friday afternoon is never a journey to look forward to – so I set off in good time, leaving at 12.20pm. Dino in the 6.05pm – that should be enough time – but you really can’t tell! As usual – the M6 a living hell – I arrived in Haydock at 4.15pm – nearly 4 hours to do a 2 ½ hour trip – but the sun was out, it was lovely and warm, and we were welcomed by the lilting tones of a steel band – it was Rum and Reggae night!
Dino Bellagio would be taking on 9 rivals in this 1m4f Novice Stakes and once again would be giving away a huge amount of weight as an older horse. The 3 yr olds would be in receipt of a whopping 17lbs from Dino – making the likelihood of him winning almost zero! He looked fantastic in the paddock – he is a horse that simply loves life and who seems much happier now that he doesn’t have to jump hurdles!
David Nolan booked to ride, and drawn 1, he would try to get a good start and sit on the front end. That worked a treat – Dino got away from the gates well and settled nicely on the front end. He set sensible fractions, and was still travelling as well as anything 3 furlongs out, but then the welter burden started to take its toll and he began to fall back. To his credit he kept at it and battled all the way to the line – just missing out on fourth after David dropped his whip in the closing stages. David, like Paul Mulrennan before him really liked Dino, commending him on his attitude, and like Paul stating that Dino certainly had a future on the flat – he just needs to get a handicap mark and be able to meet his rivals on a more level playing field. Dino has run two crackers given the conditions he has found himself having to compete under. Giving over a stone to regally bred 3 yr olds, who made fortunes as yearlings and who are bred to be coming into the prime phases of their careers at this very time is almost impossible. Given that 1lb in weight is worth 1 ½ lengths at 1m4f, Dino is in effect giving up 25 lengths in these races – I realise that he has the advantage of age and experience, but as you can see – trying to effectively give these gorgeous 3 yr olds a 25 length start is almost impossible. To be beaten 10 lengths in this grade is a very good run! If you add into the mix that Dino will certainly be better suited to staying trips rather than these middle distances – it shows that he really does have a future at this job and will give his syndicate plenty of fun. We will not hang about getting the third run into him now – and then we will be able to plan a campaign with him for the rest of the summer. There is a share available in Dino – join us for some summer fun – no capital cost – and just £110/month.
Dino post race
Great to see Beryl McCain in Haydock – she had driven there to see a friend, and it was a good opportunity to wish her a happy 88th Birthday – which she would be celebrating on Saturday! An amazing woman!
A slightly shorter trip home – but not by much!
Saturday – Donald soon on with a clip of Dino Bellagio in the pen on his day off – safe to say that he has come out of his race well – he was full of himself! He will be out again in the next 2 weeks!
Alan King sent through a video of Rockola working – she is in fine form and will run in the next 7 -10 days.
In the afternoon I headed over to Abbots Ripton to the Cambridgeshire County Show. A hot and sunny afternoon – great to catch up with folks that I see all to infrequently, and one that I’ve not see for years! We had a lot of fun in Young Farmers and it was great to see her again!
The show is held annually and goes from strength to strength – it is well worth a visit, fun for all the family – although hopefully they will be able to book a slightly better band next year – my ears still hurt form what they were subjected to yesterday!
Next week – we have a couple of options for Rockola so we should be racing somewhere, and I have been offered a ticket to The Oval on Tuesday for the day/night ODI between England and the West Indies – so it should be a fun week!
Around the rest of the team – Old Blue Eyes and Ridin Solo are out on their holidays. Vegas and her foal Nancy are doing well at The Elms – as is George – our Golden Horn 2 yr old who will head down to Ivy Lodge Farm for his primary school in the next few weeks.
Don’t forget – the costs of the available shares will be rising in July – so now is your chance to get yourself involved – there are only a couple left in 4 horses – so don’t hang about – get involved! Flat fun with Dino – a gorgeous horse in Gatsby, a beautiful pedigree and terrifically tough attitude with Finbar, and instant action with bumper and hurdle winner Intrepide Sud!
