Expedite wins at Huntingdon!!

It was a fairly quiet week leading up to Christmas and we had no runners as the meetings were both called off, so I did my Christmas shopping and the round of drinks parties, which were very nice.

On Boxing day we drove up to Market Rasen - I ran Elmore Back on atrocious ground and he absolutely hated it and pulled up. I also ran Quebec and he also pulled up, so that was a complete disaster!! But at Huntingdon we fared a bit better; Bridal Suite ran his usual sort of race and then Expedite won a very competitive Novice Hurdle and looks like being a really nice young horse for the future. I keep forgetting he is only four and he will definitely make a lovely chaser in time.

We had a quiet day on Sunday. We got a few horses out who might be running early on this week. I then had lunch in the Malt Shovel with Martin and Nicole Myers and Ben and Clemmie. We watched the racing at Kempton, which was very exciting.

We have no runners today or tomorrow as the ground is too soft. We have entries on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We will run Morney Wing at either Haydock or Warwick and I suspect that Seventh Sky will go to Cheltenham on New Years Day as there isn't much else for him. The weather has been a little frustrating and we need better ground for most of our horses.

21/12/15

We had a very good lunch in The Malt with an old owner of mine called Bill Hagon and John Davies, plus their wives. I picked my daughter Tildie up and we went down to Olympia to do a lot of Christmas shopping and we watched some very good show jumping. It was a fun evening!!

Denis O'Regan was in on first lot on Friday.

Mark Grant came in on Saturday to ride work on Elmore Back. We sent Seventh Sky up to Haydock for the Tommy Whittle. Gavin Sheehan rode him and he made all the running to win by 7 lengths. It was an extraordinary performance under top weight. It will be interesting to see what the handicapper does and I am not sure where we are going next.

We took Airpur Desbois to Fakenham on Sunday and he didn't really fire and I think he probably needs a break.

Seventh Sky WINS the Tommy Whittle!

Seventh Sky put in an absolutely sterling performance to win the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park by an impressive 7 lengths under Gavin Sheehan for owner Mr John Heron. The whole team at Neardown are absolutely delighted and pleased that Seventh Sky has come out of the race fresh and well. What a super star!!

Charlie Mann eyeing Aintree with Seventh Sky after Haydock Park victory

"Having already shown his liking for the Crabbie’s Grand National fences already Seventh Sky (10-1) put himself in line for a return to Aintree with victory at Haydock Park.

Charlie Mann’s eight-year-old landed a fine front-running victory under top weight in the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park, beating 5-1 favourite Spookydooky by seven lengths.

Having already shown his liking for the Crabbie’s Grand National fences already Seventh Sky (10-1) put himself in line for a return to Aintree with victory at Haydock Park.

Charlie Mann’s eight-year-old landed a fine front-running victory under top weight in the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park, beating 5-1 favourite Spookydooky by seven lengths.

Seventh Sky had been second in the Grand Sefton Chase over the National fences two weeks ago and was even better at the Merseyside course’s sister track.

Under Gavin Sheehan Seventh Sky (10-1) always kept his chief rival Spookydooky at arms length to score a superb win.

While at crack at the Grand National on April 9 in the new year was mooted it is the shorter race, the Topham Chase, over the big Aintree obstacles which will be the target.

Winning jockey Sheehan said: “I haven’t sat on him much this year but I rode him the last day over the big ones and he was electric over them.

“I knew he was in good form and had come on for Aintree.

“I schooled him the other day and he was electric.

“Me and Charlie discussed plans after his run at Liverpool and I think he’d be better in the Topham.

“I don’t think he’d be too far away but in the National it might just drag him out a bit.”

Schooling over fence this morning...

A video of Seventh Sky, Morney Wing and Elmore Back schooling over fences this morning, 

filmed by Kyril!! 

Gavin Sheehan schooled Seventh Sky upsides Tommy on Morney Wing, followed by Mark Grant on Elmore Back. They all flew over the fences to Charlie's delight!

Update...

We all watched Leicester beating Chelsea on Monday evening at Evelyn Faber's house, which is a very good result for us as it means that Newcastle stay one point ahead of Chelsea. We had no phones in action on Tuesday which made life fairly quiet, but as usual, BT are doing their best to get it sorted. I bought all my families presents on the internet, which I have never done before, and it was remarkably easy!

We worked horses first and second lot on Wednesday - Morney Wing worked very well along with Seventh Sky, Some Kinda Lama and Expedite. Iffy then drove me to London and I went to "the Punters lunch" which was in the Sydney Arms. We watched the racing all day and had to try to pick all the winners at Newbury. It was a very good lunch and a lot of nice people were there.

We are schooling horses this morning. We are planning to run Seventh Sky at Haydock on Saturday and Airpur Desbois at Ascot. We also have entries at Fakenham on Sunday.

Ephraim WINS at Doncaster!

I had a meeting at Pinewood on Friday night with my sons Form Master, who informed me that he has to pull his socks up to get his Common Entrance into his next school, so he definitely takes after myself!

On Saturday, James Davies rode out and Morney Wing worked well on the grass, as did Le Legro and Baltic Storm.

We took Ephraim up to Doncaster and although the ground got soft, he coped with it well and he won probably with a little bit in hand. He is a very talented horse and we will go back to Doncaster for "The River Don" on the 30th January. The plan has always been to get him to Cheltenham in March and he will have two more races before then,which he'll need to win in order to go to Cheltenham. He is an exciting prospect for David Fox and it was a nice tonic for him as he had been in hospital for about a week prior to the race.

Ephraim's winning trophy!

We had a very good drinks party at Jonny and Sophie Portman's on Saturday night, which most of Lambourn turned out for.

We sent Bridal Suite to Southwell on Sunday to let Shane Harte have his first ride in public. He had a nice ride on him and was unlucky not to get placed.

We had a good lunch party at Sarah Cutcliffe's on Sunday.

We've got a dry day today (being Monday), with lunch in The Malt Shovel at 1pm.

