FIGHTING AGAINST THE ELEMENTS!

The last few days have been a real struggle with the frost and snow, but the Jockey Club are doing a sterling job keeping all the gallops open.

We have just installed a new field shelter for the horses that are turned out, as we didn't want to get caught out with the cold weather like last year. The girls have enjoyed exploring the new sight in the field.

Last Wednesday I went to see our yearling Acer Diamonds being broken in at Eugene Stanford's yard, Peter Gray one of his new owners came with me. He looked great and could be the real deal. We all dream at this time of year, that is what racing is all about 'dreams'.

We have five or six jumpers in the wings all rearing to go but the jumps card at Southwell has been lost on Tuesday, so we can't run Night Orbit, but a flat card takes its place and we now go with Entrance, the filly we recently bought from Cheveley Park Stud.

Shelley is 'bunking off' school again on Tuesday to ride Always De One at Lingfield, all I can say is LOL!!

Saturday night we are having the staff/owners party at the Rosery Hotel in Exning, I just hope we have some sober staff Sunday morning, everyone is welcome just give me a call if you would like to join us.

WOW! WHAT A WEEK-END

Khajaaly comes back from a break and scoots in at Wolverhampton on Friday night under a fine ride from Jimmy Quinn at great odds of 25/1, considering most of the geegeez.co.uk syndicate were on him. Then Spirit of Sharjah thought my lead horse has won I had better 'pull my finger out' and duly won the 15k handicap at Lingfield on Saturday.

We thought we would be brought down to earth with Baggsy at Towcester on Sunday, but no she pulled out all the stops and won over hurdles under a 'ride of the week' from Mattie Batchelor.

I am now 5th in the trainers All Weather Championship in front of the likes of M.Johnson and Sir M. Stoute and other big names, better frame that it might not happen again!

To follow that next week may not be so easy, but Blackmore runs at Kempton on Wednesday and goes for the hat trick, he seems in good form so we have to have a go.

If you are thinking this blog isn't as well written as usual, that is because I have to write is myself since journalist Ross has gone to Dubai for the Winter, he is having a great time by all accounts.

Finally, a reminder that the shares for sale in our 2year old Entrance will close on November 30th (see web-site for details), as she is ready to win and will be running early December. There are still a few shares left so don't miss out on this one, will make excellent Christmas present!

Hoping to continue the hot streak

Well, it was made official this week that I am the most 'in-form' trainer in the country. Although I can't match Paul Nicholls' dozen winners in the last week, the Racing Post have still somehow managed to make me the country's top trainer according to their 'horses running to form' stat.

Although maybe slightly over the top the accolade is, it is true to say that the horses are in blindingly good form. Blackmore (left, in blue) recorded his second win in less than seven days at Kempton on Wednesday and he won with even more ease than the time before. I seriously don't know how good he could be because he has never given 100% in all his victories because he idles when he hits the front and at home he does the same but the signs are good.
A lot of the credit must go to his jockey Cathy Gannon. She has to be one of the most underrated riders about and is undoubtedly the best female jock that has ever ridden in this country. She is incredibly strong and it doesn't matter what price the horse is in the betting, she will still give it every chance to win. It says a lot though that she came in after Blackmore's win and admitted she was knackered. It's unsurprising really when you think she had to push the horse for almost every yard of the two mile distance. Despite this, she won the following race on a 25/1 shot!

I was delighted with Night Orbit's run at Southwell on Monday. His jumping was exceptional and it was the first time that he has really shown a liking for chasing. He had every chance when flying over the last fence but he was just held by a slightly better horse. Staying races are his game and it would be nice if he could run in a race like the Sussex National.

My son Ross took all the plaudits for Night Orbit's jumping as he had done all the schooling on him but today he jets off to the sunny shores of Dubai for the winter where he is going to work for trainer Gill Duffield for three months. I hope he can learn a fair bit out there and come back with some interesting ideas. However, on Friday morning it looked like the trip might not be happening at all as he laid in pain on the grass up the Links schooling grounds. He was jumping Always De One for the first time and all was going well until Ross got a little too brave and decided to go a bit too quick into the last hurdle and Always decided she didn't want to jump it and crashed through the wing. Ross banged his knee badly but it was only bruised and I made him lead up at Lingfield with a limp the next day. Always came out unscathed too.

With her brother away, it means that my daughter Shelley can ride in a few amateur races over the winter and she has her third ride under rules planned for Wednesday on Always De One at Lingfield. Shelley is obviously not as fit as Cathy Gannon which is a shame because she will be pushing for most of the way as the filly is very lazy!

Beseech is also running at Lingfield that day and I hope she can run respectably before she can qualify for handicaps.

My best chance of a winner has to be Khajaaly on Friday. The horse has been rejuvenated by a break and he worked exceptionally well with Spirit of Sharjah yesterday. He's running off a mark of 60 and I think he will be very hard to beat if all goes well. Bushy Dell will also have a winner's chance that day at Wolverhampton and maybe a small double bet could be a profitable investment.

Back in the groove.

Phew! Blackmore’s win at Lingfield last Thursday was a massive relief as the I had been on the ‘cold trainers’ list for a while and we had lined the horse up to win. We’d given Blackmore three quiet runs in maidens and this time, in a handicap, we stepped him up to two miles and he came good. Over a dozen of the syndicate who own the horse were in attendance and it was great to get a win for them as, for some, it was their first ever taste of success.

Blackmore is in again at Kempton on Wednesday and I’m tempted to run him but he will have a canter on Monday morning to see how he feels and if he is in A1 condition he will run again. He’s a nice horse and I think there is plenty of improvement still in him as he acts like a big baby.

The win has given the yard a massive boost and I’m still hopeful that we can reach our target of 20 winners for the year, one more than last season’s score. We’re on 15 at the moment but there are loads ready to win in the coming weeks and, with a bit of luck, we could hit a rich vein of form.

The next winner might even come tomorrow as Night Orbit is favourite for his chase at Southwell. He did well over hurdles last term and hasn’t done too badly over fences this time. He schooled particularly well this morning (see pictures) and I think he should take a lot of beating in a pretty uncompetitive race.

Also in a bad race tomorrow is Baggsy at Wolverhampton. She is not the most gifted horse but she tries and could land some prize money. The one we must beat in the same race is Marafong. I used to train him and this is his first run for his new connections since they claimed him off me in September. There probably isn’t much between the two on form so it will add a little extra interest to the race.

On the same day as Blackmore at Kempton is Always De One. She ran well on her reappearance at Brighton last time and she should be in the frame once again. The same comment applies to Exopuntia on Thursday. Her best efforts have been at Yarmouth but her rider, Tony Culhane, said she would really like racing at Southwell so we are giving it a go.

I’m pleased to say that the shares in my two new purchases (see last week’s blog) are selling fast and the pair are going well on the gallops. I can’t wait to run them but I’ve got to wait until all the shares are sold first!