Having started the season with 19 horses, the yard is now completely full with 26 boxes all containing happy faces. It bodes well for next season and hopefully we can continue to grow in the coming years.
The runners this week kick off at Kempton on Wednesday. Attain is still a maiden but has gone incredibly close to winning in the past. There is nothing wrong with his attitude, he is just pretty one paced so lacks an extra gear in the finish. He's in a 'hands and heels' apprentice race and as our apprentice Shelley Birkett has ridden too many winners to qualify to ride, we have booked Adam Maclean who impressed me when we used him before. Maybe he can finally get that win out of Attain.
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| Attain (Danny) & Luhaif (Ross) |
Omega Omega is another who hasn't hit the winning line in first place yet but she too is a reliable filly who deserves to win. She is a big galloper so I'm hoping that a track like Southwell will suit her style on Wednesday. She is well handicapped and ready to win so should have a great chance if handling the track's unique fibresand surface.
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| Omega Omega (Adam) & Sheila's Heart (Reno) |
Also on Wednesday, Bestfootforward heads to Kempton. She won on her first run for us at Brighton in the summer and hasn't had much luck since. She has been out-paced over shorter recently so we're stepping her up to a mile and if that works, she should go well as she is in great order. Win, lose or draw, it is likely to be her last run as her owner is a keen breeder and wants to get her in foal this winter. When we received her in the spring, our one goal was to win a race with her as she is very well bred so it is job done.
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| Bestfootforward (Shelley) & Avidly (Graham) |
We went to Ascot Sales on Tuesday with Entrance and Lea Valley to sell. Both managed to find new homes with Lea heading to the breeding sheds and Entrance going to race in Germany. They were both good servants but had been a bit disappointing recently so a move was needed. I didn't come back with an empty horsebox though as I bought a little two-year old filly from Richard Hannon called Previous Acclaim. She has been placed at Goodwood and ran recently so the plan is to run her quickly. She'll be entered at Lingfield on Saturday and if I think she is ready, I hope she can provide me with a quick return on the investment!
As I said earlier, all 26 of our stables are full up but we also have another horse elsewhere. Duke of Diamonds was bought to replace old stalwart Sancho Panza in October and he is still at school learning how to be a racehorse. He is getting along fine but probably won't be ready for the move to us until January. He is a good-looking yearling who is bred to be a winner.
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| Duke of Diamonds with owners Jonathan, Carol & Richard |
I must thank all of you who have dropped in gifts recently for myself and the staff. Any food that goes into the yard certainly doesn't get wasted and you'd think I work the crew too hard judging by the amount of chocolate they eat! Thank you also for the cash gifts which will be spent this Saturday as all of us are heading out into town for a curry and a Christmas party. There'll be a few sore heads on Sunday morning but as long as they turn up for work, I don't mind!
There have been some strong winds this week and with the threat of tiles blowing off the roof, assistant trainer Rolo was taking no chances with his homemade helmet!
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| Safety first: Rolo |
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