Gustav

                Earlier in the summer we had another new arrival to the yard in 4 yr old Gustav.  He was purchased for The Plum Merchants to replace the retired Red Not Blue.  He was bought from Timmy Hyde in Ireland who is a pin hooker who mostly buys expensive flat bred foals and sells them as yearlings.  He would also buy a few 3 yr olds to run in point to points as four year olds and then sell on.  No horse stays with him for more than a year and it is key to his business that he sells on horses that do well for their new owners and plenty have.

                Gus ran in one maiden point to point in May where he finished 3^rd (beaten 9 lengths) and looking at the video I thought he might have won if he had jumped better, but then his price would have been considerably more considering what a good looking horse he is.  His mother ran in France and won as a 4 yr old and is a half sister to top class jumpers in France with black type winning and placed form.  He is by Mahler who is having a good start with his early jumps progeny and Gus is a very good looking horse with enormous ears!

                Gustav lost a fair bit of weight coming over from Ireland back in the summer so we gave him a minimum of a month being turned out before we got going with him as he is a big horse and is only 4 years old.  We then had a few minor niggles with him when getting going but he is now cantering and the plan will be to run him end of January/February time if all goes to plan.

                Every horse I’ve had for The Plum Merchants has won and The Plums have been great supporters of the yard over the years.  They have been in the winners’ enclosure at Cheltenham (but in 2^nd place) and the aim is to rise to the No 1 spot and of course at The Festival. 

                We have taken our time so far with Gustav to do what is right for the horse and then hopefully we will see him repay us with good results when he runs.  Patience, let the horse come to himself and then he (hopefully) will repay you!

Gustav

New horse - Kavanaghs Corner arrives to the yard

                We were delighted to go to The Brightwells sales at Cheltenham racecourse in November to secure the purchase of Kavanaghs Corner (stable name Casey).  Casey is a cracking 5 yr old by Coroner and has been purchased for Bridget O’Flynn and Norman Cahill.  Bridget and Norman are past owners with the yard and owned the lovely Outside The Box with us a few years ago.  It is great to welcome them back as owners.

                Kavanaghs Corner came 2^nd in his latest point to point in Ireland on 8^th November and was beaten only a neck by the winner, Stiletto.  Incidentally Stiletto was also at the sales and was the top lot of the day going for a whopping £130,000 so we think Kavanaghs Corner was relatively good value!  Casey was flying after the last and in another few strides he would have won the race as Stiletto was tiring.  Sometimes the winner of these point to points isn’t necessarily the best horse in the race and we obviously hope this is the case here.  Casey jumped like a buck and put his head down and battled which showed he tries very hard.  Talent is a waste if that person or animal doesn’t try.  His battling spirit is something that really caught our eye.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmRPZw2-hyc

                Norman & Bridget gave us a very simple order….a future 3 mile chaser who goes in the soft and can go on to win the Gold Cup followed by The Grand National – no pressure then!  What we do know is that he should be a future 3 mile chaser and that he definitely likes it soft as is was soft to heavy when he ran in Ireland.

                He is taking his time to settle into his new environment and has now finished his quarantine and is in the main yard.  He is the type of horse that once he has done something once or twice he then trusts the situation and starts to settle.  Physically he is one of the strongest horses I have ever sat on which is fantastic.  He is a powerhouse in everything he does; even walking around the walker he shows great power.  We are hoping that he will run January/February time. 

                I have been looking for quite a long time for the right horse and have visited Ireland twice and seen over 25 horses but nothing really grabbed my eye and the one that did had a price tag of £100,000!  I gave Norman & Bridget a list of 10 horses at the sales that I liked from looking at their point to point videos and form.  Out of those 10, they actually picked out Kavanaghs Corner beforehand.  We took our friends, Tor & Roly Rickcord to the sales and Tor is a good judge of a horse as she produces young ponies, breeds a bit and has also competed eventing and she took herself off to have a look at a few horses.  Lot 49 caught her eye from a distance and she went over and had a good look at him without knowing that he was on our shortlist.  She came back and begged me to go and look at lot 49 (he was the last on my list to look at) and we loved what we saw.  Buffy, our vet, was at the sales and vetted a few for us and it has to be one of the first times that she has said there was nothing wrong with Casey and that we would want to get him so there was quite a bit of fate surrounding his purchase!  To be honest we never thought we would get him as there were so many trainers and buyers pulling him out.  He hardly ever stood in his box! 

