Left to Right - Lord of House, Latelo, Greyfriars Drummer, Area Access
Friday, 11 October 2013
11.10.13 Pictures
2nd Lot up Back of the Hill this morning.
Left to Right - Lord of House, Latelo, Greyfriars Drummer, Area Access
Left to Right - Lord of House, Latelo, Greyfriars Drummer, Area Access
Thursday, 10 October 2013
10.10.13
We schooled 6 horses this morning. We had Ben on lead horse Mr Big, and Jockeys Mark Grant and James Banks in. Shockingtimes and Duke of Monmouth both schooled over fences together, they both jumped superbly. We then schooled Attimo and Stoney Silence together over hurdles, they both jumped well and were very fresh both bucking a lot! The 3rd pair were Lord of House & Champagne N Caviar, whilst swapping over the jockeys the former double barrelled me but luckily he only got a glance off at my hand otherwise I would not be writing this blog! Luckily they both went well, Lord of House jumped especially well and should be an exciting addition to the novice chasing ranks.
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
09.10.13
A plan was hatched at the Monday Lunch Club in the Malt Shovel, the MLC secretary Mikael Magnusson told me that Scepticism has a dirt horse pedigree being by Elusive Quality. He said that after our win with him we must take him out to the Breeders Cup! So we have made a plan to go out to America with our own chef who is also going to ride the horse! That is if we don't sell him in the meantime. He has been entered again at Wolverhampton on Saturday night although he has gone up 3lb for his win he has a 4lb 3yo allowance so he will effectively be running off a lesser mark than last week.
I rode Duke Of Monmouth on Tuesday who tried to buck me off twice, he seems in great spirits. I then rode Lord Of House 2nd lot, he is also very fresh right now.
We worked most of the yard this morning. There were a couple that stood out for me; Shockingtimes seems a bit further ahead than the others so is looking to be one of our earlier runners. Mark Grant rode Latelo and liked him a lot, he still lacks in fitness but seems sure to win a bumper. Attimo went very well too.
Victor Leudorum is entered on Saturday at Cheptsow and Sunday at Ffos Las, Sunday looks the most likely option for him and Noel is available to ride him. He also now holds an entry for Huntingdon on Tuesday in case the race doesn't cut up how I would like it to on Sunday. I decided not to run Western King tomorrow as didn't think it was a suitable contest for him, he is unlikely to run on Sunday as he is just out of the h'cap so I will look to find another race for him. Kempton on the 20th could be an option.
I rode Duke Of Monmouth on Tuesday who tried to buck me off twice, he seems in great spirits. I then rode Lord Of House 2nd lot, he is also very fresh right now.
We worked most of the yard this morning. There were a couple that stood out for me; Shockingtimes seems a bit further ahead than the others so is looking to be one of our earlier runners. Mark Grant rode Latelo and liked him a lot, he still lacks in fitness but seems sure to win a bumper. Attimo went very well too.
Victor Leudorum is entered on Saturday at Cheptsow and Sunday at Ffos Las, Sunday looks the most likely option for him and Noel is available to ride him. He also now holds an entry for Huntingdon on Tuesday in case the race doesn't cut up how I would like it to on Sunday. I decided not to run Western King tomorrow as didn't think it was a suitable contest for him, he is unlikely to run on Sunday as he is just out of the h'cap so I will look to find another race for him. Kempton on the 20th could be an option.
Monday, 7 October 2013
07.10.13
I had lunch in a box in Ascot on Friday courtesy of Paynes Hicks Beech, it was a lovely day being entertained by a good friend of mine and owner Simon Beccle who works for them. The winners were hard to come by as the races were nearly all handicaps and none of the favourites won!
I then had six people round for supper that night, Katya did a great job cooking for everyone and it was a very good evening.
We worked most of the horses on Saturday, the main lot of horse are all starting to come on now. Attimo and Stoney Silence worked very well together on the bank, they are two promising young horses. The prospective novice chasers Who Owns Me and Duke of Monmouth showed me the correct signs for this time of year. On the back of the hill gallop Lord of House and Shockingtimes stepped up the pace a bit for the first time this year and look really well.
I let William my son mow the lawn that afternoon, he managed to break the mower and also took a brick out of my new patio! I then did something in the afternoon that I never thought I would do..I thought it would be the lowest point of my training career in that I went to Wolverhampton for an evening meeting on a Saturday to watch a horse I trained and part own run in a flat race on the All Weather. Simon drove Marie and myself to the racecourse but I have to say after the shock of driving through the town itself it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated!
When the Jockey came into the parade ring I thought I recognised him, it turned out that he is the chef at our local pub! When he asked me for my orders I very nearly said I would have a prawn cocktail and a medium steak! It all turned out well in the end, Josh gave Scepticism a good ride and he won by a neck. I am very keen to keep my 100% strike rate at Wolverhampton so I doubt I will be running anything else there again!
On Sunday we went to the RAC club at Epsom to have lunch with Judy and Michael Maynard and friends, it was a very jolly affair and we also managed to watch the Arc.
