Hitting the till but no sign of the jackpot

It was a busy week with all the runners and although most ran into a place there was no celebrations. Silver Alliance was making his debut for us on the turf at Yarmouth and ran a really promising race finishing 3rd, considering his two wins have been on the all- weather, he should have a fruitful season ahead. The next day in- form Blackmore arrived at his favourite track Southwell, however he had to take the fall at some point for his good work this winter, he was hanging even going to the start as he has had chronic back problems and is having an easy time of it now in the paddock. Wednesday saw the arrival of Attain and Entrance at Lingfield, the former had run well in maidens before and showed alot of promise, however this time round the opposition just proved too classy for him as there were alot of fancy colours in the race and horses that cost alot more than our boy, he qualifies for handicaps now and is surely a winner waiting to happen in his grade. Entrance was out after a short break, she had been a bit in and out after her 40-1 success last year but it was an in day for her as she ran on a good 3rd, it seemed like a step up in trip may suit but it has been tried and been unsuccessful, I think it is just her running style to come off the pace and finish fast, it's just whether the jockey can time it right. The final runner of the week was The Ducking Stool again at Lingfield and produced another placed effort coming 4th, they went a good pace and she had to work hard to get a position from the wide draw, she just plugs on and should pick up a race if all goes her way.


We had a few to put through the stalls, so we thought now is the time as we have enough staff, not only riders but people on the ground to help put them in. We took three fillies over to the stalls next to the Rowley Mile on the grass. Lea Valley (left) and Angel of Mercy (right) were good as gold, they loaded up nicely and stood in there quietly without fretting.




Here they are again with Lea Valley this side, she is due to make her racecourse debut this Friday at Newbury if she gets in as there are alot of entries, I think the penny has finally dropped with her, especially in her last few bits of work but she is a horse that has done enough at home and now just needs racecourse experience so will be one to watch after the greeness fades.




It wasn't all sweetness and roses however for one cheeky filly, that was Tiger's Home (below). She went with the other two and was ok going through the practice stalls (which are slightly wider) but was having none of it when asked to do it properly. So the next day we took her with a more experienced horse in Sail Home to see if she'll be any better with a lead. She was not, so the gadgets came out in the style of a Monty Roberts rug (as sported below) and a blindfold. We would forgive her if she was scared or getting upset but she was not sweating or getting unruly, she was just being a filly and digging her toes in. The next step now is to call upon 'Yarmy' the horse whisperer of Newmarket and let him work his wonders with her.





This is as close as we got!

...and this is John admitting defeat, with the filly wondering what all the fuss is about!

The summer gallop was open this week after getting enough rain to make the ground safe. So we thought it would be a good experience for the two babies to have a look at the grass for the first time, here is Tiger's Home leading Believe In Me. They were both a little green but you have to take your chance when the ground is ok as they can arrive at the races and be running on the turf without ever setting foot on it before.

Angel of Mercy may finally be ready to race after having a few setbacks, she is an un-raced 4 year old but is now filling out and looking well for her debut.

It was a misty morning first thing on Saturday, but the grass was lush. Verona Bay stretched his legs over a mile and is well on his way to seeing a racecourse again soon.

Lea Valley and Kampai (near side) worked together over a mile on the summer gallop. They both matched strides nicely up the incline.

Generous Genella (near side) and Acer Diamonds were in perfect symmetry on the turf, 'Genella' is a very light filly and will not need alot of getting ready after coming back from injury, where as 'Acer' is a bear of a horse and will take a little longer, both however are exciting prospects for the season.

Faraway Land enjoyed a gallop on her own over one mile, anyone who saw her debut at Lingfield would be wanting to see her again as she was tipped as one to watch after the race. The second run is not far now, it's just a matter of finding a suitable race.

It may be a simple name but most people pronounce Entrance's name wrong (said with a long 'a'), but the up side is it is spelt the same as the other pronunciation, so when we found this sign laying about there was only one place for it!