Santera ran up at Doncaster on Friday, first run back off of a long layoff.  It was a claiming race and she ran an absolute blinder to win very confincingly and she looked like she had really improved since last year.  The down side of the win was she got claimed even though we had put in a friendly claim.  We were really sad to loose her as she was a tough filly and she will more than likely go onto to win more races but she was only at claiming level and unfortunately that is a chance you have to take.  We are now looking for a replacement for her syndicate!

Saturday we took Superior Wisdom to Kempton.  He was 2nd favourite and literally hacked up.  After falling in his first ever chase it was good to see him complete the course and jump really well which completed a double on the day for his owner Andrew Cohen.

We were due to go to Huntingdon yesterday with American Cricket who was favourite but unfortunately he was not 100% and so we could not complete the treble.

Today we run Nautical Approach at Stratford back over hurdles.  He has hopefully got his ideal ground today and so should run a nice race if all goes according to plan.

 

Sandofthecolosseum and Antonius Caesar both ran really good races at Warwick last Friday.  The ground was awful but both coped with it really well.  Sands took the lead coming into the home turn and we really thought he was going to hold on but just got swallowed up before the line.  He was only beaten a couple of lengths, he is such a genuine horse that he puts his all in every time.  Next year he will be a much stronger horse and will hopefully continue progressing.

Antonius Ceasar ran much more like his old self.  He is a super jumper which although he is not very big keeps him in the race all of the time.  He was travelling by far the best coming into the home turn but unfortunately the weight told and he fell in a hole but managed to hold on for 3rd.  All of the owners were delighted with the run.  He does have an entry in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham but looking at the weights that came out yesterday he does need fifty horses to come out before he gets a run.  We will see how he is and if he is bucking and kicking and he gets in then we might well run him.

Sharp Rigging went to Kempton on Saturday, back over fences.  Poor Rigging has had one problem after another and the story with him could have been so different if he had not fracture his pelvis a few years ago.  He ran a real blinder to finishing 5th.  He is a very stuffy horse and takes a few runs to come to himself but we were really pleased with the way he ran and his attitude showed he still has a love for the game.

On Sunday as we did not have any racing we had a family lunch out.  It was the first time we had taken Philippa out for a meal and we were a bit worried she would cause havoc and interupt everybodies Sunday lunch but she was very well behaved.  While we had roast beef she had mashed up banana followed by a yoghurt and washed down by a warm bottle of milk which was her idea of the perfect Sunday lunch.  There was far to much going on to sleep and by the end of the afternoon she was exhausted but all in all a very successful trip.

Back to horses, we have been quiet all week but tomorrow we run Santera up at Doncaster.  This is her first run back after a break and she always gives her all so she should run a nice race.  Saturday sees Superior Wisdom going to Kempton 2nd time over fences and on Sunday American Cricket goes to Huntingdon.  All should stand chances, we hope!

 

Lilac Belle ran a much improved race yesterday at Southwell.  The ground was soft but it suits her and where as last time they left her standing she galloped onto the line to finish 6th.  The winner looks a very nice horse and has already won 2 bumpers and left the rest of the field in his tracks so we can't be disappointed.  She will go hurdling now as there is no point staying in bumpers and she has already schooled at home nicely.

Quiet day today but tomorrow we are off to Huntingdon with Mallorey and Bobbisox.  If we get the forecasted rain it could be quite testing conditions again but should suit both of them.

Friday we run Antonius Ceasar and Sandofthecolosseum at Warwick.  Both really nice horses and would be hopeful they should run nice horses.

Congratulations to Charlie and Sophie Longsdon on their new baby girl, Camilla Mary and I see Charlie celebrated with a winner at Doncaster today, well done you two.

 

Saturday was a bit of a muddling day.  Rif was our first runner at Uttoxeter and we really thought he stood a good chance, however he had different ideas.  He went off to the start absolutely fine but then decided he did not want to stop.  When William finally pulled him up he thought it would be much more fun to stay where he was than to come back and join the other horses.  After doing a bucking bronco display William had to get off and wait for assistance from Rheanna and Alex.  They finally got him back to the start and he did jump off but I think he wound himself up so much he did not run a true race.  Hopefully he will grow out of it.

Roseneath was really not at the races.  He won last time out so should really have run a big race but did not really try very hard.  He seems to like it when it is hammering it down with rain and the ground is like a paddy field.  It should not be to difficult to find those conditions in this Country!

Laughing Game ran a blinder.  She was sat 2nd all of the way around and took up the lead after the last bend.  We thought she was going to hold on when she went 4 lengths clear but just got nabbed and ended up in 3rd.  We were really pleased with her, she trys her heart out which we all know helps!

Today we run Lilac Belle in the bumper at Southwell.  She was disappointing on her first run at Lingfield and we are hoping the softer conditions will slow everything else down.  Her pedigree is flat bred and so really she should have a turn of foot but we will see what happens today.

