Cheers to all the mothers!

Happy mother's day to every hard-working mum out there and enjoy the only day of the year where you can feel appreciated! We housed three expectant mothers on the stud over the winter and, with only Bavarica giving birth to her filly a fortnight ago, we are still waiting for two new arrivals. Emma's Gift was due a week ago but the foal seems reluctant to come into the world and, after the weather this week, I don't blame him/her! The third mare we have is Dick Creese's Bushy Dell who isn't due until May after taking three covers to get pregnant last spring.

There's no twiddling of the thumbs waiting around in the yard though as we have plenty to keep us busy with the horses in training.
We just had a couple of runners last week and I thought Serendib's Glory ran a great race to be beaten only two and a half lengths at Lingfield on Friday but she still finished last! It was a very tight finish between the whole field and the handicapper will be proud of that as it means he has actually done his job well for once.
Candesta ran well too earlier in the week to finish third and he is entered again on Wednesday at Kempton but will only run if the race divides as he prefers smaller field sizes. I have given young apprentice Milly Naseb a couple of rides recently after her boss Stuart Williams recommended her. She gave Candesta a great ride last time and rode perfectly to orders so it is only right that she keeps the ride and claims a handy seven pound allowance. It is useful to have a good apprentice at our services whilst our claimer Liam waits for the BHA to grant his licence.

Candesta (Shelley)

Entered the following day is Star Of The Stage at Southwell. It will be a first try at the track for him but I get the impression he should act there and he is now coming down to a handicap mark which he should be competitive off.

Star Of The Stage (Adam) & Veeraya (Sam)

As you can see from the photos taken on Saturday morning, spring has officially begun but no-one has told the weather! The Ducking Stool doesn't usually come into form until the sun is on her back but she has been more forward than usual this year. I have her entered at Chelmsford on Thursday but it is a very speculative entry and she will only run if there are few runners. She usually needs a couple of runs to get fully fit so it is a starting point.
Dakota City will round off the week at Wolverhampton on Saturday and I hope he can continue his improvement this winter. It is good to dream so if he is successful here we will seriously think about having a run in the marathon race on Good Friday at the all-weather Championships. He has done nothing but improve all winter and, now that we have figured out how to ride him, there could be more to come over longer distances.

Dakota City (Mark) & The Ducking Stool (Ross)

The two-year olds are stepping up their workload all the time and the one who stands out way above the others at the minute as an early-season type is Secret Ballerina. She is leaving the others in her wake and I'll be keen to get her going as soon as the juvenile races commence next month. There is still 20% available for syndication in her at a very low price and if you want to join a great bunch of people who could have an exciting filly on their hands, drop me an email at juliafeilden@aol.com for more info.

Mungo Madness (Liam) & Secret Ballerina (Ross)

Sunset Bounty (Caitlin) & Our Cilla (Chloe)

As I've said before, we have a healthy-sized and good-looking squad for the upcoming turf season and they are building up to making a return to the track. Duke Of Diamonds is a very lightly-raced four-year old and he has done very well physically over the winter. He is still immature mentally but there seems to be ability in him and he should appreciate the soft ground in the Spring.
Dark Diamond is a horse for all seasons and I gave him a few weeks off just to freshen up after some quick races. He is in good order again now and I'll send him to Southwell in a few weeks' time as that's where he won before.

Duke Of Diamonds (Caitlin) & Dark Diamond (Tess)

Others getting ready for the turf include old boys Silver Alliance and Handheld who seem as enthusiastic as ever and can be relied upon to supply us with a winner or two throughout the year. Another lightly-raced type is Moment To Dream and she too has filled her frame really well over the winter.

Silver Alliance (Nick), Moment To Dream (Chloe) & Handheld (Liam)

THREE TO FOLLOW UPDATE

We may only be a week into the competition but some people have made a quick start after Candesta's placing during the week.

Current standings: 

Nick Feilden	3
Mason Brown	3
Clare Peacock	3
David Smyth	1
Pauline Kennedy	1
Dominic Lisle	1
Liz Moore	1
Dave Morris	1
Shelley Birkett	1
Sam Feilden	1
Trevor Fuller	1
Linda Wright	1
Dave Barnett	1
Martyn Clark	1
Jonathan Kinge	1

PLUS 79 others on zero points