Wet Work
A few miles, a couple of soakings, and a smart piece of work – just a snapshot of what we were up to during the week.
Monday – with Alan King still in the Maldives – he has been there for so long I think he’s emigrated!! – It was his assistant Robin Smith who declared I’D GO MANIAC in Kempton on Wednesday evening. IGM, a winner for the Alan King Racing Club on handicap debut in Wolverhampton in November, was fourth over the same course and distance the following month, and on both occasions his impressive young jockey Luke Catton had suggested that a switch to a more galloping track and a step up in trip would see him in a better light. The 2m trip around Kempton ticked both boxes – we were very much looking forward to seeing him run.
Olly Murphy called with an update on our unraced 4 yr old JIMMY GATZ, who is in training at Warren Chase. JG has had a couple of away day gallops, and I have been lucky enough to be there on both occasions, when he has put in an impressive piece of work. Both jockeys that have ridden him have liked him and suggested that he should work with a different workmate – one with more ability, who would make him work harder as he had not had to get into top gear to sit upsides his partner on each occasion. Olly has been very happy with his work – and planned to get him away for his final piece of work later in the week – he would return to Lambourn, this time, with a horse of known ability, and he would do a piece of work that, all being well, would put him spot on to make his racecourse debut in the next couple of weeks. Later in the morning Olly called again to say that he would be heading to Lambourn on Wednesday, and James Bowen would ride him – this worked well, as I could be there, and then head over to Kempton to see I’D GO MANIAC in the 6.00pm.
Kingy’s assistant, Robin rang later in the morning with a full update on the team at Barbury Castle.
NEVADA SAMBA had come through his work in Saturday with no ill effects, he had done two canters up Sharpridge for the first time in 3 months, and having done it very easily had shown no signs of the issue that has been bothering him. Robin added that he had cantered again on Monday morning and everyone was very happy with him. Fingers crossed he is through the worst of it now, and the treatment that he has had has worked, and we can crack on with him from here. The hope is that he can have his work increased very gradually, and we can get him to the track this spring. He has an abundance of talent, and we are sure that when he does make his debut, he will repay his owners for giving him the time to come right!
AKRC’s GHOST DANCING has had a couple of weeks on the easy list – not because of any health or injury issues – simply to allow her to put some weight back on and allow Alan to prepare her for a spring campaign, where she will be seen in an even better light on faster ground. GD was back on the walker on Monday morning and will be ridden again from tomorrow.
AND SHE WAS seems fine after her disappointing run in Market Rasen the previous week. Nothing obvious had come to light in the meantime, and the vet would check her over when he made his weekly visit on Tuesday.
UHTRED RAGNARSON is fine after his fall in Newbury. He has had a few days easy and is another who will prefer a sounder surface in the spring/summer.
Robin, like us all was very much looking forward to seeing I’D GO MANIAC upped in trip on Wednesday – there was a lot to like about the race, and he felt that he would run well.
Having woken up with a big fluid filled lump on his flank the previous Saturday morning, MOLLY’S LAD had responded well to treatment, and a course of drugs and the swelling had subsided and he was nearly back to normal. To be fair to him, he was not ridden on Monday – but the hope was that he would be A1 for Tuesday, and he would be back in ridden exercise. He still held an entry in Warwick on Friday – but he was by no means a definite runner having had the issue over the weekend, A decision on that would be made on Tuesday.
Tuesday – a day we had been looking forward to – another visit to Heath House, Newmarket to see our 2yr old colt, PENSELWOOD (Woody) do two canters up Warren Hill. He has been with Sir Mark Prescott for a couple of months now and has acclimatised to life at the yard very well – he has taken everything in his stride, and is now ready for a well-earned break. This visit – a chance for his owners to get in to see him before he heads back down to Ivy Lodge Farm for a spot of R&R for a few months. Given his size and pedigree, he is the type of horse that would not be overly precocious and running at the start of the summer, so he will be aimed at races from August onwards. The roadworks on the A428 are an absolute pain at the moment, but the good news is that when the new road is complete, my journey to Newmarket will be very quick and easy – but for now, there are a few hold ups. I arrived in good time – and what better way to start the day than a cup of coffee, and a Newmarket Sausage sandwich.
