Winter winner warmer

After a few near misses this year the honourable Kampai (below) finally lost her maiden tag at Lingfield on Wednesday at the 11th attempt. She is such a genuine filly and really deserved a win, her owners have been looking to send her to stud so this will really increase her stud value, she won quite easily so will hopefully add to her winnning thread soon. It was also nice just to get a winner full-stop, we have had such an unlucky year with our horses coming home placed 33 times! The filly was ridden by my daughter, Shelley, she has been riding as an amateur and has just applied for her apprentice licence so hopefully she can continue to develop her skills on the track. We could of so easily had a double that day with Exopuntia running on a gallant second, she likes to bowl out infront but she tends to miss the break, it was her first try at Lingfield and with a run like that she should be back in the winners enclosure this winter. No Such Number also ran on Wednesday but at Kempton, he has been a really exciting horse since his debut win for us so we were quite gutted when he ran disappointingly, however the jockey reported that he did not like the all-weather and got hampered in the home straight so I don't think that run could be taken literally. We shall not bother running him again on the all-weather so he is having a break now and will be back in action on the turf next year.

It always tends to be that we have a huge rush of runners on one day and then nothing all week, so we have a little extra time to take a few over to Cambridge Road polytrack for a long canter. When we do this the lot lasts for about one and a half hours so it is a real good exercise for them. Here we have superstar yardstick Spirit of Sharjah leading the way from Silver Alliance, Automotive, Vastly and Lea Valley. We will hopefully be seeing Spirit back on the track just before Christmas, he came back from Dubai last year with a leg injury so he has spent all year recuperating and I can't believe how well he is, bucking and squealing on the heath like he is a yearling again!

Quite a few entries next week, Generous Genella runs at Southwell on Tuesday. She will wear blinkers for the first time to hopefully bring out that ability that she harbours at home, she is drawn quite wide but I think that will suit her so she is not in all the kickback if she misses the break. The next day Sail Home and Entrance head to Kempton Park, the former is really coming to herself now and with a narrow defeat last time she should be in the frame once again. Where as Entrance has been a little hit and miss, she is quite a tricky filly to get right as the race has to run so suit her, she is taking a drop in trip but with a long straight she will be running on. Then on the same day at Lingfield runs Emma's Gift, she has been a real star and has won some nice races for the team and her owners, but she has been a bit disillusioned of late so we have been trying new things with her at home which I hope brings about a revival at the races. On Thursday Exopuntia is out again this time at Kempton, she has form round there and should go close once again. Then Friday night sees the return of Khajaaly at Wolverhampton, he really loves the place, the time of year and runs best fresh.



Exciting times ahead

We've had quite a quiet spell for a while now and while it's easy to moan and make excuses it's also a time when you know things will get better. Next week should hopefully get us off that dreaded cold trainers list, Wednesday sees all my weeks runners head out. Exopuntia will bid to put her last run behind her and come out on top on her first visit to Lingfield. Also at that venue is Kampai, she has been putting in solid efforts all year and I can't believe she hasn't won an race yet so hopefully she will get the run of the race this time. Then over at Kempton is the horse who will almost certainly get us out of the recession, No Such Number. He is 100% for the yard so far and he is going fantastically at home so it will be fingers and toes crossed that we have a Winnerful Wednesday.

As action moves onto the all-weather now we are not allowed to cut across the Rowley Mile to get to the 'work' gallops, we now have to take a much longer route round Devil's Dyke, although it is longer it does help with their fitness as they get another hack canter in before the gallop, however it can be a nightmare if your riding one that is in a bad mood!

Here we have Tiger's Home (nearest) working along with Wiggo. Both are two-year-old who have benefited with time to mature and will hopefully be making hay through the all-weather season. However, even from this picture you can see Tiger hanging to her right, as it happens we got her in to have a look at her back and she was a bit twitchy so the physiotherapist will see her tomorrow, it is a shame that she's not right as I was planning on running her next week, but that's horses for you.

The Wednesday wonders worked together, No Such Number (background) and Kampai both bid to end the dry spell, they're both so competitive and eyeballed each other all the way which is what you like to see.

The other runner this week is Exopuntia (nearest) she did an astounding piece of work and even had Khajaaly playing catch up! The latter likes time between his races so now I am looking to get him in a race, preferably at his beloved Wolverhampton.

One of the new in-mates Handheld has been a real star and impressed us all with his attitude, nothing seems to faze him and he's settled in really well.

The days are short and cold now and it is a time of year where everything seems to take so much longer, especially for us as we turn most of them out and have to scrape all of the mud off them when they come in and hang up all the wet rugs. It does make for some lovely shots though, he is a snapshot of the 'girls' field with, left to right, Believe In Me, Bonnie, Bavarica and Bushy Dell all appearing from the gloom.

Only the two runners this week and they came home at opposite ends of the spectrum, firstly Didn't I Do Well went to Southwell on Wednesday and didn't do very well. He is quite lazy at home and it showed on the track with him showing little enthusiasm, so it would not be worth his or our while trying to train him so he has been retired and we are looking for a loving home for him, he is a lovely character and a great ride so I hope he ends up somewhere nice. Then Sail Home ran on Saturday at Lingfield, she showed a great turn around of form to finish 3rd only beaten about half a length by the winner, it was quite frustrating as she would of won had she not met so much trouble in the home straight, which makes me ponder her possiblities as I hear the winner is going to be covered by Frankel! But was a great feeling shouting one home for a change!



