Vastly...maiden no more!

After Attain finally lost his maiden tag two weeks ago, it would have been a bit too much to ask our other long-standing maiden Vastly to do the same but the winning feeling clearly rubbed off in the yard as things finally panned out right for the big grey lad and he got his nose in front at Wolverhampton on Monday.
The step up in trip seemed to really suit him and jockey Adam Beschizza was strong on him so he had no chance to dodge the issue. It was a huge relief to finally win with him as the owners had been so patient after a really promising start to his career. He's had a few problems since then but now all seems good with him mentally and physically so hopefully there will be plenty more good days to come with him this season.

Vastly in the winner's enclosure (contact me for more photos)

We've just got a couple of runners this week starting with Previous Acclaim at Lingfield on Tuesday. She has been disappointing since joining us but the handicapper is giving her a real chance all the time so eventually she will find her level. She is trying a longer trip for the first time and it should suit her as all she does is gallop. She is only small but tries her heart out so you always have a fighting chance.

Our other runner comes at Lingfield too but on Saturday when Veeraya heads down south. We thought he'd win last time but he could only finish fourth. The form of that race has worked out well though so maybe it wasn't such a bad effort. He doesn't show much ability at home but has plenty on the track and has dropped to a handy mark now. He's probably best fresh so the short break will have done him good and I expect him to be thereabouts at the business end.

Omega Omega (Ross) & Veeraya (Shelley)

 

With a couple of winners now on the board and a bit of heat from the sun, there's a great buzz about the yard as we all look forward to the new turf season in a month's time. We've got more horses than ever with all 28 boxes filled with happy faces and I can't wait to get started. All-weather racing serves a purpose and of course provides us with opportunities to train winners all year round but I do love the turf season with the variety of tracks on offer and some decent weather (sometimes!).

 

 

We have plenty of horses who are now back cantering after their winter holidays and I'm delighted with how they are going. They are only doing short, steady exercise at the minute but the intensity will gradually be ramped up and they should be ready to run soon enough.
Sadiigah is an interesting one that we bought from Clive Brittain last year. She fractured her pelvis for him but had shown good form in a few runs before then so she really is a blank canvas. She is built like a tank so I imagine sprinting will be her game and I look forward to seeing her in some faster paces.

Sadiigah (Ross)

 

Bushy Glade didn't show much last season but she has really grown over the winter and is now a much more powerful filly. Her attitude is faultless and she is a pleasure to do anything with. Her sire Bushranger was a big disappointment last year with his first crop of runners but it might just be that they get better with age and that certainly looks the case with this filly.

Bushy Glade (Graham)

 

Some of the more familiar faces are back in proper work too, including old boy Silver Alliance. He had a great time of things last year with three wins and he seems to have come back very happy and carrying plenty of condition. He loves life and is very enthusiastic on the gallops, probably because he has a great time in the field with his mates on a Sunday - it helps him chill out and recharge the batteries. He is very versatile with regards to ground so he should be in for another profitable season.

Silver Alliance (Reno)

 

The two-year olds are increasing their workload too as we try and see which ones are more forward than the rest and ready to run first. At this stage, it probably looks like Italia will be our first juvenile to hit the track as she is going about her work very well and seems to have plenty of speed. She is bred to win as a two-year old and the early signs are promising.

(l-r): Italia, Capatain Navarre, Duke of Diamonds & Handheld

Looking further ahead, we have next year's youngsters in the field outside our bungalow and they are growing at a rate of knots. We bred a colt and a filly and they have now been split up with the filly heading to Peter Foster's yard to keep his filly company whilst we have his colt at ours to entertain our own colt. They are real characters and it's hard to believe we will be riding them for the first time towards the end of the year. They'll be in for a shock when that time comes!

Two yearling colts playing whilst Tolly McGuinness grazes

 

We've been overwhelmed with entries for the Three To Follow competition and it's great to see so many names new and old signing up to play. It will give everyone plenty of interest throughout the year as they follow their selections and I don't think there are many entries with the same selections so competition should be fierce! There are still a couple of weeks until it starts so here's a reminder of the details if you haven't signed up yet.

 

So, here are the rules:

• You pick three of our horses to follow for the season March 1st - December 20th and each horse will earn points for finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any race.
• One horse must be chosen from POOL A (two-year & three year olds) whilst two horses are chosen from POOL B (older horses).
• All turf, all-weather & jumps races count so pick the horses that you think will earn you the most points throughout the year!
• Once you've chosen, email your 'Three to Follow' to Ross at rbirkett1989@hotmail.co.uk
• It's free to enter and there's a £100 prize to the winner so it would be stupid not to enter!

POOL A PICK ONE
Duke of Diamonds, Opus Two, Captain Navarre, Previous Acclaim, Italia, Celestine Abbey, Mercy Me, Bushy Glade, Tolly McGuinness.