Philippa is still not 100% and very sweetly she has passed it onto us.  I think this is the start of things to come on the baby sickness front bt hey ho!

 

Dinarius' first experience over fences did not quite go as planned.  The first obstacle he passed with flying colours, the start I mean, but after that he took a serious hold and was not really respecting his fences.  This being the case him and Sam Jones ended up having a chat with the Leicester turf, I think we will stick to hurdles for the time being.

Tomorrow sees us run Rif, Roseneath and Laughing Game at Uttoxeter, that is if it is on.  They are planning an inspection due to the ground but fingers crossed as it would be ideal for those three.

The winter seems very reluctant to loosen it's grip this year as again today we woke up to more snow.  Luckily it sees to be melting very quickly so hopefully it won't cause to many problems.

We have two patients at the moment.  Tonic is still nursing his stitches but does seem to be recovering very well.  Yesterday Philippa decided she would have her first dose of sickness in her life.  Not a very nice experience for a 6 month old but she does seem brighter today and as yet her porridge is still in her tummy and not all over us as it was yesterday.  She did decide that she was quite hungry at about 4am this morning which was fun, I thought we were past those early morning wake up calls!

The good luck continues it seems.  Roseneath having his first run over fences at Huntingdon and always a time of wait and see.  Noel Fehily gave him a masterful ride.  The rain had just started to come down heavily and with conditions pretty wet under foot anyway it was not the nicest of days weather wise.  This however did not put Roseneath off.  He was settled well back in the field as he can run quite freely with his cheek pieces on.  His jumping was superb and he gained lengths at many of the fences and he slowly made his way up the field and at the last was in a line of three.  He had a meeting in mid air with the second horse but galloped on strongly to take that 1st place.

I am really pleased for John Cleary who was the first member of the syndicate and has always had faith in the horse even on his last couple of runs when he did not look that interested.  What a difference fences have made to him.

Antonius Caesar ran in the Handicap Chase later on in the afternoon.  He ran a much improved race from last time and though he looked like he could win at one point he finished 3rd but we were all very pleased with that.

Thursday Mallorey went to Warwick which is nice and local, there and back within 2 1/2 hours.  We were expecting big things and he was really talked up in the preview to the race after his last run at Kempton.  He travelled nicely but at the business end of the race he was not capable of repeating the Kempton performance which was disappointing.  Maybe he just wants the ground to be bog like as it was on his last run.

Friday was a big day for us with Iconoclast, Regional Counsel and Luthien at Doncaster and Sandofthecolosseum at Newbury.

Regional Counsel travelled very well and looked like the winner but when asked the question faded very quickly. He has had a few problems with allergys etc and I just wonder if they may have reared their ugly head again.  He has tons of ability and was quite capable of winning on his best form.

Iconoclast has had a huge amount of press following his last two wins but was just not at the races on Friday.  He did not travel from the start and made some jumping mistakes which is not like him at all.  When he got back to the stables his muscles in his neck had swollen up so whether he pulled something jumping I am not sure but at least we have a reason for such a poor run.

Luthien ran well for a while and then there was nothing left at the end.  She is going to have a break now as she has been on the go quite a long time.

Sandofthecolosseum ran a fantastic race as Newbury.  He is a lovely horse and takes everything in his stride which makes you forget that he is really only still a baby.  The ground was awful and prior to his race there was a heavy snow storm which made the going very sticky.  William Kennedy rode him and kept him in 3rd or 4th all of the way around, you don't want to be giving to much ground away in those conditions.  Off the home turn there was really only three horses left in it and we were very pleased with our 3rd place.  The two in front of us are Cheltenham bound I would think so hopefully the Old Relics Partnership have got themselves a very nice horse.

Saturday was a normal day, with quite a few owners up to see their horses.  My attention was slightly diverted away from them with a colicing horse who decided he was fine as soon as the Vet arrived and this was followed very quickly by a burst water pipe.  Our Polish Yard men amaze me how they can turn their hand from mucking out horses to quickly becoming plumbers.  Wish I was that versatile.

Today we were off to Hereford with Sharp Rigging.  He was on the lorry loaded, Helen our driver was in the cab all nicely warmed up for the 2 hour trip when the dreaded words appeared on the computer ABANDONED.  Thought we were over that silly bad weather business but obviously not.  Rigging thought he was having lorry loading practice and was very happy to go back in his stable and munching away on his hay.

This week sees American Cricket out either Tuesday or Friday, Cheshire Rose has an entry along with Dinarius and Saturday may see Rigging, Superior Wisdom and Antonius Caesar running.  That's the plan anyway and we are hoping the Purple Patch stays purple for as long as possible!!

 

What a day we had on Sunday.  We had the four runners out, Regional Counsel at Kempton, Dinarius at Towcester and Hello You and Laughing Game at Market Rasen, very hectic but well worth it.

