count_danilo_fakenham

We are sorry to bring you the terribly sad news of the passing of leading owner Brian Kilpatrick who has died of a heart attack at the age of 83.  Brian had been a great supporter of the stable since the 1980's, providing both Martin and David with a whole host of top class horses running in his famous green and red colours.  Among them was the fabulous Sabin du Loir who was probably the best 2 1/2 miler that Martin ever trained - I remember travelling to Huntingdon to see him beat Gold Cup winners Nortons Coin and Desert Orchid in the 1991 Peterborough Chase under a great front-running ride from Peter Scudamore.  Brian (pictured above with his last winner, Count Danilo) was a true gentleman and I fondly recall all the times we would have a little side bet about who would finish higher in their respective leagues; his beloved Rochdale or my Hammers...I paid Brian out quite a few times!  Our sport will be a lot poorer for his loss this morning.

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makadamia_exeter_web

It is good to see with the new season under way that the Pond House string continues in good form.  Last night it was the turn of Makadamia (pictured above) to add to our total with success in the mares' novices' hurdle at Exeter under Tom Scudamore taking our tally for the new campaign to three.  I did say that I thought she had a sound chance and so it proved as she hung on gamely to score by a neck.  The handicapper should not be too harsh on her for this hard fought success.  Meanwhile our other runners Our Chief and Courtlands Prince both showed some promise in finishing fourth in their respective races and will have learned plenty for the experience - you would fancy David to find a suitable opening for them over the coming months.

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david_noonan_purple_n_gold

Yesterday was another good day for the yard with another success courtesy of another of our stable amateurs.  This time it was the turn of David Noonan to score his first success under rules aboard Purple 'N Gold (pictured above) at Kempton.  I have said all along that I thought a sharp track like Kempton would suit our versatile five year old down to the ground.  David gave him a good ride to prevail by 3/4 length so very well done to him, let's hope it is the first of many.  Over at Ffos Las Vif Argent was unable to follow-up last week's course victory under French amateur Thomas Viel, but he ran well nevertheless to finish second over thee miles.  He looked the likely winner two out but was run out of it by Moss Of The Mill - he seemed to stay this longer trip okay and has the ability to score again.

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thomas_viel_ffos_las_presentation

Today there are six meetings taking place - four on the turf at Windsor, Bath, Beverley and Warwick as well as jumps fixtures at Kempton and Ffos Las...anyone would think it was a Bank Holiday or something!  The stable has two runners this afternoon;  Purple 'N Gold runs at Kempton and Vif Argent competes at Ffos Las.  Vif Argent won very well over the course last week and he is reunited with winning jockey Mr Thomas Viel (pictured above) and a similar level of form should give him every chance even under a 7lbs penalty.  Meanwhile, young amateur jockey David Noonan has his first ride under rules in this country at Kempton and Purple 'N Gold looks to have fair prospects in the amateur riders' handicap hurdle.

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It is day two of the Newmarket Guineas meeting this afternoon and it is the turn of the ladies with the 1,000 Guineas the highlight.  It is a Group One contest with £410,000 in prize money up for grabs - unsurprisingly it has attracted a high class, nineteen runner field.  Supporting that, there is also a Group Three race on what looks to be a very good card.  Meanwhile, there are also flat meetings from Hamilton and Salisbury.  With no jump action on the menu, the stable has a Sunday off.

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un_temps_pour_tout_ascot2

There is a bumper day of action ahead with six meetings taking place.  The highlight of course is day one of the Guineas meeting from Newmarket with the 2,000 Guineas the feature.  The ground is said to have come right for ante-post favourite Kingman and he is my idea of the winner, although it does concern me slightly that he has been drifting in the market over the past few days.  Some of the Gosden good things have been turned over of late, so it should certainly make for interesting viewing.  As well as Newmarket there are meetings from Thirsk, Doncaster and Goodwood on the flat, while there are jumps cards at Hexham and Uttoxeter.  The stable runs Too Generous (Mikey Ennis) at Uttoxeter, while we will represented by Un Temps Pour Tout (pictured above) and Tom Scudamore on the final day of the Punchestown Festival.

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thomas_viel_vif_argent

What a day for young Thomas Viel yesterday at Ffos Las.  The French amateur, who has been at Pond House on an internship was having his first ride in the UK and made it a winning debut with success aboard 16/1 chance Vif Argent (pictured above) in the 2m6f handicap hurdle.  He was on the same mark here as when winning over the larger obstacles at Wincanton last term and it would be no surprise to see him turned out again sooner rather than later.  The horse, an ex-French recruit obviously understood what his jockey was saying to him - well done Thomas!  Meanwhile, I thought that Western Diva also performed creditably when finishing fifth over at Punchestown.  The two mile trip looked to be on the sharp side (her Market Rasen success coming over 2m4f) although she showed more than enough to suggest that she should be capable of adding to that win.

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