We've got a fairly quiet week this week because of the ground. However we do have entries for Dukes Den and Airpur Desbois at the end of the week. Seventh Sky gets another entry at Haydock on Saturday.

Friday 11th December..

We went to Fontwell on Tuesday and ran Gowanauthat on virtually un-raceable ground; he pulled up. I then took My Anchor out as the ground was so bad, so we only had the one runner. I'm afraid I got Paul Mott to come all the way to Fontwell for a non runner, but he took it well.

On Wednesday we worked some horses up the back of the hill - we had Denis O'Regan and David Crosse in to help. Morney Wing worked well, as did Le Legro. Some Kinda Lama has come out of his race very well and Baltic Storm was in very good form. Elmore Back did a nice bit along with Dukes Den.

I picked up Tildie from her school, which is St Edwards in Oxford, she stayed on an extra five days after they broke up because she is in the rowing team and she had managed to get into the first VIII which is a great achievement. We then picked up William from Pinewood. Charlie Nugent popped in to look around evening stables and to see the horses, which was nice. Charlie owned a share in my first winner as a trainer and has always had a share in something, but he now makes out he is too poor and is a steward at some of the racecourses now..  I took the children to The Malt Shovel for supper and had a very nice steak.

We schooled five horses on Thursday morning. Mark Grant was in to help. I had my lawns cut which I think is extraordinary only two weeks before Christmas, but it definitely looks a lot tidier. Tildie started her first job which was bottlewasher at The Malt Shovel. I bought her a new pair of Marigolds to celebrate the occasion.

We sent My Anchor up to Doncaster on Friday and he was running away at 2miles, but he did not get home over 2m 3f, so needs dropping back in trip. The ground is quite dead at Doncaster, so we have already taken Quebec out of tomorrow's race, but we are sending Ephraim there tomorrow and are hoping that he runs well and builds on his race at Ascot. We are also giving Shane Harte his first ride on Sunday at Southwell on Bridal Suite.

We have got one or two horses ready to run right now, but lots of them want better ground, which is a bit frustrating.

Seventh Sky 2nd in the Grand Sefton at Aintree!

On Saturday morning I saw first lot out and then jumped into the car with Gavin Sheehan and went up to Aintree. We had a good run up the M6 and got there in plenty of time. The weather was pretty foul as it was wet and windy, and I went down to the Chair to watch the Becher chase with Jimmy Moffatt. We watched Jimmy win the Becher with a horse he had only bought four weeks previously, out of Emma Lavelle's yard. We ran Seventh Sky in the Grand Sefton and again, I went down to the Chair with Donald McCain to watch it. He ran an amazing race and was given a beautiful ride by Gavin to finish 2nd. He jumped like a buck and did us proud. I am hoping that John Heron will let me enter him in the Grand National as he proved that he can jump the fences well and I think he would be competitive. It is always exciting when you see a horse take to the National fences and Seventh Sky absolutely loved it. He lost very little weight and was very fresh on Monday morning!

We schooled a couple of horses on Sunday morning and then we had a very good lunch for 12 people at home. Katya cooked a very good meal. We drank some of the wine I bought from an auction, and it really was superb.

We had my new Bank Manager down on Monday to finalise the move to RBS; Robert came down with his assistant Uz and they gave Tess and I lunch in the Malt Shovel, which was a very good way to start the week!!

We are off to Fontwell this morning as I have two runners; Gowanauthat and My Anchor. The ground will be bottomless and I just hope that they can both act on it. We are letting Tommy ride them both as 10lbs in this ground is quite a lot of weight.

Gowanauthat (IRE) runs in the 1.10 at Fontwell today

My Anchor runs in the 2.40 at Fontwell today

Seventh Sky

We schooled Seventh Sky over the National fences on Thursday morning and Mr Big kept him company. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he was brilliant and it really lit him up. So much so that Gavin Sheehan couldn't pull him up! So on the back of that, he runs tomorrow at Aintree in the Grand Sefton, over the National fences and we will see what happens!

The weather has been better today. We took the horses up the grass which they all enjoyed. The Jockey Club have built a new schooling facility, so we took Mr Big up there with Shane on board and jumped all the fences. It is a good facility and a big asset for young horses who are learning to jump. I think Mr Big quite enjoys being a performing monkey!!!!

It has been a fairly quiet week this week as we ran a lot of runners last week. We only have Seventh Sky in at the weekend, but we will get busier next week and have just made entries for Dukes Den, Ephraim and My Anchor.

Seventh Sky zooming over the National fences....

Seventh Sky & Mr Big

We schooled Seventh Sky over the National fences this morning. Mr Big gave him a lead... Both jumped beautifully as you can see. Gavin Sheehan was very pleased with Seventh Sky and is jocked up to ride him on Saturday in the Grand Sefton Chase at Aintree!

Wednesday 2nd December

The week started very well as Robert and Gina Cohen took myself and Katya out for a very jolly lunch at The Woodspeen near Newbury, which was very spoiling.

We sent Cody Wyoming to Rodney Powell's. Rodney is a top class event rider. He is going to do all sorts of different things with Cody to try and get his head sorted out.

On Tuesday we went to winter-time, which means we pull out at 7.30 rather than 7am (first lot) and I must say it was a big success as it is nice to be able to see your horses in daylight, rather than in the dark.

We ran Tango Unchained in his first bumper a Southwell and for some unknown reason, he pulled up. We cannot find anything wrong with him and I think it is best to draw a line under that one.

This morning we worked Seventh Sky with Bridal Suite and they both went nicely. No Bad News did his first bit and went really well. Ephraim, Quebec and My Anchor did a nice piece of work up the back of the hill.

A busy weekend!

The Racegoers Club were here on Friday morning which kept us busy - they are the largest National racing club with 80,000 members. We sent three horses up to Doncaster as the ground was fairly decent up there. I went to Newbury to watch Cody Wyoming. We ran Victor Leudorum at Doncaster and he ran in snatches, finishing in the middle. He may be better going back over fences, but wants decent ground. Dragon City was very unlucky - if he had jumped the last, I think he would have won, but ended up being 3rd and was not beaten very far. Cody Wyoming disgraced himself again. We are going to send him off to try something different as we need to get his head sorted out. Baltic Storm ran a nice race and should have been 2nd, but it was a very slow pace and a muddling sort of race which didn't suit. He should win his race, but he needs a decent gallop.

