Like A Road

            The heatwave returned – and as a result a few things went slightly awry! Including an intended runner in Worcester on Friday that had me in a severe quandary on the morning of decs! We had a really nice evening away and got plenty of work done in the office, with more shares sold ahead of the horses returning to work.

           Before we kick off with the weekly news – a little reminder about the signed breeches we will be auctioning at our Open Day. If you are not heading to Ivy Lodge Farm on the 26^th, you can still get involved – simply text/WhatsApp or email me your bid and I will bid on your behalf on the day. These are a pair of Champion Jockey – Sean Bowens breeches, signed by some of the top names in the weighing room at this years Grand National Meeting - including Paul Townend who won the Grand National shortly after signing them! Other signatures include Harry Skelton, Jack Kennedy and Harry Cobden. This is a fantastic piece of racing memorabilia, and all proceeds will go to the Injured Jockeys Fund. Thanks to those who have already lodged a bid – good luck!!

            Monday – a day in the office. I have absolutely no experience in organizing anything like the Open day that we have on July 26^th – so it is all a bit of a learning curve! Mondays mission – a PA system – my plan – to hire a small system from a local source to Jason and Lauren – support local businesses where I can – if only they would return my calls!

Another job I needed to do on Monday morning, was a little bit of an ‘inside job’. When we were in with Alan King last week – Rachel, his wife had quietly mentioned to us that their daughter, Georgia who us back riding as an amateur this year, would really like to ride I’d Go Maniac, (who she has ridden the last twice) in the Lady Amateur Riders Derby in Epsom next week. Alan had entered IGM in a handicap in Newbury on Thursday, and before decs on Tuesday morning, I was charged with sowing the seed of the idea of a ‘Derby’ runner with Alan. Debbie and I both felt that a runner in a Derby in Epsom would be a fun thing to do – and Club members had really enjoyed Georgia riding IGM the last twice – hopefully Alan would agree. Everything seemed to go well – he didn’t say NO anyway!!

            Tuesday – a day late, for which Donald apologised – but all well, with Dino Bellagio after his run in Southwell on Sunday. Dino had run well to finish fourth.  He got to the front from the widest draw, and the plan went was going fine until another horse sat on his girths and just revved him up again. He was just doing a bit too much in front. We wanted to set decent fractions, as we couldn’t let it turn into a sprint over this 1m6f trip, but he was once again over racing a fraction. He looked to have stolen a bit of a march as they turned in, but soon enough his early exertions took their toll, and he was passed by the favourite. DB plugged on well to finish fourth. The favourite and easy winner, but he was only 1 length off second. He will drop again in the handicap and will have a real chance next time out!

With the news that Dino Bellagio was ok I was able to get the race report written and sent out to all of his syndicate members.

While I was beavering away in the office, Debbie was heading over to Ivy Lodge Farm to photograph a couple of horses for the brochure that will be available at the Open Day. This was the first time she met the new boy we purchased over in Ireland at the Derby Sale – and she was very impressed.

3yr Old Blue Bresil Gedling - photo Debbie Burt

Jimmy Gatz Photo Debbie Burt

Alan did not declare I’d Go Maniac in Newbury – perhaps Georgia will get her spin in an Epsom Derby after all!!

Lovely to see Fiona, who kindly dropped around a package that the Royal Mail had failed to deliver! Sorry that she had to come all the way over, but it was great to see her and have a good catch up – it has been far too long – we usually only manage to catch each other at the Doncaster May sale these days!

With everything done in the office we packed an overnight bag and headed out for a night away. A few (probably more than a few) years ago we went to a pub/restaurant called The Pot Kiln near Yattendon in Berkshire. At that time, it was run by TV Chef, Mike Robinson, and we had a great night! We have often mentioned it, and although Robinson is long gone, the pub remains. It has been through a few guises over the recent past, but now do rooms, so Cheryl booked us in for an overnight stay. It really is a hidden gem – off the beaten track, in a clearing in the woods, surrounded by paddocks, it is supremely quiet, and it was wonderful to enjoy a few drinks and dinner on the terrace – joined by the cows! Just beautiful! A warm night – no air con in the room, but otherwise a super stay, and we will definitely be back!!

  

  Wednesday – after a superb breakfast – Donald called to see if I wanted to declare Ridin Solo in Worcester on Friday. It was a question I was expecting, and I have to confess I had been having an internal battle with myself for a few days – whether to run or not. I have made it quite clear, that I do not agree with running jump races in temperatures above 25 degrees. With temperatures looking very likely to be above that figure, even in the evening in Worcester on Friday – it was going against my principals to run. So, I had spoken to a few people, who had put my mind at rest slightly. They agreed about the temperatures but pointed out that it was more pertinent when the temperatures rise very quickly for short periods of time. Like us – the extended period of hot weather which has included three heatwaves -means that the horses have become far more acclimatised to it than normal, and even though the temperature would likely be above 25 degrees, on this occasion there was likely to be less issues. Having watched a few races from Uttoxeter the previous afternoon, their ground looked really nice and well watered so there should be no issue on that score. Ridin Solo was declared.

