Holidays Over
Remember last weeks news – this week would involve a sit back, cigars and cricket? Well, we did get to see a bit of the cricket – what a Test Match we witnessed in Headingly! A great 5 days – Test cricket, when done well is simply stunning!
Monday morning started in a bit of a whirlwind – the last share in Dino Bellagio getting snapped up very early doors. Dino is now fully subscribed once again, and it will not be long before his syndicate get to see him out again – he is in great order – more on him later.
It’s not every day you get the chance to run for £16,500 in a 0-110 hurdle, but that is exactly what will happen later today in Uttoxeter. When I spotted this race, I thought it was the ideal place for Rockola – and ran it by her trainer Alan King. Rockola had run up a little light after her win in Worcester three weeks ago, and as a result she had gone down to Jamie Magee’s yard for a few days of R&R and some light water treadmill sessions. In the past this has really done wonders for her, and she has looked great on her return. Alan agreed that the Uttoxeter race was an opportunity that we should try and exploit, so Rockola came back to Barbury Castle on Monday morning, and had a little trot to get back into the swing of things. Alan entered her in Uttoxeter, and hopefully she would prove that she could run after a piece of work on Thursday morning.
Mid-morning, and Jason Maguire called as the vet was in scanning Cloud Dancer’s injured tendon. CD has been the model patient and has behaved impeccably throughout his rehab. The signs were that he was progressing well, but Jason and I felt that it was the right time to re scan the injury and confirm that everything was going the right way. The vet was very happy with the scan – the injury site is healing well, and there are no changes to the tendon tissue around the injury – so all is going well. It was a nasty enough injury, and the rehab will be a long, slow process which means that CD will not be ridden again until at least Christmas, but he is a nice horse, that has more to offer, so he will certainly not be rushed back – and every care will be taken to ensure that he has the chance to fulfil his promise in the years to come. It was good to know that the rehab regime that he is in is working, and we will continue to monitor him with regular scans as the process continues.
Just before lunch I got a call from Fergal O’Brien to chat through the team that we will have at Ravenswell next season. Firstly, we chatted about Greyval, who is summering in the Cotswolds, and is thriving on her well deserved break. Winner of her last two hurdles including at Cheltenham in April, Greyval was right back to her best – in fact she was better than ever – and now that we have unlocked a few things with her, judged on her homework, I don’t think the improvement has come to an end yet – and I believe we are in for a very exciting season with her. The plan is to switch her to fences this season and target a few of the mares novices chases in the calendar – and in my mind, instead of taking her for a couple of away days to Keighley’s or Lambourn, we should enter and run her in a mares handicap on the flat, and actually run for some prize money – it would put her spot on for her season opener over obstacles – and she has to be well treated off of a mark in the mid 60’s on the flat, surely?! For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking along a slightly different line – the Silver Trophy a 2m4f handicap hurdle in Chepstow is worth a staggering £75,000 in early October and is usually run on decent ground. Greyval has course and distance form and will love the ground at that time of year– the form of her last run in Cheltenham keeps getting better and better as the mares that were behind her that day win race after race – so it had to come into our thinking! As I chatted through the options with Fergal it became clear that he was very keen to tick both boxes – a prep run on the flat and then a tilt at the Silver Trophy before a switch to fences – so that is what we will do. Greyval will come back into work on Monday and have a run on the flat in late September before a tilt at the valuable handicap in Chepstow. The others to discuss were Intrepide Sud who had been a bit sore after his run in Uttoxeter, but had improved over the weekend – he would continue on through the summer – and it doesn’t look like it will be long before he is back in the winners circle!
The third one on the team at Ravenswell this season will be ‘Finbar’ who has been summering at Timmy Murphy’s Cilldara Stud near Cirencester. Finbar is another whose summer holiday will come to an end on Monday – and he will head back to Ivy Lodge Farm for a couple of weeks before switching to Ravenswell in mid July. Finbar is a hardy soul – and we felt that it would be best to introduce him back into work in an environment that he is familiar with, rather than dropping him in at the deep end and sending him straight to Fergal. Jason knows him very well and Finbar knows Ivy Lodge Farm, so it makes sense to get him going there before he switches into full training. It will only be for a couple of weeks, but it will make a huge difference to him.