Getting into top gear

The morning and evenings are drawing in and of most people this is the worst time of year, but for us we have been waiting all year for the all-weather season to kick in and this is because for some of our horses this is their favourite time of year. Sail Home (below right) has been badly handicapped for most of this turf season, so now with a dropping mark she is ready to make hay whilst the sun doesn't shine. She worked along the Cambridge Road polytrack this week with current star No Such Number, it has been hard finding him races since the turf has turned soft and there just aren't the races for him on the all-weather, but I think I've found a race for him in a couple of weeks. He is in great nick and will hopefully have a lot in hand through next season.  

We've been a bit hit and miss with the runners recently and we are definitely due a winner. Our first runner of the week was the elusive Generous Genella at Southwell on  Tuesday, although most horses at home struggle to get her off the bridle she somewhat is a different horse at the races and always runs disappointingly, although she may of just needed the run after a few months off the track. The next day the lovable Kampai travelled to Kempton to try 2 miles for the first time. Although she is related to decent sprinters such as Strike Up The Band, she is a slight exception to the family as she is best over a longer trip. She ran on well to finish 3rd, she has such a lovely attitude and I just hope she can get her head infront soon.

Also to work this week was Didn't I Do Well, he will be our only runner next week when he hopefully heads for Southwell on Wednesday. He has been learning and improving all the time at home since his debut and we hope to see him put that into practise at the races.

Old boy Spirit of Sharjah is back in full work now and still contains all the enthusiasm he had when he was running in Group races as a two-year-old. He may be getting a little long in the tooth now but I can still see him picking up a few more races next year, he is a very good horse and I can't wait to see him run again after sustaining a leg injury last year. Also on the bench for most of the year has been Automotive (behind), he also has a lot of ability but he hasn't always been straight forward to train as he has a mind of his own, but fingers crossed he can make it back onto the track safe and sound in the near future.

Autumn blues

We've had runners almost every day this week and to say it hasn't been the best of weeks would be an understatement! Monday saw Khajaaly and Tiger's Home travel to Leicester. The former has got excuses as the ground would of been softer than ideal and is probably high enough in the weights at the minute, he will hopefully be one to look out for round Wolverhampton through the winter. While Tiger's Home was returning from a break, we thought she'd strengthened up alot after her time off and really fancied her as she has run well on soft ground before, but obviously she just needed the run.

Then Attain put in another stinker at Yarmouth the next day, he is now out in the field enjoying a short break, he's been on the go for a while and although we couldn't get that elusive win with him this year he has still put in some great efforts earlier in the year.

Wednesday was the day Emma's Gift ran at Lingfield, she had a really illustrious winter campaign last year and now she is dropping down a few pounds we might see another one this winter. I was slightly let down the next day at Kempton with Exopuntia, she ran a cracker the time before to finish second but could never get near the front where she normally bowls along.

We only had a handful to work this week, Sail Home (below) worked fantastically well and we are looking forward to what she has to offer this winter.

One that is known in the yard to be a little lazy is Didn't I Do Well, but we put a pair of cheekpieces on him and stuck him along side reliable work companion Entrance and he worked well, hopefully he will keep up the good work at the races.

Three that just did a long canter were Spirit Of Sharjah (infront), who is currently on a come back mission after sustaining an injury last winter, followed by stable star No Such Number who we are struggling to find races for now the turf has turned against him and there are barely any races for him on the all-weather. Then last was Automotive, he was a bit of a head scratcher for us last year before he also suffered an injury, he's now back to full work and will be hitting a racetrack soon.

It's always hard being the new kid in the playground as Believe In Me found out this week but she was welcomed into the herd by Bonnie the miniature horse. BIM has had a busy first season and we've decided to give her a break for a few months to freshen her up. While Bonnie is our racehorse companion that we travel with horses that are alittle nervous travelling, she may only be small but she makes a whole load of difference to the horses temperaments.

We had two new faces onto the yard this week. Below infront is Handheld, he has only run 7 times, winning on his debut for Andre Fabre at Deauville and has gone on to be placed 3 times. We've only had him a week and just turned him out to let him relax before a winter campaign. Here he's pictured with Attain and one of the Araafa yearlings by Saga River who is being given time to grow and mature before we think about training him.

Another new face was Vastly, a big strapping cold by Mizzen Mast out of Valentine Band and is half brother to a horse we had alot of run with called Spruce who was very successful. He is also full brother to Putney Bridge who has won a Listed race and been Group placed, shares are available on the website.

Just the two runners next week, kicking off with Generous Genella on Tuesday at Southwell. She was quite disappointing before she got injured and now its just a mission to try and figure out why she works so well at home but doesn't show it at the races. Then on Wednesday is the lovable Kampai at Kempton, she has been unlucky not to win yet and is our best hope of bringing us out of the autumn blues.