- Thursday, 02 January 2014 08:15
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
The good news is that the jumps meetings at both Ayr and Huntingdon go ahead after passing early morning inspections. There are also two fixtures on the all-weather to look forward to at Southwell and Wolverhampton. The stable has no runners this afternoon. Even so, let's hope that the weather is a bit better than yesterday - I don't think the rain let up until mid afternoon. I was watching the action from Cheltenham and I was glad I wasn't there - it looked horrible. I thought that our only runner of the day, Close House ran okay in the Grade Two Dipper novices' chase when third behind two very smart rivals and he should be capable of winning soon over fences.
- Wednesday, 01 January 2014 08:27
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Sadly Exeter has fallen foul of the weather and I can't say I'm surprised. It hasn't stopped raining at the yard overnight, with 11ml lashing down. That leaves us with five meetings to look forward to, headed by Cheltenham where we have one runner, Close House (pictured above) in the Grade Two Dipper novices' chase. He was still travelling okay when coming to grief at the fourth last on his chase debut last time, although this does look like a tough race against the likes on of Oscar Whisky and Taquin de Seuil. The other fixtures are at Musselburgh, Catterick and Fakenham over the sticks, while there is also an all-weather flat card taking place at Southwell. The ground is going to be extremely testing, so make sure your selection is going to handle conditions before parting with your hard-earned.
- Tuesday, 31 December 2013 08:18
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
This afternoon there are three meetings to look forward to - two over the jumps at Warwick and Uttoxeter and an all-weather flat meeting at Lingfield. The stable has one runner, Notus de la Tour (pictured above) in the 2m4f handicap hurdle. Notus has finished second at the Cheltenham Festival and third in a Tote Gold Trophy over hurdles and was Grade One placed over fences - he has been unlucky with injuries subsequently and would need to improve on recent form, although he is undoubtedly well-treated on the best of his form. I could be wrong, but the last time I looked, there wasn't much distance between Warwick and Uttoxeter - another triumph for race planning! Maybe 2014 will see a more balanced programme, although don't hold your breath!
- Monday, 30 December 2013 08:18
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
There are just three meetings to look forward to this afternoon, although judging by the weather around here this morning I wouldn't much fancy going to the races. The jumps action is from Haydock and our local track Taunton, while there is also an all-weather flat meeting at Lingfield. The stable has two runners at Taunton; Kilrye and previous course winner No Secrets (pictured above). The ground is likely to be extrememly testing, although that should not inconvenience our runners.
- Sunday, 29 December 2013 09:13
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
David does not have any runners today but there are two jumps meetings at Doncaster and Kelso as well as at Flat card at Southwell. Tom Scu is in action at Doncaster. It is amazing the amount of travelling that jockey's have to do. You would not want to buy a car off a jockey! Not only would it have high mileage I bet they tend to drive them quite quickly - just a suspicion! I once travelled home from Cheltenham races with Hadden Frost driving. I shouldn't tell tales but lets just say his hands were full and there was not a lot of contact with the steering wheel! Mind you, he was only doing a little over the speed limit, he drives quicker than MCP!
- Saturday, 28 December 2013 07:56
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Goulanes - runs in the Welsh National
Today there are four meetings on, three over the sticks at Chepstow, Newbury, and Catterick plus a flat card at Lingfield. David has one runner at Newbury in the 1.15pm, Shaking Hands. He was disappointing on his seasonal reappearance but he won't mind the ground and Tom Bellamy takes a handy 7 pounds off his back. David has six runners at Chepstow. Tullyesker Hill kicks things off in the first race, a maiden hurdle. He won a bumper impressively on his stable debut at Plumpton and finished fourth at Warwick last time. This looks a competitive race so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. We have three runners in the big race, the Coral Welsh National at 2.35pm. Goulanes, Amigo and Ace High are the Pond House trio and all would have small chances. This will be a real stamina test running over 3m5f on heavy ground and I would not think there will be many finishers. All of ours should handle the ground so we shall just have to keep our fingers crossed! This prestigious race, used to be Bonanza Boys race. He was only small but he had a big heart. This race also probably saw the best ever handicap performance by a horse. Carvills Hill carried top weight to win in great style in 1991 and I think this will probably never be matched.
- Friday, 27 December 2013 07:46
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Today we have five meetings to look forward to, three over the sticks at Kempton, Leicester and Wetherby as well as a couple of all-weather flat cards at Wolverhampton and Southwell. The stable has just the one runner at Wetherby, the talented but enigmatic His Excellency (pictured above). Our five year old has some very good form to his name, including when third behind Simonsig in this year's Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. His last win came in 2012 and he appears to be in need of a little assistance from the handicapper. The big race of the day is the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton at 2.30pm and marks the eagerly awaited seasonal reappearance of top chaser Sprinter Sacre who was unbeaten in five starts last term.
