Molly's Lad is 'Jack The Lad'
2026 has arrived and we wish you all good health and happiness for the year!
As I write, it is -3 and it very much looks like we could be in for a bit of a lean spell on the racing front for a few days, with cold weather very much headlining the forecasts.
Fortunately up until yesterday, there had been pretty much a full schedule for the entirety of the holidays – and we managed to get to one of our favourite meetings of the year – Cheltenham on New Years Day, with a runner in a race that we like to target each year – and yes I do already have the horse for the 2027 renewal!!
Monday was the start of what would be a pretty quiet week on the horse front, with just a single entry – Molly’s Lad in Cheltenham, and very few with imminent engagements. One that was on the move was ‘Floyd’ (Falco x Savingforgvegas) who would be turning 4 on New Years Day. He has been in ‘the system’ since being broken in by Jason Maguire as a 2 yr old in 2024,but in the spring of 2025, when he should have had his ‘secondary school’ term with his pal, Mollys Lad, he was found to be a little under the weather, and as he looked like the sort of horse that would benefit from a patient approach he was given an easy time, and turned away at Timmy Murphy’s, Cilldara Stud near Cirencester, for the rest of 2025. Now it is time for him to earn his corn, and he returned to a warm stable at Ivy Lodge Farm in readiness to start his career. He is a horse I have always adored, and one that I believe has a very bright future - at this stage the plan would be to get him through pre training, and as ever, sit down with Jason and decide which trainer we think he would be best suited to. I would imagine that he would be ready to run around April time and would make his debut in a bumper, having been syndicated to run in our Red, Black and White colours. He made the short trip from Timmy’s to Jasons on Monday afternoon, arrived safe and sound and had soon tucked himself into his hay! I am really looking forward to seeing him progress through this next phase of his life – and can’t wait to get him to the track in the spring – he has already shown us that he is a nice horse, it will be good to get to learn just how good he is! Keep your eye on the For Sale Page for share details in the next few weeks.
Tuesday – Fergal O’Brien declared Molly’s Lad in the Listed Bumper that concludes Cheltenham’s New Years Day card. This race had been the plan for Molly’s Lad since he was about a year old – he looked just the type for it – and it would be amazing to see him line up for a race that I like to have a runner in. Molly’s Lad has always shown a well above average level of ability in his homework and had run a fabulous race to be second on debut in Aintree despite being utterly clueless and green which had taken everyone by surprise! ML is a cocky little bugger at home – he finds everything very easy – and tends to go through life having a little bit too much fun, rather than knuckling down and learning his craft. In Aintree he had really only jogged round for most of the race, only knuckling down in the final 2 furlongs to finish second, we were confident that there was a lot more to come from him, if he could take what he had learned on debut into his second start. Fergal had done everything in his power to teach him at home, including making him work in between two very good horses up the hill, to make him work hard and understand what it is we want from him – even then Fergal said he did everything so easily he was still gawping about at the end of the piece of work, so we had our fingers crossed that he had learned enough to run well in a very competitive field of 4 yr olds.
One development at Ravenswell Farm this year has been the use of monitors on the horses as they train – Max Kendrick has spent a lot of time, fine tuning the system and the data that it provides. I have to admit that a lot of it is beyond a simple chap like me, but it was good to receive the data after Molly’s Lad’s final piece of work, and to see that all of the data points were good, and that he had put in his best piece of work to date – Fergal had said that he had him spot on and was very happy with where he had him – this data backed up what he felt!
Jason Maguire called later in the day to give me an update on the horses at Ivy Lodge Farm. Floyd had arrived form Timmy’s in good order, and had been on the walker that morning, he will have a set of shoes on later in the week and get a trace clip. He will then start ridden exercise next week.
Dino Bellagio is in fine form, and he will be back in a warm stable tomorrow morning. His holidays are over – and he returns to work. He will have a couple of weeks with Jason before heading back up to Donald McCain and be prepared for another summer on the flat. We have had a plan for Dino for a long time, and he was campaigned last summer very much with a certain race in mind in 2026 – that all went to plan – now we have to hope that he gets to his target race in once piece and in good form! It looks sure to be another fun summer with Dino!
