- Monday, 03 October 2022 15:38
- Written by David Pipe
The month of September was certainly a wet one with 73.5mm of precipitation, making it the fourth wettest September since we started recording the rainfall back in 2001. I am sure that will have been the case for much of the remainder of the country, although it has not been enough to save the forthcoming jumps cards at Ludlow on Wednesday and Exeter on Thursday, where the ground is too firm for NH purposes. With only 496mm of rain so far this year, that is the lowest ongoing total since 2011 and with only a few showers in the forecast over the coming week, that doesn’t appear likely to alter dramatically anytime soon.
- Monday, 26 September 2022 14:28
- Written by David Pipe
It’s been an eventful week and before I go any further, I have to make reference to my son, Jack’s fantastic haul at the weekend. He went fishing to a carp lake in Hemyock and whilst he was there, he caught his biggest ever fish…a 10.9lbs carp! It took all of his strength to reel it in and land it, but he was helped by a very kind gentleman who was angling nearby. You can see how proud Jack is from the picture – he loves sport of all kinds and this will only serve to encourage him further.
- Monday, 19 September 2022 09:53
- Written by David Pipe
Last week marked the second manifestation of National Racehorse Week – an initiative introduced to broaden the public’s knowledge of the care and attention that our beloved friend, the racehorse receives away from the track and we opened the doors to Pond House for in excess of 150 visitors.
- Monday, 12 September 2022 14:41
- Written by David Pipe
Last week racing lost its greatest patron with the very sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It is well known that the Queen had long adored her horses and her staunch support of the industry will be impossible to replace. Not only was she a keen racegoer, first attending Royal Ascot in 1946 and every year until finally unable this year, she was a very shrewd breeder, whilst her colours were carried to many a famous victory on the flat and over jumps. Things will never be the same again and the world as well as the entire racing community will continue to mourn her loss.
- Monday, 05 September 2022 15:19
- Written by David Pipe
The stable continues in good form and from our seven runners last week, we notched another winner with El Paso Wood’s success at Stratford taking our tally at this early part of the season to 25, whilst all of our other runners filled the frame.
- Monday, 29 August 2022 11:48
- Written by David Pipe
As you will be well aware by now, the Pond House team have long been synonymous with purchasing horses from sellers and claimers, be it on the flat or over jumps, in England or in France and I was delighted to secure the winner of the 1m3f three year old seller at Goodwood yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. Borntobealeader was convincing in beating the favourite by 3¾ lengths with a further 6½ lengths back to the third and he looks tailor made for juvenile hurdles this season. We have already had him in the loose school and I am looking forward seeing how he gets on in the weeks and months ahead.
- Monday, 22 August 2022 15:09
- Written by David Pipe
Despite drawing a blank last week, the majority of our runners performed creditably and we were rewarded with a few places here and there. With only a handful of jumps meetings this week (and many of those up country) we are likely to be a bit quieter this week, bar tomorrow where we will have runners at a couple of fixtures.
- Monday, 15 August 2022 14:34
- Written by David Pipe
Although we only had one runner over the weekend, it was great to be back racing after a couple of weeks without the jumps during the summer break. It has seemed like a lot longer, but we were able to use the time constructively, finishing off the improvements to the roofs in the front yard and getting in the remainder of the winter campaigners. Indeed, it is bustling around the place at present and there is a palpable air of anticipation amongst the staff.
- Monday, 08 August 2022 12:21
- Written by David Pipe
A week without jumps racing and I have to admit, I am having withdrawal symptoms! The break in the summer programme is great for the jockeys, who can enjoy a well-earned break, but I will be pleased to get back to it this weekend when the jumps racing resumes at Market Rasen and Perth on Saturday. The yard had been in great form and I hope to pick up where we left off.
- Monday, 01 August 2022 10:54
- Written by David Pipe
Lady Reset Winner at Stratford
After a relaxing week in Portugal, spent with the family and the in-laws, I am back refreshed and looking forward to the season ahead. Despite there being a couple of weeks’ sabbatical from jump racing, the pace around the yard has stepped up a gear, with a great majority of the horses you can expect to see this winter, back from their summer breaks looking big and well and commencing some light work.
