How They Move
A week that saw me on my travels – a couple of runners who gained letters rather than numbers by their names in the form book, a big decision to make, and an absolute beauty for the future! We got a fair bit done – and as always – it’s all here on a Sunday!
Last Sunday after the Blog was published, Jason Maguire sent through a couple of videos. INTREPIDE SUD and DINO BELLAGIO had returned to their stables at the start of the week and were now back in work – saddles on and having a trot around the arena. IS has been off games since picking up an injury in the summer. And DB has been on a scheduled mid-winter break. Both have done well in the field and look really well.
Monday- Alan King still sunning himself in the Maldives, so it was his assistant Robin Smith who called to say that he would be declaring UHTRED RAGNARSON in Newbury on Wednesday. This would be a step up in grade to a 0-120, but there were limited options on decent ground, and as he was fit and ready to run, he would make the short trip up the M4 to Newbury.
In the afternoon, Debbie, in Newmarket for her annual teaching day for Racing to School on Tuesday, popped into Heath House for evening stables to see PENSELWOOD, and get a couple of shots for his syndicate. P looks really well and is thriving in the routine of a busy training yard in a very busy town. He has taken everything in his stride, and we are all very much looking forward to heading to Heath House next week to see him swing along up Warren Hill. The reports are that he does it all very easily, which is lovely to hear at this stage of his career.
Tuesday, Robin sent through a video of UHTRED RAGNARSON having a breeze up the Sharpridge hill. He is in great order, and ready to run – there would be a good turn out of Alan King Racing Club members in Newbury on Wednesday!
Members of The Oakley Partnership, owners of GREYVAL finally got their race report from her run in Kempton over Christmas. It had taken me a while to get it out to them as I wanted to include some discussion points in the email regarding her future, and it had taken a day or two to whittle the options down and to investigate their viability. GREYVAL is a Listed winner over hurdles, and as such, being 16.2hh and sound in both wind and limb she has a significant value as a broodmare. Obviously, that value can drop as each year goes by, so the aim is to find that ‘sweet spot’ to maximise her value and get the most fun out of her for her Syndicate. My thoughts are that we are approaching that period, and it was time to start talking about her future. I have had a number of ideas, and it is now down to her owners to decide which route they would like to take. A lot more can be gained with a little bit of thought – and simply just putting her through a sale at the end of the season can sometimes not be the most lucrative route – so as syndicate manager, it is my job to detail the options, and work away at whichever route the owners wish to take to get the very best price for her, should they wish to sell.
DINO BELLAGIO, now back in work – had a bit of a ‘Spa Day’ – a nice new haircut and he got to have his teeth done. Having a horses teeth checked regularly is very important and it should be done at least once a year to address the continuous growth and uneven wear of their teeth, which if left unchecked can cause pain leading to problems eating which will affect both performance and condition.
Olly Murphy, another trainer getting a bit of winter sun – he has been in Dubai, had the team at home hard at it – and he sent through a video they had put together of JIMMY GATZ on the round sand gallop. JG is in rude health, and not far off making his racecourse debut. He will start in a bumper, and all being well should be making his debut in the next few weeks. He worked very well when he went for an away day in Lambourn last week, pulling miles ahead of his workmate, and working up to two older, more experienced horses who’s last four runs have yielded four wins and a second and who are rated 115 and 124 respectively. Olly is very happy with JIMMY GATZ and we are all really looking forward to getting started with him – he looks like he is a nice one on what we have seen at home.
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8143/jimmy-gatz
Wednesday – and there was plenty to get my head around before I hit the road to Newbury for UHTRED RAGNARSON’S run in the last.
AND SHE WAS had an entry in Market Rasen on Friday, and having missed her last engagement due to a mucky scope 3/4 weeks ago, we were keen to get her out again for her syndicate. One thing we do know is that she does not appreciate deep ground, and with the ground in Market Rasen Good to Soft on Wednesday morning, it looked like a simple case of declaring and going – but that did not factor in the weather forecast, which was predicting a very wet day on Thursday with the track potentially getting hit with over half an inch of rain. Alan, checking in from his sun bed, happy to run on Good to Soft, but would not want to run her on Soft – the decision eventually made to declare her, and see if the forecast changed in the 24 hours before she got on the lorry and headed up to Lincolnshire.
