If In Doubt - Don't
A sunny, breezy week – perfect drying conditions, that certainly made life very difficult for Clerks all around the country. Early in the week – the one thing it wasn’t - was warm – the wind out of the north meant that it had a real bite to it and certainly made for a couple of chilly days if you hadn’t factored in that northerly wind and failed to take a jacket to the sales – I will pay more heed to the wind direction and strength next time!
We had a couple of days in Doncaster, and a day at the races – sadly the day at the races didn’t go how we had hoped – and due to a very sticky trade - the sales were a little depressing (as well as cold) if I’m honest.
Last Sunday was a bright and sunny day – and Jason sent through a video clip of our 2yr old Penselwood chilling in the afternoon sun.
He will have around 3 more weeks of R&R before resuming work. He is due back to Sir Mark Prescott’s, Heath House Stables in Newmarket in mid-June and will have done a month of pre-training with Jason ahead of his departure, so he will be back in ridden work in mid-May. As mentioned on this page over the last couple of weeks – his pedigree keeps on improving as his half-brother, Blarney continues his winning streak over in France. This week’s exciting Penselwood pedigree update is to highlight that Blarney’s recent run of form has earned him a Group 1 entry!! Blarney has been entered in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier in Parislongchamp in just under a month. Don’t get me wrong – on paper, he will have to find plenty of improvement, but he is trained by a very clever and shrewd trainer in Jerome Reynier, and he would not have entered him if he did not think that there was more to come from him, and that he would be competitive at that level. How exciting to have a half brother to one of our youngsters entered in a Group 1!! One thing is certain – Pacific Angel, the dam of Penselwood can certainly produce racehorses – the pedigree is very much ‘alive’ at the top, and it all bodes well for our lad! We are all aware of the quality of the family, which features such stars as Policy Maker, Planteur and more recently Classic (and triple Group 1) winner, Persian King – so to see horses entered in Group 1’s at the top of the page is very exciting! Sir Mark has already seen enough to know that Penselwood has ability, he did everything asked of him very easily during his spell at Heath House over the winter and has always maintained that he was extremely well bought as a yearling – so we are certainly in a good place with him at this stage!
Monday – schooling morning at Barbury Castle. Alan sending through a couple of clips.
And She Was is in fine form – and pinged up the three flights nicely. She is on good terms with herself, giving a buck and a kick after jumping the final flight – she is not far making her return to the track – and if this weather continues, she will have just the ground conditions she needs to be seen at her best! Starting from a nice weight after a very stop start beginning to her career – it should be a fun summer with her! I do have a couple of spaces in her syndicate should anyone want a bit of fun over the summer. Just a short-term lease – email nickbrownracing@gmail.com or message/call 07909 518902.
Nevada Samba pinged up over a few flights as well, under Tom Bellamy. He has schooled very well since his bumper win a few weeks ago – which will stand him in good stead when he heads over hurdles in the autumn. He has the entry in a bumper in Warwick on Thursday – as we would like to run him once more to consolidate on his debut victory, when he did a huge amount wrong and still won. He won on pure ability alone that day, and we would like him to have another start in a bumper to just confirm that he has taken it all in, before putting 8 flights of hurdles in front of him.
One who made the transition from bumpers to hurdles during the winter was Molly’s Lad, who ran two lovely races in good quality bumpers, before having three starts over obstacles. His last start saw him unfortunately brought down in Bangor on Dee, and he was lucky to walk away unscathed from that nasty incident. Thankfully his confidence was not affected, and he schooled well subsequently – so with no further races for him this spring he headed out for a summers holiday. Having spent a good part of last year at Timmy Murphy’s, he headed back there for a few months and certainly enjoyed his first taste of freedom with some new mates!
Frolicking Finbar!
Tuesday – work morning in Barbury Castle – and Alan very much on his game with clips.
And She Was worked really well – she is in great form – and like a lot of fillies, she relishes having the sun on her back.
Nevada Samba put in another very good shift in a lovely group.
The three Alan King Racing Club horses worked together in a group of 4. I’d Go Maniac in the front pair, with Ghost Dancing and Uhtred Ragnarson in behind. All three are in good form and will be on the track very soon. IGM will have a run on the flat – and UR and GD will be back over hurdles and have a summer campaign.
