Clocking Up The Miles
The week of the solar eclipse, although to be fair we didn’t really see much, as we were heading east bound on the M4 with the whole event taking place in our wing mirrors -although we did get to hear a small snippet of live commentary from someone who will remain nameless, who just stated – ‘I can’t see much really – it’s too fxxking bright!’.
It was a fun week – with a trip to a far-off land, two yard visits, loads of video updates, and a very good lunch!
We will start this week’s news last Sunday, as it ties in nicely with how we started last week’s epistle – Sir Mark Prescott’s recent run of placed efforts in Graded races across Britain, Ireland and France. Well last Sunday afternoon, the record got even better, when Tiffany won the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin in Hoppergarten. A wonderful result for Sir Mark, his assistant, William Butler and the whole team at Heath House! Having started life in handicaps off a mark of 72, Tiffany has contested a host of pattern races across the continent in the last couple of years. This was her 4th attempt at the highest level after finishing 2nd and 3rd on her previous tries. This time it was to be the win – given a fantastic ride by Luke Morris, she came with a withering run up the inner and just held on from a fast finishing Bright Light. As mentioned last week – it should not be forgotten that all these results are achieved at a yard with just 50 stables – quite incredible, and testament to the talent of the trainer and his assistant to win these races from such a small string of horses (in todays terms anyway). As I type this, I am waiting for the weekly update from Heath House regarding our 2yr old Penselwood – who was due to start 2 weeks of long canters this week. His group had swung on a shade quicker on Warren Hill in the last 2 weeks, and Penselwood had impressed everyone in how easily he had made the transition to slightly faster work – so I am looking forward to hearing how his first long canters have gone.
Monday Alan King called after first lot – he would be declaring the Alan King Racing Clubs, John Harrison in Ffos Las on Wednesday. The 1 mile contest would mean he would be dropping back in trip which was not ideal, but they had done a wonderful job of the ground in Ffos Las the previous week, and after 2 runs on unsuitably quick ground this summer, Alan felt that it was more important to run him on ground with enough juice in it and over this trip, rather than over the right trip but on ground he would once again find unsuitably quick. Luke Catton would claim a valuable 3lbs, and hopefully the big galloping track would go some way to negating the drop in distance.
Alan was also keen to update me on a few of the others. The Alan King Racing Club horses are all well, Uhtred Ragnarson would work on Tuesday, and Ghost Dancing had come back in from her break and was back on the walker. Alan had spoken to the handicapper about I’d Go Maniac who was an impressive winner last time out in Windsor. We had all feared that he would be raised 3lbs to a new mark of 71 on Tuesday morning, which would mean that Georgia, who has struck up such a fantastic partnership with IGM would not get to ride him next time as there were no suitable races for him off of that mark. Thankfully despite asking Alan if he was really asking him to raise a horse that had won so easily last time out by just 2lbs – the handicapper, when hearing of the plans for the horse and for Georgia to ride him, agreed to put him up just 2 – to a new mark of 70, meaning that the pair will be able to reunite in Haydock in early September. We were all wondering if he would have been so accommodating if Alan had not made the phone call!
Alan also reported that Nevada Samba was really well and had settled back into his work – he looks fantastic, and is moving so well, but he had been a bit fresh when he had returned to Barbury, so his trainer was delighted to see him get back into a routine quickly!
After an easy day on a Sunday, it is always a case of sitting tight on fresh horses on a Monday morning, and Jason Maguire sent through a few clips of some lively ones! The horses are always very fresh and do like to throw a few shapes – and you can guess who was only too willing to show off his gymnastic skills – you guessed it – Molly’s Lad! Singh had to use all the skills to stay in the plate!
Anyone that has followed the Bull Riding in the USA over the past 10-15 years will no doubt be familiar with a certain JB Mauney – simply the toughest man you will ever see – he makes AP McCoy look like a ballroom dancer!! If you have never heard of him, I urge you to spend a few minutes on a google search – he is an extraordinary human being!
Fair play to whoever at Ivy Lodge Farm put this clip together!