Alan King sent through the first video of the week – I’d Go Maniac working beautifully as always – The Alan King Racing Club ‘Derby’ horse in great form!

We checked out late morning, and went for a little jaunt around the area, stopping in at the Renegade Brewery in Yattendon – we came away with a few cans of a ‘Peach’ larger – which we had sampled at the Pot Kiln – a bit different – but nice!

            Thursday – back to the heat of the office! Another share sold in the 3yr old Pethers Moon gelding at Donald McCains – Kevin has been involved in a smaller way with the yard – and he felt that this was the ideal chance to get a slightly bigger share in a nice one with Donald!

Click the link for full details!!

https://www.donaldmccain.co.uk/available-shares-/

Further news on shares – Rich and Rob confirmed the purchase of their share in George our 3 yr old Golden Horn gelding – we appreciate their support and wish them the best of luck with their first horse! Hopefully they can both make it to the Open Day to meet their new boy!

There is a single 10% share remaining in ‘George’ – if you would like a share in him click the link and get in touch – we have looked under the bonnet and we have seen there is an engine under there – and at the price we have sold him for he is literally half the price of the 3yr old Golden Horns sold at the two store sales in Ireland in June!

https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8330/golden-horn-x-savingforvegas

 

Debbie called to go through the details for the NBR Brochure that she is putting together. It is the first time we have done one, and it seems as though we have the right girl on the job – it sounds fantastic!

            Friday – I’d Go Maniac got his Derby entry – if her runs I think it will be great fun to see Georgia ride in a Deby at the track!

Just after lunch I set off for Worcester – Ridin Solo in the 5,35pm – but leaving now would avoid the worst of the traffic on a Friday. I arrived in Worcester at 3.45pm and my word it was hot!! Thankfully there was a breeze which kept things more bearable, but it was a warm one for sure. With half an hour to kill I decided to walk the course – and I got the shock of my life! As I stepped out onto the track at the furlong pole – I was shocked at what I found. The track was absolutely like concrete! I continued to walk down past the last fence, and it got no better. I know it was hot – and we are in a heatwave, but there was absolutely no evidence of this part of the track having had any irrigation within the previous 24 hours. I had watered my garden the previous evening, and you could still clearly see in the soil where I had been with the hose (pre ban) and where I hadn’t nearly 24 hours later – on the track in Worcester, there were cracks in the infill that had been put down to fill the prints left at a previous meeting. I simply couldn’t make a mark with my heel – and I had grave misgivings about running Ridin Solo on that ground! I rang Donald immediately – if nothing else, he could possibly switch and head to Chester instead, where he had a runner – but he was already in traffic in the town and would be with me very shortly. I remained on the track and waited. Donald arrived and armed with his trusty going stick we walked the opposite way down the home straight. As he crossed the inner line, which would not be used that evening he gave the ground a prod with his stick and admitted that he thought ‘Nicks being a bit soft’ – or words to that effect. When he got over to the racing line and nearly broke his wrist as he tried to jab his stick into the ground, he felt exactly the same as me – the ground was like concrete. We continued to walk, and although it got slightly better around the second last – it was still in my opinion Good to Firm there, and Firm from the 2 pole to the finish line – just at the point where the horses are going their quickest, are most unbalanced and tired. Usually, courses will have this stretch well watered forsaking the irrigation down the back straight if they are pressed for time/resources – but this ground was rock hard.

 Ridin Solo would not run, and neither would Donalds other runner on the card. It was just not safe in our opinion. Donald would have walked a great many more tracks than me – and he said that ‘it was the firmest ground he had ever encountered!’

I immediately let the Club members know – a few were travelling to the races – maybe it was early enough for them to turn around. Sorry to those that made it there – but we really couldn’t run on that. I appreciate the weather has made everything very difficult, but when you see the lovely ground they produced at Uttoxeter on Tuesday – you wonder why they couldn’t in Worcester.

I stayed for a couple of races and was delighted to get back in an air-conditioned car and head for home! I was hot – Ridin Solo was safe!

            Saturday – Alan King sent through a full house of clips, even though one was from the previous day.

John Harrison had put in a fabulous shift on Friday – he showed in Salisbury on the first start for the Alan King Racing Club, that he is on a lovely mark – and the hope is that he can capitalise on that next time out.

On Saturday I’d Go Maniac worked very well with a nice group of 2 yr olds. He seems to be in great order – and the hope is that our ‘Derby’ horse will head to Epsom on Thursday evening.