Intrepide Sud is another who will be heading out of a frozen field into a warm stable. He suffered a little injury last summer, and we are hoping that the time off has reset his system and he will be back on track in the spring. He has to have a decent surface, and we are very much looking forward to seeing him build on his first five chase starts in early 2025, where he was just getting his act together over the bigger obstacles, and looked to be on a very handy handicap mark.
Wednesday – New Years Eve. A few bits and bobs to get done in the morning before we headed down to Gloucestershire for a couple of nights. Fergal and I went over some plans together for Greyval, who had come out of her Kempton run in good order, although she has got a nasty rub on her flank, which Fergal is convinced she would have felt, and could well have compromised her performance. Greyval will remain over hurdles for the remainder of the season – and I will be in touch with her owners early next week, with the race report, and a list of options for her going forward. There are many directions we could take with her – and it is up to me to communicate these options to her owners who can then decide on a path forward.
Another trainer to call was Donald McCain – he had just watched Old Blue Eyes canter around the deep sand gallop under Will Maggs. Donald reported that ‘He was taking a good blow – and that’s the jockey not the horse!!’ Evidently OBE was enjoying being back cantering and Will had been struggling to hold him! It has been a frustrating couple of months with OBE – with a very small niggle in a hind leg that kept him off games for a month. Now that he is back cantering, we can look forward to seeing him make his hurdles debut in a few weeks – he is another one who has plenty of ability and has a very bright future ahead of him! Ridin Solo was back in full exercise and would work at the weekend, after which we could start to look for another race for him.
Alan King sent through a video of the Alan King Racing Clubs, Uhtred Ragnarson working very well on a frosty morning – I would chat with Alan about plans for a few of them when I saw him in Cheltenham the day after.
Late morning we hopped in the car and set off to Nympsfield in Gloucestershire to meet Matt and Sarah at the cottage they had taken for the week. M&S had kindly said that we could pop down and stay for a couple of nights during the week that they were there. For a few years we have always got together over New Year – back in the day we would head down to Padstow, and we had some great times there, but it did make for a long round trip up to Cheltenham on New Years Day – so more recently the base has been in Gloucestershire, which makes life a little easier! In the evening, we headed out into Stroud for a Pizza – Fat Toni’s Pizza – renowned locally, and I have to say, very good. We were met there by James and Cheryl, and we did our best to see off three of their biggest pizzas between the six of us! We failed! Then it was back to the cottage for a few drinks and some fun and games – and to wonder at just how Ronnie Wood is still alive!
Thursday – thankfully temperatures had risen through the night and there were no problems with Cheltenham going ahead. A huge crowd were heading to the track – which included a good turn out of Molly’s Lad’s owners.
Alan King and I seem to have developed a little routine – he comes up to the bar to watch his runners, and I buy him white wine! Kingy in great form – he had spent some of New Years Eve in a pub with a certain Mick Channon – it sounded like a fun evening! He reported that all was well with the team at Barbury – Uhtred Ragnarson had worked very well, and Alan was thrilled with him. Although he has run a fine race to be a close third last time out – Alan always felt that he was never really in the same form that he had been on the run up to winning on his seasonal debut – he thinks he's back in rude health again now – and UR could well head to a valuable handicap in Warwick next weekend. And She Was is back in stronger work after a below par scope – and it will not be long before she has entries once again. Nevada Samba is still in work – although it would appear that he may have to head back to the specialist for a bit more treatment – they have had to be methodical in their approach to his issue – and although the treatment he had pre Christmas was needed, it has not solved the problem, so we will try the next stage in the next few days. Ghost Dancing is having an easy time of things and will be back on track in the early spring, and I’d Go Maniac will be out again in a couple of weeks, when he is likely to be stepped up in trip or certainly tried on a more galloping track.