Thankfully the partnership remained intact, and ML settled into his work.
One that is always more sensible is Cloud Dancer – you can tell he has a sensible head on him – Jason was riding him – his days of getting on the fresh ones are behind him – although he went on to slightly underestimate one the following day!
Cloud Dancer in great order – he will do plenty of work at Ivy Lodge Farm before returning to training.
Tuesday – as promised, the handicapper raised I’d Go Maniac just the 2lbs when the BHA published the weekly updates. Georgia will get another go on him early next month.
Alan sent through a clip of John Harrison having a leg stretch before his trip to Ffos Las the following day. He looks on good terms with himself and had put in a couple of very good pieces of work in the past week – hopefully he would handle the drop in trip.
Having said that Jason always managed to put himself on the quiet ones, he did drop a bit of a clanger on Tuesday – he put himself on the normally very sensible ‘George’ – the warm up in the arena went well – but it seems as though Molly’s Lad had had a word in his ear as George was very fresh when they got on the deep sand!
It was great to catch up with Donald McCain who was back from the family trip abroad, where daughter Ella married Theo Gillard. Trainer in good form as you would expect! He gave an update on all 4 horses at the yard.
The Pethers Moon gelding is doing plenty of cantering and building up to full fitness. We would be meeting with a few if his new owners when we travelled to the yard at the weekend.
Dino Bellagio is fit and ready to run – like so many, we just need a drop of rain for him. The same applies to Ridin Solo who is ready to go after the break in the jumps calendar – hopefully it will rain somewhere soon!
Old Blue Eyes’ recovery is very much on course, and he is having regular checks from the vets. He is very close to resuming exercise after a period of box rest.
With Donald back in the country – we would be heading up to Bankhouse at the weekend for a catch up.
Wednesday – and an early call from Jason – having seen ‘George’ and Molly’s Lad’s antics over the course of the last 2 days – it came as no surprise to hear that he felt they were ready to head to Fergal O’Briens!! It happens the world over! I’m only joking – Molly’s Lad is better off in the routine at Ravenswell – we know he can be a bit naughty, but when he gets into full work his is as good as gold – he’s just an expressive youth! This will be ‘George’s’ first trip up to ‘Big School’ but Jason feels that he is ready to make the step up. As I have mentioned on this page before – I was hugely impressed with his development over the course of his summer break when I saw him parade at the Open Day – Jason assures me that he has not stopped – after the Open Day he would have predicted that ‘George’ would need at least 6 weeks work at Ivy Lodge Farm before heading to Ravenswell – but such has been the way he has strengthened, and sharpened up mentally since then – he is sure that this is the right time for him to make the switch. Jason has been blown away by how he has transformed in the last 2 weeks – so we agreed that he and Molly’s Lad would head back to Ravenswell next Monday! Exciting times. We will give them a couple of weeks to settle in and then arrange for their owners to come down and see them canter. One thing we will also have to turn our attention to is a name for ‘George’ – his owners need to get their thinking caps on! We will get that done in a couple of weeks.
Uhtred Ragnarson worked up the hill over at Sharpridge.
With the morning work done I set off for Ffos Las – picking up Debbie on the way. Ffos las is a racecourse that no racing professional seems to have arrive at via the same route twice. The road signs send you seemingly miles round – and as I found on a previous visit – following the wrong signs seems to take you even further around the houses! There is talk of a mysterious Macdonalds at the end of the M4 which should be aimed for and then the route to the track is slightly simpler, but there is at least one man that been to the track fairly often and still hasn’t even found the Macdonalds! With all this in mind – Debbie felt that there was a more direct route and suggested abandoning both signage and sat nav for more of a ‘follow your nose’ approach – this resulted in approximately 8-10 miles of very narrow, very winding, and hugely undulating lanes! It was an interesting route, with the saving grace that through the villages of Wales, drivers are restricted to 20MPH, and it is very difficult to actually go quite that slow – on this route – even though the national speed limit applied for most of it – you simply couldn’t go faster than 20MPH – which removed all sense of frustration! We got there in the end!