Kavanaghs Corner was sold at Brightwells by Aidan Fitzgerald from his Cobajay Stables in Carlow, Ireland.  There was an excellent article on Aidan in the Irish Point to Point Weekly about how he takes his time with his youngsters and that patience and a good feeding regime works well for him.  He has sold some excellent youngsters to top trainers (Bordini who won his bumper and is in training with Willie Mullins, Thomas Edison – winner of the Galway hurdle this year, Glencove Marina, Roberto Goldback, Vic Venturi, Last Instalment, Hidden Cyclone etc) and his approach to his horses is something that stands Casey in even better stead.  Hopefully Casey will be lucky for everyone and especially his owners Bridget & Norman.  It is a pleasure to have him in the yard.

An update on Get Back To Me after his run at Wincanton

We were very pleased with Get Back To Me’s run at Wincanton last week.  He ran in the 0-115 NH Nov handicap hurdle over a longer trip of 2m6f and came 5^th under a ride by Paddy Brennan.  He hasn’t had his ground so far this season and he wants good or genuine good to soft ground.  This was his first run in a handicap and over the longer trip.  He stayed on very nicely after relaxing out the back and showing us there is more to come. 

We had Buffy Shirley-Beavan, our vet, at the yard prior to his race and she had a look at his larynx and it was confirmed that he needs to have a wind op so considering this, he ran really well.  We would have to think that the operation will improve him significantly and he was booked in sharpish to Langford at the University of Bristol under the care of Geoff Lane and was operated on successfully on Tuesday and was picked up yesterday.  He will not now be running until the spring on better ground.  I really think he is a very decent horse that when he is able to run to his full potential will be winning races.  His full brother is the 4yr old Champagne Present currently in training with Jonjo O’Neill that was bought for 210,000gns!

Headly's Bridge wins at Exeter over fences first time out this season

We were all absolutely thrilled with the impressive win by Headly’s Bridge on Sunday at Exeter.  Headly ran in the 0-130 handicap chase over 2m 1f carrying top weight of 11st 12 in heavy ground.  Exeter is one of the stiffest tracks in the country plus it being heavy ground it was sure to be a true test for him first time out.  When I used to ride at Exeter I loved dropping horses in and taking my time around there as the last mile is up hill to the winning post, so the less you can do for the first half of the race the better.  So we told Paddy Brennan to do exactly that.  Subsequently Headly arrived between the last two fences still on the bridle and full of energy. A good jump at the last sealed it and he won by 2 ¼ lengths.  Sometimes you beat horses you shouldn’t when you ride a track like that.

Headly looked plenty burly enough in the paddock before the race and I would hope that there would be plenty of improvement to come.  He has come out of his race fine and we hope to step up in grade and either go to Cheltenham in December or Ascot.

It is of course very pleasing for Penelope Bridel, his owner, who has been immensely loyal to the yard and had horses with us for a long time now.  She is a very supportive owner who lives locally to the yard so is able to visit Headly often.  She deserves to have such a nice horse. 

Thank you to everyone for all the messages of congratulations. The Racing Post said ‘Headly put up a useful effort under top weight, travelling well under a confident ride from Paddy Brennan and asserting quite readily when asked. He’s earned a crack at something a bit better now’.  Headly has been ultra consistent and is a pleasure to train (although when he first came you couldn’t get near him in the stable and he would pull hard cantering and hang right and when you got on him he was so uncomfortable he would nearly get you off) however with his problems fixed now, he has never stopped improving. He was such a fast & low jumper over hurdles that he used to always take the hair off his hind legs when he ran so I was very worried when Alice Mills first schooled him over fences but after a lot of grid work over parallels, the very first time I saw him jump a fence I knew we were in business.

In his last 9 runs he has been in the first four and he has now won 3 chases and come 3^rd in a Class 2 chase and if the ground had been heavy/soft that day at Ayr I think he would have won.  He started with an official rating over hurdles of 115 when he arrived and improved to a rating of 122 and over fences he started with a mark of 120 and has improved to a current mark of 130 which is only going to be raised next Tuesday!  His strike rate for us over hurdles is: 17 runs with 1 win and 9 places in the first 4 – 59% in the money.  Over fences his strike rate is 4 runs, 3 wins and one 3^rd – 100% in the money.  You couldn’t ask for any better.  I would be lying if there haven’t been issues with his training as there always are and he spent some time off the track from his arriving in late 2010 and his first run in Jan 2012 and I can only thank Penelope for her patience with her horse, absolutely key in the early days. 