We headed round to the yard, met up with Sir Mark’s assistant, William Butler and headed into the covered ride where we were joined by Sir Mark to see the two year olds warm up. Having not seen PENSELWOOD for a month it was clear that he had certainly grown – he is a lovely looking horse, with a supremely athletic walk, and Sir Mark is very happy with his progression. Having seen them trot, and canter in the covered ride, the team passed through the stalls and we made our way up onto Warren Hill to see them do two canters. The first one in groups of 3, single file.
The second in pairs on either side of the gallop.
PENSELWOOD did both very easily, he has a good way about him and seems to find everything he does very easy at this stage. It is impossible to say how good he is at this stage, but one thing that we can see for sure – is that he is definitely not useless!! One thing that has become evident over the Christmas and New Year period, is the fact that he would definitely benefit from being gelded, he has always been a bit ‘Colty’, and having a different routine for a few days over the holidays brought this behaviour to the fore – he would be gelded before the end of the week.
After work, as Sir Marks horses always do, the string headed for the woods, and a quiet pick of grass as a reward for their efforts. It is a beautiful sight, and it was all smiles when Sir Mark was chatting to PENSELWOOD’S lad, Vere.
We made our way back to the yard where PENSELWOOD was paraded for his syndicate. He really is an imposing horse and looks the ideal type for the plan we have in place for him.
Having seen him up close, we all headed round the corner to the hotel for a bite of lunch – courtesy of Sir Mark – during which we were able to watch the yard have a winner in Newcastle – who a few of the folks round the table were shrewd enough to back! Another fantastic morning at Heath House – those that have already joined the syndicate have already seen what a special place Heath House is, and what a share in this lovely athletic colt can offer. We are very lucky to have the opportunity to have a horse in training with Sir Mark Prescott, and everyone is very much looking forward to the fun that we will be having over the course of the next couple of years, and hopefully beyond!
While we were enjoying our visit in Newmarket, it was great to get a clip of GREYVAL working well at Ravenswell Farm. She is pencilled in for a run in early February, and she looks in great nick. I am still working behind the scenes on behalf of her owners, as she is to be offered for sale, and the level of interest in her, and the money on offer will determine where she goes in the remainder of the season. If a buyer has not been found, she will head back to Cheltenham in April for the race that she won last year.
Good to also get a clip of MOLLY’S LAD cantering on the round gallop. Fergal decided that it would not be fair to run him on Friday after a couple of days off, so he would not be heading to Warwick – instead he will get an entry in the next Junior National Hunt Hurdle on the calendar. He is still a ‘work in progress’ but one thing is for sure, he absolutely loves jumping, and we are all very keen to see what he can do now switched to hurdles. There is an awful lot more to come from him!
The vet was in to check over AND SHE WAS after her poor run in Market Rasen. She was scoped, which showed there was no evident reason for her stopping so quickly. The conclusion is that she may have displaced her soft palate on the soft ground – she will be kept to a sounder surface and sport a crossed noseband for her next start.