We had three red letter days from Liverpool on Saturday morning. I had to leave them in Katya's hands as I had to leave for Doncaster races at 9am. We ran Some Kinda Lama in his first hurdle race; he ran a really nice race and will benefit from going a bit further. He will make a lovely chaser in time. We then ran Elmore Back in his first chase and as he had been off the track for a long time. he ran a really good race to finish 4th. He will come on a fair bit for his run and will be a lot easier to place now as he can run in handicaps, but again, he really should be winning soon.

Fine Parchment ran at Bangor on Saturday too. They went fairly quickly in very heavy ground. When the pressure was turned on, he slightly gave up and he only lost 4kgs, so he didn't over exert himself.

We had a very good dinner in the Malt on Saturday night with Paul Mott and Jackie.

We ran a nice horse called Expedite at Leicester on Sunday. It was his first run over hurdles and I thought he ran a really nice race to finish 5th. He jumped very well and wants slightly better ground.

All in all it was a busy weekend. We ran quite a few horses last week and most of them were placed, so they are running well, but it would be very nice to get a few winners! It will be a quieter few days this week as a result, We are looking forward to possibly running Seventh Sky overt the National fences on Saturday as he is in the Grand Sefton. We are running a nice new horse tomorrow called Tango Unchained and if he copes with the ground, he should run well.

A busy day tomorrow...

As it turned out, it was a good decision taking Baltic Storm out as the ground, as expected, rode very "dead" at Ludlow on Monday. To Begin ran a good race to finish 5th considering he hated the ground.

We had Denis O'Regan riding out on Tuesday and I had no secretary as Tess was on a first aid course all day. Tommy schooled Gowanauthat and he jumped very well. I went racing to Lingfield and picked up Tony Stapleton on route. We ran Maid of Milan in the bumper on the all weather, which as it turned out, was a mistake as it was far too quick for her, but I was very keen to get a run into her. Noel Fehily rode her and said that she is a very nice mare, so that was something.

We had some very nice people for breakfast on Wednesday. I went racing on my own to Fontwell, where I met up with Bryan Beacham. We ran a little horse in the first called Dukes Den who coped with the ground very well and ran a nice race to finish 4th. We also ran Gowanauthat in a chase with Tommy Dowling on board and I must say that he jumped very well for Tommy, but he slipped at the second last and ended up finishing 3rd. I picked up my son William on the way back and took him to The Malt Shovel for supper with Katya. We had a very good meal - they get very good fish in on a Wednesday.

We schooled this morning; Mark Grant came in. They all jumped very well.

We have a busy day tomorrow with three runners at Doncaster and one at Newbury. Victor Leudorum runs in a 3mile Handicap Hurdle race, Dragon City is in a 2m4f Novice Handicap Hurdle race and Baltic Storm runs in the Novice Hurdle. We then have Cody Wyoming trying to redeem himself at Newbury with Tommy Dowling on board. He has been a bit of a monkey in his last two runs and we have done a lot of different things with him in the past two weeks and are hopeful that he will be a lot more genuine tomorrow.

A busy few days....

We schooled two lots on Thursday; Gavin Sheehan was in to help. Everything jumped well and we were all happy.

On Friday I did something that I haven't done before; I sadly went to two funerals on the same day. I went to Uffington for Michael Hinchcliffe's funeral, who was an ex trainer and racehorse transporter. I then popped into my house to watch My Anchor run a very nice race at Ascot, to finish 4th. He should get a handicap mark and we will be able to place him to win something off that run. I then went to Savernake Forest for Joan Buckingham's funeral, who was John Hills' mother in law. Will Stuart then came to stay the night.

We had a lot of jockeys in on Saturday morning, including Denis O'Regan, Mark Grant. We had 6 red letter days and they all seemed to enjoy themselves. I took Will racing to Ascot, where we had two runners; Ephraim & Seventh Sky. Ephraim ran a really nice race in finishing 3rd, but I wish he had been ridden a lot handier than he was, as he won his Group 3 on the flat making all the running. We had lunch with David Fox, George Bromfield and his father. David was happy enough with the run. Ascot do a very good job, by giving you a very good lunch and as much wine as you can drink. I think more racecourses should follow suit! We then ran Seventh Sky in a very hot race and we were only really there to pick up some prize money. He was a fast finishing 4th and was unlucky not to get 3rd. It is frustrating having to run him in these big races to nick prize money, but there are literally no other races for him off his handicap mark. He is still in The Hennessy, but he will probably go to Aintree next. There was some good racing elsewhere and I thought Cue Card was very impressive.

I was driven down to Exeter on Sunday by Paul Mott in his very smart Porsche. I do think it is a question of time before he starts getting some speeding points, especially as his car stands out! We watched Airpur Desbois, who we thought was going to bolt up on the bend, but he just did not get home in the ground and ended up finishing 4th. He is a little bit weak, but is a very honest horse and he will win his races. We got back in record time and the horse is fine today.

We were meant to have two runners at Ludlow today, but I have taken Baltic Storm out of the first race at Ludlow today as it will ride like dead ground and won't suit. We will let To Begin take his chance as he might be able to handle the ground that bit better.

We had a good frost last night and it was very cold this morning.

Update & Runners at Warwick

We managed to refurbish accommodation for four of my lads, and they all moved in today. It all looks very smart and I hope they will keep it that way!!

We had a big storm on Monday - they are calling it hurricane Barney. We've had a lot of rain, which has stopped us running quite a few horses as they all need better ground, and it is now getting a bit frustrating!

We are taking two horses to Warwick today in the hope that the ground is OK, but I fear it may be on the dead side. We have Murray Mount in the handicap hurdle and a nice mare called Maid of Milan who is having her first run for us over here. I will see what the jockeys say about the ground after the first race before committing to running her. Maid of Milan is one of "The Neardowners" syndicate horses, of which there are still shares available!!