Tuesday – Fergal heading out to the Tattersalls Derby Sale in Fairyhouse – but he was on early with some less than ideal news. Intrepide Sud was still not right, and the vet would be scanning his pelvis later in the morning. He was not ‘fracture lame’ but something was amiss – we would find out later – fingers crossed it wasn’t too bad.
Alan King sent a video through of Rockola having a gentle canter up the gallop at Sharpridge. He was very happy with her, and a piece of work on Thursday would determine whether she could line up in Uttoxeter or not.
Later in the afternoon news came through regarding the scan that the vet had carried out on Suddy – no fracture – good news, but there is an area of concern, he would have to have a couple of weeks box rest and then be brought gently back into work again. Hopefully a minor blip that will not hold us up for too long! Pelvis injuries are not uncommon in racehorses, and by pure coincidence one of the vet practices that we deal with sent through their newsletter this week that details the types of pelvic fractures that horses can suffer – it makes interesting reading!
There was further, far from ideal news later that afternoon when Alan King called to say that Rockola had ‘tied up’ after her canter that morning. She had cramped on the walk home – and although she would be treated with the necessary drugs that would see her as right as rain within hours, she would not be able to run in Uttoxeter. A real shame – that race was ideal – and looking at entries she would have stood a great chance of picking up a good few quid too!
Wednesday morning was a busy one – more shares being taken in the restructured Red Sash Racing Club – as mentioned, I have been simply blown away by the response that we have had from existing members of the Club – membership is now restricted to 100 from 1000 which means that the annual subs for each member has increased considerably, but well over 50% of those that have responded have taken shares for this season – and some have even increased their shareholding. We must be doing something right! Remember, existing shareholders can renew for just £340 – new members will have to purchase their shares, with each 1% share in Ridin Solo (including a years all inclusive training/keep fee) set at £550. More on Ridin Solo later!
Later that morning I popped over to The Elms to see Savingforvegas, her foal Nancy and George her 2 yr old by Golden Horn. We didn’t get to see Vegas and Nancy in the field as they were in the barn awaiting the farrier for trims, so no nice photos -but the pair look great – Nancy is well grown, tall and rangy – she is definitely the tallest foal Vegas has produced for sure. She has a good walk, so at this stage everyone is very happy with her!
Nancy - Nirvana du Berlais
Nancy and Vegas
It was good to see George who, unbeknown to him will have a rude awakening in mid July, when he heads down to Ivy Lodge Farm to be broken in – his Primary School! He is a very nice horse, strong athletic with a good mind – horses by his excellent sire are winning races every day – and it certainly looks like he has a huge future ahead of him. We are obviously keen to keep him on the team – and Plan A at this stage would be to syndicate him in 12 shares in June next year. Already a half brother to three winners, the pedigree could take at least one very significant uplift this season – so he will be a very nice addition to the racing team. As I write this – on the TV in the background is Golden Horns owner, Jayne McGivern – a woman who I have a great deal of time for – if you get the chance, have a watch of her interview with Nick Luck – so much sense spoken!
George - by Golden Horn
Thursday, office for the day – admin – bills to pay! The morning spent talking to a lot of trainers about horseboxes, but we got everything done – with half an eye on the sale in Ireland which was streaming on Youtube on the TV in the office. I was interested to see what the full sister to Rockola would make - €42,000 in the end – she will next be seen in the Irish Point to Point field – we will keep our eyes on her!
Friday – and an early start – on the road at 4.45am and heading up to see Donald McCain. Always good to visit Bankhouse, and I was keen to get up there to see the new gallops that Donald has put in over the last couple of months. His ‘carpet’ gallop has been resurfaced and extended, now 7 furlongs with a stiff uphill stretch – it is a great improvement – as is his other gallop, which has been changed back to a woodchip surface, with a few small alterations that are sure to help Donald in the future. Great upgrades to the facilities, for sure.
Extended carpet gallop
Resurfaced and slightly altered main gallop
Dino Bellagio looked really well – he looks amazing and is really moving well – he did his work on the deep sand round gallop and is in fine form.