It is of course great to have a winner especially after what has been a difficult year with losing two wonderful horses.  An update to follow shortly on the other horses in the yard.

Visit and article by Linda Chamberlain - 'Trainer with a difference..'

Back in September I welcomed Linda Chamberlain to the yard.  Linda writes a blog on barefoot horses and she wanted to visit so she could interview me for an article.  She also keeps her horses barefoot and has been a journalist for a number of years and is bringing out a novel very soon campaigning the work of Bracy Clark. 

I spent a lovely couple of hours with her showing her around, explaining my methods and taking her out to the paddocks to meet the horses.  To read her blog, please click on the following link: http://nakedhorse.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/trainer-with-a-difference/

Reporting the loss of Shanaderry Kin – a very sad time for all connected

                We are very sad to report that Shanaderry Kin (Derek) had to be put to sleep yesterday at just 5 yrs old.  We feel for our owner John Powell and the team at EPDS and everyone who knew him.  He was such a lovely, young horse with enormous potential. 

                Derek was recommended to us through a contact I have in Ireland after he had finished 2^nd in his point-to-point.  John and I travelled to Ireland to see him and were immediately impressed and John bought him.  He ran twice for us - after his last run over hurdles at Fontwell it was stated in The Racing Post that his run was ‘promising’.  Paddy Brennan who rode him that day said great things about him and said he reminded him of Tidal Bay!  He was such a kind and lovely horse and was so genuine with great presence for a young horse.  He was also an absolute gentleman and easy to do in every way.  I know that he would have done so very well for John and given him heaps of fun.  We were very much looking forward to his coming season.

                Derek had a wind op in the summer and whilst recovering somehow injured himself behind.  We do not know exactly how it happened but he was well and bright when I saw him that morning first thing to feed.  An hour later he was in a lot of agony with his bed all array.  My local vet, David Francis at Bellevue Veterinary Clinic and also Kevin Bishop from Summerhill were amazing that day.  It was suspected immediately that he had damaged himself behind and David worked with Kevin (who came from a call out in Birmingham) to see him rather than risk moving him to Langford.  It really was touch and go back then (2 months ago) and there were many sleepless nights spent up with him.  I would like to thank the vets in particular for the amazing care they gave him and relentless will to save his life.  Also thank you to my team here for caring for him and not giving up.  He did eventually turn a corner and as soon as he was fit and well enough he was travelled to Rossdales in Newmarket to see Marcus Head to understand the extent of his injuries.  Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done, his injuries were just too severe and he would never properly walk again.  It was heartbreaking to hear this as I never truly gave up hope of saving him.  Most importantly Derek was the bravest of horses through out.  He was such a fighter and when you looked at his head you wouldn’t have known there was anything wrong with him.  His eye was always bright.  Thank you too to John and Tracey at EPDS who forgo their pockets and whose ultimate aim was life (for any horse) even if he couldn’t make it as a racehorse.  It makes it an extremely sad outcome as they do anything to see a racehorse re-homed despite injury. 

                Below are some pictures of this beautiful horse and it breaks my heart to see them.  Rest in peace Derek.

Shanaderry Kin being ridden at home by Alice Mills

Shanaderry Kin enjoying coming back from his last race with Paddy Brennan

Red Not Blue retired

                It was a sad, as well as a happy day when we dropped off Red Not Blue to his new home.  We were sad to see him go but also happy to find such a good place for him with lovely people who really care for their horses.

                We are very proud of what he achieved considering he was on the verge of retirement when he came to us from his previous trainer unraced as a 6 yr old.  He ran in 36 races and was in the money 22 times and won 9 races.  He started with an official rating of 92 and improved 51 pounds to a rating high of 143.

                Whilst he was here, for over 5 years, he only had one set of shoes on for 4 weeks.  He always ran barefoot and never had an inkling of leg trouble and ran on all types of ground.  He ran in NH flat races, over hurdles and over fences and won in all disciplines barefoot.  After training Saucy Night as the first barefoot racehorse, Red Not Blue tops the bill as the most successful barefoot racehorse and gave his owners some fantastic days racing. 

