- Monday, 02 June 2025 13:16
- Written by David Pipe
Girls at Grass
As we now enter June I can once again reflect on the weather and report that the month of May was dry!1 Not as dry as May 2020 when just 17mm or rain fell but not much wetter, with 27mm of rainfall being recorded last month here at Pond House.
We only registered rain on seven days of May compared to 15 days twelve months ago and 131mm of rain falling. Our running total of rainfall for 2025 now stands at 345mm and we are nearly 320mm behind what fell in the same period last year. We did however have a very dry June in 2024 so it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days and with rain forecast things could be about to change! We do want some much-needed rain but the sunshine has been lovely!
The horses have enjoyed a great first month to their summer holidays and on their second weigh in, they are putting on a nice amount of weight. We have our horses in varying size groups out to grass and I find it interesting to see how they each act in their groups. They soon sort a pecking order, have their friends and interact while there are then some who prefer their own space! Just like us humans! Time passes quickly and it will not be too many more weeks until we will be thinking of bringing them back in and the whole process starts all over again!
The staff are being kept busy with ‘summer jobs’ such as steam cleaning, painting and tidying while plenty are making use of the quieter period to have time off and have their own holidays.
We have just a small team of horses to run at the moment and Old Bridge unfortunately was his own worst enemy when running at Stratford on Saturday. We left the hood off him on this occasion and he bolted to the start and then went too fast and was too keen early in the race and ultimately paid the price when weakening at the end. The hood will return next time and I am sure we will see a different performance. First Lord Du Cuet travelled up to Cartmel for the hunter chase last week but finished unplaced. Leanne, Gemma and Jack took him up and very much enjoyed their first visit to picturesque Cartmel. They were looked after very well by the racecourse and commented how friendly and helpful everyone was. The course has a unique and great atmosphere and I highly recommend a visit to anyone who has not been there before.
This Week
Our first runners of the week are likely to be on Thursday at the earliest. Jaipaletemps, Micronormous and Kintaro all have entries at Ffos Las with Micronormous also having an entry at Uttoxeter on the same day. There is quite a lot of rain forecast this week so running plans may depend on how much rainfall everywhere gets. Kintaro and Mircornormous would not want too much rain while probably the more the better for Jaipaletemps who has won on heavy in France.
Mancero could make his Pond House debut in the first juvenile hurdle race of the season at Hexham on Saturday. He won his only career start to date over hurdles at Fontainebleau in April after which we claimed him. He came over shortly after and has been going nicely a home. He will have to carry a penalty in this race but I hope he can put his experience to good use. I do like how they have titled the race, “Most Important 3-Year-Old Race Today Juvenile Hurdle’, a tongue in cheek reference to it also being the Epsom Derby on Saturday! We are likely to have entries at Worcester as well at the weekend so keep checking the Daily News section of the website for all the latest information.
Point to Point Season Concludes
We had our final runner of the 2024-25 point-to-point season at Bratton Down on Sunday. Royal Defender saved his best run of the season to finish second under champion Devon and Cornwall lady rider, Jo Supple. The traditional end of season meeting at Umberleigh scheduled for next weekend has unfortunately already been called off so Bratton Down brought the curtain down on the season.
Rian Corcoran finishes the season as National Champion Novice Gentleman point-to-point jockey as well has winning the Devon and Cornwall and Wessex area titles. He has had a terrific couple of seasons in the point to point field, learning his trade between the flags and get plenty of valuable experience which will stand him in good stead for when he turns professional later this year. His point to point stats read as 110 rides with 28 winners at a 25% strike rate, 14 seconds and 15 thirds in two seasons and at just seventeen years of age he is a name to follow under rules going forwards.
It has been a successful point-to-point season for our little team with four winners on the board. Most importantly, achieving our main aim of helping to start and progress the riding careers of some of our staff by giving them opportunities that are often hard to come by. Rian Corcoran rode all of our winners but that was simply the luck of the draw with Martin McIntyre also riding a fair share of our runners to numerous placings before he was unfortunately side lined by a fall at Ludlow. I was delighted also, to be able to give Mia Holmes her best placing of the season, in her first year of riding when she finished second aboard Sidi Ismael at South Hill. My son Jack and his friend Oscar have loved going to the various point-to-point courses throughout the winter. They themselves have gained valuable experience about the sport, how it works and being hands on with the whole day from preparing the gear, to travelling, declaring, saddling, leading up and washing off and tidying away when you get home! Jack would love to ride in point to points and with him turning 16 early next year, this is not far away and will come round plenty soon enough!
Jockey Update
Martin McIntyre continues to remain off work and not be able to ride since sustaining a shoulder injury from a fall at Ludlow on April. Recent x-rays have shown it has not healed as well as they hoped. He will be off for a few more weeks but hopes to return to the saddle in July.
Unfortunately, it is not such good news for conditional jockey Gearoid Harney who suffered a head injury when coming down on the bend in a race at Fakenham in January. Doctors are still not happy with his latest scan results and Gearoid will not be allowed to get his riders licence back. The risk from another fall in a race is too great. He will undergo further tests to see if he is allowed to ride out again in a licensed stable yard and once these tests have been completed, will Gearoid know more about his plans. Both Martin and Gearoid remain in good spirits and are in regular contact and are receiving great care and support from the Injured Jockeys Fund.
