Wind, rain and winners?

We've battened down the hatches in preparation for the strong winds tonight as gusts of up to 90mph have been forecast to hit us and we just have to hope not too much damage is found in the morning. We might be waking up in Cambridge as our log cabin house isn't too sturdy!

The winds will also have an effect on the runners this week too as Leicester are holding an inspection at 7.30am tomorrow to see if racing can take place. We have Hamble going there, just a few days after he ran at Yarmouth last week. He came out of that race well and opportunities are running out for him on the turf now so we have to get him out quickly and make the most of the soft ground. He probably wants a mile but the finish is a stiff one so hopefully that will negate the seven furlong trip.

We'll be mob handed at our favourite track of Yarmouth on Tuesday as the course hosts its final meeting of 2013. Remarkably, I'm in the top three of leading trainers at the track this year with 8 winners - we have had a lot of luck by the seaside.
One course regular with five victories at the course is The Ducking Stool and she'll be heading there for one last hurrah. She keeps on improving and probably ran a career best when second last time. She is high in the handicap now but never lets us down so must have a chance.

The Ducking Stool (Reno)

Completing the quartet of runners at Yarmouth on Tuesday are Believe In Me, Omega Omega and Silver Alliance. Silver has had a great year with three wins and ran a blinder to finish third at Nottingham last time. He's high in the handicap but still in great form so could land a place.

Omega Omega has been a bit disappointing but has shown ability on the gallops. She's running out of chances now so needs to put up a good show.

Believe In Me keeps finding ways to avoid running and as a result has only been seen once this year. She is fine now and needs to show us what she has got.

Believe In Me (Shelley), Omega Omega (Adam) & Silver Alliance (Ross)

 

Our apprentice Shelley Birkett has had a season to remember with 22 winners in her debut year and Friday at Newbury was another memorable occasion as she was crowned champion of the 'hands and heels' apprentice riders' series. Richard Hughes did the honours of presenting her trophy and she also received a mechanical horse to practice her riding on. The day got better for her as she won the final race on the card by a whopping eight lengths!

Two Champions: Shelley & Hughsie

 

It's a busy time of year in the yard as not only do we have the older horses still on the go but also the babies are starting to come into the yard. We currently have five yearlings, three of which are still at school being taught the basics. However, the two fillies who we have had since they were foals are now back with us and I'm very happy with them.

Mercy Me is a strong filly who looks like she could be decent whilst her mate Celestine Abbey will probably need a bit more time to grow but has a really nice attitude and is by a successful sire in Authorized. They will just be hacking and trotting to strengthen up and there is no rush with them as they cannot run until they are two year olds next April.

Mercy Me

Celestine Abbey

 

Despite the astronomical prices seen at Tattersalls yearling sales over the past few weeks, I managed to pick up a few bargains and, amazingly, they all have owners!

The one who I think will be a real racy two year old is a filly by Zebedee owned by Dick Creese. Zebedee himself was a top class juvenile and she is from a precocious family so is certainly bred to be speedy. 

Dick Creese meets his Zebedee filly

 

Owner Carol Bushnell was looking for a replacement for her old star Sancho Panza who was retired in the summer. She got just that and couldn't have picked a better replacement! The colt by Duke of Marmalade is a dead-ringer for Sancho and even has his grey-specked coat. He will likely get better with age but the sire is an exciting young one and he is related to some very good horses.

Duke of Marmalade colt

 

I'm going to be flat out this week because we have runners everyday and the horses in training sale at Tattersalls is on all week. I'm hoping to buy a couple and we usually find a decent handicapper here.

 

Exopuntia heads to Nottingham on Wednesday and we're hoping the step up to 1m2f will bring about some improvement. She is well handicapped but hasn't been getting competitive over one mile.

One with plenty of speed is Bestfootforward and she goes to Lingfield the following day. She was a bit outclassed last time but drops in grade now and the seven furlongs at Lingfield should suit her perfectly so hopefully we can get another win out of her.

Finally, on Friday we're closer to home as Handheld heads to Newmarket. He won with a bit in hand last time and is thriving so could get us a rare HQ winner.