His half brother Old Blue Eyes has summered well and will enjoy being back in his stable on Monday away from the flies that are starting to bug the horses in the fields. Old Blue Eyes will be novice hurdling this season – and he is one to keep an eye on – he has plenty of ability and will give his patient owners plenty of fun over the winter.
Old Blue Eyes
Ridin Solo will also be back at Bankhouse on Monday – he has summered in Shropshire with a number of Donalds horses. Donald tells me that he has summered really well – possibly due to being treated for ulcers just before he headed out to grass. We are convinced that his sub-par run in the Go North Final in Kelso in March can be put down to him suffering from Ulcers – and he will undergo the same treatment as a few other horses on our team that have suffered badly with ulcers in the past – and who’s wellbeing, looks and form were turned around dramatically by this process. Donald and I chatted about a plan for Ridin Solo – he will certainly be stepped up to 3 miles, and will also make his chasing debut in the autumn – the ulcer treatment, the step up in trip and the switch to fences will all be in his favour – he looks like he will be incredibly well handicapped – and will give The Red Sash Racing Club a lot of fun. Membership is just £550 for new members - £340 to renew – so get in touch – he is great value – and you actually own a share! 07909 518902 – nickbrownracing@gmail.com
After the horses had worked, Donald and I had a walk around the yard and chatted about all sorts of things to do with Bankhouse – horseboxes – bedding – horses etc – we had a look at a few race options for Dino Bellagio and have come up with a few races that he will have entries in around mid July. The feeling is that he will be making his handicap debut off of a handy mark – so we will try and find him the best race to run in. A few questions will need to be asked of Paul Mulrennan before we make any hard and fast plans.
I spoke with Alan King on the way home – and he is happy with Rockola who was back cantering that morning.
I also had a quick chat with Debbie who was catching a plane form Bristol airport to Dublin for three days at the Irish Derby meeting on the Curragh. Debbie had dropped her dog, Mouse off with dog sitter, Timmy Murphy that morning, and had got a few pics and a video of the two boys that are there. Floyd and Finbar. As mentioned Finbar will head back to Ivy Lodge Farm on Monday – Floyd will remain at Timmys until the autumn, when he will return to Ivy Lodge Farm, and start his life as a racehorse proper. He is likely to be syndicated in the spring – he is a lovely horse; he has just needed a little more time than his siblings – but he will be well worth the wait!
Debbie and I had a bit to chat about – one new venture that will be announced very soon – and the possibility of another development too – there are a few very exciting things going on behind the scenes at the moment, things that will be keeping Debbie and I busy for quite a while – watch this space!
Saturday – time to get the content written for the Red Sash Racing Club website after the restructure of the Club. The relaunch will happen on July 1st – so everything had to be written and ready for Tuesday. As we are changing the set up of the Club – moving from a Racing Club to more of a Syndicate structure it means that there is a bit of paperwork involved for members – so this was emailed out to all the renewing members as well.
Alan King sent a video of Rockola’s first piece of work since her Worcester win – he had hoped to work her on Thursday and run her this afternoon – but it was not to be – and we will find an alternative race for her.
Yesterday evening we had some news about Chevelle, who, if all goes well will have a new home next week. I will be having a chat on Monday – but at this stage it very much looks like she could be heading to Buckinghamshire at some stage!
Around the remainder – Gatsby – the unnamed 3 yr old is another one who will be back in his stable on Monday – he will go through the full pretraining process at Ivy Lodge Farm before switching to Olly Murphy. He’s a lovely horse and it will be good to get going with him – he has already shown us that he has plenty of ability and will be aimed at junior bumpers in the autumn. Another one who’s ‘bonnet’ we have had a look under is Nevada Samba – he also returns to work on Monday – he will have two weeks at Ivy Lodge Farm and then head back to Barbury Castle in mid July. You all know what we think of him!! And She Was has headed off on holiday – she is out in the field and will have a good break to reset and recharge the batteries.
Next week – a meeting in Newmarket tomorrow, with a big racing and breeding operation based in China. An early start on Tuesday – and a trip to a yard to push on with some of our exciting new ventures.
No less than 6 horses will be returning to their stables on Monday – and so the whole cycle starts again – I say it every year – when they head out to grass in April/May it always seems like it will be an age before we see them on the track again – and every year, it seems like no time at all! Time flies when you are having fun!