I have always learnt something new from every horse I train and he certainly taught me a lot.  There is a lot of stress and strain on the horse’s body and mind to be a racehorse and we are constantly pushing them to the limit.  We did a lot of things individually for him to keep him going and trying to keep ahead of the game.  He didn’t have a lame day so it is great credit to everybody here and the team of practitioners that we have built up; in particular Anita Miles (physio) and of course Buffy Shirley-Beavan and her veterinary team who were always there if needed.  My view is that we did well with him but I will always think we could have done better and if we had him back again as a 6 yr old, from what I have learnt by him, I think we could have done even better.

                He is the most tough and genuine horse who is also the perfect gentleman.  You could leave a baby in his box with him and he would look after it – probably guard and lick it - which is how kind he is.  Our little girl, Mollie, often was in with him whilst Katie groomed and looked after him and he would check her out and leave her be.  He was also the first horse she sat on at 6 months old.  He is intelligent, cheeky with a great character and is a lot of fun to look after.  He never stopped loving his work making it a hard decision to retire him.  He was retired sound and happy.

                Red Not Blue has gone to Sarah and Michael Bell’s in Dorset where they all ride including their 3 daughters, Olivia, Rosanna and Sasha.  They have a fantastic place and it is certainly a five star home for him of which he greatly deserves.  Sarah keeps her horses barefoot and treats her horses very naturally which he will love.  We put him in a paddock there on his own when he arrived and one of the daughters Olivia went to get a companion for him and came back galloping bareback up the path with just a head collar on; it was wonderful to be able to see the great environment he is now in.  His companion, Tiger Lilly, fell in love with him immediately so he hasn’t lost any of his charm!  We hope to be seeing him from time to time as he is not too far away but for now we say thank you and good bye old friend.

On arrival at his new home:
from left to right - Sasha, Michael, RNB, Sarah, Rosanna & Olivia Bell

With his new chum, Tiger Lilly

Happy memories with connections, The Plum Merchants, on winning over fences at Worcester with AP McCoy on board

Enjoying a schooling session with Holly Brown riding

Licking his lips in anticipation of his Christmas stocking!

Enjoying life turned out in the paddocks

Giving Mollie her first taste of a ride at 6 months old!

With the boss, watching a schooling session

Owners' Lunch

                Recently we had our annual Owners’ Lunch in the garden at the house.  It is always good to get all our owners together so they can meet each other and we can thank them in a small way for their support over the past year.  After arriving for drinks on a glorious day we headed over to the yard to see the horses in the paddocks where I spoke about them individually.  We then went back for a delicious lunch with plenty of wine (which went down very well!) and hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves.  Thank you to everyone for attending and sorry there were a few faces that couldn’t make it.  It was great to see all our local farmers here too, who put up with the horses trampling over their extensive farms!  Thank you for a few ‘donations’ towards the lunch – not least Brian Thrift for the champagne!  And Gillian Goldsmith for the enormous brie! 

Homer Run

It is with great sadness we report that we lost Homer Run when he got brought down at Towcester on 1^st May.  Firstly I would like to thank everybody for your kind messages and my condolences to everyone involved with EPDS Racing.  Two horses fell in front of him and he had nowhere to go and was brought down heavily.  He had a small haematoma just in front of his girth when he came back to be unsaddled, so we took him straight to the stables for the vet to have a look at him.  The vet gave him a painkiller and advised us to take him home.  The haematoma soon got larger and it was clear to us that even with the painkiller he was still uncomfortable so rather than take him home, we took him immediately from the racecourse to O’Gormans (the equine hospital at Newbury) as soon as possible.  He was in great care and I always thought he would pull through as he is such a fighter but sadly he didn’t make it and it was a real shock to hear the news the following evening.

All the horses in our yard are stars in my mind and it doesn’t matter to me if they win or not or if they do win whether it is The Gold Cup or a selling hurdle.  Homer, I felt was just at the start of his career after having won his previous two races and coming a respectable 3^rd at Kempton, recording his highest Racing Post rating and we all felt that he would make a much better chaser in the coming season.  He was such a tough horse who would put his head down, grit his teeth and try his damndest for you.  He was a great jumper and in all his runs for us I can’t remember him making one mistake.

