Once In A Lifetime Chance
Sunday – so time for the weekly ramblings. This is an exciting time of year – all of the horses are in full work, with most either running or pencilled in to make their returns to the racetrack, or in a couple of cases, their racecourse debuts this month or early November. These weekly news updates, give owners, syndicate members and followers the very latest on every horse – both in NBR syndicates and the Alan King Racing Club – we feel that communication is key, and everyone involved in any of the horses should be kept right up to date with the health and wellbeing of the horses they are involved in, and follow. These updates also give me the chance to give the reader an insight into my week – my toings and froings, which yards I have visited, and where I have been racing. This week has been a little quieter, the lull before the storm, but I managed to get to three yards – and had a lovely, if slightly damp afternoon in Ascot.
Monday – the Ryder Cup had been quite the watch – I watched with a strange emotion – with such a commanding lead, I fully expected the Europe team to triumph, and even as the USA crept closer and closer to the Europe score, at no stage did I feel that the result was in any jeopardy. As the tension mounted on the course, I was remarkably calm – even when the final few matches were close and going to the wire, I had no doubt that Europe were going to win it – despite this it was a momentous sporting occasion – and great to watch. The rest of Sunday night was going nicely to plan for my NFL team – until they lost their game by missing their last kick of the match!
Monday was quite a quiet day – although I did manage to find a clip I had seen on Youtube a few weeks ago – and having told Donald McCain about it when we visited a couple of weeks ago – I recorded it and sent it to him – style and talent should always be recognised!
Monday night – West Ham away at Everton – an horrific start to the season – and a now a new manager – would there be an improvement? First half – no – second half yes – West Ham earning a point. Clear to see that with the squad we have – this is going to be a long season!
Tuesday – an early start – on the road to the Cotswolds to Ravenswell Farm to see the two horses in training there, work. Fran, Sheridan and Betty in for the morning, Debbie there to get some pics and vids. Fran and Sheridan (Betty;s their retired greyhound) were in to see Molly’s Lad (Finbar) work on the hill gallop. Both were sharholders in his dam, Molly Childers and were part of a small group that stuck together and bred ML from her before selling her over to Ireland. They have been o the journey from the very start, and like those that have stuck with it are hugely looking forward to seeing Molly’s Lad on the track. He has been through our system, and although he is quite sharp to sit on – he is very athletic and very tough – when I was talking to Fergal about him on Tuesday he said, ‘I love him!’ He is a horse that just wants to get on with life – loves his work, and when he is back in his box, is the sweetest, kindest soul you could hope to meet. This would be only his second piece of proper work on the hill, and as a three year old he will not be asked to do the same level of work as the older horses at this stage – what he is doing at the moment – just one up the hill will be enough for him to make his racecourse debut later this month. He worked with a 5 yr old – who had both the benefit of age and experience on his side having had two bumper runs in the spring, finishing second on his latest start. His owners must like Hey Buddy, as they promptly bought the horse that beat him that day! ML worked very nicely, he got to the top of the hill very easily – and finished his work with his ears pricked.
We also got to see Greyval work on the hill, Debbie headed out with her, while Fran, Sheridan and I stayed to watch ML do more on the round gallop before his one up the hill. Greyval is in fantastic form – looking and moving really well. Having had a spin on the flat around Newbury a couple of weeks ago, she is very much on track to head to Chepstow next weekend for their £75,000 Silver Trophy handicap hurdle. Fergal is really pleased with where she is at the moment, and in his words he thinks ‘She’ll run a massive race in Chepstow!’ A word of warning though – Ferg is an horrendous tipster – he could tip sh1t out of a wheelbarrow I can assure you! One thing is for sure – Greyval seems to be in a good place, worked well and is on course to run!
With Fran and Sheridan heading back home to meet an old friend off of a train, Debbie and I had another cuppa – saved a rival syndicate manager some embarrassment by pointing out that one of the races he was confidently telling his syndicate members was an option for their horse was in fact not so – I tried to do it quietly, but as he kept digging himself deeper and deeper into the hole, I had to point it out more publicly. Being the confident character that he is – he offered me a £50 wager that the race was an option for their mare – he had checked it that morning! I should have taken his money – his face when he realised that the horse they were planning for would not qualify was a picture! I hope his golf game that afternoon went better for him!
From Ravenswell Farm we made our way round to Ivy Lodge Farm – nothing of ours in at the moment, just Intrepide Sud out in the field – he continues to get better week by week – he will return to work in the New Year. With nothing to see around the yard it was time for a cuppa and a sandwich with Jason and Lauren – a chance to make some plans for a few of the horses over the next few months.
