Bitter lows after great highs

After the triumphant highs of last week's winners, we were dealt some cruel blows this week.
We had only bought Never Another in July but he had been showing plenty of promise on the gallops ahead of his debut at Market Rasen on Saturday. All was going fine as he sat in mid-division throughout the race but then at the halfway point he suddenly slowed down and pulled up and then collapsed to the ground. Sadly he had suffered a heart attack and died instantly.
It is always very upsetting to lose a horse, particularly one as exciting as he was. If it is any consolation, he wouldn't have felt a thing and we know he enjoyed his life thoroughly at our yard, Harraton Stud. It was just a freak occurrence and the first time one of my horses has passed away at the track in 13 years of training.

Never Another

I never handle a horse's death well and I would have been very emotional if I was at the track on the day. However, another unfortunate incident meant that I couldn't go. On Tuesday morning, I was doing just a routine canter aboard my regular safe ride Handheld when, at a fast canter, my stirrup leather snapped and I had no chance of keeping balance so fell off the side. With the speed we were going, my injuries could have been a lot worse than the broken collarbone and bruising that I suffered. I was very sore for a few days afterwards but am feeling a lot better everyday so hope to be back at the races in the coming days. Driving and riding will be out of the question for a while now but luckily I have a good team off staff to keep things running smoothly.

On a happier note, former stable star Spirit of Sharjah is thoroughly enjoying his new life as a pony with Richard Perham who sent me some snaps of their ride together the other day. He is only in the next village of Burwell but I doubt on the heath he ever encountered rising bridges and herds of cows as he is now! It is great to see him enjoying things and emphasises our ethos of finding all our horses a good home when they retire from racing.

Spirit of Sharjah enjoying a different view

 

We've got plenty of runners entered for the coming days but whether they run depends on a lot of different circumstances.

Silver Alliance and Tiger's Home are entered at Bath tomorrow but both need the forecast showers to hit the track if they are going to run. Silver has had a great season with three wins but is a bit high in the handicap as a result. He is in top form however and the track should suit his hold-up style.

Tiger hasn't gone on from her early promise but she definitely has the ability to win so we are just hoping things will drop right for her.

 

On Wednesday, we have a whole host of entries but likely very few runners.

Exopuntia is entered at Kempton but the race is over-subscribed so I doubt she will get a run. Bethan's race at Nottingham is heavily entered too but I hope she can squeeze into the race to have her third run and qualify for a handicap mark. Also that day is Entrance in a lady amateurs' race. She enjoys fast ground and has won at the track so things could be in her favour.

No Such Number is in at Salisbury that day too. He is versatile with regards to the ground so the uncertain weather forecast poses no worries. The race is unusual in that there will be no starting stalls to start it but the flag start shouldn't be a problem and could just perk him up a little!

 

Entrance (Graham) & Bestfootforward (Ross)

Last week's Brighton winner Bestfootforward has come on a tonne since her run and she is all set to run on the 8th October back at Brighton. The handicapper put her up a whopping 19lbs in the ratings but that's not such a bad thing as she was rated so low before, at least she will be able to get into a race now.

Lea Valley (Shelley) & Omega Omega (Danny)

The mornings are getting a bit chilly now as some of the horses begin their winter holidays. Bushy Glade and Honeymoon Express still have the fighting spirit in them though and let off some steam in the paddock by having a good gallop round.

Bushy Glade and Honeymoon Express

A brilliant week

What a fantastic week that was. We've just cleared up all the tables and chairs from this morning's Open Day and it was great to see so many new and old faces at the yard.
Even though our yard is a bit outside of central Newmarket so visitors have to make a bit of effort to get to us on the town's open day, your visits are very much appreciated and I hope you were pleased with what you saw and enjoyed the cakes and coffees on offer. Many thanks to Dillys and Sheila for their contributions.
Things got off to the best possible start on Monday as Bestfootforward landed a bit of a surprise win at Brighton. She had been working well at home but her form for other trainers was very poor. The move to our yard must have done her good though as she made all the running and won easily by five lengths. It's very satisfying to win with a horse first time out for you when other trainers have struggled to even get them to beat a rival. I must be doing something right!
Another surprise was The Ducking Stool's success on Wednesday. She had won twice already this season so was very high in the handicap and was running in a class above what she usually does. Despite this, she cruised through the race and galloped on to win her fifth race at Yarmouth. She seems to love the place so we will keep her to the track and hope she can carry on improving. It was another great day for the Hoofbeats Racing Club who have only been going a month but have three winners already and there were many happy faces to cheer her home.

Hopefully the coming seven days can be as successful as we have some good chances.
Hamble goes to Leicester tomorrow for the Hoofbeats Racing Club and he is in great form. We schooled him over some jumps last week and it seems to have perked him right up. The ground is a bit firmer than ideal but he is really well handicapped so should be thereabouts.

Handheld (Julia) & Hamble (Graham)

 

We have runners almost everyday this week and the horsebox will be back on the road on Wednesday as Vastly heads to Kempton. I don't know why but he is a much better horse on the all-weather than the turf so we're putting him back on the sand. It's a maiden race but he's one of the highest rated so if he runs up to his mark, he should be in the shake-up.