No winners but plenty to cheer

As a small yard you can get a bit spoilt by having a winner every week, as we had done over the past month or so, so it was a bit disappointing not to get into the winner's circle over the past seven days but the horses did all run well.

Bethan had her third career run at Windsor on Monday and she will now qualify for handicap races. We will find out on Tuesday what her mark is but hopefully it will be in the region of 60 and off that mark on soft ground over a long trip, she is definitely capable of winning a race.
Attain and Bestfootforward went down south for the last meeting of 2013 at Brighton and ran with credit. Bestfootforward was racing in a grade above what she is used to and just found it a bit too much for her but still picked up a bit of prize money in 4th. Also filling the same spot was Attain who ran great but it is infuriating that he hasn't won a race yet. He loves soft ground so we've just got to keep firing him while conditions are ideal and hope he hits the target!

There's just a trio of runners this week, kicked off by Hamble and The Ducking Stool at Yarmouth tomorrow.
Ducky has excelled herself this season with three wins, all at Yarmouth, but as a result is a bit high in the handicap. She surprised us last time by pulling out enough to win so you couldn't rule her out at her favourite track with soft ground in her favour.
Hamble is another genuine horse and he too loves some give in the ground. He ran a blinder at Leicester last time and if he doesn't get too outpaced, he will be in the mix at the finish.

No Such Number goes to Newbury on Friday for the finale of the apprentice riders' 'Hands and Heels' series. Our apprentice Shelley Birkett has already won the title after a couple of wins in other races throughout the year but she will be riding for us still and has to collect her prize of a brand new mechanical horse to practice riding a finish on. Number could end the series on a high for her though as he is in top form and ran another solid race at Goodwood last time. He's finding winning a bit difficult at present as he is so consistent the handicapper doesn't drop him but the step up to two miles could eek out a bit more improvement in him.
Shelley had a great ride in the valuable apprentice race at Ascot on Champions' Day. She finished third and was arguably a bit unlucky as the field split in two groups across the track and she won her side but unfortunately the first and second were over the other end of the course. She said it was a great thrill though and it was an honour to ride on the big stage.

Targeting 20

Another week and, I'm pleased to report, another winner.
We had been waiting all summer for some soft ground for Handheld and when he finally got it at Nottingham on Wednesday, he won. It wasn't the plan to make the running but jockey Shelley Birkett rode a very sensible race from the front and had enough in reserve to see off the late challengers. The gelding is thriving at the moment and I hope he can pick up another race before the season is out.
You may have seen the picture below already as it was used in the Hoofbeats Racing Club advert which was in the Racing Post on Friday. Many others did see it and Robert and Linda Wright (seen on the right) even got autograph requests at Goodwood on Sunday!


Happy Handheld connections

Hopefully we can get another win on the tally as we home in on 20 victories for the season - we're just two away at the minute.
Bethan heads to Windsor today to have her third career run meaning she will qualify for a handicap next time. She should love the soft ground but the one mile distance might be a bit short for her.

We've got three entries on Thursday at Brighton but the races are very over-subscribed so it is hit and miss whether we will get a run.
Bestfootforward was a runaway winner on her first run for us and then she unseated Shelley in the stalls last week. She continued to run with the rest of the field and even crossed the line in second but sadly we didn't get any prize money! She is fine after that mishap and is heading back to Brighton. The race is a bit higher grade than she is used to but it is the last meeting at the track and we know she likes it there so it is worth a shot.
Also that day is Attain. He has been dying for some really soft ground and the more rain Brighton gets, the better. He is well handicapped and has run well at the track before so I hope he can get into the race.

Lea Valley (Shelley) & Attain (Ross)

Due to a lack of suitable races and difficulty in getting the low rated horses into a race, we might have to do some miles at the weekend.
On Saturday, Lea Valley and Omega Omega are entered at Catterick. Both are very similar types - they go very well on the gallops at home but still haven't managed to reproduce that ability on the track. They will probably appreciate the soft conditions so maybe they'll decide to perform this time.