We have plenty of entries over the weekend; Seventh Sky might go to Ascot, along with Ephraim.

Hopefully this weather will dry up a bit and we can have some runners!

We worked some horses up the back of the hill this morning. Le Legro worked well and Dukes Den went nicely too. Ephraim and Baltic Storm did a nice bit of work together, and Expedite and My Anchor also travelled really well.

Cheltenham

On Friday my sister Caroline and brother in law Mark came to stay as they were doing three days at Cheltenhams' Paddy Power meeting.

David Lambert and two friends dropped in for breakfast on Saturday - they watched his horses on the gallops on their way to Cheltenham.

John Davies picked us up in a bus to take us to Cheltenham, where he had a box and we had a very good day! We watched Cody Wyoming up at Wetherby - he behaved like a pig and decided that he didn't want to try... It's all in his head as he is in great form physically, so we need to try and get him back to his chirpy self.

We picked up my daughter Tildie on the way back from Cheltenham - we then had a very good dinner at The Malt Shovel.

On Sunday morning I had to take Dragon City out of his race at Fontwell because the ground had gone soft.

Iffy then drove us to the races, where Mark had laid on a surprise party for Caroline, in a very smart box, with all her friends there. It was a great success and everyone enjoyed it immensely! It was great to see Sprinter Sacre back on track and it must have been very satisfying for Nicky Henderson and his team. There was good racing over the three days and we saw some very good performances.

12th August 2015

Denis O'Regan and Harry Bannister came in to ride out on Wednesday - we worked two lots, and used the grass gallops on second lot - Some Kinda Lama worked really well.

I met my new Bank Manager at 12o'clock, who came to see me, as we are moving to the RBS. He seemed like a nice fellow..

Morney Wing ran in the first race at Bangor, and considering he had everything in his favour, I was a bit disappointed with his run; he finished in 4th place. I suspect he may have a small wind problem, which if so, needs sorting out sooner rather than later.

My son William came to stay the night - I took him out with Katya to the Malt Shovel for supper, which I have to say was very good.

This morning we schooled first lot - Mark Grant and Gavin Sheehan came in to help. Gavin schooled Elmore Back and if you want to see poetry in motion, I could watch this horse schooling all day, as he is absolutely brilliant! Some Kinda Lama and Maid of Milan also jumped beautifully. Dukes Den has also taken to jumping hurdles really well and will have an entry in his first hurdle race soon. Expedite was also very good and will make a lovely chaser in time.

Runners report...

We worked horses first and second lot on Saturday - Simon Kimber and Julie came round to watch Expedite work. I wanted to work them on the grass, but we had so much rain, that the Jockey Club closed the grass gallops, so we ended up using the all weather up the back of the hill. It rained heavily all morning and I had a quiet day watching the racing in front of the television.

On Sunday we had a very busy day, with 4 runners at Ffos Las and Sandown. I took Mark and George Hitchcroft and their friend Steve racing to Sandown, where we had three runners. We ran Capatosta in the Juvenile hurdle and as he is so big, he is still very weak, so he really is next years horse. We then ran Gowanauthat at Ffos Las - he was travelling really well and then made a terrible mistake at the third last. He was a bit unlucky and deserves a bit of luck now - the owners certainly do anyway!!! We took on Coneygree with Seventh Sky, who ran a really nice race - he jumped beautifully. Finishing 2nd to a Gold Cup winner is no disgrace and he picked up some nice prize money too. We ran Fine Parchment in the veterans race - he jumped beautifully and ran a good race to finish 5th. He now qualifies for a £100,000 veterans race at Sandown on January 1st, which will be his target.

We have quite a few entries for the middle-end of this week, including Ephraim, who we think a lot of, and Maid of Milan, who is a nice mare that we think a lot of. Morney Wing also has some entries as does Cody Wyoming, Some Kinda Lama, Dragon City, Airpur Desbois and Tango Unchained.

We were desperate for rain last week, and as usual, we got too much.

We had a NTF meeting today at Newbury racecourse, which I like to attend as I am on the council, and we discussed the same, usual things, but it was more to do with flat racing rather than jumping to be honest.

There is a nice sale at Cheltenham on Saturday if anyone would like to come along!!

To Begin, taken by Kara, at Musselburgh last weekend

More schooling & a 2nd at Musselburgh

We schooled two lots on Thursday and they all schooled very well. Paddy Brennan, Gavin Sheehan and James Davies came in to school. Paddy schooled Ephraim over the hurdles and he jumped well.

George Tobitt came down to see The Neardowners syndicate horses - he bought a share, which is fantastic!!

It rained all day on Thursday and it has rained all day today, so we sent two horses up to Edinburgh to get the better ground. To Begin ran in his first Novice Chase and jumped well to finish 2nd to a fairly decent horse of Lucinda Russells, but for his first run over fences, I thought he ran very well.

We also ran Quebec, but for some reason he didn't run any sort of race - he didn't travel or jump, so there may be something wrong with him - we will have to get him back and check him out.

We have a fairly busy weekend with 4 runners on Sunday - Gowanauthat runs at Ffos Las and we have Capatosta, Seventh Sky and Fine Parchment at Sandown. Seventh Sky is taking on the Gold Cup winner, Coneygree, and Fine Parchment is running in a veterans chase, and he does love Sandown, so fingers crossed!

We are using the grass gallops right now, and as we have had so much rain, they are holding up quite well. Emily Jones has been in to ride out quite a lot recently, which has been hugely helpful!

Wednesday 4th November

We had a jolly dinner at The Queens last night, complimentary of Newbury Racecourse - they showed us all the plans of how they are modernising the racecourse, which all looked very impressive.

Denis O'Regan came in to ride out this morning - he was very complimentary about Baltic Storm following his 2nd at Plumpton on Monday. We worked some horses up the grass - Denis rode Airpur Desbois, who went well. It is a really lovely bit of ground up on "the face of the hill" - the grass is riding really well and the horses (and the lads!) definitely enjoy a change of scenery. Ephraim worked extremely well and Tango Unchained worked nicely upsides Dukes Den. Morney Wing went well along with Expedite. Some Kinda Lama went nicely too and is definitely on an upward curve!