Stepping out of the car was like stepping into a fan oven – HOT – with a very warm breeze! This is Wales – the land of the long black cloud – what was this weather? It was very different to our last visit on a very very wet Sunday in March!
We walked into the O&T Bar to be greeted by the trainer himself!! I had not expected him to make the trip to Ffos Las on a warm Wednesday! Two runners on the card, a 2yr old debutant, and John Harrison. The debutant ran very green on his debut but ran OK. Lots more to come from him, like all of Alan’s he will improve enormously for his first outing. Next up John Harrison. He looked great in the paddock – he is such a kind and gentle horse. As mentioned, he was in good form – but the drop in trip was a worry. After his previous run David Probert had even suggested stepping him up to 1m4f – so this 1m was not ideal – but what would be ideal would be the ground, which was Good as described – and why he was here rather than anywhere else!
Luke Catton on board – the plan to be very handy and not be afraid to make the running if he felt the pace wasn’t strong enough. He should stay the trip well and come home strongly.
Everything went to plan – the pair broke smartly one went forward and Luke sat handy. The race unfolded up the straight where JH was tapped for toe and came under pressure. Expecting him to stay we were still hopeful, but in the end the speedier types just got the better of him, and he faded to finish third. Luke returned to say that he definitely needs to step back up in trip – we hadn’t got away with it, and that he is just a galloper – he’s not slow but he has no rapid change of gear. He did wander slightly in the closing stages, but when he returned to unsaddle, JH was having a good blow, and Alan felt that he had possibly left him a bit short of work, and that he got tired at the death. Whichever way you look at it – trip or fitness and probably both – he is better than the bare result and when the rain arrives, he will be hard to beat back up in trip! He will now have a few days away from Barbury, just having daily sessions on the water treadmill over the hill at Jamie Magees, while waiting for the rain to arrive!
A long drive home – we shunned a return along the route we took in – and went back the more conventional route. South Wales evidently one of the best spots to witness the solar eclipse – I can safely say – it wasn’t when it was going on behind you – and dazzling us both in our mirrors as I drove along the M4! Interesting to see folks on camp chairs on the bridges over the motorway – a few with the necessary cereal boxes!
The eclipse was well over by the time we got back to the Swindon area. I had booked a room at The Churchill on the outskirts of Royal Wootton Basset. It is a modern development of pub and hotel – along the lines of a Premier Inn and a Beefeater – only a lot better. I have stayed there before, and it wouldn’t be my usual choice of accommodation – but the rooms are air conditioned – and that was very important after a long day driving!
Debbie and I stopped off at the White Harte in Wroughton for a late supper – lunch at the racecourse was up to Ffos Las’ usual standards! The beef both looked, cut, and tasted like shoe leather – I was unlucky to get two slices! Dinner at the White Harte much better, a prawn linguine for me, and the biggest salmon salad I have ever seen for Debbie – you never leave the White Harte underfed – regular readers may remember a ham hock I had there last year – affectionately christened ‘the elephant knee’ by those that saw it!
Thursday – I was very grateful for the air con and got a good nights rest and was in with Alan King at 7.30am. A beautiful morning – but it was going to get hot very quickly! Nevada Samba would do 2 canters second lot – and he looked absolutely stunning in the morning sun! What a gleam to his coat – it is astonishing how well Kingy’s horses look! NS in great form – and Zoe who rode him in his two canters was really happy with him!
Later in the day – Jason sent through a couple of clips – Singh delighted to get on Cloud Dancer for a nice easy canter on the sand.
But he didn’t escape entirely as he was once again Molly’s Lad for his daily exercise!
Hanne sent a lovely photo through from Park Wood Stud – our 2026 foal by Nirvana du Berlais, Nev who is looking fabulous and getting more and more independent by the day. He was slightly off colour earlier in the week – so it was great to see him tucking into his breakfast!
Nev (left)
We did no damage at the sales in Ireland this week – no real interest – and from the reports I received from the sales ground – the stock was nothing to get too excited about!
