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!