After watching Nevada Samba work, Alan called to discuss his declaration in Warwick on Thursday. The ground there given as Good, so we agreed to declare him, and see what the ground was like on the day. Greyval was always going to run, as she does like a sound surface, so we had the option of running her in the 3,30pm – getting Johnny’s honest opinion of the going after that race, and if we felt that it was too quick for Nevada Samba – he would be a non-runner and head off on holiday next week. In addition – Alan was running one in the opener, and Tom Bellamy would ride that one – and that would give us an early steer as to underfoot conditions.
Greyval had been aimed at the final of the Mares’ Challenger Series since December, and we had her back on a sound surface, off the same mark she won it off last season, and in addition she would have the cheekpieces applied. The one thing against her was the race being run in Warwick and not Cheltenham – that was certainly against her – but we couldn’t change that so she would take her chance!
With the early morning work done we headed up the A1 to Doncaster for the Goffs UK Breeze Up Sales. A catalogue of over 200 2yr olds – who were breezing over 2f up the Doncaster home straight that morning and being offered through the ring on Wednesday. The second sale of its type this spring – with Newmarket hosting the Craven Breeze Up Sale last week. Trade there had been sticky – there was an appetite for the right horse, but if one didn’t tick all the boxes, they were hard to sell. A noticeable lack of Middle Eastern interest making a huge difference to the market. They have lots to deal with over there at the moment!
One thing was for sure – the sun was out – but the wind was blowing! Out of the wind it was very pleasant – not quite so nice when you were in it!
Wednesday – anything but warm weather – and anything but warm trade in the ring! Turnover well down and the average down over 30%. After several years of increases year on year – it was a bit of a shock to the system to see the figures down so much – a reset – and not a welcome one for vendors. One thing that was very interesting was to see a few national hunt trainers in attendance and buying a few 2yr old ‘rockets’. I have long said that we would see far more NH trainers take on a few flat horses through the summer – gone are the days that yards could effectively close down for 2/3 months in the summer – it does nothing for cash flow and is really problematic in terms of staffing. It will be interesting if we see a few NH trainers with runners in a few 2yr old races at Royal Ascot, rather than the stayers races where they are always well represented.
Thursday - we headed to Warwick for (hopefully) two runners – Greyval and Nevada Samba. Greyval a certain runner – Nevada Samba not guaranteed to take part in the bumper – despite being at the head of the market. The sun was beating down, and the wind was blowing – very drying conditions. I met Gavin Shhehan in the car park who said he had heard that a trainer had walked the track and had reported that the team had done a great job – it was Good ground. Alan King pulled up beside me, and Tom Bellamy was next in – Tom would walk the course before racing and would ride Alan’s runner in the opener. We would make a decision about NS after that. Alan’s runner finished third in the opener – but when Tom jumped off, he implored him not to run NS in the last. The ground rode very much on the quick side – and given the conditions, it was only going to get quicker. Decision made – Nevada Samba too nice to risk on that – he would not run – and would now have a holiday.
That just left Greyval – would the plan work out? I was confident that she would handle the ground – the track was a concern – but hopefully she could run a big race! The race went pretty much to plan – Johnny settling Greyval on the outer as she doesn’t like to be crowded on the inner. This meant that she would be going the long way round on this tighter track – but that is where she had to be. They get racing a long way out in Warwick and she was flat out all the way down the back – Johnny unable to get a breather into her as he could in Cheltenham. For a split second it looked like they would get involved off the bend – but without that breather, she couldn’t pick up and eventually finished 6th. Having tried her over fences, which she didn’t take to – and now being a 7yr old – we felt that it was the right time for her to head off and start her career as a broodmare. It is the right move – she is a Listed winner – a fine big mare with great confirmation who retires sound in wind and limb – the winner of 6 of her 31 starts and over £110,000 – She took her owners on a fantastic journey for 4 seasons - and she will now be offered for sale. Johhny did say that the ground was even a bit quick for her – so it was definitely the right decision to not run Nevada Samba in the last.
Thanks for the memories Greyval!