Now it was time for Molly’s Lad in the last. As mentioned, a long term plan – and amazing to have him running in the race – let alone be the second favourite. As ever a competitive heat – but I had told his owners, it would not be a lack of ability were he to be beaten – but it could be his tendency to be very green that could see him not finish in the first three. He needed to tick four boxes – have improved at home – which he had – behave himself in the pre parade ring – behave himself in the paddock – and not be so utterly clueless in the race itself.
My hopes were buoyed when I saw Ciaran Gethings behind the weighing room before the race – he said that he thought the winner of ML’s debut bumper in Aintree was a nice a horse as he has ever ridden – so to finish second to that was no disgrace – if ML ticked his final 3 boxes he must have a great chance. He behaved himself in both the pre parade and the parade ring so that was 2 of the 3 sorted – now for the race itself
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Thanks to Debbie for more wonderful photos!
Johhny would see how he was going to post but would likely get a lead – sit mid div, and be staying on up the hill to the finish. Having jumped off towards the rear Johnny hoped that ML would take him into midfield from where he could ride a race and hopefully win – sadly ML was still giving him no assistance – he was once again clueless, with Johnny unable to get him into the spots that he wanted during the race. As a result, he was shuffled back, and as the race developed at the top of the hill, it looked like ML was struggling. Johnny was riding away on him, and once again ML was slow to engage top gear, with the good ground not helping his cause – when he did, he started to motor, although the race had got away from him in terms of a winning chance, it was great to see him stay on supremely well to finish a never nearer fifth, beaten just over 9 lengths. For a horse that will have learned so much from this run, he has run a cracker and will now head over hurdles. He simply relishes jumping – and will be a tough nut to crack in junior national hunt hurdles for the remainder of the season! He has a big future ahead of him when he learns his trade, and when he gets to run over staying trips as he gets older!
A quick chat with Ferg post-race about Greyval – she will have a run in a mares handicap hurdle later this month – a run that should see her qualified for the mares final she won in Cheltenham in April – and a race we are targeting once again. We now have a race plan in place for her – now we have to decide on more longer-term plans for our stunning grey.
A record crowd of over 44,000 at the races – a great atmosphere and a really fun day out!
From the track a group of us headed over to The Stump for dinner – you have heard my thoughts on The Stump in these rambles before – and we all enjoyed a fun dinner with plenty of laughs, great food, and a few bottles of nice wine – a great way to close out a fantastic day – huge thanks to Matt for driving! I couldn’t have done it without him!
Friday – we headed home. Huge thanks to Matt and Sarah for putting us up in their holiday cottage for a couple of nights – it makes for a lovely little spell away – and a great day at the sports on New Years Day!
Molly’s Lad all fine after his run – he had run a great race considering the quick ground and his lack of race craft – he finished his race well – and he is another of our young horses with a lovely future ahead of him!
Olly Murphy sent through an update on Jimmy Gatz, our unraced 4 yr old in training at Warren Chase. Olly has been taking his time with him as he has been developing physically as the months have gone by. Olly is really happy with him and delighted with his progression. He will have another away day next week, this time in Lambourn, after which we will have a much better idea where we are with him and as it stands, it looks like he could be making his debut towards the end of the month. There is still a share available in him – hit the link – get involved and come racing with another of our gorgeous greys!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8143/jimmy-gatz
On our drive home, it was good to get a call from Jimmy Furlong in Ireland. Jimmy and his family purchased Molly Childers from us when we sold her after she had had her first foal, Molly’s Lad. Jimmy had watched his run and had been very pleased to see him run so well. Jimmy went on to say that Molly Childers’ third foal – a filly by Jeu St Eloi heads to the Goffs February Sale – and is a filly that he likes – we may have to have a look at her. Her full brother who topped the first day of the Tattersalls November sale in 2024 and who will be reoffered as a 3yr old store is reportedly a fine specimen, and the team that bought him are thrilled with him! All great news for dear old Molly Childers and her career as a broodmare. Jimmy has purchased a number of mares from me – along with Molly Childers he also has Yauthym – who’s first foal by Goliath du Berlais sold well in 2024, but who didn’t produce a foal in 2025 – Jimmy said she is well – and in foal to Crystal Ocean and due in the spring.