This morning I rode Champagne N Caviar 1st lot, he felt very good. I rode Latelo 2nd lot, he surprises me every time I ride, he is getting stronger and stronger and I think he could be very good. Attimo is in very good order, his half brother Altano won a Group 1 at Longchamp yesterday so I cant understand how we still have some shares available in him - he must be worth a fortune now!
Western King is entered on Thursday and Sunday, I will take a look at the races over the next 24 hours and decide where to go with him. He looks well and still has a lovely summer coat.
I then had six people round for supper that night, Katya did a great job cooking for everyone and it was a very good evening.
We worked most of the horses on Saturday, the main lot of horse are all starting to come on now. Attimo and Stoney Silence worked very well together on the bank, they are two promising young horses. The prospective novice chasers Who Owns Me and Duke of Monmouth showed me the correct signs for this time of year. On the back of the hill gallop Lord of House and Shockingtimes stepped up the pace a bit for the first time this year and look really well.
I let William my son mow the lawn that afternoon, he managed to break the mower and also took a brick out of my new patio! I then did something in the afternoon that I never thought I would do..I thought it would be the lowest point of my training career in that I went to Wolverhampton for an evening meeting on a Saturday to watch a horse I trained and part own run in a flat race on the All Weather. Simon drove Marie and myself to the racecourse but I have to say after the shock of driving through the town itself it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated!
When the Jockey came into the parade ring I thought I recognised him, it turned out that he is the chef at our local pub! When he asked me for my orders I very nearly said I would have a prawn cocktail and a medium steak! It all turned out well in the end, Josh gave Scepticism a good ride and he won by a neck. I am very keen to keep my 100% strike rate at Wolverhampton so I doubt I will be running anything else there again!
On Sunday we went to the RAC club at Epsom to have lunch with Judy and Michael Maynard and friends, it was a very jolly affair and we also managed to watch the Arc.
This morning I rode Champagne N Caviar 1st lot, he felt very good. I rode Latelo 2nd lot, he surprises me every time I ride, he is getting stronger and stronger and I think he could be very good. Attimo is in very good order, his half brother Altano won a Group 1 at Longchamp yesterday so I cant understand how we still have some shares available in him - he must be worth a fortune now!
Western King is entered on Thursday and Sunday, I will take a look at the races over the next 24 hours and decide where to go with him. He looks well and still has a lovely summer coat.
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Schooling Videos 03.10.13
Mr Big leading Noel on Stoney Silence and Mark on Attimo
Always Smiling (Mark) leading Area Access (Noel)
Who Owns Me (Mark) leading Champagne N Caviar (Noel)
03.10.13
The marquee finally went down on Tuesday morning and everyone's hangovers finally subsided! However my Jeep then broke down which is always a nightmare as it is invaluable for going up and down the gallops every morning.
On Wednesday morning we stepped up the work with the horses, most of them did there first half speed upsides. It all went to plan with the horses being where I want them at this time of year. We had 3 Red Letter Days for breakfast who said they really enjoyed seeing them work. I gave two pounds to Len Robinson to buy me a lottery ticket for this Saturday. I will wait with anticipation to see what happens!
The Jeep arrived back on Wednesday afternoon, thank god it was not in the garage for any longer!
This morning we schooled 6 horses on the grass for the first time this year. Noel Fehily and Mark Grant both came in and Ben Ffrench-Davis led the younger horses on Mr Big. They all jumped beautifully. Who Owns Me was very fresh and jumped like a stag which is promising as it only his second time schooling over the fences on the grass, he was paired up with Champagne N Caviar who jumped them nicely. Stoney Silence and Attimo where given a lead by Mr Big, it was nice to see them putting some bucks in and feeling well. Always Smiling and Area Access schooled well over the hurdles.
We then put Scepticism through the stalls, my new assistant (!) Katya Pilkington let the gates go so quickly that she almost got my head lad knocked over - I think she may have put him off for life and he is an ex stalls handler!
On Wednesday morning we stepped up the work with the horses, most of them did there first half speed upsides. It all went to plan with the horses being where I want them at this time of year. We had 3 Red Letter Days for breakfast who said they really enjoyed seeing them work. I gave two pounds to Len Robinson to buy me a lottery ticket for this Saturday. I will wait with anticipation to see what happens!
The Jeep arrived back on Wednesday afternoon, thank god it was not in the garage for any longer!
This morning we schooled 6 horses on the grass for the first time this year. Noel Fehily and Mark Grant both came in and Ben Ffrench-Davis led the younger horses on Mr Big. They all jumped beautifully. Who Owns Me was very fresh and jumped like a stag which is promising as it only his second time schooling over the fences on the grass, he was paired up with Champagne N Caviar who jumped them nicely. Stoney Silence and Attimo where given a lead by Mr Big, it was nice to see them putting some bucks in and feeling well. Always Smiling and Area Access schooled well over the hurdles.
Videos to Follow
We then put Scepticism through the stalls, my new assistant (!) Katya Pilkington let the gates go so quickly that she almost got my head lad knocked over - I think she may have put him off for life and he is an ex stalls handler!
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