There are three horses with Timmy Murphy at present, and all will be returning to Ivy Lodge Farm over the course of the next few months. ‘Floyd_ (Falco x Savingforvegas) 3 yr old, who Debbie had got a quick pic and video of when she was in at Timmys early that morning, will return to Jason when the weather turns in November, and he will resume his ‘secondary school’ that we cut short in the spring when he was under the weather. He is a very straightforward horse, who breezed through his breaking as a two year old – and who we think is a nice horse. If by the end of the year we think that he will be making his racecourse debut in the spring, we will syndicate or sell him in early 2026. He is the spitting image of his older half-brother, Nevada Samba – if he goes as well as him, he will be alright!
Floyd
Cloud Dancer, who is also out in the field with Timmy, is recovering well from his tendon injury. He will be rescanned in early January, and if the vet is happy, he will return to Ivy Lodge Farm to begin a programme of controlled exercise, carefully planned to bring him back up to full fitness.
‘George’ (Golden Horn x Savingforvegas) our 2 yr old homebred will remain with Timmy over the winter as we have decided that he doesn’t need and autumn refresher course. He will head back to Jason in March, for his secondary school term – after which he will be sold or syndicated, have a couple of months off and head into training. He is an ideal candidate for 3 yr old bumpers a year from now.
With all the plans in place, a good catch up, and some interesting video calls/wind ups with a former jockey I headed for home, and Debbie struck out for Bath Racecourse – where she was sponsoring the Arabian race at the end of the card.
My afternoon was spent checking any updates to the catalogue for Part 2 of The Orby Sale in Ireland. The Orby Sale is the premier sale for flat yearlings in Ireland – and Part 1 held on Monday and Tuesday was a record-breaking renewal. Trade was strong and knowing that prices would be high I had not concentrated on that part of proceedings. Part 2, held on Wednesday and Thursday on the other hand, did offer that opportunity for a bit of value – and it was while I was going through the catalogue online that I noticed a very nice son of Churchill, that I thought would be ideal for our new flat syndicate for 2026. He was from a very good German family, his dam was a winner, and a half sister to a Group 1 winner in the States – so he had the pedigree. A few quick calls to make sure that he suited everyone this end, and when I got the thumbs up, I called my man at the sales to see what he had though of him. Without hesitation, and without looking him up he knew the horse and confirmed that he was a lovely individual. As he ticked so many boxes, we would make further enquiries the following morning and get the vet to check him if we still felt he was worth following into the ring. He was a lovely horse, hopefully he would be in budget, but as the trade was so strong – there was no telling! He was sure to be at the top of our budget, but if they valued him within our means we would definitely be having a play for him!
Wednesday – we awoke with the excitement of possibly adding a gorgeous yearling to the team – these are good days! Having planned a day in the office – it was a good day to get the latest trophy auction done and dusted. Time to sell the trophy that Dino Bellgio won in Chester. A lovely memento for one of his syndicate, and congratulations to Kirsty who had the winning bid by the close at 6.00pm – this despite trying to outbid her own bid at one stage – having missed out on the trophy from Southwell – she was very determined to get this one – even if it meant outbidding herself! Another big cheque heading to the Injured Jockeys Fund.
The IJF is a charity that we have supported for years – but I am conscious that there are a host of other ‘racing charities’ that would also benefit from our fundraising trophy auctions, and I wondered of it wasn’t time to ‘spread the love’ a little, possibly chose a different charity for 2026, and change on an annual basis.
So, I have decided to let you decide – please get in touch and let me know which of the following charities we should support in 2026.
The Injured Jockeys Fund
Racing Welfare
Heros – Racehorse rehab and young people training
ROR - Retraining Of Racehorses
Let me know your thoughts – we will leave this open for a few weeks, and I will post a reminder on here every once in a while. Maybe a new charity will benefit from your generosity in 2026!
The Alan King Racing Clubs, I’d Go Maniac was declatred in Ascot on Friday. IGM, a bumper winner last summer would be having his third qualifying run and having run against some pretty stiff opposition on his last two starts, he would once again be taking on some ‘bluebloods’ including three Godolphin runners. With this run under his belt, and a handicap mark, he would find life much easier. Still, a day out in Ascot seemed like a good way to get that third run under his belt – it would be better than Wolverhampton!!
The time was fast approaching, when the yearling would be heading into the sale ring in Ireland. As we already have over 50% of the shares in this new venture resereved, it was a chance to get in touch with those that have registered and interest, and let hem know what we were planning to do – and that they could watch it unfold on-line. Something a little different, usually I have already purchased the horse before it is offered out to prospective purchasers, this gave those that have said they wanted a share to be experience the excitement of the auction, and whether or not we could get the horse that we all wanted! They all got on-line and were watching as he entered the ring. We knew that we would be right at the top end of our budget for him – but you have to value each individual and try to stick to it. Bidding started fairly strongly, but we did manage to get a couple of bids in before it reached out ceiling. There the bidding stalled slightly, so I decided to try one more – that was bettered, and I even went a further step above our valuation to get him, but in the end, there was a couple who felt that he was worth that little bit more and we ended up coming up a bit short. A shame, as he ticked a lot of boxes, but there are plenty more horses to come under the hammer over the course of the next month – and we will carry on the search! More about this exciting new venture later!