All the horses have their own individual characters.  Homer was very territorial in his stable and thought that it was his own private space, hence he might take a chunk out of you if you weren’t looking and got too near!  He loved being out in the field with the other horses and I never saw him having an argument with them, he was cheeky out there and was seen many times rolling, bucking and kicking.  In fact the very morning on the day he last ran he was turned out and I saw both him and Headly’s Bridge on their hind legs playing with each other.  He was happy here and he did everything we asked of him and often more.  Homer was a star and will never be forgotten and I can assure you he was having fun right up until he was brought down.

This is only the second time in 15 years of training that I have not brought a horse back from the races.  We have to prepare ourselves for that eventuality but it doesn’t make it any easier seeing the empty box.  I bet if you look at the percentages of horses that run over jumps that don’t make it home, it is very small.

I am sure Homer is happy now jumping clouds in the sky, I bet no one is jumping them better with his ears constantly pricked looking for the next one!

Homer Run in the evening sunlight

With connections after winning at Uttoxeter

Enjoying a roll

With Money Maid (Rosie)

End of the National Hunt season

                 It has been an entertaining season as always.  And it has been great to see some different faces winning the big races and my highlights are:

-          The whole Sire De Grugy story and The Moore family winning the Champion Chase with the horse and Sire De Grugy being named horse of the year.  I remember Gary Moore, the trainer, from my riding days, and he was a real horseman, honest and always tried his best on a lot of moderate horses mostly around the delights of Plumpton and Fontwell.  He probably rode longer than Andrew Thornton (by that I mean in leg length and not the amount of years riding!).  Gary doesn’t seem to have changed much from those days and he deserves what he gets and I just love the fact that he has got an absolute fantastic horse.

-          Dr Richard Newland & Leighton Aspell winning The Grand National and the fact that all the horses came back safe.  A credit to Aintree with the modifications to the course and it certainly hasn’t lost its spectacle.

-          Jim Culloty & Davy Russell winning The Gold Cup with Lord Windermere.  I have always watched Davy since he took ‘the wrong’ course in the cross country at Cheltenham several years ago.  He cut off the corner and went inside some of the hedges whilst the others went around.  It looked sure that he would be disqualified in the stewards’ inquiry but he kept the race, as the course had not been correctly marked.  I thought back then that this guy has balls and must be very shrewd.  It was shock news when Davy lost out on being first choice jockey and ridding all the good horses at Gigginstown.  He took it very well in public and with unlucky Bryan Cooper injured at Cheltenham he was back on Gigginstown horses and won! Davy is an example of a true professional.

For us, in a small way, I have been happy with the season.  We have improved our prize money again from the previous year and we have had 50% of the horses in the money for our owners, which is something we try to do as a minimum.  We haven’t had a faller or unseated rider all year and we have gone through the season again without a single horse getting a tendon injury or breaking down.  We pride ourselves on the horses being schooled well at home and we look after their feet – barefoot of course is key.

Our young horses have been learning their trade and have progressed well.  We have taken things quietly with them so as to set them up well for hopefully many years of fun for their owners to come.  We certainly have a lot to look forward to next season with them.

Each year, since we set up on our own again in November 2007, we have managed to improve on the previous season, all I hope for is steady improvement and I am quite happy for it to be done quietly as I don’t like making a song and dance about things.  We also learn so much from season to season and I hope that we can keep getting better at training horses.  I remember starting out again in November 2007 with just four horses and this year we were almost full (we will always have room for more!).  The quality of the horses is improving.

Some of the things we have improved last season are as follows:

-          Bedding:  It is crucial that we don’t have any mould and fungal spores that could get into the horses lungs and switching to our new type of bedding has definitely helped. 

-          Top quality haylage:  We also always now analyse our haylage when we get the new harvest in the autumn and we check the mineral balance, energy levels and again check this for spores, moulds and dust.  If the mineral balance is out with their diet then that can lead to a whole load of problems.

-          Individual saddles: Most of our horses are very lucky now in that they have their own, made to measure saddles and because of this we have gone through the season without a horse having a sore back.  We don’t have any race exercise saddles now on the yard! 

