As Green As Grass
A real ‘family’ feel to the week – three stable visits – four homebred geldings to see – and very positive news on all four. I have to pinch myself that I have had the most incredible luck as a breeder! With Savingforvegas and Molly Childers, we have bred some lovely horses, Molly continues to do so for new owners in Ireland (update about her 2026 foal later) and Savingforvegas has been nothing short of amazing, both for me, and the Breeding Syndicates that have leased her in the past. The thing that is very exciting is that these homebred geldings all seem to be improving – and this is looking like it will be a cracking season for all of them!
Sunday – with the ‘Ramblings’ published nice and early – I had the got to nip over to Huntingdon for the afternoon – a chance to catch up with a few people and enjoy a couple of pints at the sports. A cracking afternoon – great to see so many people there!
A chance to catch up with Fergal O’Brien. He had been very pleased with Vegas Gold’s work the previous week, although the away day gallop at Martin Kieghleys had not quite gone to plan, as VG had been far too good for his galloping companion, and the work, along with the data gained from the monitors he was wearing were pretty much irrelevant. Despite that, Fergal was confident that he had him where he wanted with regard to running him in Aintree on Saturday – and a piece of work on Tuesday morning would confirm that one way or another. As I had not seen him work – I said I would pop down on Tuesday morning to see the work and send the video to his owners.
Fergal was equally pleased with Molly’s Lad who was nearing his first run of the season – he would have an away day gallop on Tuesday, and all being well would have entries in Carlisle and Stratford the following Monday.
Monday – with Fergal confident that he had Vegas Gold where he wanted him – entered him in the 3yr old bumper in Aintree on Saturday. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is a race I have had in mind for Vegas Gold since he was conceived – so to get an entry is quite a feat in itself really!
Really interesting to read the thoughts of Ben Pauling on his horses in the Racing Post Stable tour in the afternoon. Ben purchased Smithytown, the 4 yr old half-brother, to the 3yr old Blue Bresil gelding that Jason Maguire and I purchased in the summer. I have known for quite a while that Ben thinks he is a very nice horse and he had this to say about him:
‘ Smithytown is massive. He's a lovely, classy horse. He's got everything, we like him a lot and he should be running soon’. A 240,000 Euro purchase – I suppose he has to say something nice – but I do believe he thinks he has a nice horse – especially when he goes over fences in the future. It all bodes well for the pedigree – and I am sure that our Blue Bresil gelding will look great value in the next few months when his half-brothers make their seasonal debuts. I would get to see our lad do a swinging piece of work the day after.
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8342/jason-maguire-syndicate
Tuesday – up and about early, and on the road to the Cotswolds to see Vegas Gold do his final piece of work before (hopefully) his debut on Saturday. I would also get to see Cloud Dancer, ‘Floyd’ and the Blue Bresil gelding work at Tom Georges.
Molly’s Lad was heading to Martin Keighleys at 6.00am and would be working at 6.30am – so I wouldn’t see him – but shortly after I arrived at Ravenswell I received a video of his work. He was very good. Under Fern O’Brien, he did a very eyecatching piece of work with the 126 rated Serious Challenge. He looks to be in great form, and on the back of that piece of work he got two entries – Carlisle and Stratford next Monday. He is likely to need the run, but a small step up in trip should suit, and judging by this piece of work – his mark of 105 is workable.
Vegas Gold worked second lot at Ravenswell. He was paired with the 127 rated mare Siog Gael, who had finished second in a Listed bumper in Cheltenham a couple of years ago, and also won the Grade 2 Mares handicap hurdle in Newbury in March the following year. Fergal had deliberately paired Vegas Gold up with a solid workhorse so that he could confirm that he was ready to run.
Safe to say he did that – he worked right away from Siog Gael and then up to and past the horse that had started 20 lengths ahead of him at the bottom of the gallop. It was as good a piece of work as I have seen at Ravenswell – and it certainly means that VG will be heading to Aintree, although Fergal and I both agreed that if the ground was deemed to be too quick by the time his race came around on the Saturday afternoon – he would not be risked on it and we would wait for another day.
