Solid Form
I spend an awful lot of time watching racing! Not a bad job – but it really is necessary to have a very firm grip on the form book so that I am up to date with everything there is to know about the opposition when I am race planning and tracking entries and declarations. It is also good to keep up to speed with the form of the horses that we have run against in the past – just to see the solidity of the form of any given race. It is always nice to see one that one of our horses has beaten come out and win – even better when it puts together a winning sequence. Last Sunday there were two winners that caught our eye – firstly Simply Ruby, dotting up on handicap debut in a 1m4f fillies handicap in Ffos Las. Simply Ruby had finished inches ahead of Dino Bellagio in what, at the time, we all felt would work out to be a very good novice in Haydock Park (our theory would get a good test on Saturday). Her facile win here off of a mark of 67 – (the same as Dino’s) augers well for DB’s chances when he makes his handicap debut! The other eye-catching winner on Sunday was Laravie in Uttoxeter. This horse had finished second behind Ridin Solo when he won his maiden in Sedgefield in February. This win for Laravie brought up a hat trick of wins after victories in Stratford and Uttoxeter – his most recent win last Sunday was in a Novices’ Hurdle, and he deserved to win on all known form – but the fact that he is now rated 114, just goes to show how well treated Ridin Solo is! Sadly, we could not capitalise on that mark with Ridin Solo in Kelso in March, when we headed there for the £30,000 Go North Final where we are sure that he was feeling the effects of some nasty ulcers. We are also pretty certain that he will relish a step up to 3 miles and a switch to chasing, so all in all it very much looks like it is going to be a very productive winter for him this term, starting off of a handicap mark of 105!
We have recently restructured The Red Sash Racing Club which owns Ridin Solo and have been blown away by the uptake in shares. The Club is now limited to 100 members, each owning a 1% share of Ridin Solo. 60% of the shares are taken, so there is availability for anyone that wants to get involved! Shares are priced at just £550 - £200 buys you your share – and £350 covers the all-inclusive training/keep fees for the next 12 months – no hidden extras – you receive 100% of your share of the owner’s prize money, and your share of any sales value at the end of the term. Don’t miss out – it is going to be a fun season with Ridin Solo! 07909 518902 or email nickbrownracing@gmail.com
In addition if anyone introduces a new member to the Club, they will receive a £50 referral payment – so if you know anyone that you think would like to go be involved with a tough, sound and very well handicapped horse – send them our way and earn yourself £50 when they sign up! There is also a £50 discount for existing NBR members – so if you are in any of our syndicates and want to add Ridin Solo to your portfolio the all-in price is just £500 – we like to reward loyalty!!
Monday – it was a warm one – the mercury still rising throughout the morning. I headed over to Newmarket, and as I was a little early, I decided to park under the trees close to the July Course entrance and wait to be collected to head to a meeting. Lovely to bump into a well-known Newmarket trainer who, having started work at 3.30am, had got all of her string out and exercised before the temperatures started to rise! Always good to see her and catch up with the gossip – no shortage of that! I was then picked up and we headed off for a meeting with one of the most rapidly expanding global breeding enterprises in the world. This team are in the process of putting together one of the most impressive breeding operations just outside Newmarket, to run alongside their successful business in the southern hemisphere. I have seen some nice places in my time – this one was right up there – and with plans for a further, hugely impressive development at another property a couple of miles away – it is clear they have huge ambitions and are investing a vast amount of money. A successful meeting – hopefully we will be working closely together in the future.
Tuesday – and another sweltering night – not too much sleep. Awake at 2.00am – I found it tough to get back to sleep, and in the end, I got up and was in the shower at 4.20am. It was going to be an early start anyway – a trip down to Alan King’s to see Rockola, and to further discuss plans that Alan, Debbie and I have been working on for a few weeks. We are very close to getting an exciting new venture underway – and having watched Rockola do two canters up the hill, Debbie set about getting some photographs for what we will be launching very soon – watch this space! Under clear blue skies it was the perfect morning to get a few portraits done – the horses all looking magnificent!
Beautiful Barbury
Rockola looked in fantastic form – she had spent a few days down at Jamie Magee’s yards just over the Ridgeway from Barbury Castle, and as she has done before – absolutely thrived for the short spell away on the water treadmill. She has regained all the weight she had lost over the course of her last two runs, and I have to say – I don’t think I have seen her moving better while she was warming up in the school. She looks fantastic! It is such a shame that she could not contest the valuable handicap I had in mind for her last weekend – looking at the result she would have gone very close – but good to see her in such good form. We will look at the programme book and find a suitable race for her.
It was also good to see And She Was out in the field with a few friends. It did not take her long to impose her authority on the group! She will have a few weeks break and return to training. Another run to get her back up to full fitness, and she can head into handicap company – she will be a fun filly when she goes handicapping!
And She Was on her break - She's the Boss!
Tuesday being July 1st – it meant that a few of the squad were back in their stables and out of the heat! Greyval back at Ravenswell
Nevada Samba was back at Ivy Lodge Farm, he has summered really well, and after a shower he headed off to his stable.
Up at Donald McCains, Old Blue Eyes came in from the field and away from the flies. He too has summered really well, and we are all very excited to see him over hurdles this winter.