Automotive will make the journey up to Haydock again on Thursday. He didn't quite stay 1m4f there last time but a return to 1m2f should help him out and he is in top order. It's an apprentice race but we have Shelley Birkett in the saddle which is always a bonus.



Automotive (Shelley) & Vastly (Alfie)
 

We don't have many horses run in bumper races so it's hard to know what to expect but Never Another has been showing plenty of ability at home on the gallops ahead of his debut at Market Rasen on Saturday. If there were suitable races about I would run him on the flat but there aren't so we're trying him in a bumper as I don't think the distance will be a problem. It's the course's big meeting of the autumn so there may be some good horses in the race but hopefully he will have an enjoyable first experience.

Never Another (Ross) & Silver Alliance (Reno)

I don't like making really long journeys up north as it costs a lot in diesel and time but there's an ideal race for No Such Number at Ayr a week on Tuesday. It's frustrating he hasn't won again this season but he hasn't had the rub of the green. Maybe a bit of Scottish air will change his fortunes.

No Such Number (Danny)

My husband John's dad Tony has been hard at work for the past few weeks constructing a field shelter for the mares and foals. After first making it 12ft tall (more like a giraffe shed!) he decided 10ft would be more appropriate and it looks great. The horses love it and have already been using it to escape the showers. It will make a huge difference in the winter to keep our future champions warm and dry.

The new shelter gets a thumbs up

Jumping out of their skins

It definitely seems as though autumn is now well and truly here as I look out the window and see the trees blowing in the wind and rain lashing the window.
Although the racing bandwagon never really stops, it will be a sad sight to see the end of the turf season as it means we are restricted to just the four all-weather tracks for the winter so I'll be trying to make the most of the flat season's last few months.

We've got a busy week ahead as some proper rain has hit the country and I can finally get some of the soft ground horses out.
Bestfootforward has never run for us but all her homework has been very pleasing since she joined the yard in the summer. She hasn't shown much form for her other trainers but I think seven furlongs is a good distance for her to start out at and at Brighton you can get some shock results so let's just hope she can be one of them.

Entrance (Julia), Tiger's Home (Adam) & Bestfootforward (Alfie)

Another shock would be if Tiger's Home got her nose in front at Yarmouth on Tuesday, not because of her ability but because it is likely to be a hot race. There aren't any suitable handicaps for her so we have to go into maiden company again but the drop back to six furlongs will be ideal for her and she loves soft ground so she might just upset the big guns.

Now and again we like to school some of the older horses just to give them a change to their routine and let them enjoy themselves.
Silver Alliance has been jumping for a while now and the natural ability he shows for the game has encouraged me to run him under National Hunt rules. There's a nice introductory race for him at Market Rasen in a fortnight's time so, with his owners' consent, that would be a good target. He has already had a successful flat campaign with three wins but his handicap mark is now very high so maybe we can squeeze a few more wins out of him over the timber.

Silver Alliance (Alfie)

No Such Number ran another great race at Bath yesterday, finishing fourth but just one length behind the winner. It's frustrating that he hasn't won yet but I'm sure there's a success just around the corner when everything goes right. He did jump well though considering it was his first time off the ground so jumping could be an option if he can't get a win on the flat.

No Such Number (Reno)

One who wasn't so natural over the sticks was Handheld. Having started life as Frankel's work companion, I think he was a bit mortified to be pointed at a hurdle! The experience seems to have sharpened him up though as he pulled my arms out up the canter this morning. He runs in a fortnight at Leicester now he has some soft ground.

Handheld (Graham)

After a few glasses of wine on Wednesday night, I must have been feeling brave as I volunteered to school a horse too. After a few hurdles I was starting to regret the decision but luckily Attain has jumped before so he was a safe conveyance!
Attain runs at Beverley on Wednesday and, providing the ground is soft, I really think he will run well. It's a bad race and he is well handicapped so hopefully it will be his day.

Attain (Julia)

The horse I expected to jump the worse was actually the best. Hamble doesn't strike me as one who would enjoy jumping but he pinged all the hurdles and seemed to love it. A run over jumps could be an option for him but I'd like to win on the flat with him first.

Hamble (Ross)

One who definitely won't run over jumps is Entrance. She is a bit mad anyway but the experience will do her good and make her think about trying a bit harder on the flat!

Entrance (Shelley)

The filly provided some hair-raising moments for her rider Shelley as you ca see from her facial expression!

For the rest of the week, we have The Ducking Stool at her beloved Yarmouth on Wednesday. She is very high in the handicap so winning might prove difficult but she will be there giving her all as always.
Bethan also has her second career run at Sandown on Wednesday. She has come on for her debut but this is another hot race so she will likely need the experience once again.

Riding the highs and lows

They say racing is a game full of highs and lows and our apprentice Shelley Birkett experienced it all this week. It all kicked off well as she collected a cheque for £500 after finishing second in Salisbury's season-long apprentice race series. Then she was lucky enough to get a ride in a £50,000 handicap shown on Channel 4 on Saturday before heading up to Wolverhampton and riding an easy winner for Gay Kelleway. However, today brought her back down to earth as she paid a visit to the doctor's to get an abscess on her leg checked out which had been bothering her. The surgeon thought it was serious enough to require immediate attention so she is in Bury hospital having it removed. It's nothing serious but was getting painful for her. Unfortunately it means she'll be out of action for the next week but hopefully the op shouldn't take much time to recover from.