It is always nice to keep in touch with the horses that have run for us – which brings me to some sad news. I received a call on Friday to inform me that Pull Together had had to be put down at the age of 14. We sold PT to stay in training with Stuart Edmunds, but sadly things did not pan out for him with his new owners and he was retired. Having been gifted to a girl in his retirement, he was then taken on by Annie who used to ride him when he was in training and in our ownership – she had always loved him, and she was thrilled to have him. ‘Paul’ as he was known had a great life in retirement - with Annie doing a range of competitions with him through the years and I know it broke her heart to lose such a good friend this week!
Saturday – Alan sent through a clip of And She Was working nicely up the Sharpridge Hill – good to see her back on song after a dodgy scope.
Donald McCain rang with some less good news. He had not been 100% happy with Ridin Solo for a couple of weeks – a session with the chiropractor had helped but RS had quickly gone back to not moving great again. Further investigation by the vet had identified a small issue with a hind leg, and he would have to have a few weeks off games for it to heal. It is only minor but will take a bit of time - he will be back for a spring campaign.
Last night we headed into Bedford for a leaving party – Alexa heading off on her travels once again! She made a fantastic choice and held her leaving do at, what in my opinion, is the best pub in Bedford – The Castle – we had a fun night!
Around the remainder – Our 3 yr old Golden Horn gelding is wintering well with Timmy Murphy, alongside Cloud Dancer – who will be scanned next week and hopefully given the green light to return to Ivy Lodge Farm and resume his rehab. Debbie sent me this in the week – evidently Cloud Dancer is very much the buzz word in colour this year – who knew??
https://www.thetimes.com/article/9180a510-c3aa-4370-b766-ff2f3726e7ba?shareToken=e92f0b6f1adb80939057d656707cb1d3
Penselwood waved goodbye to his yearling status on New Years Day and is now a 2yr old! They grow up so fast, don’t they?? Sir Mark Prescott and the team will be glad to see the back of the holiday period so that the young horses can be got back into a routine, rather than having the odd 2 days off mid-week as they have over Christmas and New Year. Youngsters really need that routine and are better off for it – their riders will be pleased to get back to normal! Penselwood is now doing two canters up Warren Hill, and everyone is thrilled with his progress – we will be hosting another morning at Heath House for his syndicate later this month – if you would like to join us, see the yard and meet Sir Mark then let me know – there is just a single share remaining in Penselwood – so book your place on the visit – come and have a look at him do two strong canters up Warren Hill and book your spot in his syndicate!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8274/penselwood
Next week I hope to get to a yard or two – and we could have a runner next weekend!
2025 has been fun – as ever with horses it has had its trials and tribulations, but all in all we had a good year – Cheltenham success with Greyval, our syndicate management side of the business gaining more clients, including the Alan King Racing Club – plenty of our pinhooking buys going onto win big races including Romeo Coolio winning a couple of Grade 1’s! And towards the end of the year, we had the honour of purchasing a gorgeous yearling with Sir Mark Prescott – it has long been a dream to have a horse trained at Heath House by the ‘Great Man’ - and in 2025 that became a reality!
Thanks to those of you who have joined us on our journey – or stuck with us through good times and bad – it is always sad when people leave us from time to time – but we have been thrilled to see a few return to the fold during the last 12 months. We will be adding to the team in 2026 – and we are very much looking forward to welcoming new owners and syndicate members! Hopefully we will see a few more ‘old faces’ return, and we will all have plenty of fun through the year!
We really do appreciate all of your trust and support – we work very hard to make this as a complete ownership experience as we can – and we can’t do it without you!
Happy New Year!!