Wednesday, and another couple came back into work – Ridin Solo had been out at grass in Shropshire and he made his way back to McCains – and ‘Finbar’ made the short trip from Timmy Murphys to Jason Maguires. ‘Finbar’ looks really well – and will have a couple of weeks at Ivy Lodge Farm before heading onto ‘big school’ with Fergal O’Brien in the middle of the month. Finbar is only three, and all of his education up until now has been with Maguire at Ivy Lodge Farm. These are surroundings that are familiar to him, and as he can be a bit sharp when you start work with him, I felt that the best thing to do for him, would be to have him back with Maguire and for him to get him going again before he heads to Ravenswell – the return to work at a big new yard may have all been a bit much for him! He is a lovely young horse, very athletic and very tough! He has done plenty up to this point and will start off in a junior bumper in October, and having schooled so well this spring, he is very likely to switch to the National Hunt Juvenile Hurdles, after Christmas. The hope is that he can run in the 4 yr old Bumper in Cheltenham on January 1st 2026! There is a share left in Finbar – 10% - have a look at him on the FOR SALE page and get in touch – Finbar is just his stable name – as he does not have an official name yet – as a share holder you will get the chance to name him as well!
Great to see Rockola leading some babies up the Sharpridge Hill. It is fantastic to be able to share her work with her owners - communication is key - and we will be working very hard this season to bring everyone even more footage and photos of their horses!
My day was filled with admin – more to do on the Red Sash Racing restructure. A new Whatsapp Group for members and update their membership status on the website, so that they can get full access to the Members Area, where we will continue to publish updates and more of our popular ‘In Behind’ features. It is astonishing how long these things take – although I did have a break for a couple of hours to watch the Lions destroy Western Force in the latest leg of their tour down under.
Chevelle has the ‘all clear’ to head out into a paddock – perfect timing – as on Wednesday we found the perfect home for her. She will remain with Jason for another month – before heading to one of her syndicate members homes to retrain. She will be a project for her new owner as she returns to riding after having a baby and taking a break from horses. She fell in love with Chevelle when she saw her and we wish her the best of luck with her – we will keep up to speed with her progress.
Rehoming our horses has always been a hugely important part of what we do – we feel that the day they retire and move on is as important as the day that they join the squad. Where possible we like to maintain contact with all of our ‘Old Boys and Girls’ and keep their syndicates up to speed with where they are and what they are doing. It is always good to hear how they are – and if they have gone on to be broodmares – what foals they have had, and what stallions they are in foal to.
Thursday marked the day when I celebrated having made another orbit of the sun on this lump of rock we call Earth! A year older – no wiser! The day was much like any other – another proposal sent out to a trainer – the possibility of taking on another client is always exciting, and the syndicate management part of the business seems to be garnering significant interest just lately!
In the evening, we met up with friends for a meal at The Plough in Bolnhurst – local to us. We had planned on trying a new (to us) Indian Restaurant in a local town but felt that a hot curry on a warm evening was possibly a little much and we may well have overheated. Great dinner at The Plough as always – and a great night in super company!
Friday – Dino Bellagio got an entry in Newbury next week. He had two runs fairly quickly and was given a good time to get over those. He is in fine form and seems to be back loving life again. The switch to the flat has been great for him – he has regained a lot of the confidence he lost over hurdles and is starting to show us what he did in two bumpers a couple of years ago. Having run three times, he has now got his opening handicap mark (67) and we believe that he has a very workable mark, especially as we should see plenty of improvement in him as he steps up from middle distances to more suitable staying trips. We have been thrilled with his qualifying runs and are really looking forward to seeing what he can do off of his opening flat mark!
Horses need the dentist too - and on Friday Nevada Samba had his pre season check up - plaque removal is very important as a build up can effect eating as well as how comforatble a horse finds the bit in his mouth which can lead to behavioral problems and even a dip in performance. All the horses will get cheked over prior to starting work in July.
Saturday – Day 4 of the Test Match from Edgbaston – England have looked very short of firepower in the bowling ranks in this one – they will have a mountain to chase in the fourth innings! The Lions win again – although there are plenty of areas that they need to tighten up – not least the handling. The team that took the field in no way represents the team that will line up against The Wallabies in two weeks time – but they still need to find some cohesion in a few areas. I still believe that The Lions will be simply too strong up front for the Aussies and have them winning the series 3-0!
Having started this weeks ramblings explaining why I watch so much racing – I was a keen observer of the 2.05 in Haydock yesterday. A 1m6f. £100,000 handicap, which would feature two horses that had finished first and second when Dino ran at the same track in late May. Pole Star had won that day, with Valiancy a close second. The latter had gone on to win when Dino ran into him again in Hamilton – but the gap between them got a lot less on that occasion. Valiancy would start favourite and be making his handicap debut off of 80 and Pole Star, who had run well on handicap debut in Doncaster in June would run off of 82. With Simply Ruby hacking up on her handicap debut last Sunday – would these two add further depth to the form of that Haydock novice. The answer - an emphatic yes – Pole Star winning with Valiancy, having been poorly positioned running on into a close third. As mentioned, we thought at the time that Dino’s race in Haydock was a strong one – it turns out we were right! More reason to look forward to his handicap debut in the next week or so. Along with the entry in Newbury he will have further entries going forward.
Rockola once again led the youngsters in their exercise.
Further shares taken in Ridin Solo on Saturday – the membership of The Red Sash Racing Club continues to climb – thanks to those that have taken up our offer!
Around the remainder, Cloud Dancer continues his rehab – Intrepide Sud is recovering from a small pelvis issue - he has been on box rest and will resume exercise very soon. Our gorgeous 3 yr old by The Grey Gatsby is also back in his stable at Ivy Lodge Farm where he will be pre trained before heading up to Olly Murphy to begin his career in the autumn. He has really pleased Jason in everything he has done – he has been away for a few ‘away days’, and we have had a little ‘look under the bonnet’ - Jason was delighted with what he saw! There are a couple of shares available in him – have a look at him on the For Sale Pabge as well!
Next week – a meeting with Wetherbys scheduled at their base in Wellingborough on Weds, Dino Bellagio should get a run towards the end of the week – and an owner or two popping into a few yards to see their horses now that they are back in their stables. Should be another fun week!
