Chilly clipping

There's certainly a chill in the air now and I have been busy in the yard clipping horses as they have grown longer coats with the drop in temperature recently. Obviously the horses grow longer coats to keep warm but it is no good for the horses in training as it means they sweat more at exercise and then could get scabby skin underneath the thick coat so that's why we clip them. We make sure they are wrapped up in plenty of rugs afterwards to keep toasty with their new haircut.

It was a frustrating week with not much luck going our way. Attain didn't have the race run how he likes it at Wolverhampton on Friday whilst the flip start for Bestfootforward at Lingfield on Saturday was a farce after the starting stalls were vandalised overnight. She was slowly away and could never get involved.

Hopefully the new week will bring a bit more luck as we have a couple of runners.
Tiger's Home has been due a holiday but she keeps on running really well so it keeps getting postponed. However, whatever the result on Tuesday at Wolverhampton, she'll be given a break. She doesn't have a great draw but is in fine form so can hopefully end on a high.

Bestfootforward will be making a quick reappearance on Wednesday as she didn't have much of a race at the weekend so she is still fresh and well. She needs a few to come out to get into the race but I hope she does as it certainly looks winnable...providing there are stalls this time!

Unfortunately Believe In Me is now retired after her below par run on Wednesday at Kempton. She has always gone well at home but never really shown it on the track. She is a lovely looking filly who will make someone a lovely pony. If you are interested in having her, or know someone who can provide a good home, please get in touch.

We bought a trio of new horses at the sales last month and they're all coming along great. Avidly ran in France pretty recently so she was quite fit when she arrived. We gave her her first piece of work on Saturday and although it was only a gentle workout, she showed plenty of promise. She has only run twice in her career and is still a bit green but all the early signs are pleasing.

No Such Number (Shelley), Avidly (Ross) & Bethan (Adam)

Tolly McGuinness is also lightly raced having only graced the track once. He is a lovely little horse who is a favourite of many in the yard because he is so kind and gentle. He's needed time to strengthen but he is going strongly now and won't be far off a run. He is no world beater but I certainly hope he can win a race.

Tolly McGuinness (Danny) & Omega Omega (Reno)

Suffering seconditis

After such a great season with plenty of different horses surprising us and winning, it's no surprise that luck has turned on us a bit. That's not to say things have gone dramatically down hill, far from it, but we are currently suffering with a bit of 'seconditis'.
First it was Handheld being mugged at Newmarket a few weeks ago and now it is Tiger's Home and Attain who both found one too good at Wolverhampton recently. I suppose finishing second is better than finishing last so the horses must still be in great order but it is a bit frustrating to keep hitting the woodwork!

Hopefully we can get win number 19 on the board this week with a few good chances.
First up is Hamble on Wednesday at Lingfield. After winning at Newmarket in the summer, he has struggled a bit since but remains in good order and is not too exposed on the all-weather so there could be more to come. The trip and track should suit him so hopefully he can grind it out from the front.

Believe In Me has a couple of entries and will run on Wednesday too providing she isn't balloted out but if she is, she'll head to Kempton on Thursday. She had a few problems over the summer so didn't run but made a promising comeback over too far last time. She's improved a lot for the run and the drop to one mile will be ideal. She may just surprise us if things go right.

As already mentioned, Attain was mugged at Wolverhampton last week but it was good to know he can handle the track's deep surface so we're heading back to the course with him again this Friday. He's still a maiden after 18 runs but there's nothing wrong with his attitude and he'll win one very shortly.

Bestfootforward keeps getting balloted out of races and it's very frustrating as she is ready to win again. She's in at Lingfield on Saturday and will go close if getting a run.

No Such Number is going hurdling at the start of next month and he had another session over the sticks on Friday. He was a lot more professional this time and got nice and low at the jumps. He'll have another refresher just before he runs and hopefully he can do well at the game.

No Such Number (Trevor Whelan)

We had a visit from two old friends today as Richard Perham came to see us aboard Spirit of Sharjah. After Spirit of Sharjah retired from racing in August, Richard agreed to have him as a pony and the pair seem very happy with each other in their new life. Richard used to ride Spirit when he was racing so it's good that he knows him and I think Richard enjoys the distraction of riding him after a hectic day working as a jockey coach at the British Racing School. I'm pleased to report neither of them have put on too much weight since leaving the yard!

