100 Up!

Junior failed to run any sort of race in the Scottish National and he seems to have come home absolutely fine. Maybe the race just came too soon after his exertions at Aintree. He seemed in perfect order before the race but it was not meant to be and he will now be going on his summer holidays. Our third and final runner of the day at Ayr I’m pleased to say was a winning one! Problema Tic was making his Pond House debut have been recently bought out of Nicky Henderson’s yard by our Scottish owners Sean and Josie Tracey. It was a fantastic debut performance from the six year old as he jumped and travelled very well for Tom Scu and he is an extremely nice prospect for staying chases next season having already won seven of his ten career starts. It was particularly nice to have a winner for the Tracey’s as they have been great supporters of mine and it was nice to get them a winner on home soil. We had a few drinks to celebrate the win on the lorry on the way home, eventually returning back at 4am, extremely tired but happy! He was entered for Punchestown later in the week but he will not travel across the Irish Sea and will now go on his summer break.

Meanwhile Conor O’Farrell was once again seen to great affect on board Roi De Rose at Bangor. He looked to be going none to well for the first half of the race but Conor encouraged him along and he came to life on the second circuit to score easily in the end. Roi really seems to have appreciated to step up to three miles on his last two starts, winning both! Roi is owned by Swiss Ice hockey player Adrian Wichser and we know they had a big party in Switzerland on Saturday night as the horse has a big following so it was great to get a win for them.

It was also fantastic earlier in the week when Ashkazar returned to form to win at Cheltenham on Thursday. He is a stable favourite at Pond House and we know he has tremendous ability but he has not really shown it this season. It was only his third run over fences, the first for quite a while but he jumped like an old handicapper and won quite cosily in the end under a fine ride by Scottish National winning jockey Timmy Murphy. His handicap mark was a fair bit lower over fences than hurdles so let’s just hope the handicapper does not over react too much! He is entered over hurdles at Uttoxeter this week and may run here or in another race before he goes on his summer break.

                        Problema Tic

We are going international this week with runners in the UK, France and Ireland! A lorry set off for Punchestown on Sunday evening and I am pleased to say they have arrived safely. War Singer kicks of our runners on Tuesday in a handicap hurdle with Tom Scu in the saddle. He has shown hints of ability in novice hurdles and has good form previously on the flat in France. We are hoping he can run well off a light weight although the ground will be a bit of an unknown. Weekend Millionair was an impressive winner of a Ffos Las and races on Wednesday, while The Tracey Shuffle will appreciate any further rain we get and runs on Thursday. Our final runner in Ireland will be our Cheltenham Festival winner Salut Flo on Saturday in a handicap hurdle. I am off to Punchestown on Tuesday morning and am looking forward to a good few days. Myself and owners are looked after superbly by everyone at Punchestown and I highly recommend a visit if you have not been before.

My parents are off to France this week to represent Pond House over there. Big Occasion and Taratata Sivola run at Auteuil on Wednesday with Tom Scu going over to ride them both. This will be Toms first time at riding in France but both horses should run well and there is some great prize money on offer. We may have another runner called Storm Lantern over for racing there on Saturday. He may run in a three year old hurdle and I am really looking forward to seeing him run although the final decision will be made later in the week. He is owned by Robert Waley-Cohen who also bred him and it is fantastic to have the family associated with the yard.

Meanwhile on the domestic front, since the talk of drought it seems to have not stopped raining and racing at Netwon Abbot on Tuesday has been abandoned! On Wednesday Diamonds Return could run again at Hereford, while on Thursday we are likely to be in action at Uttoxeter. On Friday we will have runners at Chepstow and possibly Plumpton while the season draws to a close on Saturday with meetings at Sandown and Market Rasen where I could have runners at both meetings. It is certainly going to be a busy week and no chance of a rest with the new season kicking off on Sunday at Ludlow!

One of our amateurs Kieron Edgar has just returned to work after some time off through injury and its good to have him back. Kieron broke his collarbone and wrist in a point to point fall in March. At the time he was leading novice rider and despite a few weeks on the sidelines he is not that far behind and still has a chance of winning the title so fingers crossed he stays in one piece and all goes well with him.

I am saddened to report the death of a long time owner and friend Sean Cunningham who passed away recently. He had horses with my father and myself for many years, his most recent being Sabre Hongrois who was a hurdle and chase winner. His funeral is on Friday in Windsor and I shall be in attendance to say farewell.

It is now the time of year when several sales are coming up and we are looking to recruit a few more inmates ahead of next season. There is Doncaster sales this week with many more coming up so if anyone is interested in buying a horse please do not hesitate to register your interest by calling 01884 840715 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Right, time to go pack the suitcase.......