One that did not take a lot of working out was I’D GO MANAIC – Robin sent through a clip of his work on Wednesday morning, and he was very good once again. Working nicely with the 100 rated middle-distance handicapper Paradias up the hill over at Sharpridge. IGM in great nick!
With the morning work done, I hopped in the car and set out on what would be a bit of a road trip. On my way down to Newbury, I got in touch with The Stump, a favourite stop over just outside Cirencester to see if they had a room. Having had to cancel a 2-night booking in November ‘24, they had given me credit, of which I had used a single night last year. I was checking in to see if the credit for my second night was still valid or if it had expired, and although, technically it had run out in Nov ‘25, they still honoured it and were happy for me to have a room for that evening. Thanks to the team at The Stump – if you are ever in the area – drop in – it’s a fantastic spot!
On to Newbury – UHTRED RAGNARSON lining up in a competitive 0-120 handicap hurdle for Conditional Jockeys – with yard conditional, Philip Armson in the plate. UR is another one that would prefer a sounder surface, it had been on the quick side when he had won on his seasonal bow in Warwick, but he is fit and well, and there to do his best. He looked really well in the paddock – sporting a red hood just to keep him settled as he can get a bit revved up at times. Philip has done a massive amount of work with this horse since he arrived at Barbury Castle, and nobody knows him better. His plan, to settle him in mid field, and creep into the race as they straightened for home and do his best to win! UR was slightly keen in behind the leaders and travelled through the race noticeably strongly – if anything a little too keen. The question was would he get home on the ground having slightly over raced throughout? As they approached three out things were looking good, but having landed, his early exertions started to take their toll, and from going very well and looking like he would play a big hand in the finish he was weakening out of it when he fell at the last. Thankfully he was quickly up and galloping away and Philip was non the worse for the spill. Everyone lives to fight another day.
A quick pint to ease the ‘pain’ and then I headed over to The Stump. Great of them to honour an expired deal – even better to get an upgrade on arrival – superb. Having checked in, I set about organising the badges for the members of And She Was’ syndicate that were heading to Market Rasen on Friday – should the forecast be favourable and she were to make the trip up there.
Dinner – buttermilk chicken to start – enough for a main meal – followed by a very good pizza – as I say – go there – it’s a fantastic spot – they tell me the Sunday lunches are epic! The Guiness is good too!
Thursday – a foggy but mild morning – a a short trip into Ravenswell Farm to see GREYVAL and MOLLY’S LAD. I nearly took the roof off the car on a fallen tree on the road to the yard in the fog but arrived safely and got to see a couple school first lot.
Debbie joined me there, and it was good to see Steve and Dawn – armed with a splendid Victoria sponge – arrive for second lot to see their horse MOLLY’S LAD do two canters up the hill. ML in great order, he has come out of his run in the Listed bumper on New Years Day in Cheltenham in great form and would be getting an entry in Warwick next week, where he would be making his hurdles debut. He is a horse with plenty of ability, who has just not put it all together in his first two starts – he absolutely loves jumping and a switch to obstacles will be right up his street!
GREYVAL looked fantastic as ever, and she moved really well in her work. Next week I will work away on the options that I put to her owners, and we will settle on a path forward with her, As it stands at the moment, she will have a run in Ludlow next month, and then return to the two races that she won last season in Chepstow and Cheltenham.
While in at Ravenswell – Robin Smith from Alan King’s called to chat about AND SHE WAS and the likelihood of her running in Market Rasen the next day. ASW was scheduled to leave the yard late morning to head up to Lincolnshire, and we agreed that the best thing to do was to call the Clerk of the Course at the track – get her opinion on the weather forecast and what she thought her ground would be, come Friday morning – and make a decision as to ASW’s travel plans based on that.
Later in the morning he called to say that Clerk of the Course had told him they were likely to miss the worst of the rain and that the ground – currently Good to Soft – would not ease back too far – so based on that ASW would be on the lorry.
He also said that I’D GO MANIAC had earned himself an entry in Kempton next week after working very well yesterday.