Friday – work to do in the morning – then it was back in the car and off down to the Cotswolds for lunch, with one current jockey, two former jockeys, two trainers, an owner and a huntsman! We met up at the Kings Head in Bledington which was the local for the great Alistair Down who lived just up the road. It was always going to be a lively affair in that company and as the beer and wine flowed so did the stories – many of which cannot be retold! There are a few though and when you see me you will have to get me to tell you the one about the trainer, Princess Ann and a squad of armed police! As I don’t have a driver – I was not on the beer and wine, as I had to drive home – a 5.00am start on Saturday was very much at the front of my mind, but it was a cracking lunch that went on well into the evening!
Saturday – and an early start for the trip up to see Donald McCain and finally officially launch the Bankhouse Thoroughbreds Syndicate. We had put the word out in the spring that we would be setting up this new venture with Donald, but in truth that was just a soft launch – as we were not due to kick on with it until now. That did not stop a few folks buying shares, and on Saturday it was good to meet some of those, and a few who had waited until now to come and see the very good looking and well-bred son of Pethers Moon who will be running for the syndicate.
Three horses out third lot – along with the Pethers Moon 3 yr old, were Dino Bellagio and Ridin Solo. The latter pair head for the deep sand canter to warm up there while the 3 yr old did two canters up the hill. He did it nicely – he is still building up his core fitness and Donald says that he will move onto working upsides next week. He is very happy with him and with a clear run he should be ready to make his debut in early October. There are now just a few shares remaining – get in touch! nickbrownracing@gmail or 07909 518902.
Ridin Solo and Dino Bellagio headed over to the hill to work. Ridin Solo worked really well in front on the near side of his galloping companion with Dino Bellagio tucked in behind. Ridin Solo is ready to run, when the rain arrives - Dino was eye-catching in behind as always and is also very much ready to run – he will have entries next week, we just have to hope that the rain arrives where he has entries!
Dino and Will Maggs (who appears to know where the camera is!)
Ridin Solo in flying form
A cracking piece of work!
The Pethers Moon 3yr old is a good looking boy!
It was also good to hear that Old Blue Eyes has got the all clear to resume exercise – he is back on the walker – and judging by the size of him – he needs to be. He has been off games for a couple of months – and those months have left their mark – Donald remarked that he looks like me!
While we were in with Donald – I received a video update from Olly Murphy – who is delighted with the progress of Jimmy Gatz, who is going well. Word had reached me the previous day – that he too had been throwing a few shapes (there is video evidence that I have not seen), and Olly had to agree – ‘Oh he can buck all right!!’
In the afternoon - Jason sent through a couple of clips - the two horses heading to Ravenswell Farm on Monday.
'George' looking fantastic - thrilled with him - he looks like he has a big future!
Molly's Lad - has matured physically - I'm not sure he has mentally!! Maybe Singh will not miss him afterall!!
Sunday – as I type this (very slowly) Willam Butler has called from Heath House. He sounded like a man who had been celebrating his wifes Birthday the night before – a night that ended with him belting out a couple of Saw Doctor numbers with the band! He was a tad jaded!
The good news is that his weekly report on Penselwood was once again very positive. He had alternated the last 7 days between cantering upsides on Warren Hill and longer canters elsewhere and done everything right. He has come through that step up in workload very well, he has kept his condition and is muscling up nicely – which suggests that he is finding life easy at the moment. Next week he will move on to cantering on the Al Behatri, under one of the stable jockeys – so we look forward to next week’s report – he is still going firmly in the right direction and we are all thrilled with him. It was interesting to see that his Listed winning half-brother, Blarney has an entry in the Group 3 Prix Galdiateur next month!
Just a couple to mention – Floyd is back out in the field – he needs time to mature into his growing frame, and our 3yr old Blue Bresil is out with him – as he needs a break after a busy time coming over from the sales. He will spend the next few months in the field before coming back in to start pretraining at Ivy Lodge Farm.
Next week I will be heading to York for the big Sales Race there – one of my favourite days of the year – really looking forward to it!
Drop by next week to see what we got up to!
