First trip to Chelmsford City

It proved to be a frustrating week with the horses performing well on the track without getting their heads in front. Tight Lipped bounced back to the form we know he's capable of with a good third at Chelmsford City on Wednesday whilst Automotive and Candesta both looked like winners before just getting nosed out on the line and finishing second later in the week. It goes to show that they are all happy and healthy though and having a few placed horses is a lot better than having a lot of lasts!
Talking of Chelmsford City, this week saw my first visit there since it was reopened a few weeks before. I had been to the track when it was formerly known as Great Leighs so it wasn't too much of a novelty but what surprised me was how little had changed. You would think that after the relaunch, management would want to make a good impression but some areas were looking a bit tatty and the big clock above the saddling boxes didn't even work! The owners' and trainers' bar seems to be a bit of an after-thought and the door into it (which only opens from the inside) is a joke! Having said that, the small grandstand that has been built is very nice inside and is much needed as the track seems to be the coldest place in the country with a constant bitter wind howling through. Hopefully the yard can have a few winners there to keep us all warm.

We have just the one runner this week with Bushy Glade heading to Lingfield on Saturday. She ran a better race last time over further at Southwell and, despite hating the kickback there, she showed that the longer trip is what she needs. Lingfield should be more up her street and hopefully she can get into the money.

Bushy Glade (Ryan)

It is a busy time in the yard with horses at all sorts of different fitness stages. The group who had a winter holiday are now back doing steady canters and they all seem to be pleased to be back into the old routine.
One who I'm very much looking forward to seeing is Dakota City. We bought him at the Newmarket Sales in October and decided straight away to geld him and turn him out for a few months to strengthen up. He has done extremely well for the rest and looks like an absolute tank now. The form of his three runs in France looks very good and I hope he can be one of our stars this season. He has a lovely attitude and certainly looks the part.

Dakota City (Ross)

Someone else who is looking forward to what this season might hold is one of our owners, Carol Bushnell. She bought Guising from the same October sale as Dakota City and, likewise, we have given him a break since. Carol's aim is to ride him in the historic Newmarket Town Plate in August. It is the oldest recorded horse race in Britain and is run over a distance of 3m6f. You might think you'd need a big old plodder to win it but usually a horse with a bit of speed comes out on top. The important thing is that the horse is a good ride and Guising seems to be just that. His form isn't too bad either so Carol has plenty of reasons to get motivated and fit for the big day!

Carol aboard Guising

Tomorrow sees the departure of our assistant Ross to Australia for three months as he goes to Gai Waterhouse's Sydney stable to learn from one of the best trainers down under. With over 200 horses at the place, there will be plenty to keep him busy and some hard graft should keep him out of trouble!
Also on their travels is our apprentice Shelley Birkett. Now down to her 3lb claim after riding 50 winners, we felt the time was right for her to move to a bigger yard and she has been very fortunate to be offered a job at leading trainer David O'Meara's Yorkshire yard. David is one of the fastest growing trainers in the UK and now boasts over 100 horses in his care. Hopefully Shelley can get some rides in the bigger races here and take her career to the next level that we couldn't provide. That being said, Shelley will still ride the majority of our horses as she has built up a great rapport with most of them and is good value for her claim. The move isn't until March 2nd, so there's still plenty of work I can get her to do!