All this means Shelley won't be able to ride Vastly in an apprentice race at Leicester on Tuesday. Vastly himself had two lumps removed last month and he seems a completely different horse since the castration. Before he was a bit lethargic at home and on the track too but since then he is a lot keener and is working well. As he's such a big horse, he will improve for the run but he is rated so low that he should be in the shake-up anyway.
As Shelley's replacement we have Pat Millman. He has followed a similar route to Shelley by riding winners as an amateur before turning professional and, as he comes from a racing family, he knows horses well so there are no worries in that respect.

It's frustrating that No Such Number hasn't got his head in front yet this season but hopefully that will change before the winter sets in. He's had excuses on almost all his runs so we're returning him to the course and distance which his only win has come over at Bath on Saturday. He is in great form so I just hope everything goes to plan.

Never Another (Ross) & No Such Number (Reno)

Those are the only two runners we're set to have this week as we still wait for some proper rain to arrive for the soft ground horses. One who has been thriving on the firm going though is Honeymoon Express and she is still in great order. There's another race for her back at Yarmouth in a couple of weeks so she looks set for that in a bid to win three on the bounce.
Bestfootforward hasn't run for us yet after coming from another trainer a couple of months ago but she is very near to hitting the track now. She is quite a head-strong filly but enjoys her work and should be making an impact.

Honeymoon Express (Alfie), Bestfootforward (Graham) & Entrance (Julia)

Don't forget that the Open Day is in a few weeks' time on Sunday 22nd September. Our yard as well as most in Newmarket will be open to the public and we'll have plenty of refreshments on offer as well as a chance for you to meet all the stars. In the afternoon there are then a series of activities (including a trainers v jockeys 5-a-side football match) at the Rowley Mile racecourse so there really is no excuse to not come. Check it all out here: http://www.newmarketopenday.co.uk/

Double delight!

Maybe I should do a Saturday blog more often. After being forced to write my usual Sunday sermon a day early, we enjoyed a fantastic double the following day.
Twice now Honeymoon Express' chances have been snubbed by the racing press due to an over-hyped odds-on favourite and twice now she has firmly put them in their place. Running just five days after getting her head in front at Yarmouth, she showed she still had plenty of petrol left in the tank by again making all of the running at the seaside venue. She had to dig deep this time though as the winning distance was only a head but Shelley said she was looking at the bouncy castle near the finish and slowed down.
We have to wait until Tuesday to see how the handicapper reacts and then we can decide where to go from there.

Honeymoon Express wins again at Yarmouth

Then just 15 minutes later, Automotive romped home down at Goodwood. There really is no better feeling than seeing your horse win when at another course when you've just enjoyed one at the course you are at. It was extra special as both horses were ridden by my kids so it shows I must have taught them something at least!
Ross seems to have found the key to riding Mo now and this was their second victory together this season. The pair team up again under a penalty at Haydock on Thursday and, if he stays the extra distance, I hope a hat-trick could be on the agenda.
This was only the third double of my training career so I was pretty chuffed to do it again.


Automotive romps home at Goodwood

After Sunday we had very few runners with just No Such Number running a bit below par in the Amateur Derby at Epsom.
This week finally sees the racecourse debut of Bethan. She has had a few niggling problems that have kept her off the track but the last couple of months things have been very straightforward and she is all set to run. She is still very green so will benefit for the experience but it will be a relief just to see her on the track.
Also on Wednesday is Omega Omega at Bath. Everyone in the yard is still scratching their heads over why this filly hasn't won yet as she goes so well at home. Blinkers seem to have got a little bit more out of her recently but we just have to hope that the penny will drop sooner rather than later.

Omega Omega (Alfie) & Bethan (Adam)

Never Another was the most expensive horse I've ever bought when costing 35,000gns at the July Sales but he's been looking worth every penny of that since and has been impressing us in his faster paces. He looks likely to need a long distance so may start off in a bumper as in a flat maiden he will have to give away so much weight because he is a four-year old. Either way, I can't wait to run him in three or four weeks' time.

Never Another (Ross) & Sancho Panza (Shelley)



Exopuntia (Billy)

 

Lea Valley (Reno)

On Friday we had to say goodbye to Arthur who had been with us on work experience during the summer holidays. It's fair to say he was somewhat reluctant to do any work at the start of things but a bit of graft did him no harm and he was a good character to have around the yard. After he went racing for the first time and the horse finished last, I told him he won't be going again but he somehow found himself in the horsebox off to the races the following day and the horse won so all was forgiven.
He got plenty of stick off the lads in the yard about his raking technique but it improved dramatically over the weeks he was here and was deemed worthy of a National Raking Qualification level one certificate before he left. It was all tongue in cheek but he accepted it with pride.

Arthur receives his NRQ 1 certificate from Poppy