Busy (Weather Permitting)!

Young conditional jockey Sam Welton made the most of his opportunity to land the boys’ race at Exeter on Friday aboard Home Run.  He did go for what I shall call an ‘optimistic’ run early in the straight, but still managed to prevail in a dramatic finish from Xaarcet.  This was Sam’s first success (on only his second ride for me) since joining the team at Pond House in August.  He has now ridden two winners under rules and is a good lad who will continue to improve with experience.

Tanerko Emery (pictured above) continues his progression through the ranks since joining us at the beginning of the season recording his second success in three runs with a cheeky victory in the handicap hurdle at Sandown on Friday under an ultra confident ride from Conor O’Farrell.  I must confess I was a little worried at how much he was given to do, but he was close enough at the second last and was very brave to go through a diminishing gap after the final hurdle.  We all think highly of him and with only six starts to date, he is open to further improvement.

It was a long wait for amateur jockey Mikey Ennis to ride his first winner for me, but just like London busses, two high-profile successes have come along in a relatively short space of time.  First Swing Bill won the amateur riders’ race at Cheltenham’s Paddy Power meeting and Mikey was in the winners’ enclosure again at the weekend aboard Sona Sasta at Chepstow on Saturday.   Sona Sasta is a tough and genuine and has an abundance of stamina.  He will need a few to come out, but he could return to the track at the end of the month for the Welsh Grand National.

Not only was it a good weekend for the yard, it was a good one for the staff too.  Another of our amateurs, Michael Heard was among the winners with a success at Wadebridge on Sunday, while Gerry Supple’s partner Jo Buck landed the Ladies’ race on the same card aboard Barley Bear for Jackie du Plessis.  Our head lad Eddie Buckley’s son had his first ride between the flags at the meeting in the novices’ riders’ race.  Unfortunately he was pulled up, but both horse and jockey came back in one piece and I’m sure will be in the winners’ enclosure before too long.

It wasn’t such a good week for Lambourn trainer Oliver Sherwood who received a hefty fine and had his horse Furrows banned from racing for forty days after being found guilty of schooling/conditioning his horse on the racecourse in the novices’ chase at Hereford.  As far as I can see, this has plenty to do with the ridiculous new rules brought in when horses start novice chasing.  I had a runner, Oddjob in the same race – it was a race that he had very little chance in according to the formbook, yet he had to run in one of these contests in order to be eligible for a handicap chase.  Oddjob fell at the second fence and this highlights the issue that running in these unsuitable races brings additional (and in my opinion unnecessary) risk to both horse and jockey.  Fortunately in this instance Oddjob and jockey Conor O’Farrell are perfectly okay but this rule needs addressing as a matter of urgency.  As usual it is the owner who has to foot the bill and risk their horses in these races.  I do feel for Oliver Sherwood and the connections of Furrows and hope that they are successful with their appeal.

Providing it survives the weather (we have had the rain and are now due the freeze) it looks like being a busy old week.  Quinte du Chatelet will be our only runner tomorrow (Tuesday) at Fontwell but we have plenty of entries for the remainder of the week at Leicester, Huntingdon, Ludlow, Taunton, Bangor as well as Cheltenham, Doncaster and Lingfield on Saturday and Carlisle and Hereford on Sunday.  Among them are exciting chasers Junior and Our Father, while I have also confirmed Notus de la Tour at the latest stage of the December Gold Cup for Cheltenham on Saturday.  Keep up-to-date with the latest running plans by visiting Chester’s Daily Chat.

Finally I must give a favourable mention to an event that AP McCoy is helping to organise at The Outside Chance pub in Marlborough on 19^th December from 6.30pm.  It is billed as a fun race night with interviews from AP, Mick Fitzgerald, John Francome and Alan King about the National Hunt season and includes buffet meal.  Tickets are £35 each and are limited in availability, so hurry and book your place by e-mailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.