Tom Scu Retires

A lot has happened in the last week!! The biggest and most shocking news was of course Tom Scu announcing his retirement from riding with immediate effect. On Thursday morning we were delighted to have him back riding for the first time in nearly two weeks and by the evening I was digesting the news that he had called time on his jockey career!

Tom Scu Retirement

Tom and his wife Sara came to visit me at Pond House on Thursday evening on his way home from racing at Leicester to break the news to Leanne and I.  Tom has been with me since the beginning and has always been a great asset to me, our horses and owners.

Tom was concussed from a fall from Royal Defender in a Bumper at Chepstow on 3^rd February and despite a good recovery I believe some words the doctors said to him during his time off about concussion and the risks it poses as you get older provoked some thoughts about his future as a jockey.  He returned to ride at Leicester last Thursday on what we thought was a winning opportunity aboard Ya Know Yaseff but they got no further than the third fence when our mare blundered and got rid of Scu.  While a relatively ‘soft’ fall compared to some, her hooves kicked his helmet which smashed and broke and I think this was the moment Tom knew that was it.

Tom started out his career in point to points and his first winner over fences was Young Thruster at Newton Abbot in November 1998 aged 16.  He was champion amateur in 2001 and rode in his first Grand National that year aboard Northern Starlight.  He turned professional in October 2001 and his first win as a pro came that month aboard Belle D’Anjou at Chepstow.

He rode for my dad and then has been with me since I took over the licence in 2007 and we have shared many fantastic days and successes together, the best part of 750 winners I believe.  His first Cheltenham Festival winner came aboard An Accordion in 2008 and he has had ten Festival winners.  We have won many of the top races together, too many to mention here and he rode 150 winners in the 2014-15 season.  He retires having ridden just over 1500 winners in Britain and Ireland.

He has been a valuable member of our team since I started training and the riding side is just one part, albeit a very important part!  His experience, knowledge and feedback have been invaluable.  I am sad to see him retiring but can understand why and fully support his decision.  The Pipe/Scudamore association started with dad and Peter and I was proud to continue it working alongside Tom.  While he has yet to decide quite what the future holds I believe he has a few options in the Pipeline.  Tom still plans to ride out as he lives not far from the yard and we have some other ideas to keep involved at Pond House as well.  He made his debut for ITV Racing on Saturday and looked a natural so I am sure there will be plenty of media offers coming his way also!

At Pond House we have always had a good team of jockeys supporting Tom Scudamore we will consider our options for the future carefully before making any long-term decisions.  I would like to appoint a stable jockey as I feel it is important for the yard, horses and owners.  I have had a few jockeys on the phone to me and we will take our time to weigh everything up and make the right decision.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tom for all his support, dedication, hard-work and talent in the saddle as our stable jockey.  We have experienced some of the best of days, alongside some lows but we have always had a good relationship both personally and professionally and I feel we have made a very good team.  I am sad to see him retire but I am glad he does so on his own terms and we all must look to the future.

Horses Running Well

The horses have all ran well in the past week since last writing and we have had some nice winners as well. Where do I start…

D’jango was back in the winner’s enclosure at Lingfield last week after winning the staying chase with David Noonan on board. Our gelding won two races last summer and has held his form well but this was his first win since. He loves a test of stamina and after jumping the first couple of fences well the other day I knew he was enjoying it and he would run well. He has his own unique style of jumping and we give him a lot of treatment and massages at home between runs. He seems to like the better going and he holds and entry in the Devon National at Exeter on Friday. He is likely to run under a penalty and with the weather set to remain dry I would not be surprised to see him run well again.

Thomas Mor was the impressive winner at Ascot on Saturday under Tom O’Brien. Our gelding is now three wins from four starts this season and it was a good performance carrying top weight in his first start in a handicap. His one disappointment this season came in the Challow hurdle at Newbury but we knew this was too bad to be true at the time. It was very wet that day and he hated the soft conditions. He prefers good going and he is a deceptive horse as he doesn’t show a lot at home and so it is actually hard to assess how good he is! He saves his best for the racecourse and I certainly don’t mind horses like that! He holds and entry in the Albert Bartlett novices hurdle at Cheltenham.

We’ve had three seconds in the last week and while Shot Boii was perhaps a little frustrating- the race did not go to plan and I think he could/should have won if things had gone a little differently, amateur Gearoid Harney had his first ride for the stable aboard Koi Dodville at Leicester on Thursday and the pair combined well to be second. He was the outsider of the field and Gearoid gave our five year old a nice ride and got him jumping well. Neon Moon ran a cracker to be second Ascot on Saturday. It was a very competitive handicap chase and he probably ran his best ever race, chasing home a well handicapped winner. He looks like a better horse since his wind op and there is a nice chasing prize in him. First Lord Du Cuet ran well in the Grand National Trial at Haydock to be fourth. He seemed to stay the trip well enough and deserves a victory to reward his consistency.

This week

We start the week with a couple of runners at Lingfield on Monday and are then at Market Rasen and Taunton on Tuesday. Paricolor runs at Doncaster on Wednesday before a blank day on Thursday. On Friday we have entries at Exeter and Warwick so keep checking the daily news for more updates on our runners. We have confirmed Remastered for the Coral Trophy handicap chase at Kempton on Saturday although we are keeping a close eye on the weather, there is not much rain about and we want nice safe ground. We also have entries at Chepstow and on the flat at Lingfield on Saturday and on Sunday we have entries at Fontwell and Hereford.

Grand National Weights

On Tuesday I am heading to Liverpool with Tom Scu for the revealing of the 2023 Grand National weights. Remastered is a sole entry in the big race and I hope off a mark of 151 we should get a nice weight and will definitely get a run if we decide we want to go there.

Cheltenham Sales

There are further sales at Cheltenham this week and I have been going through the catalogue and studying the form. There are horses to suit all budgets up for sale so please do get in touch if you would like any further information.

Luck On Sunday

On Sunday Tom Scu and I had an early start to the day as we travelled up to take part on Racing TV’s Luck on Sunday programme. This was my first time on the show and while it is a bit out of my comfort zone, Nick is a great host and I hope it can across okay. If you missed it, you can follow the link below to watch.

https://www.racingtv.com/videos/watch/ondemand/143181

Main Fact Retirement

We announced before Christmas that Main Fact was retired from racing due to a tendon injury but it was only last week that we waved him off for the final time. He had been going on the walker here daily but he has now gone if to his forever home where he will have a long and active retirement. Bought by me for £6,000 from Doncaster sales he went on an incredible nine run unbeaten winning spree going from a rating of 98 to 154 over hurdles, culminating in the big staying handicap hurdle at Haydock. His wins included three on the flat and he really was an incredible horse that took his owners, the Munrowds partnership on an amazing journey. He was such a laid back character that spent most of his time horizontal at home and even during his races until the jockey pressed the turbo button mid race!! He was a lovely character who will be much missed at Pond House but we have some fond memories and we are happy he is going to have a lovely life after racing.