He has a lot to live up to – 3 of his 4 half brothers to have run have won bumpers on debut – could he make it 4 from 5?? Judged on that piece of work – he certainly could!
From Ravenswell I headed over to Ivy Lodge Farm to see the team there – with Jason heading to Warwick to represent the Rooneys on track with their horse Trigg, I thought it would be a quick cup of tea – a look at the three over the stable doors, and then off home. Maguire likes to fit it all in and instead we headed down to Tom Georges’s where all three would be working up his woodchip gallop.
They came up twice, first time to warm up.
The second time – Cloud Dancer was asked to quicken up, while ‘Floyd’ and the Blue Bresil 3yr old just swung up behind. Cloud Dancer was impressive – and showed himself to be in great order – he will have a couple more bits of faster work and then head to Josh and Jamie Moore. The two youngsters did just what was asked of them and will both have learned a huge amount. ‘Floyd’ is ready for some faster work now and will work again on Friday. The 3yr old is just where Jason wants him, and having ridden him in this work he was very happy with him!
As you can see the Blue Bresil 3yr old is a fine big horse, with a lovely future. He heads into training with Alan King in the New Year – click the link and have a loom at his full details – he is a lovely horse!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8342/jason-maguire-syndicate
It was a bonus to get to see them all in action on the woodchip and I was thrilled with them all!
In the afternoon it was fantastic to see Un Sens a la Vie win his ‘match’ race in Warwick. A graduate from one of our pinhooking syndicates he is a horse that possesses a huge amount of speed, and I know that Willy Twiston Davies has always thought the world of him – he will have some nice targets in the spring for sure!
Wednesday – another early start – this time – down to Alan King’s Barbury Castle Stables where we would be hosting a stable visit for members of the Alan King Racing Club.
Alan’s winter horses are now coming to the boil – he never has his core winter team ready to run before November, but now that we are approaching bonfire night, they are starting to get going!
It was a dry morning – but by God it was windy and cold at the top of Sharpridge!
Despite that, everyone got to see the current three in training for the AKRC in action.
John Harrison worked really well and is ready to make the switch to juvenile hurdles.
Uhtred Ragnarson – is not straightforward, but he went well in behind and will soon have further entries – when we hope that there is no repeat of the antics he displayed when refusing to race in Uttoxeter last month. 
Ghost Dancing once again worked really well – and it will not be long before she makes her seasonal debut. A mares’ handicap hurdle will be where she starts off if there is a suitable race in the calendar.
I also got to see Nevada Samba work. Having had an easy few days the previous week, he was back in fantastic order and worked really well.
Alan has decided that he will definitely start the campaign in another bumper and will be ready to run from mid-November onwards.
Thursday – a day in the office. Fergal in touch to confirm that he would declare Vegas Gold in Aintree on Saturday – Jack Hogan would ride. At the closure of declarations – 6 stood their ground – and without doubt this would be the strongest renewal of this race.
Fergal also sent through a clip of Molly’s Lad having a pop up the hurdles under Tom Broughton. He did it well and shows no signs of remembering being brought down in the spring on his last start. It is all systems go for him on Monday, we just need to decide on which race to run him in – I’ll leave it to the Ravenswell race planner!
In the afternoon, Alan King pulled off some training performance in getting Masaccio back to win a competitive handicap hurdle in Newbury after 2 years off of the track. He did it really well in the end, and to say the trainer was dumbfounded was an understatement! He had said the previous day that his winter team were all needing the run, so he had no idea how Masaccio had managed to win in Newbury! Regular readers will have had a bit of a clue as he has been working with Nevada Samba for the last few weeks – NS will have made him go a bit!
It was lovely to see a clip posted on-line from Thistletown Stud in Ireland ahead of the Tattersalls Ireland November Sale next week. Jimmy, Eileen and David will be consigning 17 foals at the sale, and the draft will include the latest foal out of Molly Childers. She is a well grown filly by first season sire Luxembourg, and she looked a picture on the clip!
