Family Fun Day
Racing, a yard visit, and a catch up with the family – it was a fun week! In addition, we have been really busy with share sales, a sure sign that the winter jumps season is getting ever closer, although the start of that campaign will have a very different look to it this year, as the BHA have (for once, and possibly the first time) shown some leadership, and been very proactive in rearranging the jumps programme, to ensure that trainers have the best opportunities to run their horses. All hurdles cards now scheduled at tracks that use their flat courses for their autumn hurdles cards – these tracks having been well watered throughout the summer and will provide a decent surface for jumpers in the short term. The chases transferred to tracks that have portable fences and can use similar racing lines that have been well irrigated over the course of the last few months. It isn’t ideal, but it will be a huge help to those that need to get their horses out and running.
Monday, with John Harrison declared to run in Wolverhampton later in the day, it was a gloomy Alan King that phoned in the morning – JH drawn 12 of 12 – a near impossible task for him from that draw around a track like Wolves. Given his running style he would have his work cut out for him, but he would run and be doing his best. Alan also passed on the contact details of a man he had met on his holiday who was keen to get involved in a horse or two at Barbury Castle – I sent him details of the Alan King Racing Club – in which there are just 2 remaining shares.
Fergal O’Brien sent through a couple of lovely clips. Molly’s Lad being a cheeky lad as ever – having a buck and a skip on the hill – he is obviously finding his current workload easy enough. One thing is for sure, even though he doesn’t appear to have grown up mentally, he has certainly matured physically – and is a fine-looking boy now! He will be ready to run in mid-October, starting off in a 2m handicap hurdle, before stepping up to a far more suitable 2m4f. Judged on his homework he will start his season on a very favourable mark, and is sure to give his owners a lot of fun this winter!
Fergal also sent through a video of Vegas Gold – who remains the apple of his trainer’s eye. We have a plan in place for him – starting in Aintree in November, and therefore his regime has been structured for him to arrive there fit and well! Later in the afternoon it was great to get confirmation from the BHA that his new name, Vegas Gold had been approved – can’t wait to see it in a racecard!
In the afternoon it was off to Wolverhampton, pretty safe in the knowledge that we would not be troubling the judge from the widest of draws, but it would be fantastic to catch up with the Club members who were making the trip there. John Harrison looked great in the paddock as always, and his young apprentice jockey, Matthew Lloyd Slater, would keep things simple from the wide draw – break well, get to the lead and try not to get caught too wide, from there he would try to steady the pace and then kick for home off the bend – it was all he could do from stall 12. The plan was executed well – but in doing so – John Harrison was forced to use too much energy in the early stages, and when push came to shove in the latter stages, there was very little left in the tank. He had been forced to run his race backwards – and in the end his young jockey was not overly hard on him. Put a line through this – he is a lot better than this run and will be on a nice mark when we see him next time.
Tuesday – Alan King called early to chat over John Harrison’s run – kind of what we expected – we go again!
Dino Bellagio headed down to the Cotswolds to visit vet Ben Brain, to have his wind tweaked. Ben is the leading expert in Britain and Ireland in the field of equine breathing, and after disappointing last time out in Musselburgh, we decided to just have DB’s wind tidied up and plan an autumn campaign with him, on his favoured soft ground. We also have the option of a return to hurdles. Dino returned to the yard in the afternoon with no ill effects and would be back cantering at the weekend.
Donald was also able to give an update on the rest of the team at Bankhouse. Old Blue Eyes is back cantering and is very fresh – we are just keeping everything crossed for a clear run with him!
Ridin Solo had worked earlier in the morning and worked very well – he is just waiting for a bit if rain and some nice juicy ground. He was struck into on his last start, when we expected him to improve for the step up to 3 miles, so put a line through that run too – he stayed well – 3m is his trip, and he’s on a very handy mark!
The Pethers Moon 3yr old continues to impress Donald, he improves week on week and finds his work easy. We arranged a visit next Tuesday for his syndicate – if you would like to come to the yard and see him work – just get in touch – 07909 518902 or email nickbrownracing@gmail.com – For full details about the horse – simply click the link below!
https://www.donaldmccain.co.uk/available-shares-/
Wednesday – an early start – first stop, Barbury Castle collecting Debbie on the way. Although we arrived at the yard before 7.30am – Uhtred Ragnarson had already been out and exercised on the sand gallop. He is well and will be out again next month – 2m on a left-handed track.