First to run was Regional Counsel who after falling asleep in the stalls put up a very good display to finish 5th.  He is very laid back and because he is so well behaved he tends to go into the stalls first which gives him enough time for a quick nap!

Second to run was Laughing Game at Market Rasen.  She is a very big mare and quite slow but is very tough.  She travelled very strongly throughout the race and slowly picked off her rivals to get her head past the post first.  We are so pleased for her owners Michael Watt and Peter and Rosemary Fenwick who are super owners.  Michael bred Laughing Game and so it makes the win even more special and though he could not come due to ill health hopefully the win gave him a good boost.

Next was the tricky Dinarius at Towcester.  As usual he gets saddled up early and the jockey weighs out early does one circuit of the paddock and then has to be led down to the start.  Noel Fehily rode him and being the laid back character he is was chatting in the weighing room until we went and grabbed him out.  We did the one circuit of the paddock and then Dinarius decided he was quite sure whether he wanted to go down on the course or not so off got Noel and then 20 seconds later jumped back on as Dinarius thought he may as well go down.  All paid off in the end though, he ran a super race, travelled really well and got up to win by a length. 

It was really nice to have a win at Towcester as it is our local track and there are always lots of our Owners there in support.  Very nice to have a cross the course double as well, long may it last.

Hello You was last to run and we did think he would run very well as he had his ideal ground and should have come on from his last run.  Unfortunately he ran very flat and it was a case of the bounce back situation when they run very well after a long lay off and then next time out disappoint.  He ended up way down the field but the main thing is he came out of the race absolutely fine which is always a worry when they have had leg problems.

Tomorrow sees us at Huntingdon with Antonius Caesar and Roseneath.  First time over fences for Roseneath who has schooled very well at home and has got the assistance of Noel Fehily again which should help.  Caesar runs in the 3.50pm handicap chase and Peter Toole rides him who takes 5lbs off of his back which should help as he has got top weight.

Fingers crossed we can keep the good form going!

 

Mallorey had a lovely trip down to Newbury today and then came back.  When they announced first thing that they were going to inspect at 9am you start getting slightly worried but we really did not think it would get abandoned.  Really, really annoying as his race had cut up and there only ended up being five runners and then the Alan King horse was declared as a non runner as well.  Life just can't be that easy.

It has started to snow up here but it is very wet snow if you get my meaning so hopefully we will not get the problems we had last week.

We have declared Cheshire Rose for Wolverhampton on Friday so that is one definite runner and decisions regarding Fridays other entries will be made tomorrow.  It looks like the ground is going to end up being heavy everywhere which will not hinder most of the intended runners and we just hope we do not get any further abandonments.

It's amazing what a buzz it puts around the yard after having a winner on Channel 4, everybody is on a real high and in great spirits.  We had so many telephone calls congratulating us and good wishes from people coming up to use the gallop who we don't even know.  There was a nice write up in the Sunday Times by Andrew Longmore saying we are just beginning to emerge.  Let's hope we carry on emerging, at speed if possible!

Mallorey makes his 2nd appearance in 5 days as he goes off to Newbury tomorrow, he has come out of the race really well so he may as well take his chance.  The ground sounds terrible which has kept some of those entered away but he seemed to handle the conditions on Saturday so he should cope again tomorrow.

We have got a whole heap of entries at the weekend with Sandsofthecolosseum, Dinarius, Cheshire Rose, Laughing Game, Hello You, Antonius Caesar and American Cricket all entered.  It's a case of going through the races at the moment and seeing which is more suitable so that is the plan for this afternoon, much more enjoyable than doing paperwork.

Saturday was a superb day with Iconoclast winning for us again!  He went down to Kempton which the Jockeys had described as the worst Kempton ground they had ridden on, being very sticky and gluey.  Nerves were on edge as the starter let them go but right from the start Paddy Brennan had him perfectly settled and got into a lovely jumping gallop.  As they jumped the last fence before the home straight he jumped himself into the lead from the 3rd position he had held all of the way through the race and galloped home to win very impressively.  John and Lorraine Barlow were on Cloud No. Nine and I don't think they have come down yet.  Lorraine was so nervous before the race she could hardly speak which is very unusual but afterwards I don't think she could stop.

We were really pleased with Mallorey as well who finished 3rd and coming into the home straight looked like the winner but just maybe needed the race a bit and the conditions took there toll.

Luthien hated the ground, she is not a very big filly and I think it was just to hard going for her.

Nautipcal Approach finished 4th at Huntingdon.  The conditions there were awful and it had to pass three inspections before it went ahead due to a floor threat.  They took out two fences in the home straight which are by the brook that can break its banks.  I think Nautical possibly needs better ground but we were keen to run him and he did not disgrace himself.

This week we are at Newbury possibly on Wednesday and Catterick, Chepstow and Wolverhampton on Friday.  I did not like the forecast this morning when they said it may snow again.  I think if we get any hold ups again this week I may just go slightly loopy or slightly loopier!