As part of his education – NS was brought up to the pre parade ring, so that his owners that were there could see him – and so that he got another feel for a raceday atmosphere. He looked great and behaved impeccably – we made use of the day – and it is another little addition to his all-round education, and will stand him in good stead for next season.
Friday – that ground was quick in Warwick – Greyval slightly jarred up after her run – but she jogged up sound.
A day in the office – bills to pay.
Johnny Burke showed what a gentleman he is – he gave me a call mid-morning to thank us all for the support that we gave him in his 2-year stint as stable jockey to Fergal O’Brien. I had made a point of shaking his hand as he came back in on the winner of the bumper in Warwick – and he appreciated that gesture. It was good to chat with him about the last 2 years – and to hear his reasons for heading in a different direction at this stage in his career. I rate Johnny as one of the very best jockeys in the country, and we both really hope that he will be in our colours again in the near future!
Saturday – still no rain – very quick conditions in Sandown for the jumps season finale. Huge congratulations to Sean Bowen – crowned Champion jockey on the back of a colossal season! He is the closest thing we have seen to the great AP McCoy, who’s records he has now vowed to better!
Andrew Cooper, the Clerk of the Course seemingly lost his battle with the weather and had to admit there was Good to Firm in the going. This led to a raft of non-runners – but one that did run was Alan King’s, Edwardstone – who rolled back the years and won the Grade 1 Celebration Chase. A wonderful result – great to see ‘Eddie’ win another big one – a result that almost moved his trainer to tears afterwards. You never know – you might just see Eddie back next year – he absolutely loves his job – and shows no sign of being too old. He will tell Alan when he has had enough and there seems to be no signs of that yet!
Sunday – Louise Kemble at The Elms has just sent a message to say that the vet had been in earlier to give Savingforvegas her 14 day scan – and I am thrilled to say that she has scanned in foal to Kingston Hill. She is the most fantastic breeder – she has missed just one year in the last 10 – her second year – when she didn’t conceive – but she has conceived first time every year since, even though she did sadly lose one pregnancy very early when she went back to Golden Horn.
So, the Breeding Syndicate is off to a cracking start. There are still 3 of the 10 shares left in the syndicate. No upfront costs – just £150/month to cover all costs and your share of the covering fee. Your chance to breed from a proven mare – who won her point to point, beating a subsequent Listed hurdle winner by half the track. Won a bumper, and a hurdle (beating two subsequent Listed winners that day) and who has gone on to produce 8 foals in 10 years. She has had 4 runners to date – and all of them have won – three of them on debut! SFV has been a wonderful mare – and absolutely loves being a mum – we are very lucky to have her – and this is a fantastic chance to be involved in the next part of her story!
Click the link and get involved!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8316/breeding-syndicate
Around the remainder of the team – Jimmy Gatz is having a couple of weeks box rest to recover from a pulled muscle in his hind quarters. He will head down to Jason Maguires in a couple of weeks for his holiday.
Up at Donald McCains – Old Blue Eyes is doing plenty of cantering building up to full fitness after a couple of ill-timed minor setbacks – the plan is to run him before a summers break.
Dino Bellagio is in fine form and was confirmed for the Chester Cup earlier this week. He will not get in the Cup but will be eligible for the valuable consolation Plate race.
Ridin Solo is another one returning to full fitness after a setback – and he will run on through the summer.
Down at Ivy Lodge Farm – Cloud Dancer is doing plenty of cantering and is well on track in his rehab. Our 4 yr old unnamed gelding by Falco continues to improve, and is doing plenty of schooling, and swinging along down at Tom Georges gallop once a week. He is simply a big backward individual, who needs time.
George – our Golden Horn gelding – is thriving in his work – he is doing plenty of cantering – and will soon be ready to school and head down to Tom Georges. He has always been a model pupil, and Jason describes him as ‘Really nice’. He will be syndicated this summer – initially shares will be offered to the owners of The Oakley Partnership who own Greyval – but if you would like to add yourself to the list for when they go on general release – please get in touch – I already have plans for him – he will be heading to Cheltenham on New Years Day – a race that Jason thinks will be perfect for him!
Punchestown next week – a fabulous week of racing, with weather set fair once again!
There will be plenty of craic for sure!!