Having not secure our new horse, we consoled ourselves with a little impromptu night out at The Snooty Tavern in Great Staughton. A really good night – a bar – complete with bar stools and a foot rail – rare these days – as pubs don’t seem to want you drinking at a bar – something I love to do. Even better when the Guiness was superb too! A nice meal – nothing fancy – just pub grub, but this is somewhere we will definitely be returning to!
Thursday morning – and really interesting clip through from Alan King – Uhtred Ragnarson working the day before, as mentioned last week – UR is a horse that has really developed both mentally and physically over the summer – and that is very much reflected in his homework. On Wednesday he worked with three others – a Punchestown Festival winner, and two rated 130+. With a current hurdles rating of 100, he looks like he should have a very nice winter and give Club members a lot of fun!
Thanks to Ascot for accommodating Club members who would be travelling to Ascot on Friday – all members and guests received O&T Badges with an excellent lunch!
It was also great to see And She Was back cantering – when she came back from her summers break and was about to get cantering, she contracted a nasty bout if ringworm, and as a result, Alan backed off of her and isolated her from the rest of the string for a couple of weeks. After a couple of weeks trotting, (and bucking) she is now back cantering. and into a routine – Alan said it was good to ‘get her back down!’
Friday, Alan would not be heading to Ascot in the afternoon, but he did get the chance to video a nice piece of work by Nevada Samba early doors. NS is in great order – and is working very well – we will need some rain for him – but if all goes well, he should be making his long-awaited racecourse debut later this month. The plan is to stay in bumpers this season – and from what he has shown up to this point, he could well end up in a nice one in the spring. Now he just has to get out on the track and prove he’s as good as we hope he is !
With Alan not able to be in Ascot, and Debbie over in Paris for the Arc, I headed to Ascot, and Cheryl headed to a funeral on behalf of both of us.
The forecast looked far from dazzling – a wet afternoon – and it was right. The ‘Cardrobe’ well stocked – and time for the big coat. Good to see plenty of Club members on course many I had met at the open weekend or in Kempton – but nice to meet a couple for the first time! The rain was certainly not doing the chances of I’d Go Maniac any good – he really needs good ground – which the clerk of the course had given as the official going in the morning. Kingys day started well, and lovely win for Blazeon Five in the race before ours – great to see the team in good form. Having ridden that winner Rossa came into the paddock and told us straight up that the ground was soft, there was so much sand on it which had got wet with the rain that it was riding very testing. IGM would be settled in rear and produced off the bend to finish as well as he could. This was a hot Novice, and he was unlikely to trouble to judge but they would do their best – soft ground can throw up strange results. In the ned the race panned out as expected, with some very smart horses going forward, and in the end, we saw a very impressive winner with IGM going through the motions to finish 6th of 7. Rossa reported that he absolutely hated the rain/sand softened ground and would be far better off on the all-weather from here forward. Now that he has learned to settle in his races he can be ridden more forward, and he will not be meeting the calibre of horse he met on Friday in handicaps. We will see what the handicapper gives him on Tuesday and plan from there. Rossa did mention perhaps a bit of headgear for IGM, but at this stage Alan thinks his failure to pick up off the bend was more down to the going than his application.
Lovely to get a call from a potential new Club member after the race – hopefully he will be joining in the fun with the Alan King Racing Club – you could too – IGM now handicapped should have a fun winter on the all-weather. Uhtred Ragnarson – well you have seen what level he works to for a horse rated just 100 – and wait until you see Ghost Dancing – she is flying – and the 3 yr old NH programme is tailor made for her!
Hit the link – look at the horses and grab one of the remaining shares – great value, great fun! Just £275/month!
I had planned to get back to the funeral wake after leaving Ascot – but a hold up on the M4, two lanes closed on the M25 and another snarl up on the M1 meant that my route home looked tortuous at best! Sat Nav sent me across country – through places I had never heard of, and 3 ½ hours after leaving the races I arrived home having aborted attending the wake.
Saturday – picked up by Paul and Jan at 8.30 – and off to an morning at Olly Murphy’s Warren Chase Stables. An invited guest list – there to chat to Olly, Sean Bowen and the team about the horses and plans for the season ahead. A good turnout given that storm Amy was hitting the country hard! Luke Harvey there to compare the morning – Olly with some exciting updates and plans – Sean as driven as ever, and the staff all in great form. A chance to catch up with Olly and chat about ‘Gatsby’ out three year old by The Grey Gatsby who he has in training there. He is really happy with him, and as he loses the weight he was carrying when he arrived, he continues to improve week on week. The plan at this stage is to take him for a canter around a racecourse on a schooling morning later this month and then step up his work. Olly thinks that he will be best suited to propped winter ground at this stage, so he is happy with where he has him at the moment. It is good to hear that he likes him. He is not alone in liking his sire The Grey Gatsby – and for those of us that hold the stallion in high regard it was a good day.