The following day, Exopuntia and Tiger's Home are in at Bath. Tiger was a surprise winner there last time but she seemed to go better by not being hit with the whip. The win has done her confidence some good so let's hope she can continue her good form.
Exopuntia is a tricky filly but capable on her day. If she is in the mood, a good run could be on the cards.

Believe In Me (Graham) & Exopuntia (Danny)

Believe In Me has had her fair share of problems this season but she is on the comeback trail now and did her first proper bit of work in a while on Saturday. She is fit and well now so should be hitting the track in a couple of weeks.

The Ducking Stool continues to surprise us and she will head back to her beloved Yarmouth on October 22nd as she bids to win her fourth race of the year and her sixth at the course.

The Ducking Stool (Reno)

Still riding the rollercoaster

After the terrible last week, I'm delighted to report things have taken a turn for the better and proved yet again what an unpredictable game horseracing is.
I was really umming and arring about whether to run Silver Alliance and Tiger's Home at Bath on Monday as on paper it didn't look like they had very good chances. Silver had won three races already this season and was racing off a very high handicap mark whilst Tiger had gone out of form. Our apprentice Shelley Birkett was riding at the meeting however so I thought they might as well go with her. When her other ride was a non runner, I was seriously tempted to tell the box to come home instead of finishing the three and a half hour journey to the races.
It's just as well I didn't though as Tiger's Home pulled off the surprise of the season by winning the first race of her career at odds of 20/1. I thought five and a half furlongs would be a bit short for her but she broke from the stalls well and managed to hang on to the leaders before staying on to lead at the finish. It's a huge relief to win with her as her owners have been very patient but I think a key factor in the win was the fact that the race was 'Hands and Heels' only- maybe she doesn't like being hit with the stick. Hopefully this win will do her confidence the world of good and she can follow up next time.

This success means that Shelley has all but won the 'Hands and Heels' series for apprentices now so that is a fine achievement, being the first girl to win it too. Saturday was another feather in her cap as she won a big handicap shown live on Channel 4 when Mabait charged late to win at Newmarket. It's high profile wins like this she needs to boost her career so hopefully other trainers will start taking note.

Shelley Birkett wins aboard Mabait

Seeing as she is in such good form, hopefully some of the magic can rub off on ours this week.
Brighton has always been a lucky track for us and Bestfootforward continued our love affair with the place by running out an easy winner there last time. That was her first run for us and she has thrived since. She won over seven furlongs that time but on Tuesday there were only suitable races over six furlongs or a mile. We left the decision to Shelley and she thinks that six furlongs will be fine as she has loads of speed and the slow ground won't stop her. I hope she's right!

Handheld (Adam), Bestfootforward (Ross) & Entrance (Danny)

The following day we have two old favourites heading to Nottingham.
Handheld won at the track earlier in the season and has only ran once since due to a lack of soft ground. It looks like it may dry out a bit before Wednesday but he'll run anyway as he is so well and I hope he can run another great race as I think he is still well handicapped.
Silver Alliance, on the other hand, is a bit too high in the weights but he's in great form so there's no reason not to run him. It's hard to be too confident but he always tries his hardest so you cannot discount a good run.

I'm tearing my hair out trying to get horses like Lea Valley and Omega Omega in a race. They are both rated quite low and in this type of race there are dozens of entries which makes life very tough. They were in at Brighton but both got balloted out and I'll just have to keep persevering to get them to run as both are capable of winning given an opportunity.

Lea Valley (Shelley) & Omega Omega (Graham)

Another who has been frustrating me is No Such Number. It's through no fault of the horse but I can't believe that he hasn't won another race this season. He has received a few bad rides and has been very unlucky but because he is so consistent, the handicapper doesn't drop his rating. He is in at Goodwood on Sunday and it's a race he is more than capable of winning providing everything falls right. Any rain would be an added bonus.

No Such Number (Reno)

With winter approaching, it was time to wean our two foals from their mares. Both took the separation well enough and the process was helped with the addition of two other foals from owner Peter Foster. One is a strong looking filly by Sir Percy whilst the other is a stocky Archipenko colt. The group all bonded very quickly and, as you can see, they took no time to chill out!