Friday – time to sort the badges for Aintree – a huge group would be heading there to see Vegas Gold make his debut.
Donald McCain gave Ridin Solo an entry in Market Rasen next Thursday. He has come out of his run in Worcester in great order, and we are all looking forward to seeing him out again. We will monitor the ground and opposition and decide if he runs there nearer the time. He has other options going forward – but Thursday might just end up being the right race.
Alan King sent through a clip of John Harrison working upsides on the ring gallop. JH in good form – he will soon be getting his first entries in Juvenile Hurdles. He is very good over an obstacle and will enjoy the smaller fields. He looks sure to give the members of the Alan King Racing Club plenty of fun over the winter.
Cloud Dancer and 4yr old ‘Floyd’ went over to Martin Keighleys for an away day gallop. Cloud Dancer is getting close to a return to Josh and Jamie Moore, and Floyd was ready to do his first faster piece of work of the autumn. Cloud Dancer worked very well. Jason was on Floyd and was really pleased with his work – twice up – two strong bits – he continues to improve. It would appear that our patience with him is paying off – he is a gorgeous looking horse, who is a beautiful mover, but he has taken time. He was a weak 3yr old and had still not strengthened sufficiently in the spring – now he has – and you can finally see he goes very well!
William Butler called late morning with an update on Penselwood, who pulled a muscle in his last start in Kempton – but who is now back cantering and moving well. The plan was always to get three educational runs into him as a 2yr old and then give him a winters break. Now that he is back cantering, we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will still be able to run once more before heading back to Ivy Lodge Farm for a few weeks. He will stride on next week, work on Friday, and then (hopefully) get and entry or two. Penselwood has done everything we wanted of him to date – and we are sure to be having plenty of fun with him next summer! He is a big horse and will only improve for a break and the time to fill his frame. He will also relish a step up in trip when he is strong enough to do so, and it looks as though he will do just as his siblings have done and improve with age.
The first of 2 days racing from Aintree, and great to see Off The Jury win his third chase on the bounce. He has really taken to chasing and looks like a very nice horse. Off The Jury, like Un Sens a la Vie is another graduate of one of our pinhooking syndicates and was purchased as a foal and sold as a 3yr old store. Lovely to have been a small part of the story of these super horses!
Saturday – Molly’s Lad declared to run in a 2m 2 1/2 f Handicap hurdle in Stratford on Monday. His work has been very good this autumn – he steps up slightly in trip for his handicap debut which will suit and his regular rider, Fern takes off a handy 5lbs. I am really looking forward to seeing him run. His form from last season is quietly quite good, and he seems to have strengthened over the summer. As we step him up in trip he should continue to improve, although he may just need his first run of the season. Fingers crossed for a good run for his team of owners!
There was plenty of fog around the country early morning, but Alan King was delighted with the work from Nevada Samba who went really well in a lovely bunch of horses, which included 2 graded winners and a smart one off the flat from Germany.
When I saw Alan at Aintree in the afternoon he said, ‘I didn’t see much, but what I did see I was very pleased. Delighted with him’!
Alan has confirmed that he will start the season in a bumper as he feels the experience will do him the world of good and had him penciled in for a tilt at the Listed bumper in Cheltenham next weekend, but as he missed a couple of bits of work last week, he now feels he needs another week with him and he will look at races from the following weekend.
Chris and Rachel popped into Ivy Lodge Farm to see their horse Cloud Dancer canter on the sand gallop. They had also asked to see the Blue Bresil 3yr old, who was clipped and really smartened up for their visit. Hopefully they like what they saw – we do!!
With the fog around in the morning, I was envisaging a repeat of Boxing Day 2024 when we were in Aintree to see Old Blue Eyes in a bumper and ended up seeing absolutely none of it due to fog!
Thankfully it cleared up as I headed north, and it was a nice afternoon.
Vegas Gold had travelled up from Gloucestershire to make his debut in the bumper – he would be taking on a well regarded horse of the Skeltons, but VG goes well at home, and we were hopeful of a nice run.