When I arrived at Warren Chase I ran into John Blehean, one of the very best National Hunt Store pinhookers and consignors in Ireland. He and his brothers are very good at what they do – and it was interesting to hear him say that he really likes horses by The Grey Gatsby. Later in the afternoon – we were both proved right to lime his stock – when a daughter of the sire won a Listed Race in Germany! There was even more good news for The Grey Gatsby later in the day when Jerry McGrath went to 340,000 Euros at the Arqana Arc Sale to buy a 4 yr old grey gelding who had won on the flat as a three year old and been second on his only hurdles start in 2025. Some good judges are liking what they see – and we like out lad with Olly – there is still a chance to own a 10% share in him – hit the link – have a look at him and get in touch. His value may skyrocket after his first run!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8143/the-grey-gatsby-x-tucupita
While at Olly’s – Alan King sent through a couple more clips – he really is good at keeping everyone up to date! First up, AKRC’s Ghost Dancing – this lovely 3 yr old grey filly really does work well, and she is eyecatching in her work. Alan is really pleased with her and she will be ready to run a little later this month or early November.
Second up – Uhtred Ragnarson – another lovely piece of work into a fierce headwind. With the wind so strong into their faces, they went a gear slower on Saturday – but once again UR went really well with three well above average work mates.
Donald McCain sent through a clip od Ridin Solo schooling over fences. He is a horse that we have always thought would be better when sent chasing, and early reports of his technique were very encouraging – judging by the clip – which sadly I can’t post on here – we were spot on in our assessment – he is very good as this still shows! He is almost ready to run – we just need to find a race for him!
Ridin Solo (above) has a fantastic technique and we are sure he will be a far better chaser than he was over hurdles. Click the link below a get involved for a one off payment for the entrire season!
https://www.redsashracing.co.uk/Shop/18/ridin-solo-
Home just after lunch, and time to watch the coverage from the first day of the Arc weekend in Paris, and what an afternoon it was! Sir Mark Prescott with another Group 1 winner at the meeting! This one, Consent in the Prix de Royallieu – another fantastic training performance, from a true Master!
Debbie kindly found the time to send the following on want is an extremely busy weekend for her!
William and Claudine in good form pre race, despite having been up since the wee small hours to drive over on the Eurostar. Consent, who I met a few weeks ago at Heath House, is definitely very well named, making her feelings felt when another filly got too close whilst waiting to load, could well be back next year for a crack at the main event, if Sir Mark and Prince Faisal agree - certainly the team on the ground at Longchamp were keen!
As many if you will know, our new venture for 2026 will be a a horse in training with the great man at his Heath House yard – and having been chatting to Sir Mark Prescotts assistant and business partner William Butler about the Churchill colt we tried to buy in Ireland, it was fantastic to see him interviewed after Consents Group 1 win yesterday!
As mentioned, over 50% of the 10 shares in this new syndicate are reserved – this is a special opportunity to be involved in a syndicate in a very special yard, trained by an exceptional man. We are very privileged to have been offered that chance to have a horse in training at Heath House and would encourage anyone interested in joining us to get in touch. As we are yet to purchase the yearling to go into training there – it is difficult to put a price on it – but round figures – a 10% share will cost between £3,500 and £5,000 – plus around £350/month – this syndicate will function slightly differently to how we normally structure our groups – the monthly bills will be emailed to all members, including a monthly management fee, and members will be asked to settle their share of the total monthly invoices by return.
This is almost a once in a lifetime opportunity – the chance to have a share in a horse in training at Heath House with Sir Mark Prescott does not come along very often – Sir Mark trains just 50 horses – and from that small team continually trains winners at the very highest level, and gets the very best out of the horses in his care – ensuring the best possible returns for his owners - don’t miss out – hit the link and get in touch!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8274/sir-mark-prescott-bt
That just leaves a couple to mention – Old Blue Eyes is very well – Donald is delighted with him – he is much stronger this term – and he too will be ready to roll in a couple of weeks. Dino Bellagio is bouncing as usual – and he will have several entries from tomorrow. We will look at the entries, weigh up the ground and weather forecast and see if we can’t get his third win of the flat season when we see him next!
Next week – quiet to start but could end with a bang – Greyval heading to Chepstow – and Dino will have an entry in York – some Saturday double that would be! Tune in next week to find out how we get on – if we can coordinate diaries – I hope to get into The Elms to see Vegas and Nancy next week too!