We have had new owners come to us last season of which I hope they stay with us.  I hope that we can provide all our owners with a good service, keep them regularly informed and be transparent in all that we do.  It is very rare that when training a racehorse that things always go smoothly and there are many ups and downs, I have rarely known a horse go through its training without some sort of set back, mostly minor.  We tell our owners as it is and sometimes there can be despair but we generally get there in the end.  There is a saying that you treat your owners like mushrooms (keep them in the dark and feed them a load of S**t) but for us that does not apply!

Thank you to everyone for your continued support and to the valuable team of staff and practitioners at Simon Earle Racing who look after all the horses so well.  Most of the horses are now enjoying their summer break being turned out in the paddocks so we go into a quiet period now with very little runners.  

An update on last week's runners: Money Maid, Loxley Mezile, Headly's Bridge & Shanaderry Kin

                We were all pleased with our runners last week and they have all improved on their previous runs.

                On Thursday 10^th April we had two runners at Towcester.  We ran Money Maid in a 2m mares’ maiden hurdle, she is continuing to get the hang of things - learning to settle better and was able to run on at the end.  She got hampered by fallers 3 hurdles out and was forced wide; so wide we couldn’t see her on the viewing screens!  She still managed to run on very pleasingly and finished 4^th. You would have to say she was unlucky not to have finished closer.  On the same day, Loxley Mezile also ran in the 2^nd Division of the same race as Money Maid and she stepped up appreciably on her previous run at Wincanton to be well in contention at the end of the back straight before getting badly hampered.  Her jockey then let her come home in her own time.

The following day we ran Headly’s Bridge at Ayr and Shanaderry Kin at Fontwell.  Headly’s Bridge was running in a £25,000 Class 2 handicap chase over 2m4f and it was only his 3^rd run over fences.  In fact he jumped a hell of a lot better than some of his more experienced rivals to finish 3^rd and was only beaten 2 ¾ lengths, with 13 lengths back to the forth horse, Tap Night, who has shown decent form at the highest level.  The Racing Post said: “Headly’s Bridge lost his unbeaten record over fences, but was stepping up in grade and showed improved form”.  Whilst it was a long way to go, Mrs Penelope Bridel and her daughter Jo had a wonderful time and were well entertained by Ayr racecourse.  Headly owes us nothing by running with credit in all his runs and has consistently finished in the first four in all of his 8 runs this season.

Shanaderry Kin also improved on his first run for us in a bumper at Ffos Las when he ran at Fontwell last Friday in a 2m4f novice hurdle, coming 5^th.  The Racing Post said “Shanaderry Kin had shown promise in Irish points and on his bumper debut.  He was ridden with consideration, as he was too keen last time out.  He certainly has ability if learning to settle”.

All the horses are fine and have come out of their runs well - we can’t wait to run them again (hopefully this time a little closer to home then Ayr!).

Tracey & Ellie from EPDS Racing came today to do templates for fitting made-to-measure saddles for all their horses.  I love owners who care like this for their horses and it will make our lives easier and the horses will be so much more comfortable.  Picture of Ellie with Loxley Mezile below.

Money Maid at Wincanton yesterday

                We were thrilled with Money Maid (Rosie) yesterday at Wincanton where she ran in a 2m 6f mares’ novices’ hurdle to finish 6th.  To quote The Racing Post: “Money Maid was an eye catcher, staying on from an unpromising position, hinting at better to come”. 

We know there is lots of improvement in her still to come and this is only the start.  We certainly haven’t put the gun to her head at home or on the racecourse.  We are in it for the long term with the horses and won’t sacrifice that for a good result tomorrow.  We have let her sort herself out and learn, rather than force the issue.  With Wincanton only being half an hour away, she came back home and put her head straight into her grub, which shows it was a positive experience.  When a horse is learning to accept and enjoy racing I think it is always better to relax, take your time in a race and be running on at the end and that is exactly what happened and she finished with her ears pricked, gaining on the horses in front of her all the way to the winning post.

We want Rosie to be entertaining her owners for as long as they wish and longevity is key; preparation and early grounding is the most important thing to achieve longevity.  Of course training and running without shoes is one of the most important cogs in that goal and Money Maid is trained and races without shoes.

         If you are interested in owning a share in a racehorse, I would strongly recommend you get in touch with John Powell who runs EPDS Racing as there are affordable shares still available in Money Maid - www.epds-racing.co.uk.  If you want to meet new people and make new friends as well as have fun at the races and socially this is the syndicate to be involved in.  Money Maid is the most beautiful mare, totally generous and will give her all for her owners for hopefully a long time to come.