We don't have any runners today, but Matty will be leaving early tomorrow morning to go to Musselburgh where we will probably run Quebec and To Begin - the ground should be alright up there and the prize money is quite good too.

It looks like Seventh Sky might take on Coneygree at Sandown on Sunday, but he also has an entry at Aintree on Saturday, so we will wait and see what looks the best race for him on Friday morning.

Dragon City WINS at Plumpton!

We had a good schooling session on Thursday; Ephraim and Expedite were very impressive. Bill Brindle came down and saw Elmore Back jump beautifully as well as Some Kinda Lama, who was very good.

I went racing to Stratford with Barney Windsor Clive, only to watch Cody Wyoming chuck his toys out of the pram. They went far too fast for him, and when he can't get competitive, he doesn't want to know, so it was a complete waste of time.

We try and have a "happy hour" every Friday night for the lads in The Malt, and if nothing else, it cheers me up!!

On Saturday we worked some horses on the grass for the first time this season. The ground was absolutely beautiful.

I had a quiet afternoon on Saturday and watched the racing on the TV.

On Sunday morning we schooled the 3 horses that were all going to run on Monday, which went well.

I had lunch at The Malt Shovel with Tom Fillery, his father and brother, plus his fiance Rachel, and all the talk in/around Lambourn is about Richard Hughes moving in. It was a jolly lunch as all the Hannons, Hughsie and Sylvester Kirk were there and we welcomed them to the Valley of the Racehorse.

On Monday we had William and Caroline Hill for breakfast and they watched their horses on second lot.

We ran My Anchor at Kempton and considering he was meant to be dropped in last, (and the jockey took it upon himself to make the running) he actually ran very well, finishing 4th, only beaten 9 lengths. It was a pleasing performance and he should be able to win a race before too long.

We ran two horses at Plumpton - Baltic Storm & Dragon City.

Baltic Storm ran a very good race and finished 2nd, not beaten very far and he should be able to win his hurdle race before too long also. And then Tommy Dowling rode a very good race on Dragon City - he made all the running on the horse, got him jumping, and managed to WIN by half a length, much to everyone's delight!!! Credit where credit is due, no one could have given it a better ride.

Tommy & Dragon City taken this morning after their exciting victory at Plumpton yesterday!

So all in all, it was a good start to the week and the horses are running well! We haven't got much else in until Thursday and we may be going up to Musselburgh on Friday. We have a busy weekend with horses entered at Aintree, Sandown and Ffos Las, so we need to keep the ball rolling, but the horses do seem to be in good form, so we want to make hay whilst the sun shines!!!!

Off the cold list...

We went to Cheltenham on Friday and had a very good lunch with my owners and then we went into the new Owners and Trainers bar in the new stand, which I have to say is one of the best Owners and Trainers I have ever seen. All credit must go to Cheltenham as they have done a truly brilliant job.

We ran Quebec there; he travelled very well and if the handicapper gives him a chance, he should be very competitive somewhere soon.

We had lots of people here on Saturday to watch the horses work and it was very exciting as we gave Ephraim his first bit of work - he went very nicely. Maid of Milan went nicely and Cody Wyoming is in good form after his run, so much so that he will run at Stratford on Wednesday.

On Sunday we went to the opening of John Hills Way, which was very well attended and it should be a massive benefit for us as it keeps all the horses coming back from the gallops off Maddle road. We then had drinks at Oaksey House which was fun and ended up having lunch in The Malt.

A new member of staff, Mark Tierney, started on Monday and seems to be getting on well. I had my first lot of physio at Oaksey House following my injuries, which was interesting. I was then driven down to London by Iffy as I had been invited to the Royal Opera House to see the Royal Ballet and in particular, a dancer called "Carlos Acosta" who is from Cuba and this is his last tour. I found it fascinating but I think I might stick to horse racing.

On Tuesday, Harry Bannister drove me to the races, where we ran Murray Mount and despite dropping his reins at the last, he managed to win by a head, which gets us off the cold list, thank goodness!!

This morning, we worked some horses up the gallops and the back of the hill - Seventh Sky, My Anchor, Dragon City and a new young horse of Nick Bannisters', called Tango Unchained.

Cody Wyoming is declared to run at Stratford tomorrow - there are a lot of runners and it looks quite competitive, but there aren't many races for him.

Murray Mount's a WINNER at Bangor!!!

A fantastic WIN from Murray Mount at Bangor on Dee races yesterday, under Conditional jockey Harry Bannister for owner Mark Hitchcroft. 

Photo's courtesy of Becky Bailey...

Cheltenham!

My sister Caroline came to stay on Tuesday and she seemed in very good form. She saw the horses that she has shares in and watched them on the gallops.

We had a busy day on Wednesday, with six red letter days in the morning. I sent Iffy down to London to buy me a new jeep for the gallops. He came back about 10 hours later with a good looking 4x4, which hopefully, should be ideal!

Unfortunately for us, Iffy is leaving at the weekend, having been with me for 12 years, as he has bought a house in Swindon and it is not practical for him to drive in and out every day. We will be sorry to see him go, and obviously we wish him well.

We had the most delicious fish in the Malt Shovel on Wednesday night, with scallops to start with and two very fresh Dover soles to follow. The chef, June, is doing a very good job!

We schooled horses this morning and To Begin was very good over fences. We schooled Ephraim over hurdles for the first time and he took to it really well. He is a very exciting horse and hopefully he will be running in the middle of November. Expedite also schooled over hurdles and jumped really nicely.

As I said previously, we are in the process of moving banks and I had a nice present delivered in the post today from my new Bank Manager - two very smart bottles of wine, which are apparently to help my broken bones!! 

Tess has been busy getting this years Horses in Training brochure up together and I am very pleased with the photo that I took on Wednesday, which will be used on the front page...

To be used on the front page of our new Horses in Training brochure

Our very smart yard cat... Foxy's favourite!!

