- Monday, 06 May 2024 11:58
- Written by David Pipe
Kingston Queen - 1 Share Remaining!
We have our first runners of the 2024-25 season on Monday at Kempton and hopefully Neon Moon and Kepagge can get us off to a good start. On Tuesday we have three runners across the country with one at Fakenham, Southwell and Hereford so they are fairly spread out!
On Wednesday we are in action more locally at Newton Abbot with a runner also at Fontwell in the evening. We then look a bit quieter towards the end of the week but keep checking the Daily News on the website for the latest news on the stables runners. Fingers crossed Newton Abbot get to race on Wednesday but they do face an inspection at the track on Tuesday morning and it is still in some doubt. This would be their first meeting of 2024 having already lost earlier fixtures due to waterlogging so they are really due a change of luck.
April Weather
While April this year was not quite as wet as the April 2023 it didn’t feel much like it! We recorded 69mm or rain at Pond House last month compared to 86mm twelve months ago. It actually rained on 15 out of the 30 days during the month so is why it probably felt quite miserable. Add the April rainfall to what we have already had this year and we have had the wettest first four months of the year we have ever recorded in nearly 25 years. We have had just over 531mm of rain from 1st January to 30th April and the second highest total before this came back in 2014 when we had 504mm for the same period. They are the only two times we have ever recorded over 500mm in that time. Our total rain for May is already higher than average so no wonder some meetings still have heavy ground or are being abandoned! They do forecast sunshine and drier condition later this week so fingers crossed!
Punchestown Trip
Last week, Leanne, Gemma and I enjoyed a quick visit to Ireland for the Punchestown Festival. While unfortunately no runners this time hopefully we might next year and it is always good to catch up with some familiar faces while enjoying a pint of Guinness or two! Well done to Willie Mullins on being Champion trainer again and JP McManus Champion owner. Congratulations also to Jack Kennedy on being crowned Champion jockeys for the first time as well. Gordon Elliott sent him over to us for some work experience as a young sixteen year old and he has always been a huge talent. He has had more than his fair on injuries over the years but he deserved this superb season and I am sure it will be a great battle between him and Paul Townend again for the next twelve months.
Holiday Time
While the weather could be better, we have turned out our first batch of horses for their summer holidays. There is plenty of grass, I hope to get most of the rest of the horses out in the field this week, and then the summer jobs can start in earnest. We have a small team of horses for summer racing so as well as riding out as normal there is plenty of steam cleaning and painting amongst other things to do as well! While the winter horses go on their holidays, so do the staff. It is good for everyone to take a break, as before you know it we will be starting all over again!
Sale Season
This is a busy time for the sales with plenty coming up both sides of the Irish Sea in the coming weeks. We have a nice new recruit from the most recent sales at Cheltenham called River Run Free. We are currently doing a bit of work with him to learn about him but he will then go out to grass. He is a lovely big old-fashioned chasing type who has finished placed twice in Irish point to points and looks a lovely prospect for the autumn.
We bought Kingston Queen at the Cheltenham March sales and have one share available left in her should anyone be interested – I think she will be a lot of fun at an affordable price! She settled in nicely since arriving and we had her in training before letting her down for a summer holiday. She is a nice four-year-old filly who will probably start in a bumper in the autumn. Please click the link below to see more information about her or get in touch with the offices for more details. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://www.davidpipe.com/horses-for-sale/for-sale
There is the Doncaster horses in training sale toward the end of the month so please do get in touch if you would like to know more information and would like to get involved.