We did get to see Nevada Samba, I’d Go Maniac and Ghost Dancing out later in the morning – all in great order – Alan is in no hurry to crack on with Nevada Samba, who will not be risked on quick ground – and with no appreciable rain in the forecast, there is no rush. Alan is very happy where he is with him, and at this stage – all dreams are intact!
I’d Go Maniac has one possible run left this season ahead of a winter break – that falls at the end of October, another amateur riders’ race for Georgia King to ride him in.
Ghost Dancing has certainly matured and strengthened up for her summers break – she is moving really well and will start off on a workable mark.
John Harrison had trotted up sound after his run and would have an easy couple of days.
From Barbury Castle we headed off along the M4 to see the ‘family’ at Park Wood Stud in South Gloucestershire. I had not seen Savingforvegas, her yearling filly ‘Nancy’ and her colt foal ‘Nev’ for quite some time, so I was looking forward to seeing them again.
All three have settled in well to their new home after making the move from Northamptonshire earlier in the summer.
Savingforvegas looks fantastic, the week before she had been separated from ‘Nev’ when he was weaned, and as any mother would, she missed him for a couple of days, but she is good again now and knowing her – very much looking forward to welcoming the Kingston Hill foal she is carrying.
‘Nancy’ her yearling filly by Nirvana du Berlais, is developing beautifully. She is a tall, rangy athletic filly, with an unbelievable step to her. She has the most wonderful outlook and personality and is a lovely filly for the future. She will remain at Park Wood Stud over the winter, before heading to Ivy Lodge Farm to be lunged, long reined and introduced to tack next summer. At this stage the plan is to retain her to run.
Nev – this year’s colt foal, also by Nirvana du Berlais, is her full brother, but is a different type – he is a big strong foal, with a lot of presence. I have to make a decision about his future, and he could be heading to a foal sale later in the year. Obviously I try to keep hold of all of our homebreds and offer them through our in house syndicates, but with his sire just about as fashionable as he can be at present, this foal being such a big strong colt, and Savingforvegas having a 100% record of runners to winners, he may be a lad that would make more than we could syndicate for as a 3yr old – so it makes sense to offer him at a sale. That decision will be made in the coming weeks.
There are just 2 shares available in our breeding syndicate – breed your own racehorse, from a winner producing ‘machine’ from a fantastic family! Your chance to be involved from the very start!!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8316/breeding-syndicate
After a nice stroll around the beautiful Park Wood Stud, we headed up the road to The Royal Oak for a spot of lunch – very nice!
Thursday – Alan King on with a clip of I’d Go Maniac back in strong work – all roads lead to Newbury next month. Good news for the Alan King Racing Club which gained another member on Thursday – when, after a good lunch with AKRC member Christopher – Henry took one of the remaining shares. Henry was looking for something that could keep his interest over the winter, and having had horses in training with David Nicholson when Alan was his assistant, he felt that joining the Club was a great idea!
Penselwood, our 2yr old in training with Sir Mark Prescott, who had bypassed a couple of entries this week, instead having another couple of stall sessions in preparation for his debut, was given another couple of entries in Kempton next week. One over 6 furlongs the other over 1 mile – it will be interesting to see if Sir Mark decides to run him and if so – in which race!
Friday – As we near the start of October, it is the time of year when mares are scanned to confirm that all is well with their pregnancies. Savingforvegas was scanned on Friday, and it was lovely to hear that all was well with her and her unborn foal. Fingers crossed the rest of her pregnancy goes smoothly and she delivers a Kingston Hill foal next spring.
Alan King – on point with his communication as always – sent through another clip from the Sharpridge Hill – Nevada Samba moving beautifully once again!
Donald McCain was also on the camera – and sent a through a clip of Ridin Solo putting in a very impressive shift with a work mate. He is in great form, and we are very much looking forward to trying him over 3 miles once again.
Saturday – and a sad day – the funeral of dear Roger Butson who had had shares in horses with us since 1999. Roger sadly passed away last month – and it was the least I could do to be at his funeral. A huge turnout, for a very popular man – liked enormously by his friends and loved by his family – it was a wonderful service, full of tears and laughter – and one that reflected Rogers three great loves – golf, gardening and of course, racing. Sadly, I could not stay long after the service, but I am sure he was given the sort of send off that he would have enjoyed!