Having had a dry visit to Fergal’s, the rain set in as Debbie, and I set off to see the team at Ivy Lodge Farm, and by the time we arrived it was raining heavily! Good to see Jason and Lauren and their new puppy – Rory – who is very cute – but being a Rhodesian Ridge Back will be a big boy when he’s grown up!
We currently have 4 horses at Ivy Lodge Farm CLOUD DANCER arrived on Wednesday – to start the next phase of his recuperation. He had been turned out at Timmy Murphys and looked really well. He now has a month on the walker, followed by a month of walking and trotting, after which if the scans are still OK, he will have his work stepped up to cantering.
The remaining three were all tacked up and trotted around the arena in the pouring rain before heading to the deep sand. Jason on INTREPIDE SUD led DINO BELLAGIO with our homebred 4 yr old ‘FLOYD’ in rear. IS has been off games since the summer, and although he is completely recovered from the injury that he sustained, he was not moving great afterwards and was given the rest of 2025 to recover, reset his system, and be able to resume his career. Sadly, although he is way better than he was last year he is still not moving great, and it looks like things are catching up with him a bit. Having chatted things over with Jason, we both agreed that we thought that the right thing to do would be to retire IS and not put him through the rigours of training once again – like a lot of athletes, his body is telling us he has had enough. He is such a lovely horse, he would be the perfect horse for someone to have as a lovely hack – he is a gentle giant and would be perfect for someone to rehome and enjoy. Yesterday I informed his owners, and we will get our heads together and decide the best path forward with him. He is a big horse who has had his issues, but was a horse that I admired so much, because despite all he had to deal with he still gave his absolute best and tried his heart out!
DINO BELLGIO, fresh from his clip and dentist visit, was well behaved and trotted away nicely, even though you can see the cogs whirring in his head all the time!
The one that really caught the eye was ‘FLOYD’ the 4yr old homebred (Falco x Savingforvegas) He is a lovely looking young horse, the spitting image of his half-brother Nevada Samba, and he is a simply beautiful mover! He has an effortless action and floats over the ground, he is a horse that I have always liked and the extra time that we have given him has really paid off – he is another hugely exciting young horse on the team – we really do have a terrific team of talent from bumper winner OLD BLUE EYES who will make his hurdles debut in the coming weeks – MOLLY’S LAD, who has buckets of ability, to the unraced horses – NEVADA SAMBA, who is as good as anything we have ever had, JIMMY GATZ who we have seen work really well at home and looks well above average and ‘GEORGE’ our Golden Horn 3yr old, who looks a bit special too and who will be aimed at the Listed bumper in Cheltenham on New Years Day along with our 2yr old PENSELWOOD in training with Sir Mark Prescott and who is another one that does everything asked of him very easily! ‘FLOYD’ can be added to that list – and he will be syndicated in around 6 weeks’ time, when we have an idea of a programme for him, and have a better idea of when he will be making his debut. You can see why I am so excited about the future – quality young horses – with big futures! There is the odd share available now – and keep your eyes on the FOR SALE page for news of shares in the youngsters as they are syndicated, we already have shares reserved in one of them – so if you would like to get your name on the list let me know!
While we were having a chat and a coffee in the dry of the kitchen, I arranged my accommodation for the evening, I would be heading up the country – somewhere from which I could either head home – or up to Market Rasen should the forecast be right and the ground be OK for AND SHE WAS. In the end I booked into The Falcon in Long Whatton in northeast Leicestershire, close to Loughborough.
The trip up was rough – heavy rain all the way – surely the ground would ease in Market Rasen! I arrived at The Falcon around 5.00pm – and found a lovely village pub – with several rooms in converted buildings to the rear. The pub was friendly and served a very good and welcome Guiness. A slight hitch with the lock on my door all sorted after a free pint and a change of room – the staff really helpful. The room was very nice – just too warm for me, with no thermostat to turn down – it was a case of opening the windows as wide as possible. Dinner was good – I just had to try the chorizo and red Leicester scotch egg as a starter, followed by a very good sausage and mash! The Falcon is a great spot for a stop over for the nearby East Midlands Airport which is minutes away – or to break up a trip up or down the M1!
Friday morning – 6.50am – the ground at Market Rasen eased, but very little – now soft in places – hard to believe after Thursdays rain. So having updated the syndicate it was up to north Lincs.