Richard Perham & Spirit of Sharjah

 

Last weekend our apprentice jockey Shelley Birkett rode in Abu Dhabi in an international apprentice riders' race and she did well to finish sixth despite the horse not being the fittest. She didn't come back with much of a tan but had plenty of fun and is freshened up for the winter action. Unfortunately she didn't bring any rich Arab owners back to the yard though!

Shelley in 4th place with a circuit to go at Abu Dhabi

 

Sights on the sand

Just like last week, we started with some intended runners but the weather scuppered our plans and the intended meeting was abandoned. This time it was Redcar where we where meant to trek up to on Monday but a waterlogged track put paid to that. Luckily the meeting was called off the day before so no-one made any wasted journeys.

Talking of wasted journeys, I must praise the much-maligned ARC. This is the company which owns the majority of the tracks we race on, including Bath where we went to last month, only for the meeting to be abandoned due to a flooded jockeys' changing room. It was a long and expensive journey for us to make and at the time ARC said they would compensate connections for their journeys. We're used to hearing this guff before but ARC fulfilled the promise and this week I received a cheque which covered the diesel and staff expenses for the day. It was a shame not to run Tiger's Home as she was in top form but this helps to soothe any hard feelings.

The turf season is now officially over so there are no worries of any flat meetings being rained off as we switch to the all-weather for the winter and we're making the most of it this week.
First up tomorrow is Omega Omega at Kempton. She has taken a long time to fill into her big frame but she is getting there now and her third place at Yarmouth last time was a career best. She will probably struggle to beat the hot favourite but the rest look beatable so I hope she can land a place.

On Tuesday we head up to Wolverhampton. I haven't had any runners there since the surface was replaced a few months ago as the jockeys said it wasn't very good ground but now it has settled down, I'm happy to return. We have two runners and both have great chances. Tiger's Home finally got her head in front last time and has been flying at home since so I hope she can continue her recent improvement.
Bethan will be accompanying her and making her handicap debut. She has shown promise in a trio of maidens and has been given a nice handicap. The step up in trip will suit her so she should fare better now providing she still isn't too inexperienced.

Tiger's Home (Shelley)

Bethan (Graham) & Hamble (Danny)

The horsebox won't be given much time to cool down as on Wednesday we're off to Lingfield with another two. Hamble has been running consistently on the turf and is in need of this step up to a mile. He hasn't been tried much on the all-weather before so that will be a bit of an unknown but he is jumping out of his skin at home.
Bestfootforward will be keeping him company and she too is in great order. The trip and track should be ideal for her and I'd love to win another race with her.

I'd also love to win a race with Attain who has proven very frustrating with many good runs but no wins. He has been pretty consistent recently and is in a bad race so fingers crossed it may be his day at last.

Entrance is also an elusive character to win with nowadays but she consented to put her head in front at Lingfield in the summer. She hasn't done a lot on turf since but I hope the return to her favoured track on Saturday will mean she puts in a good effort.
On the contrary, an unexposed horse who will be travelling with her down to Surrey is Believe In Me. A series of small problems have kept her off the track for most of the year but her comeback run was full of promise as she travelled well before getting very tired. She's a lot fitter now and the drop in trip will be a big bonus.

Tolly McGuinness (Bruce) & Entrance (Norm)

We don't have many jumpers in the yard nowadays but it's always nice when an ideal type comes along as we have had a few National Hunt winners in the past. No Such Number has always struck me as a candidate to go over the obstacles and he has had a few schooling sessions now and looked a natural. Up and coming jockey Trevor Whelan has been down to have a sit on him and was impressed with him. He'll still need a few more practice runs to fine tune his jumping but he'll be out soon and should be doing himself proud.

No Such Number (Trevor)

We have been without our apprentice jockey Shelley Birkett over the weekend as she has been out in Abu Dhabi. I'm sure she got plenty of sun bathing in but that wasn't the reason why she was out there as she had been chosen to ride in an international apprentice riders' race at the city's racetrack. We managed to find a dodgy internet feed of the race so saw it all. She finished in sixth after a bit of a troubled passage with a faller in the race early on. The race was won by a South African jockey who was riding for the same trainer for whom Shelley was riding for. She's back tomorrow evening and the experience will have done her some good.