POOL B PICK TWO
Honeymoon Express, Candesta, Silver Alliance, No Such Number, Sheila's Heart, Avidly, Meddling, Luhaif, Vastly, Automotive, Attain, The Ducking Stool, Bethan, Veeraya, Omega Omega, Amelia George, Handheld, Sadiigah, Tiger's Home.


GOOD LUCK!!!

Runners + THREE TO FOLLOW IS BACK!!

It may have taken Attain 23 runs to finally get his first win but I'm hoping the next one won't be too far away as he heads to Wolverhampton tomorrow with a great chance.
He won by six lengths at the track last weekend and the handicapper put him up 8lbs in the weights so he will need to put in another good performance but the victory seems to have done his confidence the world of good and he is bouncing at home.

Attain wins at Wolverhampton last weekend

 

Accompanying him to Dunstall Park will be Vastly. He too has found winning difficult but his run last time was a step in the right direction after having a back problem. He is quite a big and stuffy horse so I can imagine he will be a bit fitter this time too although we had done plenty with him before then. I had the choice between running him here or Southwell the next day but I'm glad I went for the first option as it doesn't look a great race. Our main question will be whether he needs a longer trip like this so maybe that will be the key to success.

Vastly (Ross)

 

Heading to the races on Tuesday will be another who ran an improved race last time in Previous Acclaim. She seems to handle Southwell's unique surface well so it makes sense to return there. The step up to a mile seemed to her liking last time too so hopefully all is in place for a good run. She is only small but tries her heart out and deserves to win soon.

When previously trained by Sir Michael Stoute, big things were expected of Meddling as her homework was very impressive but she never seemed to show similar form on the track. Her debut for us was a bit disappointing too but I think the seven furlongs that day was too short and she could do with further. This impression is supported by her breeder who emailed me after she ran to say that he too thought the filly would prefer a longer trip and they had tried telling Sir Stoute before with little response! Hopefully they're right and we will see on Friday as she tries 1m2f at Lingfield.

Meddling (Graham), Veeraya (Shelley) & No Such Number (Reno)

We're still waiting for the rain to stop to get No Such Number a run back over hurdles. He won on his debut over the sticks at the end of last year but hasn't had a chance to strut his stuff due to the soft ground ever since. It's not ideal but he may have to run on the all-weather again just to keep him ticking over. He doesn't seem to perform as well on the sand but it will be another run under his belt to keep him in top form for when the heavens dry up for a while.
Veeraya was a bit disappointing last time in fourth place after such a good debut for us but I think the race may have came a bit too soon and we're giving him a good break before he runs again on March 1st. He is a funny horse to train as he shows next to no ability on the gallops but can certainly run when he hits the track.




Handheld (Danny)

 

 

Avidly (Ross)

A couple of years ago we ran a 'Three to Follow' competition and it proved a great success with over 100 entries and plenty of entertainment over the year. It's probably time to do it again as now Ross is back he can sort it all out. So, here are the rules:

• You pick three of our horses to follow for the season March 1st - December 20th and each horse will earn points for finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any race.
• One horse must be chosen from POOL A (two-year & three year olds) whilst two horses are chosen from POOL B (older horses).
• All turf, all-weather & jumps races count so pick the horses that you think will earn you the most points throughout the year!
• Once you've chosen, email your 'Three to Follow' to Ross at rbirkett1989@hotmail.co.uk
• It's free to enter and there's a £100 prize to the winner so it would be stupid not to enter!

POOL A   PICK ONE
Duke of Diamonds, Opus Two, Captain Navarre, Previous Acclaim, Italia, Celestine Abbey, Mercy Me, Bushy Glade, Tolly McGuinness.

POOL B  PICK TWO
Honeymoon Express, Candesta, Silver Alliance, No Such Number, Sheila's Heart, Avidly, Meddling, Luhaif, Vastly, Automotive, Attain, The Ducking Stool, Bethan, Veeraya, Omega Omega, Amelia George, Handheld, Sadiigah, Tiger's Home.


GOOD LUCK!!!

No more pain from Attain!

They say good things come to those who wait and it's fair to say that we have been more than patient whilst waiting for Attain to win a race. After such a promising start to his career, it is hard to believe that it would be two years and 23 runs before he finally got his head in front. It's not as though he has been running badly his whole life - he is one of the most consistent horses in the yard with a string of second and third places to his name. However, everything panned right for him at Wolverhampton on Saturday night and he came home to win easily by six lengths. It was also my first winner of the new year so it's good to get on the scoreboard with plenty of ammunition for the season ahead.

Attain (Ross) gallops before his win

 

We're not back at the races this week until Wednesday when Candesta heads to Lingfield. He made an encouraging debut for us last time and has come on for the run. He'll be qualified for handicap races after this third career race though so I think that is when he will find things easier.

Candesta (Shelley) & Shelia's Heart (Adam)

 

Handheld has been kept ticking along whilst we wait for a suitable race for him. He doesn't really show his best on the all-weather so I'm not too worried about running him a lot before the turf season starts again. He is one of my favourites in the yard as I ride him out too and he still shows a lot of ability on the gallops and I think towards the back-end of last year he was still improving. He is definitely one to watch for 2014.

