Weekend Winners

        Lady Balko Winner at Hereford

Last week started with more second places than ideal but on the flip side it means the horses continue to run well and we finished it with two nice winners over the weekend.  Shot Boii and Royal Mer both finished second at Wincanton while Bras D’or was second in a novice event at Ludlow.  Neon Moon and Eton Mes were both fourth in their respective races while Way of Stars made a pleasing stable and hurdling debut to be third at Exeter and Punta Del Este ran his best race for us by finishing third at Ascot, staying on strongly at the finish suggesting a step up in trip next time might suit.

Lady Balko completed a hat-trick of chase wins when winning the valuable mares handicap chase at Hereford last season and made it back to back wins in the event on Saturday.  She had been a little out of sorts since that win last year but the handicapper had made life tough for her in the meantime.  We also recently found she had some stomach ulcers which we have been able to treat and she does seem to have improved both physically and mentally in recent weeks and she looked back to near her best on Saturday.  Rian Corcoran gave her a lovely positive ride and the signs were good from and early stage in the race as she warmed to her task and worked her way to the front on the final circuit.  She was well in control when she blundered at the last fence but Rian sat tight and it wasn’t too much of a heart stopping moment! Lady Balko is only a six-year-old and she was winning for the seventh time under rules from just nineteen starts.  Add to that three second places and it is a pretty impressive strike rate.  She won this year’s race off a mark of 132 but Rian’s ten-pound claim was a huge help for her so I hope the handicapper does not overreact to this win.  That was only her second race of the season this time around, she is much fresher going into 2026 and so we might try and nick a bit of black tight in one of the mares listed races next.

Jaipaletemps made it three wins from his last four starts by winning at Lingfield on Sunday, again under a good ride from Rian Corcoran .  Rian has been on board for all three of this six year olds wins of late and they have struck up a good partnership.  It took Jaipaletemps a little while to acclimatize to the English style of racing when he came over from France but the soft ground has been the making of him and on this evidence he is capable of winning again in the right conditions.  He is a good jumper and shows a willing attitude which is all you can ask.

This Week

Monday is the last jumps racing of the week before Christmas but there is a bumper lot of action to look forward to on Boxing Day and throughout the Festive period.  Boxing Day declarations are made on Tuesday so we will all be able to study the form in plenty of time to try and find the winners ahead of racing on Friday.  We have a small but select team running on Boxing Day but I hope they all have a good chance.  No Walkover runs in the Bumper at Aintree and Jack Tudor goes there to ride him.  He won nicely on debut at Chepstow when the race was not run to suit; he was too keen early as they did not go very quick but then he showed a very willing attitude in a battle come finish to prevail.  He is a lovely big horse with an engine who I hold in high regard.  He is a staying chaser of the future but I would like to think he can run very well in this bumper.

Red Wine Supernova will make her stable and rules career debut in the mare’s bumper at Sedgefield with Rian Corcoran riding.  She is a lovely mare by the sire Kingston Hill and she shows a nice attitude and ability at home.  She fell when holding every chance in her Irish point to point and we are starting her off in this race, a race we won with Kingston Queen twelve months ago.  They share the same sire and plenty of other similar qualities as well and I hope it can be the same result, fingers crossed!

Activist is the final one of our Boxing Day trio and he is likely to start in the handicap hurdle at Wincanton and Tom Bellamy is booked to ride.  He ran well enough last time out at Leicester following wind surgery and if he takes a step forward from that run he would have a chance in this.  He doesn’t always get the credit he perhaps deserves but he is a four-time winner over hurdles who can win again.

We have a few entries over the weekend which could include the return of Gericault Roque to action.  He has been very lightly raced since finishing third in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in November 2022 and has just had the two starts last season.  He ran well enough at Windsor to be third and you can discount his run at the Cheltenham Festival as the bounce factor may well have come into play.  He shows all his old class and enthusiasm at home and we have taken him for a couple of away days in preparation for his return.  He could run here or we may wait for Newbury a bit later in the Festive period and I am sure he will improve a little for the outing wherever he goes but it will be good to get him back on the track.

Gentleman Toboot has entries in two races at Leicester on Sunday and is likely to run in one of these if the ground is okay while Bashful Boy has an entry at Southwell on the all-weather.  He was a pleasing third at Kempton last time out and hopefully he can build on that.

Looking a little further ahead, there is plenty of racing next week and we have lots of horses pencilled in so check back here next Monday and keep following the Daily News on the website for all the latest news on the stable runners.

Rian Corcoran Claim

With Rian’s two winners over the weekend, that takes him to five for his career and he will no longer be able to claim ten pounds.  He will of course claim seven in normal races and he still gets an extra three pounds when riding for us in conditional races and so will claim eight.  He is currently riding with great confidence which shows in the races and he is gaining valuable experience along the way.  It is great to have him based in the yard to ride and school all the horses at home it he will continue to be seen to great effect on the racecourse when we use him on our runners.

Christmas Time

I would like to end this week by wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas!

It will be the usual early start for me on Christmas morning to feed all the horses and as my children are now getting a little older I am not sure they will be getting out of bed quite so early as they have done in the past!  Half of the staff will be in on Christmas morning to exercise the horses, muck out and get all the jobs done before heading home to their own family Christmases.  We have a couple of members of staff joining us for lunch at Pond House, those who are away from their families.  Following lunch, a quick nap and playing with any new gifts the kids may receive it will be back to the yard for all the family for evening stables before probably and early night as we all look forward to Boxing Day!

I would like to thank you all for following and supporting the yard and may you have a very Merry Christmas.