Changing seasons & new faces

I'm pleased to report that the yard is back to full strength and there isn't a space to let in our 26-box yard (although there's always room for a good horse!). I was very busy at the Tattersalls horses in training sale last week and managed to come away with three purchases. More on them later.

Yarmouth closed it's doors for 2013 on Tuesday and we had a raiding party of four there, all of whom ran well despite not winning. A third place each from The Ducking Stool and Omega Omega was very respectable whilst Silver Alliance told us he needs a holiday with a bit of a flat run. There was plenty of promise from Believe In Me as she travelled well but just got tired in her first run for a few months. I think she should be able to win on the all-weather this winter.

We are now entering the final week of the British flat racing season which is a depressing thought but it has flown by and hopefully we can end it with a bang as we target 20 winners for the year.
Redcar is our only opportunity to do it this week and the course is holding an inspection tomorrow to see if they can race on Tuesday due to flooding. I'm praying it passes the test as Attain needs the ground virtually waterlogged. He's in a weak seller and hopefully this is finally his day to get his head in front otherwise I might just leave him on the beach!
Bestfootforward will also be making the journey up north and she too doesn't mind soft going, having won on it at Brighton last month. Her race certainly looks winnable and she is in top order so hopefully can double her tally for the season.
We don't go to Redcar much but it has been a very lucky track for me - I rode my first winner as an amateur jockey there and I've also trained a 100/1 winner at the course. Let's home the luck continues!

Bestfootforward (Ross)

Hamble (Graham) & Attain (Shelley)

Bethan has had three runs now and got a handicap rating of 60 which I think is very fair on what she has shown so far. She'll need a trip to be seen at her best but there are loads of opportunities for her on the all-weather and her sire (Nayef) has a lot of winners at Southwell so the options are open for her.
Tolly McGuinness is a little star in the yard. He isn't very big and is still a colt but he is a very kind horse. He went a bit flat after his debut run in the summer but we've given him plenty of time and he is much better now and can hopefully earn some money on the sand this winter.

Bethan (Norm)

Tolly McGuinness (Bruce)

As you can see from the two photos above, we have a couple of new members to the team for the next few weeks. We annually take in some South Korean riders who are here to improve their riding and the pair we have this year are great. Norm and Bruce both ride very well and have very friendly attitudes so they fit right into yard life.

As I mentioned, we bought a trio of horses at the sales last week and here they are.
Avidly was trained by Pascal Bary in France for Juddmonte and finished second on her racecourse debut earlier this year at Chantilly. She then finished mid-division in her next start and looks an ideal type to be winning on the all-weather this winter. She is by successful sire Beat Hollow and from a good family so it all bodes well. She may be up for syndication but I am awaiting on one offer for her so I will keep you all informed.

Avidly (Ross)

We've bought lots of winners from Juddmonte down the years so I thought I'd get another and at 4,000gns, I think I've got a bargain. Candesta has only run once and you can see why - he is a big, rangy colt who has obviously needed time to grow. Even though he is still a full horse he has an incredibly kind temperament and is a pleasure to deal with. He is only in light work at the minute but could be anything.

Candesta (Graham)

The third member added to the squad is a more familiar name in Luhaif. He was an extremely talented two year old and finished third in a Group 3 at Glorious Goodwood behind Olympic Glory. He probably hasn't trained on but still shows smart form, as when filling the runner-up spot in a listed race at Lingfield earlier in the season. He looks an ideal type to target these valuable races they are promoting on the all-weather this winter so hopefully he can get our name onto the big stage.

Luhaif

We did actually receive a fourth new horse too, although he was placed with us, rather than bought. Veeraya was formally trained by William Haggas who felt he would benefit from a change of scenery and luckily he suggested to the owner that we have him. He has shown some good form and is rated quite highly. He has only been doing steady canters as he works his way back to full fitness but could be another to win some pounds on the all-weather.

Veeraya (Shelley)