Uhtred Ragnarson returned to faster work with a swinging piece with recent winner Vivid Pink – remember her – she was the mare that Alan offered us a few weeks ago – he said she would be a lot of fun – she has now on her last two and heads for a £25,000 handicap later this month! A shame that there was not a strong enough response for us to have her running in our colours!

Uhtred will be out again later this month, when – should he not fluff his lines at the start he should go very close off of his current mark.

I spent a chunk of the morning looking for races for Ridin Solo – not many about! It showed why I was willing to compromise my rules on running in the heat with him. Here are how the races pan out for him.

0-105 3 mile handicap chases – 0 between now and September

0-110 3 mile handicap chases – 1 between now and September

0-115 3 mile handicap chase – 1 on the 23 August

0-120 3 mile handicap chase – 2 both in Worcester – 1 on the 22 July the other in mid August.

Not exactly an abundance of opportunities – and the reason why Friday’s race was the right race and so important for him!

To alleviate my depression, I called Jason for an update on things at Ivy Lodge Farm. All well there. Our new Blue Bresil 3yr old is really pleasing him. He is doing plenty of schooling and just ticking over in the hot weather. He has cantered upsides and Jason says ‘He just does everything! There is not a bother on him – no dramas – he just gets on with life’ A great attitude to have and he gives everyone who has ridden him a lovely feel. Very athletic. All the others are in good form. Most will come back in from the field in the next day or two, including Nevada Samba and Jimmy Gatz. Cloud Dancer and George will have an extra few days out as they were in work for longer. Molly’s Lad will return from Timmy Murphys next week too.

One thing that I had noticed over the course of the first few days in July, is how many winners Saxon Warrior is having – he has had 10 individual winners in the first 11 days in the UK and Ireland.

This is very encouraging for our own Penselwood who is by Saxon Warrior. A couple of months ago, our roving reporter, Debbie headed over to Ireland on an assignment to Coolmore and got to meet Saxon Warrior in person.

This is her report:

Whilst Nick was celebrating Cheryl’s birthday a couple of weekends ago, I was in Ireland, chauffeured expertly by my friend Ally (who is also in Ridin Solo) on a belated replacement tour. Regular readers may remember our trip last year to the very popular Irish Stallion Trail which was curtailed by heavy snow - a rarity in Ireland. Coolmore had obviously

been on the bucket list, but their pathways were either too icy or covered with mountains of scraped up snow to be safe for the public to slither round, so having discovered they’d closed their doors, we were able to fit in a few of the smaller studs.  

In the event, we were both glad we did as I was able to meet Jukebox Jury (sire of Rockola and Cloud Dancer), who sadly died not long after and Ally was able to fan-girl around Workforce who she had seen win the Arc. We’d though about doing the trail again, but January is a miserable month and with it not really fitting in with either of our plans this year, I suggested we wait until it was warmer.

What a good idea that was! Travelling over on the Thursday morning, after what seemed like an endless faff to get the hire car, we went straight to Coolmore HQ at Fethard. After brief interview with Nominations Director, Mark Byrne, for a piece I’m writing for Bosphorse (a Turkish/English racing and bloodstock magazine), obviously with reference to Ten Sovereigns who they sold to Turkey and is now in demand back here, we were very kindly escorted by Roisin Whelan down to the stallion yard, a short walk over the road from the main office. You can’t help but be impressed by the surroundings - of course it is immaculately kept, with full sized bronzes of their famous stallions, Caerleon by reception, Galileo and Yeats (who I was delighted to meet the next day, as I looked after his dam, many years ago!) as you head out to the stallion yards.

The main purpose of the day was to get photos of the new stallions with their first yearlings heading to the sales for another of my outlets - International Thoroughbred - for their sales edition later this year. Top of that list were Little Big Bear and Paddington, though it was Camille Pissarro who really impressed, I noted he had Sadler’s Wells and Wootton Bassett’s box - when I asked if boxes were allocated on a first come first served basis, their in-house photographer, who was also with us, chipped straight in with ‘nothing happens by accident here’, so it was easy to draw the conclusion on which of the young stallions had the greatest expectations on his back! We also saw City Of Troy and the very imposing Delacroix and then moved on to see August Rodin, Henry Longfellow and, by my special request, as he’s not in the first flush of youth – Saxon Warrior, sire of Penselwood – hence this report!

Whilst it would be unfair to compare his physique to his younger neighbours, he is still an imposing physical, and by far the most laid back of any of the stallions we saw over the weekend. He sauntered across from his box (no need for a lip chain with him), posed for photos and then sauntered back, what a fantastic temperament, which he seems to have passed on to our lad!