Baltic Storm looking beautiful...

We had two runners at Ludlow today - Victor Leudorum was 4th, having jumped and travelled nicely. It would be nice to find a race for him, but he does need decent ground, so we may be running out of time. I thought we'd have a winner at Ludlow with Gowanauthat, but unfortunately, he only got to the second fence, before unseating the rider. We do definitely need a change of luck right now!!

Victor Leudorum taken before setting off for Ludlow this morning..

Gowanauthat taken before setting off for Ludlow this morning..

Quebec runs at Cheltenham tomorrow - it is the first meeting at Cheltenham this season and I think there will be a great buzz about the place. Let's hope we have more luck tomorrow! There are 11 runners and Harry Bannister rides. Quebec is owned by The Steeplechasers and a good proportion of the syndicate are able to go, so we shall look forward to a nice lunch and a good days racing!

19th October

I managed to get my hot tub going again, after about a year of not having it and it is the most amazing release following accident as it gets me moving again, so I sit in it every night with a glass of white wine, and I must say, I feel a lot better afterwards!!

On Friday Will Stuart came to stay, who is a great old friend of mine.

We worked a few horses on Saturday and had George and Rachel Bromfield for breakfast as Red Letter Day guests. I took them on the gallops to watch some horses working – George certainly knew a lot about form.

We had three runners at Market Rasen – Le Legro finished 3^rd, but I am fairly sure that I ran him too soon as he didn’t want to make the running. Then we had Morney Wing in a fairly competitive race – he finished 6^th for The Steeplechasers. The jockey said he wants a more galloping track and softer ground. Bridal Suite was our third runner, but I am not sure how hard he tried and I think he needs a pair of blinkers on to hopefully sharpen him up.

Morney Wing in the paddock at Market Rasen (taken by Bruce & Lesley Stevens)

Morney Wing in the paddock at Market Rasen (taken by Bruce & Lesley Stevens)

On Sunday we ran Cody Wyoming at Kempton and he ran a blinder; he jumped really well and finished 2^nd, beaten just half a length. On the back of that run, we should have some fun with Cody this year. A lot of the syndicate were there and I think they all enjoyed themselves, judging by their very supportive emails.

The horses are running well on the whole and we are getting to the cross bar, without the ball going in.

We have entries on Thursday at Ludlow and Southwell, we also have Quebec in at Cheltenham on Friday and Seventh Sky there on Saturday.

Runners & Schooling

On Tuesday, Baltic Storm ran a nice race at Huntingdon. He was 3^rd in his first hurdle race to a decent horse of John Ferguson’s, but I think he wants dropping back to 2 miles as he was a bit keen. Dragon City ran OK - he will be more competitive when we can get him in a handicap.

Baltic Storm

Dragon City

We worked a few up the back of the hill on Wednesday morning. Le Legro worked very well, as did My Anchor and Dukes Den.

Nimbus Gale ran at Worcester yesterday – he jumped round well enough, but came back with a nasty cut, which I hope he won’t be off for too long with.

Murray Mount having some down time after his excellent 2nd at Chepstow:

Murray Mount

We schooled quite a few horses this morning – Gavin Sheehan and Harry Bannister came in to help. We schooled To Begin over fences for the first time today - he was very good. Morney Wing had his last schooling session before he possibly runs on Saturday. We also schooled Expedite and Ephraim around the sand ring, with a lead from Mr Big – they both jumped beautifully. Expedite is a nice young bumper horse that we had last season and Ephraim is a group 3 winner who we have recently bought over from Germany. He is a really nice looking sort.

We have no runners today. The next ones will be on Saturday and Sunday; more than likely at Market Rasen and Kempton, but we could do with a drop of rain…

On a different note, I am very pleased to be sending all this kit back to Swindon Hospital!!! Let me know if anyone is in need of it (or looking to make a few bob at a car boot sale)!

The Proclamation 3yo filly is coming along nicely.. She is cantering away and seems a very nice, straightforward sort. She is for sale!

Proclamation 3yo filly - FOR SALE

Capatosta (USA) schooling over fences for the first time:

Lots of 2nds!

The horses worked well on Wednesday and we had a nice horse called Quebec running at Towcester. He ran a nice race and finished 4^th but he didn’t like the track and needs a flat course. Noel said there is a good handicap win in him on a flat track.

My sister Victoria came to stay on Wednesday night. We schooled two lots on Thursday – Gavin Sheehan was in and we sent Aspasius to Gary Moore’s as he is going to have a little flat campaign as we feel he is still too weak for hurdling at the moment.

We ran Gowanauthat at Worcester – he ran a really nice race for his first time over fences and managed to finish 2^nd.

I am managing to get out onto the gallops, but am still in a fair amount of pain.

We ran Seventh Sky at Newton Abbot in a very hot race, but he pulled up because he is still not fit enough. We got him in early from the field, we took him to Kempton racecourse for a gallop, and we have worked him very hard, so he is possibly not quite letting himself down. He may need one more run before he peaks at full fitness, but we are definitely not letting the grass grow under his feet!!!!

We had happy hour at the Malt Shovel with the lads on Friday and then dinner afterwards with Terry Simmons, Andy and Emily Stone, who were all staying there. The Malt is working really well and has been packed most evenings, which is really great news and everyone is very happy!

We took Terry, Andy and Emily on the gallops on Saturday morning, along with 4 Red Letter Day’s. We ran Murray Mount at Chepstow, who ran a very good race, finishing 2^nd to a very good horse of Nicky Henderson’s.

My sister Victoria went home on Saturday evening and I had supper with Andy and Emily Stone at the Malt.

We rode four horses out on Sunday morning and I then went to Hen Knight’s book launch, which was absolutely chocker block! We then had a very nice lunch at home with Martin and Nicole Myers and watched Capatosta’s race at Chepstow. Capatosta ran in his first hurdle race and pulled up – I think he is very weak still, but Noel says he will make a very nice horse for next year. He will probably want further too.

I went to the physio this morning at Oaksey house and they said that I was probably two weeks too soon, so they couldn’t do anything for me. In fact they said I was actually doing very well not to be in bed!!!