He took the whole day in his stride, travelling a long way on his own is a big thing for a young horse, but he took the whole thing very well. The plan, as is usual with the yards’ runners on debut – to settle in rear and come with one run up the home straight – without giving Vegas Gold a hard race – we want him to come away from the day having enjoyed himself and wanting to do it again!
Jack Hogan in the saddle. VG took the prelims very well – he had a bit of a look as he entered the paddock, but from then on, he walked around as if he had done it all his life. It was slightly different when he headed to post. With the vast expanses of Aintree before him, white rails, big screens and thousands od student racegoers, it was all a bit much, and he was very green as he headed down to the start. At one stage, Jack wondered if he was going to make it – he was so green. It was the same in the race – posted wide in rear, VG was having a real good look around him as they rounded the bottom bend and entered the straight, he was actually hanging away from the horses on the inside. As the race developed, he was travelling sweetly in rear, but as the pace increased, he was once again clueless. He had no idea what was being asked of him, and those around him got first run as he tried to sort his legs out. When the penny dropped in the final 1 1/2 f he stayed on very nicely, but the winner had flown and he was only running on for second. Dan Skelton had told me that his was a nice horse before the race, so to be beaten was no disgrace – in the end Vegas Gold has run very well on debut and shown that he has a lovely future. Jack came back in and said that there was a huge amount of improvement to come from him both physically and more so mentally, and he is a nice horse. He now heads to Cheltenham on New Years Day.
When I got home, it was lovely to catch a clip of Ciaran Gethings’ interview on ITV after winning the 2m handicap chase on Javert Allen. Firstly, the team presenting had been very complimentary about the ride he had given the horse – I have always been a massive fan of Ciaran – he rode a lot of winners for us, ever since he was claiming 5lbs – and we have remained good mates ever since. I think he is hugely underrated, but thankfully, after a tough couple of years, folks have started to realise what a good jockey he is. What is more he is an absolute Gentleman, and as nice a man as you could meet. In his post-race interview yesterday, he mentioned his good friend and former jockey, Tom O’Brien who is very ill – when Ciaran had seen Tom the previous day, he had promised him that if he won on Javert Allen he would give him a mention on ITV – and so he did. Ciaran is a proper man – and we all send our love and best wishes to Tom O’Brien, who also rode us a few winners back in the day!
That just leaves a couple to mention - Jimmy Gatz to mention – he is very well and nearing a return, although ideally, we would get plenty of rain as he is not a horse to be running over hurdles on watered ground. We do have the option of starting his season in a third bumper – so that may help on that score. I will check in with Olly Murphy early next week to get an update for his owners.
Dino Bellagio has come out of his race in Uttoxeter in good order, he will be back out in 2/3 weeks.
Old Blue Eyes continues to build back up to full fitness. He is doing plenty of cantering – all care being taken to get him back on track after a couple of niggly injuries have kept him off the track for a good while.
The Pethers Moon 3 yr old, is very well, and will have an away day gallop in the next week.
Still a couple of shares available in him!
https://www.donaldmccain.co.uk/available-shares-/
We tried to add to the team this week – but sadly having agreed a price, the deal didn’t quite get over the line. If the right horse comes along, we will be ready to pounce as always – it could be a foal, a yearling a horse in training or a point to pointer – you just never know – chasing them is fun!
That rounds up the week – next week we will be racing a few times, we have our Breeding Syndicate visit on Thursday – if it is dry we will see the ‘family’ out in the paddocks, if it is wet, they will be brought in and we can see them in the dry!
If you are interested in Breeding and would like to join us on our visit to Park Wood Stud near Tetbury, then let me know – we have spaces for a couple more – a good pub lunch makes for a fun day!
07909 518902 – or email nickbrownracing@gmail.com
Friday it will be on to Cheltenham for 3 days – although there is the possibility of a runner elsewhere next weekend, so we will have to see where we end up. To find out – drop by next week – we do this every Sunday!