On the way up to Market Rasen, Robin Smith called from Barbury Castle to give me an update on NEVADA SAMBA. It is no secret how highly we rate NS, but it has been a tricky season with him after he developed an issue that made him hard to train. After some research – he was referred to a specialist, and has had some treatment on his neck, which Robin had felt had helped him immensely. He had told me on Wednesday that he was considering getting NS back to working up the hill at Sharpridge but would speak to the vets to see if they would rather carry out further treatment before seeing him step up the work. The vets said they would rather he got going up the hill again at this stage as it would answer a few more questions and we would be able to plan a route forward. He would canter up the hill on Saturday – fingers crossed that goes well and we can crack on from here!
I arrived at Market Rasen and met the Maggs twins in the car park – Charlie immediately asking when DINO BELLAGIO would be heading back to Donald McCains where he rides him every day. DB will be heading back north in the next 7-10 days. Donald was parked close by, and we had a catch up – OLD BLUE EYES is well – Donald will do the bulk of his work on the deep sand as he had with DINO BELLAGIO last year – OBE is very fresh and well and will be aimed at a hurdle race in 6/8 weeks. RIDIN SOLO is recovering from a minor injury to a hind leg and remains on the easy list.
Those that walked the track reported that the ground was very soft on the chase track but better on the hurdles track – so AND SHE WAS would take her chance, the ground not ideal – but where would you get better at this time of year?
ASW looked great in the paddock – and went to post nicely under Phil Armson, who planned to settle her in behind and make his move off the home turn and do his best to the line. ASW would strip fitter for her seasonal debut in Uttoxeter when she had patently ‘blown up’ approaching the last. It looked that day as if she would appreciate a step up in trip so she should be staying on over this 2m. All went well early – and ASW jumped and travelled well, but as they turned for home she stopped very quickly and was pulled up sharply. A disappointing run – and a bit of a mystery – yes, the ground was softer than ideal, but when they cut out that quickly there is usually a reason and ASW will undergo some tests over the course of the next few days to determine why she ran as she did. Something is sure to come to light.
Saturday – AND SHE WAS seemed fine after her run – sound in trot, further tests due next week.
MOLLY’S LAD got his first entry over hurdles in a Junior National Hunt Hurdle in Warwick next Friday – but he can clearly read the programme book, as no sooner had he got the entry, than Fergal was on to say that he had developed a ‘pimple’ on his flank overnight, and the vet would be in to see him later in the morning. Hopefully it could be dealt with, and he could still take up his engagement, as we are all very much looking forward to seeing him over hurdles!
The best clip of the day came from Barbury Castle – NEVADA SAMBA, cantering effortlessly up the hill at Sharpridge – so good to see, hopefully the trip back to the yard was without incident and we can progress from here – it has been hard work for everyone, and it is great to see some progress on the back of it! NS is very good – now he has to show it!
That just leaves a couple to mention – PENSELWOOD has had another week of cantering up Warren Hill – some of his syndicate will be joining us at Heath House on Tuesday to see him swing along upsides, and we are really looking forward to another yard visit. After watching work we will be having lunch with Sir Mark Prescott, which should be very entertaining!
The Alan King Racing Clubs Ghost Dancing is on her mid-winter break – she will be back in full work soon in preparation for a spring and summer campaign.
The Alan King Racing Club has been an exciting addition to our portfolio of clients and has gone from strength to strength since we set it up in July last year. All of the members have enjoyed the three horses that they are involved with and have been blown away by the level of communication they receive about them. The Club has all but reached the level of subscriptions that we planned for this year, and everyone that I have spoken to has said they will be renewing their membership for next year and will also be introducing their friends as well. I am currently taking names for next year – August 1st 2026 through to July 31st 2027 – please get in touch if you would like to join, registering now will ensure you are at the front of the queue – there is likely to be just a handful of shares available when next years subscriptions are renewed!
Next week – Heath House visit on Tuesday – I’D GO MANIAC could head to Kempton on Wednesday and MOLLY’S LAD will hopefully get to run in Warwick on Friday. I also hope to get to Donald McCains if I can!
It will all be here next week – See you then!