 

 

 

Saxon Warrior - Photos Debbie Burt

Roisin and the team were keen to hear about Penselwood and marked our card for The Curragh at the weekend where Saxon Warrior had a couple of interesting debut runners, Saxony Charms (3yo, 1m2f) as well as Green Empress (2yo, 6f) who they seemed particularly keen on, as she was with Joseph O’Brien in the famous ‘double green’ colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. Interesting to note that both fillies had started at long odds in their races with Saxony Charms (3rd) recorded by the race reader as an ‘eyecatcher’ and Green Empress (2nd) running very greenly, yet still clear of the third.

More recently, also interesting for ‘Team Penselwood’ was our Derby, and not just because the winner was by Camelot and will probably, as Nick observed, ‘make a nice jumps stallion’! Whilst the Epsom Blue Riband Trial winner Saxon Street, had bypassed the main event, Penselwood’s breeder, Stowell Hill had a direct connection to Christmas Day.

This was highlighted by Martin Stevens in his excellent Racing Post Good Morning Bloodstock email that I’m happy to share with you here, as his great grandam Crackle (and the next three mares in her tail female line) were bred by the McCreery’s at Stowell.

“Crackle, produced by McCreery at his Stowell Hill Stud in Somerset, must have given the breeder and his wife Jeanette particular satisfaction as both her sire, the European Free Handicap winner and 2,000 Guineas third Anshan, and damsire, the Great Voltigeur and Gordon Stakes scorer Electric, were also bred by them.

 

Anshan and Electric are somewhat amusing names to see close up in a modern Derby winner’s pedigree as they both started out covering Flat mares in Britain but became more famous as jumps sires in Ireland. 

 

Anshan commenced covering duty at New England Stud and then moved to Fawley Stud, and sired Prix Ganay hero Dark Moondancer and crack sprinter Repertory during that time, before being sold to Rathbarry Stud, where he delivered the likes of Asian Maze, Last Instalment, Powerstation, Quantitativeeasing and Savello.

 

Electric’s early stint at Whitsbury Manor Stud meanwhile produced Gold Cup (Ascot, not Cheltenham) heroine Indian Queen, and he was later sold into Coolmore’s National Hunt ranks. His best jumper was Stayers’ Hurdle victor Princeful.

 

Anshan and Electric weren’t the only top-notchers bred by McCreery who eventually shone brightly as jumps sires, of course. He was also responsible for Prix du Jockey Club and Irish Derby winner Old Vic, one of the best sources of chasers in Ireland in recent decades.”

Obviously there’s no blood connection to Penselwood, but the point to note is the McCreery’s long standing ability to buy mares and breed the type of horse that had speed and top class ability on the Flat, which later produced the goods over longer distances over jumps – a trend which, we hope, will be continued by Penselwood, given that his female family has produced the likes French Guineas winner and Arc third, Persian King and Group winners Policy Maker (sire of Chacun Poir Soi) and Planteur (sire of Trueshan).

Plus, Penselwood’s family is very much ‘live’ at present! His winning three-year-old half-sister with Ralph Beckett, Crystal Pier, was out again last month and very nearly made all to win a Fillies’ handicap at Windsor, but for being carried wide, and was only beaten a head. Blarney, his older half-brother in France retained by Jeanette McCreery, is currently on a hat-trick of wins this season for trainer Jerome Reynier. Reynier, having given the horse a host of entries from Group 1 to Listed level in recent weeks, is clearly waiting for the ‘right’ black type race to strike, with the

most favourable ground and opposition – not for nothing did my French editor call him “the Sir Mark Prescott” of French trainers!

 

Since Debbie penned that report – Penselwoods half brother, Blarney ahs gone on to be placed and then win in pattern company adding valuable black type to his immediate family. Both sides of his pedigree are flying – his dam is 5 from 5 winners to runners and a recent Listed winner, and his sire is on fire wit 10 winners in July alone!

I’ll say it again – and I won’t keep saying it – as I will keep the two shares for myself - he is outstanding value – and the 10% shares in Penselwood should not be missed! To account for the fees incurred up until now – and the improvement in his pedigree – the capital cost of each share will rise on Wednesday morning by £500 – so don’t delay – get involved – Penselwood is not to be missed!

https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8274/penselwood

            Sunday – Sir Mark Prescott’s assistant and business partner, William Butler called to report that Penselwood had settled back into life at Heath House very well. The group of 2 yr olds he is in started back cantering on Warren Hill mid-week, just slow hack canters for now, but by the middle of next week they will be back up to speed and cantering away upsides.

Around the remainder – Old Blue Eyes is on a period of box rest after sustaining another minor injury a couple of weeks ago. Floyd – our homebred 4 yr old is out in the field on a break – he grew a lot through the spring and went quite weak on us – so he is being given the time to strengthen and mature.

Next week – still warm by the looks of it! Hopefully I’d Go Maniac makes it to Epsom for his ‘Derby’ on Thursday evening – tune in next week to see how he got on!

Until then!