Western_Warhorse_Chelt2

Following on from the Grand National meeting at Aintree, I spent a couple of enjoyable days up in Ayr for the Scottish equivalent at the weekend.  We only had a handful of runners at the meetings, but I was generally pleased with how things went – I thought that Swing Bowler ran an excellent race when a close fourth in the Scottish Champion Hurdle on Saturday.  She was running from 9lbs out of the weights so this was a very good effort – she certainly deserves to win a nice prize and could be the type for Haydock’s Swinton Hurdle.

Read more...

Doctor_Harper_Aintree_web

With the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals out of the way, the yard will begin to quieten down with some of the better known horses taking their summer breaks over the coming few weeks with others going back to their owners for  a well deserved rest.  That is not to say that we will be resting on our laurels however – there are still some nice pots to be won including the Scottish Grand National, Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr as well as the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown, not to mention the wealth of big races up for grabs at the Punchestown Festival at the end of the month.  As I write this week’s column, we have enjoyed 89 winners this term and won almost £1.4million in prize money (a considerable increase on last year’s figure).

Read more...

Swing_Bill_gallops_nov13

Today we have made confirmations  for the Grand National we have left Our Father, The Package, Swing Bill and Standing Ovation in Aintree’s centrepiece on Saturday.  While there is no hope that Standing Ovation will get in, Swing Bill is currently the second reserve at number 42 in the list.  With declarations for the big race taking place on Thursday we face an anxious wait to see if two come out of the race above old favourite ‘Bill’ (pictured above), leaving him able to compete in the race for a third time.  If he misses the cut, he will run instead in the Topham Chase, also over the National fences on Friday.

Read more...

Dynaste_Aintree_Scu

The period between the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals is traditionally a quiet time for the stable with most of our higher profile horses either being saved for the Grand National meeting or going off on their holidays.  As such it was no surprise that we only had a handful of runners over the past seven days and it looks like being a similar scenario this week as we build-up to Liverpool next week.

Read more...

Goulanes_Uttoxeter

A fantastic few days for the yard that had kicked off with the success of Baltimore Rock in the Imperial Cup at Sandown on Saturday 8th March was completed in the best possible manner by the success of Goulanes (pictured above) in the Midlands National at Uttoxeter the following Saturday.  Those victories bookended the most fantastic of weeks for the team at Pond House as we hit the mark three times at the Cheltenham Festival.

Read more...

Baltimore_Rock_Imperial_Cup_Sandown

Well, as I write this the waiting is nearly over.  One more day and then all hell is let loose in the Cotswolds as around 60,000 people descend upon the Cheltenham Festival each day.  The hard work is done, all of the horses have completed their build-up to the big day and I just want to get stuck in now.

Read more...

The_Darling_Boy_Taunton_web

Only eight more days to go! The countdown really is on in earnest to the start of the Cheltenham Festival next week and barring a Twitter Q&A session on Tuesday and a telephone interview with Huntingdon racecourse for their preview night on Friday I have pretty much finished with my media commitments. The horses continue to run well with 9 winners from 27 runners over the past fortnight taking our total to 17 for February and 77 for the season…I hope that our good form continues for the next fortnight at least!

Read more...