Wednesday – a wet morning – just the weather to be watching horses work in Lambourn. JIMMY GATZ heading there as planned. With James Bowen not available until 10.30am it was not an early start, but I do know that the trip across country at that time in the morning is a nightmare – so I was away at 7.30am. I only just made it to a very wet Lambourn in time, and it was a busy morning in the ‘Valley of the Racehorse.’ With only one jumps meeting on, and that in Catterick, plenty of the southern trainers had taken the opportunity to take horses to Lambourn to gallop. Paul Nicholls, Harry Dereham, Ben Pauling, Georgie Nicholls, Olly Murphy and Ryan Potter were all there late morning, along with a few 2yr olds heading to the breeze up sales in April. It was all go. The plan was to work JIMMY GATZ up the Kingsdown Gallop where he had worked so well a couple of weeks ago, but as I rounded the corner at the foot of the gallop, it was pretty clear that wouldn’t happen, as there was an excavator in the middle of it! The gallop closed for the week for remedial work – we would not be using that one! Luckily, plenty of others on offer, and having checked in with Olly, Ger Tumelty (assistant trainer) decided to head over to the Back of the Hill gallop and work the two horses there. The Back of the Hill is one of the very best gallops in the country, but my word it is stiff, you need to have very good riders on the horses, and the work needs to be paced very well – otherwise they can easily do far too much on it. Luckily James Bowen (JIMMY GATZ) and Ger (Loughderg Rocco) are both very good riders, and the switch to a stiffer gallop would not be a bother. We made our way over the hill to see them work and as we did so the weather got even worse. The wind on the far side was howling, and the rain was coming sideways. Luckily, you only come up that gallop once, so we would not be out in it for longer than we had to be. JG worked really well, once again he moved really well and showed a very good attitude. His workmate this time was Loughderg Rocco, a very decent racehorse, who has been on the sidelines for quite a while. When he was last seen on the track he won a chase in Leicester, beating subsequent Cheltenham Festival winner Unexpected Party by no less than 12 lengths. He is clearly a horse with plenty of ability, and for JIMMY GATZ to work as he did upsides a horse of his quality bodes very well for the future. As the rain continued to teem down, we made our way back over the hill and down to the yard. James Bowen was very pleased with JG’s work. He said that he definitely had plenty of ability, and that, as you would expect from a young horse, after taking a stride or two to hit top gear, he did fairly motor when he got going. This piece of work has put him spot on for his debut – he is ready to run, and we will look at a few races over the course of the next 2 weeks.
Unbelievably there are still a couple of shares left in him – you have seen him work – you have seen him jump – he is by a very good stallion that has had two well above average winners over hurdles in the last 2 weeks, and he is in training with the hottest young trainer in the country!! What is not to like – the shares are very reasonably priced, and based on the sales results from yesterday evening in Cheltenham, where bumper winners were changing hands for anything from £55,000 to £170,000 (and one that was third made £55,000), should he run how we think he will on debut, his share price will rise appreciably – so now is the time to get involved – great value to buy into a stunning grey, that is due to make his debut in the next few days! Hit the link and get involved!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8143/jimmy-gatz
There was no way I was going home, for then to head down to Kempton for 6.00pm – so instead I got changed out of my wet clothes into a set of smarter, and definitely drier ones (apologies to the nice lady that got the shock of her life in the toilets at the Jockey Club Estates – the lock was broken on the door!) and I headed down the road to The Plough in East Garston for a spot of lunch.
The Plough is a lovely pub/restaurant – a varied menu – plenty of game etc. I chose a home cooked fishfinger sandwich off the lunch menu – a huge portion – on a very small board – the only way to eat it with any decorum was to deconstruct it – but it was very tasty. Not cheap – one sandwich and two coffees – over £23 – but it killed an hour and filled a hole. While having lunch I received a video from Robin at Barbury Castle – NEVADA SAMBA doing two canters up Sharpridge – he still fills the eye and does everything very easily! Baby steps – but forward momentum – fingers crossed he continues to go as he is!
I set off for Kempton in continuous torrential rain. In no hurry, it gave me the chance to listen to one of the most extraordinary speeches I have every heard from President Trump at the WEF in Davos. I just pootled along at 60mph amazed at what I was hearing! Agree or disagree with him – it was an unbelievable listen.
A good turnout of Alan King Racing Club members in Kempton to see I’D GO MANIAC step up in trip. The rain did not ease up – and it was a wet pre parade ring where we saw IGM saddled. He looked fantastic as ever, and Luke Catton was very much looking forward to riding him again. Drawn wide he would break and slot in where he could, always bearing in mind that he could be a bit keen over this extended trip. If he settled and got into a good rhythm, he expected a good run. The gates opened and he settled in rear – but it was soon apparent that IGM was not travelling anything like he should have been. He was behind the bridle and not travelling. As the pace lifted turning in IGM was left flat footed and as he dropped out of camera shot it was clear that IGM had lost his action. Luke reported that he was never really happy with him – and that he felt he wasn’t right for most of the race. IGM was not sound after the race when checked over by the vet, but he travelled home and would be checked by Alan’s vet in the morning. A disappointing run, but a valid reason for it – hopefully it doesn’t take too long to fix!
A long trip home – the M25 closed just in front of me! Still raining – it was a long day!