Headly's Bridge wins at Newbury & Towcester

                 

Our loyal owner, Mrs Penelope Bridel, was finally rewarded by her horse’s consistency by winning at Newbury on Saturday 1^st March.  Headly’s Bridge has been placed in all his runs this season over hurdles (a record of 3/3/2/4/2) and was recently only beaten a head at Wincanton in his latest hurdles race.  His run at Newbury was his first run over fences and he put in a foot perfect round of jumping and bolted up, being eased down to win by 19 lengths!  Andrew Thornton who has a 22% record of rides to wins for our yard over the last 5 seasons rode him.  We were not afraid to put him over the very big fences at Newbury as he had schooled so well at home and has plenty of scope and knows how to shorten his stride especially after all the grid work that he has done.  We were lucky that Headly only went up 10lb and is now rated 130.

Penelope is such a lovely owner to have and is very patient, and she hopefully has a decent chaser on her hands.  There was one happy man who benefited from Headly’s win (and his decent price of 14-1) as he had a £2 bet in a bookies on the scoop 6 and Headly’s Bridge was his final selection so he won nearly £500,000!  It was a wonderful day and we were all invited up to The Royal Box after the race to have a glass of champagne (unfortunately The Queen was not in this time!).

Last Thursday 13^th March, Headly’s Bridge won again at Towcester under Paddy Brennan.  He was understandably odds on favourite.  He beat a Towcester specialist by 1 ½ lengths.  The ground there was drying and he coped very well considering.  We were lucky to find this race and I call it a ‘free’ win, as the handicapper hasn't altered his rating for winning!  Well done Headly, that is 2 out of 2 over fences.

Royal Signaller - new horse and new owners

We are absolutely delighted to welcome new owners, Mr Brian Hargie and his father Archibald to the yard.  Brian Hargie has bought a really lovely (now 4 year old) called Royal Signaller from the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training sale in October last year.  Royal Signaller is by Dylan Thomas and his half brother, Clowence Estate, is in training with Roger Charlton and rated 95 on the flat.

Royal Signaller ran 8 times as a 3 year old on the flat for Amanda Perrett and he is rated 82.  He won 2 races and was placed 5 times and only out of the money once.  His RPR (Racing Post Rating) improved right up to his last run (of 87), this suggests that he has more to offer and is still improving.  What is really nice is he didn’t run as a 2 year old so doesn’t have much mileage on the clock.  In his last run he made all at Bath over 1m5f and won, battling all the way to the line.  Since the sale in October he has been gelded and stayed at The National Stud under the care of bloodstock agent Stephen Hillen (who bought the horse on behalf of Brian Hargie).  Royal Signaller’s stable name is Rubens as the owner is a fan of Rubens Barrichello, his stable name really suits him. 

As we usually do when a new horse arrives we teach them a new way of going and using themselves – building up their core strength and aiming for them to be less one-sided and to get them to use themselves more evenly.  We get the new horses to drop their heads and use and stretch their back muscles thereby building up more ‘top line’ and muscle over their back and hindquarters.  Rubens has proven very willing, although this new way of going has not come naturally, with some horses it does take time.  The theory is that if the horses were stronger and well balanced then they would be using less energy than before to gallop so therefore they should be able to go faster for longer! 

The aim with Rubens is to run over hurdles but he may well also run on the flat.  Options are being kept very much open in these early days and we are looking forward to the year ahead.  He has certainly settled in well and we hope to give more updates on his progress shortly.

Royal Signaller

Homer Run - schooling over fences

Homer Run has won his last two hurdle races for us and has (annoyingly!) gone up 16lbs in the weights.  Due to this, we may now run him over fences next time so he is busy getting schooled up.  The video below shows his first schooling session over the larger obstacles with amateur jockey, Miss Alice Mills on board.  As well as a video of him warming up over the hurdles.

He was a bit careful over the larger obstacles to begin with – which I like – and he soon warmed up to the task.  He was foot perfect in fact which shows all the grid work that he has done in the past has worked.  We prepared him for jumping the schooling fences the week before by doing lots of grid work over wider and higher parallels and moving the distances so that he had to alter, shorten and lengthen his stride.

It was a very pleasing morning and we are looking forward to running him soon.