Exciting Times!

It was a good weekend for the yard when we were repaid for the long journey up to Scotland with a winner at Kelso on Sunday.  War Singer (pictured right) won the opening handicap hurdle with little fuss under Tom Scudamore who gave our five year old a canny ride by ignoring the frantic early pace.  Our gelding had some very good form on the flat in France and has run some decent races for us on the level at some of the bigger tracks such as Newbury and Haydock.  This was his first success over timber and while it was not the strongest of races, I hope that he can now build on this success and go on to take higher rank and record further victories over timber.

I should also mention how well our staff were looked after while they stayed up at Kelso.  Indeed, Hazel Peplinski, the Clerk of the course and her wonderful ground staff Brian and Gillian took them out for dinner upon arrival as well as treating them to breakfast the following morning.  They couldn't do enough for themand are to be applauded for the lengths they go to to ensure that everyone is made welcome.  Not only are they great entertainers, but they do a wonderful job with the course too, providing perfect ground for racing and there are plenty of other racecourses in Britain that could learn a thing or two from them.

It is hardly surprising that my staff had such a good time in Scotland...apparently it was stable lad's day at the track to boot!  Raceday sponsors Betfair were kindly handing out hampers of goodies including wine, fudge, crisps, scarves and soap etc for all of the staff and when you consider that they were also providing a very generous prize of £150 to the lad of the best turned out horse in every race, they were certainly spoiled!  Our thanks go to them for their continued support of our sport and recognition of the contribution of the stable staff, without whom our industry would cease to exist.  I thinkI will be going up for the next meeting!

It is getting increasingly busy around the yard and while most of the horses are now back with us, there are still a few that have either just arrived back or are due in any day now.  It is good to have many of the old favourites back with us, including the likes of high class hurdler Ronaldo des Mottes who was last seen in action at Aintree in April 2011.  He looks really well and should make a lovely novice chaser for the season ahead.

While we are on the subject of novice chasers, I couldn't let this opportunity go by without making reference to Dynaste and Our Father who have both been schooling over fences at home in preparation for a tilt at the larger obstacles this season.  They were both high class hurdlers (especially Dynaste, who you may remember gave Big Buck's a fright or two last term) and there is no reason why they should not prove at least as effective over fences...I have certainly been pleased with what I have seen so far at home.

Of course, work isn't just restricted to the fitness of the horses, there are running plans and entries to be made.  This week looks like being particularly hectic with plenty of local racing coming up where we have entries at Exeter on Thursday and Newton Abbot on Friday as well as on the level at Bath.  However, the big race of the week for us come at Newmarket on Saturday in the Cesarewitch handicap.  We have gone close a couple of times in the past with Mamlook who finished second and third in the race, while my father won it with both Heros Fatal and Miss Fara .  We will have four runners in the race - Ashbrittle who was an unlucky seventh in the Ascot Stakes at the Royal meeting in June, winning hurdler Decoy (who would be having his first start on the flat since running in France in June 2010), Beyond who was sent off second favourite for the race last year and Martial Law who ran a decent trial behind ante-post favourite Countrywide Flame at Chester.

The handicapper does not always make life easy however and just this morning I was a little disappointed by the hurdle rating allocated to my staying chaser Shaking Hands.  "Shakey" hadn't shown much form in three starts over hurdles and had a hurdle rating of 95 on file in March 2010 (his chase rating was 105).  You can imagine my surprise when he was awarded a rating 19lbs higher than that this morning (114).  I understand that horses that have shown improved form under a different code (and Shaking Hands has subsequently won over fences) can expect a rise in the ratings to allow for that improvement...BUT, why has he gone up by 19lbs over hurdles in the intervening time compared to only 14lbs over fences during the same period?!

We are always on the lookout for potential new talent at the yard and work has already started on the Newmarket Horses In Training catalogue at the end of this month.  We have bought some very good horses from these sales down the years, most notable of which was probably the highly talented Pridwell who we secured for just 8,500 guineas.  Many of you will recall him lowering the colours of the mighty Istabraq at Aintree in that memorable finish to the Martell Aintree Hurdle in 1998.  Anyway, if you are looking for a potential hurdler for the coming season, please feel free to contact me for a no obligation chat to discuss your requirements.  We have a proven track record of finding the right horse for the right sort of money, so why look anywhere else?