Thursday – an early start to Olly Murphy’s – JIMMY GATZ would not be doing much after working up a stiff gallop in Lambourn the previous day, but we would see Paul and Jan Wells’, Kaydence canter and have a school. We arrived at 7.00am in the dark – and I was greeted by a grey head appearing out of the darkness as he careered across the yard with his rider trying to get her foot in an iron. He was clearly in good order and had taken yesterdays work very well. Safe to say we didn’t see much of him first lot, as it was very dark when he had his trot, and then he went for a nice easy walk – but he looked well at the wash down afterwards and everything is still in place for a run very soon.
Olly was full of cold – that will teach him to go to Dubai! Sadly, as I type this on Sunday morning, I think he was very generous and gave it to me!!
Kaydence in good order – she will make her hurdles debut in the next few days.
Robin called to say I’D GO MANIAC was still a little sore – the vet could find nothing obvious, and he would have an easy few days and a visit from the chiropractor. The previous night’s run was clearly not ‘him’ and hopefully the road back to full fitness would not take too long and we will see him back to his best very soon.
Thursday was a day that PENSELWOOD will want to forget – he was gelded – everything went smoothly and he will remain at Heath House for another few days to heal up and then make his way back to Ivy Lodge Farm.
Fantastic to see The Grey Gatsby have another impressive winner in the juvenile hurdle in Wetherby. Klycot, second in a Grade 2 last time – took full advantage of the drop in class to win his second hurdle race. Another one by the sire who clearly relishes jumping! It is interesting that he is now listed in the National Hunt Sire lists as well as the Flat – I was the first to see his potential as a NH stallion and it seems that I was spot on! JIMMY GATZ was purchased as a yearling from a Flat Yearling Sale in Newmarket, with no intention of running him on the flat – that now looks like a smart move – he loves jumping and has a very bright future indeed!
Friday – office day – race reports to write and get emailed out to syndicate members. I had been waiting for vets reports for a couple of them – and it was good to get them done.
I chatted with Jason Maguire who was at Cheltenham racecourse waiting to school a couple over the cross country fences for Gordon Elliot. I asked him to put things in place for PENSELWOOD to return late next week – and that the decision had been made to retire INTREPIDE SUD, who will now be found a lovely retirement home where he will have a happy life hacking through the countryside. Such a shame to have to call time on his career, but it is the right thing to do – he has had so many problems it is a wonder that he ever got to race let alone win a bumper and a novice hurdle. Jason has DINO BELLAGIO trotting away, and he will be heading back to Donald McCain very soon. He, like me has also got to see our unnamed 4yr old ‘Floyd’ (by Falco x Savingforvegas) trotting in the arena from the ground – and he shares the same opinion as me – he really does knock your eyes out with his athleticism – no secret how much I have always liked him – to have a great judge like Maguire back it up is very nice to hear!!
CLOUD DANCER is back on the walker – all part of his rehab plan.
Saturday – was heading to Cheltenham with Paul and Dave, but Paul feeling a bit under the weather – so that trip as cancelled. My car showing a light that made it a nervy proposition to drive before it has been to see my mechanic mate in the village – so I sat at home and watched a fascinating afternoon’s racing from the armchair. So sad for Sir Gino – but thankfully it looks less bad than it did on first viewing – a pelvic fracture, which if stable, he should be able to come back from. The last race run in the dark after a hole appeared on the racing line and the course had to be inspected. I have no problem with them diverting the runners around the problematic area, onto a safe strip and to run the race – I think some of the questioning after the event – which went off without incident was a little much. The decision was made by professionals who know the track and risks far more than anyone else – in a timely manner – what is the problem – we can’t live our lives by the rules of ‘what if??’
Next week – if this bug doesn’t catch hold of me too badly, and the car is OK, I will get up to Donald McCains to see OLD BLUE EYES who is cantering away nicely, building back up to full fitness, and RIDIN SOLO who is still on box rest after suffering a set back 3 weeks ago. He has another week of that before he can resume ridden work.
I may head on a car shopping trip on Monday – time for a change?? A switch away from Range Rover a distinct possibility – this old girl has done 155,000 miles and has served me well – I hate to abandon Landrover, but we may just have to give a go to a German!
Whatever happens – it will all be here next week – see you then!