Handheld (Euan)

 

The form of Vastly's last run was given a boost this week as the horse that finished second won at Lingfield and even though the winner got beaten today, I think that was quite a good race and he will improve for it too. We're going to try him over 1m3f next time as he seemed a bit outpaced over a mile so it will be interesting to see how the step up in trip works as he has plenty of ability.

Vastly (Ross)

 

No Such Number (Emma)

 

Bethan (Graham)

 

I went up to the Tattersalls February sale on Thursday without intending to buy a horse as none of the usual Juddmonte types really caught my fancy. However, I was watching some two-year olds walk around the ring and one really struck my eye. He was a fantastic walker and looked like he'd be a really early type. I watching him go up for auction and couldn't believe how cheap he was selling for so I thought I'd snap up a bargain and, having got him home, I'm not regretting the purchase.
He is by the champion first crop sire Acclamation who stands at a fee of £35,000 at stud. He is out of a winning juvenile mare called Dusty Moon who herself is related to Group winning mare Spotlight.
The pedigree and what you see in front of you all suggests he will be a useful youngster this season and he's available as a whole for £10,000 + VAT to stay in the yard.
As the owner, you will be able to name the horse and he will run in your own silks.

 

For more info, email me at hoofbeatstours@aol.com

Building for the future

We have started 2014 with more horses than ever before and after facing the fact that there just wasn't enough room in the yard, we decided to build a couple more stables in between the 'bottom' yard and the barn. John ordered them on Friday night and by Monday morning they were up and running with horses filling them already.
It's great to have so many horses in the yard and our capacity is now up to 28 boxes.

Two new stables

The boost in numbers is due to an influx of horses, one of them being stable star Luhaif. He joined us in October and ran a blinder on his debut for us last month to finish second. He is a front runner and wears his heart on his sleeve so it is never going to be easy to win but, on ratings, he looks to have a great chance at Wolverhampton on Monday. His best all-weather form has been at Lingfield so the slower surface at Wolverhampton is an unknown but it is a valuable race so is worth having a shot. The aim for him is to qualify for the All-Weather Championship Finals day on Good Friday where he could run in the £150,000 mile final. He needs one more run to qualify and probably a little boost in the ratings but he is going the right way.

Luhaif (Ross)

Accompanying Luhaif to Dunstall Park will be another new arrival in Meddling. We bought her from Sir Michael Stoute very cheaply but she is looking worth every penny as her homework has been quite impressive. She has a rating of 65 and I think she is a bit better than that so hopefully she can put in a good run, even though it's her first try on the all-weather. She is quite a nervous filly so we will be taking the companion pony, Bonnie, with her to the races to keep her calm before the race.

The next day we go to Southwell with Previous Acclaim. She found 5f too sharp there on her only try but Shelley said she didn't mind the surface so we're trying again over a bit further. She is no world beater but will win a race one day and I just hope this is the day as she is fit and well.

Previous Acclaim (Shelley)

Rounding up the week will be Attain at Wolverhampton on Saturday night. As everyone knows, he has still yet to win a race despite multiple valiant attempts. He has been very unlucky to bump into some improving horses and his time to shine will come. I think the pace of an amateur race will suit him as he doesn't really have a turn of foot so the faster they go, the better and that tends to happen in these races.

The yearlings are now two-year olds and it won't be long before they can hit the track in April. Although most of them won't be early enough to run over five furlongs, they are all going well and get you dreaming of what could be in the season ahead.
Captain Navarre is a lovely big colt and he is taking all his work with ease. He has a great attitude and leads all the others up the heath.
Although Duke of Diamonds came to us a bit later than the others, he has quickly caught up and might be a bit sharper than his pedigree suggests. He is quite a nervous little man but does his exercise easily enough and it will be interesting to see what he's got when the youngsters start to up their workload in a month or so time.

Captain Navarre (Reno) & Duke Of Diamonds (Graham)

Celestine Abbey looks likely to be the earliest runner of the group as she seems to be very speedy and doesn't bat an eyelid at anything thrown at her. She isn't the biggest but early two-year olds aren't usually so I expect her to be heading to the races in the not too distant future.

Celestine Abbey (Shelley)

Mercy Me and Celestine have been together with us since they were foals and they are still very good friends even now. Mercy is a lot bigger though and probably will need a bit further distance to run over but she still moves powerfully up the canter. She has a few quirks but they seem to disappear in her faster paces so I hope it won't be a problem when she goes racing.

Mercy Me (Ross)

I was hoping Italia could be a possibility for the Brocklesby, the year's first two-year old race, but she had to have a month off due to lameness and that has set her back a bit. She is cantering again now and seems to have gotten over her problems. Even if she doesn't make that race, there are plenty of other chances for her to shine early in the season. I think her sire, Zebidee, will be a rich source of precocious juveniles and I'll be fascinated to see what his first crop can do on the track.

Italia (Emma)