Jason Maguire sent through a few video clips of a couple of the horses in work at his Ivy Lodge Farm.
Cloud Dancer is really coming together after his summer break. Off games for a long time with a leg injury – he has had the very best rehab a horse could have – with no time or expense spared – so it will be great to see this talented horse back on the track! Jason is really happy with his progress and will up his workload in the next couple of weeks.
Jason also sent me a few clips of out homebred, Floyd – and when I saw them, I simply said to myself – Wow! He looks amazing – he has always been a very good looking individual – and if I’m honest, he had disappointed us in his work in the spring – after travelling very well he just couldn’t quite finish off a piece of work. In the end we pulled the plug with him and decided to give him another summer to mature – and boy, has he done that! He has grown again and really filled out – and goes round the sand gallop like he is on air! We suspected that he was growing and still weak in the spring and it now looks like that is very much the case. As I neared the end of my journey back from Roger’s funeral in Essex, Jason called – and started the conversation with ‘That Floyd is some horse now, isn’t he?’ I’m glad it isn’t just me who thinks so! Hopefully he has a bright future, and we will have plenty of fun with him going forward!
Later in the afternoon it was fantastic to see Un Sens A La Vie win in Market Rasen. A graduate of one of our pinhooking syndicates, he has always been held in very high regard by the Twiston Davies team – and off of 127 he did it nicely despite needing the run. I think they see him as a horse that will be rated at least 140 in time – he needs a sound surface and now heads over fences. One to follow this season!
That just leaves Jimmy Gatz, who I saw last week – he is very well, but Olly feels he needs some juice in the ground, so he is another one that is treading water somewhat until the rains arrive.
One share remains in this gorgeous grey!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8143/jimmy-gatz
As mentioned at the start of this ramble – it has been a very busy week with share sales, a couple of places taken in the Alan King Racing Club, which leaves just a single place left in that. Lots of interest in the 3yr old Blue Bresil gelding purchased at the Derby Sale in June and now in pretraining with Jason. He is a gorgeous horse who moves beautifully. He has a very interesting pedigree – obviously being by the same sire as the great Constitution Hill gives him every chance of being a nice horse, but what makes him even more appealing is the fact that two of his half brothers won Irish Point to Points in the spring and were subsequently sold for big money – 5yr old Loughmourne was trained by Stuart Crawford to win his point, and in an interview I saw with him in the week – he said that it was a long way to take him to win that race, and they would only take one they felt was up to winning it – he was a horse they always liked. He was subsequently purchased for 125,000 and is in training with Harry Fry. The 4yr old, Smithytown was purchased at the Punchestown Sale in May, for 240,000 and is in training with Ben Pauling. This week he said on camera – ‘He’s a lovely horse’ ‘A big rangy individual’ ‘Every inch a chaser’ ‘He really is lovely, not many move like him’ ‘We are sweet on him’.
These two look like very nice horses, who will be adding plenty of good form to the pedigree – our Blue Bresil could look very cheap by Christmas!
He heads into training with Alan King, and Jason Maguire will remain very much involved in the syndicate. Between the two – there are 40 Grade 1 winners, 21 Cheltenham Festival winners and a Grand National! Alan is simply one of the best trainers in the country, and Jason was one of the best jockeys of his generation before injury curtailed his career. They are two high class horsemen, and being involved in this syndicate will give members the best insight into the training and riding of racehorses!
This sort of experience is second to none, and this horse is highly recommended.
There are now just 3 shares remaining – click the link, read all about him – the syndicate is a special one – get in touch!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8342/jason-maguire-syndicate
That just leaves 4 shares left available in all the horses to run this season – be quick – don’t miss them!
Next week – I’ll be in at Donald McCains on Tuesday – if you would like to join me simply let me know and I’ll tell you the time to be there. We could be racing on Wednesday with Penselwood – we will wait to hear from William about that plan, and we have a little trip planned to Olly Murphy’s on Saturday, so Jason will be hosting Chris and Rachel who will be popping in to Ivy Lodge Farm.
Should be fun – drop by next week for another round!
