- Monday, 06 August 2018 10:57
- Written by David Pipe
Today marks the final day before National Hunt racing’s eight day summer holiday and we head into the sabbatical with a couple of runners at Newton Abbot this afternoon. Even though there were no runners from the stable last week, we were still busy getting the remaining horses in from their summer holidays, purchasing horses and continuing with further yard maintenance ahead of the core season. Although this is considered to be the ‘quiet time’ of a National Hunt stable’s year, the reality is in fact very different.
Although we had no runners last week, we were still active on the courses by way of a couple of new additions to the team via sellers on the flat at Beverley and Leicester. Indeed, I stepped out for one afternoon and while I was away from the office, my father was busy buying Dream Free after readily landing the 1m4f selling handicap from Beverley with ears pricked despite not enjoying the clearest of runs. He has already been given plenty of jumping practice in our loose school, while he has been ridden over regulation hurdles on the gallops. He jumps very well and will be contesting novices’ hurdles shortly, while he could also revert to the flat.
The following day we purchased three year old gelding Melangen from the 1m2f Leicester seller. On only his second outing on the flat he produced a decent effort to make most of the running and pull out more when it looked as though he might be vulnerable in the straight. He is a nice type, open to any amount of improvement and is another that has already shown his aptitude for hurdles at home. Three year old’s are getting harder and harder to come by these days – the pick of those from the flat inevitably end up heading for the middle-east or even the southern hemisphere, while many of those who don’t often continue their careers on the level in this country.
Malangen is fit, ready to run and like Dream Free he is looking for an owner. Chester has been banging on about subsequent Champion Hurdle winner Make A Stand being bought from a Leicester claimer and while that may be a little much to hope for, they should both be more than capable of winning over timber in the coming weeks and months. They are sure to give prospective owners a lot of fun without a huge capital outlay.
While we are on the subject of buying and selling horses the Doncaster August Sale gets underway on Wednesday and there look to be some potentially interesting lots going through the ring. If you are interested in purchasing a horse from the sales, or one of those that I have mentioned above, please do get in touch. We have enjoyed a great deal of success with horses from Doncaster down the years with the likes of Royal Ascot and Cheltenham Festival winner Junior and I’msingingtheblues among the graduates.
Following today’s card from Newton Abbot there is a short summer break so we will be hoping to go into the holidays with a winner or two. Celestial Path has won his last couple of starts and contests the 2m1f handicap hurdle, while Lochinver; a winner of a point-to-point flat race on his only start to date contests the bumper. Tom Scudamore is aboard the pair.
We do have a couple of entries on the level, where Acker Bilk has a choice of engagements at Haydock on Thursday and Friday.
I was pleased to hear that Jo Supple is doing well. You may recall that Mrs Supple had a horrible fall at Umberleigh on the last day of the point-to-point season, dislocating her hip. Well, she has just been given the all-clear to discard the crutches and we are all delighted to hear that she is making good progress. Knowing Jo she will be fit and raring to go when the point-to-point season gets underway once again.
There was an unusual sight around the yard last Saturday. One of our longest serving members of staff; Emma Carrow was back in the saddle. Emma, who has been with us since 1991 has been a ground-based staff member for a considerable period of time but she couldn’t resist the prospect of getting aboard her beloved Mr Clarkson (the pair pictured above) for his first ridden exercise last week. Mr Clarkson was an exciting novice hurdler a couple of seasons ago, winning four times for his owners, the Pipe’s Prospectors and I know they are all looking forward to getting him back on the track this term.
Congratulations to our near neighbour Abigail Bartlett who married Stephen McKenzie at All Saints Church in Culmstock on Saturday, while the reception was held in the village. My parents were in attendance and had a lovely day, my dad even managing to get this super photograph – our congratulations and warmest wishes for the future to the happy couple.
Finally, I am excited to announce that we are on the lookout for a talented, ambitious and motivated conditional/amateur jockey to join the team. It is a great opportunity for the right candidate to ride for one of the country’s leading National Hunt stables. We have a rich history of bringing along young jockeys and can boast conditional jockeys’ titles for Jonothan Lower, Martin Foster and Jamie Moore, while more recently the likes of Hadden Frost, Danny Cook and Conor O’Farrell have enjoyed big race success with Cheltenham Festival winners for the stable. Previous experience is vital, as are good references. If you can meet the above criteria, we would love to hear from you.