We have two nice horses running at Huntingdon today – Baltic Storm and Dragon City. Nimbus Gale runs at Worcester tomorrow.

Getting busier runners wise....

A fellow called Nick China came to visit on Friday - we went to lunch at The Malt Shovel with Nick Gaselee who he seemed to know quite well

The Malt Shovel opened the day before and it has been a roaring success. There were literally people queueing to get in on the Thursday night and as I negotiated the terms, I am delighted that it is going so well for Luke Davies and his father John.

John Francome came to pick me up on Friday night and we went down to The Malt for a very quick one as John doesn’t drink.

We had Red Letter Days here on Saturday and unfortunately Katya was ill, so I had to draft in Kim Meehan to help cook me breakfast and ferry me around the gallops.

A friend of mine called Tony Stapleton picked me up to take me to Fontwell as Le Legro was running for The Neardowners. He ran a really nice race, and if he had just jumped a little bit quicker, he would have won, but as it happened, he finished 2^nd. Noel Fehily liked him and said he should win next time! Don’t forget there are still 3 shares available in him, along with the two others in the syndicate, and they look very good value at this time.

When I got back from the races I was absolutely exhausted, so I don’t think I’ll be going racing again for a while, or at least until I am off these crutches!

We were meant to have three runners on Sunday, but the ground was too firm at Kelso, so poor old Seventh Sky was driven up to Kelso and back to no avail. Aspasius finished 4^th in his first Juvenile Hurdle race for Paul Mott, but he is clearly too weak to get the trip right now, so we are planning a flat campaign with him now, and then he will hopefully go jumping next season. Victor Leudorum ran quite well at Uttoxeter – he blew the cobwebs away and should improve from the race.

On Monday we had our Monday Lunch Club down at the Malt Shovel. We had a very good turnout, although the chairman is currently residing in Great Western Hospital right now – Evelyn Faber, so we hope he is out soon!

To Begin ran at Market Rasen and he ran with far more promise as he didn’t bleed and finished 4^th. He will hopefully improve from there.

I managed to see all the horses out this morning and we are planning to run Quebec tomorrow at Towcester. We are starting to run a few horses at long last and we have some nice entries at the weekend – Seventh Sky will either run at Newton Abbot or Chepstow, Morney Wing is in at Chepstow, as is Capatosta and Murray Mount.

The horses are certainly coming to themselves and I hope we find a few winners in the next couple of runs!!!

Racing UK, Airpur Desbois & My new wheels!!!!

I managed to see my horses on the gallops for the first time on Monday as I was driven up to see them and it worked quite well, although going over any bumps was quite an unpleasant experience!

We had a very busy Monday club at home - we had probably 11 people for lunch. I am taking quite a lot of morphine right now, which does make me quite drowsy, so I do tend to go to sleep rather quickly, although the only time I do not sleep is at night time, when I go to bed!

I have had a lot of visitors in to see me this week, which has been nice and I have received a very nice book in the post from Paul Mott, called “Horseback riding for Dummies”, which I have to say I found quite amusing.

Racing UK came round on Wednesday to film our 3^rd lot working on the gallops and I think they were quite impressed with what they saw.

I had a massive bonus on Wednesday evening when I was loaned a Mobility Scooter, which I hope is going to make my life an awful lot easier and certainly Lilly’s. Lilly has had always hated exercise, so she thinks all her Christmas’s have come at once, as of course, she thinks the scooter was sent for her. She has become very fat lately and whilst I know it is a very good acquisition for myself, I am not sure that the same applies to her.

I managed to watch two lots schooling this morning. We had James Davies in to help schooling. They all jumped really well.

We have got our first lot of decent entries for this weekend, which include; Seventh Sky at Kelso, Le Legro at Fontwell, Aspasius at Huntingdon and Victor Leudorum at Uttoxeter. It will be nice to get a bit of action!

We ran Airpur Desbois at Chepstow yesterday and I must say, he ran very well in his first handicap, and on the back of that, we should be able to place him to win a race quite soon.

I would like to thank you all again for my cards and best wishes, and while it is going to take quite a long time to recover, it is definitely going the right way. I still can’t quite work out how I got so many injuries in one fall off a hunter!

Monday 28th September

Here is to a brand new start this week - the sun is shining, I am on the road to recovery and I even managed to get up to the gallops to watch my horses cantering on second lot. I must say they all look extremely well and I am looking forward to a fair few runners over the next two weeks.

Monday club is going to be at Neardown today as I think it would be pushing me a bit too much to go out to a restaurant to lunch, especially as I am still in my pyjamas!! (which seems to be amusing all the staff!)!!

I am being beautifully looked after by all the animals when Katya isn't there and I am looking forward to a good catch up with all the Lambourn news over a bowl of soup and some crusty bread today! Katya is being a very good Florence Nightingale, but I think I testing her patience somewhat, and I must say she looked very happy to be very happy riding out second lot this morning, rather than looking after me!!!

Sureness ran disappointingly at Market Rasen on Saturday. I think it is time for her to have a break so that we can reassess the situation. Airpur Desbois has an entry at Chepstow on Wednesday and Le Legro has an entry at Warwick on Thursday.

Below are two video's of the horses working up the back of the hill on Saturday:

Schooling youngsters, a few runners and unwanted Hospital admissions!!!!

I went to see my Bank Manager at Barclays to negotiate a new interest rate on my mortgage. When I told him what I wanted, he said it was impossible, to which I replied "I have already got it with another bank”, so I will now be having a new Bank Manager and I must say, it is about time!

The horses are coming on well. I have been riding out two lots most mornings this week. We schooled 20 horses on Thursday (see video’s below) – it was a real eye opener as I hadn’t seen a few of them jump before. Noel Fehily, Gavin Sheehan and James Davies came in to help with the schooling morning, along with our in house jockeys Tommy Dowling and Shane Harte. I must say it was a very good morning and they all looked superb!

