- Monday, 28 April 2014 10:15
- Written by David Pipe
Ballynagour runs at Punchestown
The 2013-14 National Hunt season has drawn to a close, finishing on Saturday with a cracking days action at Sandown. Unfortunately No Secrets was balloted out of the feature Bet365 chase but I went along to join in the proceedings and Dynaste took part in the champions parade and it was a fitting end to a great season. I just want to take a moment to say a special congratulations to all the champions, Paul Nicholls on regaining his trainers title, to the champ AP on winning his 19th jockeys title (hard to sum up in words this amazing man!), to JP McManus who invests so much into our sport and was crowned leading owner and to Gavin Sheehan for being champion conditional. Below I have had a little look back on how things have gone for Pond House but for now everyone is back to zero and we have a few days grace before the action gets underway again in Britain.
- Monday, 21 April 2014 11:35
- Written by David Pipe
No Secrets - Will run at Sandown on Saturday
Well I hope that everyone has enjoyed their Easter weekend? I know my kids certainly did and enjoyed an Easter egg hunt around Pond House and we certainly have quite a lot of chocolate in our house right now!
Unfortunately we did not get a winner in the last few days but the horses have been running well and just hitting the post so to speak! At Haydock on Saturday Shotavodka ran really well in a competitive handicap chase to finish second. This was his first try at three miles and he seemed to get the trip well and this now opens up more opportunities for him in the future. He is not over big in size but he jumped really well and we were delighted with his run. Heath Hunter also ran a great race to finish second in the handicap hurdle. He probably just got his nose in front on the run in but went down fighting to the Jonjo O’Neill trained Carlton Jack. The ground was lively enough for our seven year old and he does appreciate a bit more cut in the ground but it was still a fine run. He holds a few entries this week but whether he runs or not will depend on ground conditions.
- Monday, 14 April 2014 15:49
- Written by David Pipe
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.
- Monday, 07 April 2014 15:49
- Written by David Pipe
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).
- Monday, 31 March 2014 14:52
- Written by David Pipe
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.
- Monday, 24 March 2014 16:13
- Written by David Pipe
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.
- Monday, 17 March 2014 16:35
- Written by David Pipe
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.
- Monday, 10 March 2014 15:18
- Written by David Pipe
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.
- Monday, 03 March 2014 19:20
- Written by David Pipe
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!
- Monday, 24 February 2014 15:40
- Written by David Pipe
With six winners from seventeen runners and a host of other placed horses I am delighted with the form of the stable with only two weeks left until the Cheltenham Festival. As I write our seasonal tally stands at 74 and while the horses remain in irresistible form, Cheltenham can barely come quickly enough.