Baltic Storm, Victor Leudorum, Le Legro & My Anchor

Cody Wyoming

Dragon City & Aspasius

Morney Wing, Elmore Back, Bridal Suite

Seventh Sky, Royal Redemption, Gowanauthat, Nimbus Gale

Some Kinda Lama, Quebec, Murray Mount, Capatosta

Charlie Nugent and Will Stuart came to stay on Thursday night. We had a wine tasting evening at The Malt Shovel to decide what type of wine they might serve. The Malt Shovel is all coming together very well now and I am looking forward to it opening.

We had a new hall window put in on Friday as the last one was a coloured glass thing, which I had actually become quite attached to. However when the new one went in, I was quite surprised as it is stunning and lets in a lot more light; we are very happy with it!

Matty went to pick up my new hunter Ronnie and when he arrived I must say I was a little disappointed, as he was a bit "cobby" for more liking.

We had Andy Stone and Bridget, and Sarah Holcroft to stay on Friday night. Katya cooked a very nice dinner for us and we had a lovely evening all together.

Saturday was a very busy day for all at Neardown – we had five Red Letter Day’s plus another six people for breakfast. We had owners all morning and then twenty people for 4^th lot. Gavin Sheehan and Harry Bannister came in to ride work up the “back of the hill” which was a great help. The Steeplechaser’s horses looked very well (Quebec, Some Kinda Lama and Morney Wing), as did The Neardowners’. The one that stood out to me was Le Legro (IRE) who has got his first entry next week. There are still a couple of shares available in this syndicate and I would advise anyone who is interested to move quite quickly.

We then had a box at Newbury for the syndicates and watched some good flat racing, followed by watching Madness in concert, who were very entertaining. Johnny Seth Smith and his girlfriend Colette came to stay that night, so it was a very sociable but lovely few days!

On Sunday we got some horses out as a friend of Andy’s wanted to see The Neardowners horses. After they left, I thought it would be a good idea to get on my new hunter Ronnie. Katya put him on the walker, I then led him into the ring and got a leg up off Johnny whilst Katya held his head, but before I could get my feet into the irons, he took off with me and I came off after he had bolted. I was then taken to Great Western Hospital in Swindon in an ambulance.

Having had a scan, the Doctors found that I had fractured three ribs, my pubic ramus and somewhere else in my pelvis, and my shoulder had dislocated. It now looks like one of Luke Harvey’s shoulders!!

I had quite a few injuries as a jockey, but I don’t think I have ever been in so much pain!

Having spent six days in Great Western Hospital, I have managed to get home, although I am not very mobile and am still having an awful lot of morphine. Hopefully I will be on the mend fairly quickly and we can all move on again! I had plenty of people come in to visit me at the hospital which was very nice and I am very grateful for all the well wishes that I have received. Not being able to get about is very frustrating, but I am hopefully getting a mobility scooter which should make my life a little easier and more interesting. I am delighted to be back at home and have my first decent meal cooked by Katya! I don’t honestly know how hospitals can make food taste as bad as it does!

We had a runner at Worcester yesterday – a horse called Murray Mount, who was having his first run over hurdles this season for Mark Hitchcroft and was ridden by James Davies. He is a little bit backward and has taken time to come to himself, but he jumped better and has improved from his last performance – he is definitely learning the job!!

Sureness runs at Market Rasen today. She just hasn’t had her ground all season – she wants fast ground, but as the summer has been so disappointing, she just hasn’t been able to run on her ideal ground. However if it stays good today, she should run well for Paul Mott under Gavin Sheehan.

We took Seventh Sky to Kempton yesterday to stretch his legs before his first run – Tom Scudamore rode him for us and he went really nicely.

I am currently sitting in a high backed arm chair which gives me some relief, and if I am not in sitting in this, I have to be lying in bed!

Tess took these striking photo's of the horses cantering along "the short" in the early morning sun:

A busy week!

We have had a busy week helping John and Luke Davies get The Malt Shovel up and running as, much to everyone’s delight, they have taken a lease on the pub for a year, with an option to buying it. The Malt Shovel closed last November and the one thing that has come out of it in that time, is how much we have missed it and how much we need it back! I am sure it will do really well and everyone in the area is very excited about it. The pub now looks fantastic and they are hoping to open it on the 1^st October. Katya has been busy helping with the interior design of the pub and it is really coming together now.

We had lots of Red Letter Day guests here on Saturday – we worked a load of horses up the back of the hill and it is getting quite exciting now as we are letting them stride on a bit more. Baltic Storm looked especially good – he is a young horse who we bought from Germany earlier this year. Katya cooked a delicious breakfast for our guests and then rode out for the first time in 3 weeks following quite a nasty fall; she seemed to enjoy herself and has been riding out in the rain this morning!

We had a long lunch at The Hare on Saturday with Philip and Jo Hunt. We watched the Ledger from there and I thought Ralph Beckett's horse was unlucky to lose it, but I am not sure that they will get it back on the appeal. Ballydoyle had a fairly good weekend, having won both Ledger’s (English and Irish), but the horse that stood out over the weekend was Treve as she absolutely hacked up at Longchamp and it will take a very good horse to beat her in The Arc!

I took Mr Big on a local fun ride on Sunday with Mark Grant, Dominic and Ben Ffrench Davis, but it wasn’t as much fun as I had anticipated as Mr Big spent most of his time on his hind legs. I was going to hunt him this year, but I am not sure he will be as much fun as I had thought!!

My sister Caroline and brother in law Mark stayed on Sunday evening as they were on their way home from a wedding in Cornwall. They watched their horses on the gallops this morning. They are in The Neardowners syndicate, so watched Le Legro, Maid of Milan and Capatosta with great interest. They didn’t pick the best morning weather wise as it was pretty misty and ever so wet! Whoever said that we are going to have an Indian summer needs their head testing as it has rained all morning!!

Excitingly, we have just bought a very nice horse in Germany from Markus Klug called Ephraim. He is a gorgeous big 4yo, who has won a Group 3 race on the flat. He passed the vet on Saturday and I am hoping he will be coming over on Wednesday. He is a very high class horse and we are hoping he might make up into a Cheltenham contender!