Update on Headly’s Bridge run at Chepstow

         Headly’s Bridge ran for the first time this season at Chepstow after a while off.  The ground was no where near soft enough for him as he really needs a bog to be seen at his best.  The ground was good but was safe for him so we decided to run.  The race also wasn’t run particularly to suit as they went steady and then flew up the straight.  I said to the jockey if his winning chance was gone then to keep hold of him and ride a race for him to finish well and that’s what he did.  Consequently he has come out of the race positively and ready to go again but we just need more rain.  Below are pictures of his preparations before his race doing grid work and also relaxing with his magic rug on! www.centurionsystems.com/therapulse

Autumn mornings

    A wonderful way to start the day up on the grass gallops. Superb Autumnal morning, just beautiful overlooking Salisbury Plain in one direction and the Wylye Valley in the other.  Both rider and horses enjoying their work!

Sunrise at the top of the grass gallops

'George'

                We have a smart 4yr old gelding by Stowaway in the yard at the moment – nicknamed ‘George’.  It is wonderful that he has returned to us as I broke him in last year.  He has been here for a month or so and has started cantering away.  I really enjoy having the young horses back that I’ve broken in and it is great to see them again on their journey into racing.  We have started grid work with him and he has taken to jumping like a duck to water. 

                The stallion Stowaway, George’s sire, sadly died last year but was a fine source of national hunt jumpers and sired the likes of top class horses Champagne Fever, Hidden Cyclone and Outlander, to name a few.  Stowaway was the son of the Derby winner Slip Anchor.  We are very fortunate to have George back in the yard and hope he goes on to great things.  Below are some photographs of him doing grid work and also on the grass gallops (for the first time).

George jumping for the first time

George on the grass gallops for the first time

That Monday morning feeling..!

      Interesting that the horses have been like this for the past two Monday mornings when I've been to get them in for work! No difference in how we humans feel sometimes on a Monday morning after a lovely weekend! 
      It is the same horse guarding each time in these photos so let's hope the others let him sleep at some point! Wonderful how they still have their natural wild instinct with one guarding, watching out for dangers, whilst the others sleep peacefully in the knowledge that they are safe.

Visit to East Lynch Stud

                During the summer when the horses are turned out for their break, we invariably manage to catch up with past horses we used to train and so it was lovely to visit ‘It’s Molly’ and meet her 3 week old foal by Franklin’s Gardens.  It’s Molly is at East Lynch Stud in the Porlock Vale on the edge of Exmoor, not far from Minehead, and the home of Derrick & Rosie Scott www.eastlynchstud.co.uk . It is the most beautiful place with one of the best views you will ever see.  The stud is on a hill where all the horses are turned out and I couldn’t help but think how good it would be for the youngsters to be regularly walking up and down that hill! 

                We became very fond of It’s Molly when she was here for starting and then for training, and it was pleasing to see that she has produced such a wonderful, strong and correct foal. It certainly starts you dreaming of things to come.  It was good to see around the stud and was interesting that all the foals by Franklin’s Gardens were so bold and friendly with great temperaments. It certainly counts for a lot.

                The purpose of our visit was to pick up our 2 yr old by Sakhee who had been down there since weaning.  He is going to be a big horse and will need time but he is now here, on the horse walker and being handled and no doubt we’ll do another blog on him separately soon.

Recent runners: Kavanaghs Corner & Headly's Bridge

                It was great to have a couple of runners recently.  It started on Saturday at Bangor with Kavanaghs Corner and Andrew Thornton back in the saddle.  We dropped Kavanaghs Corner back in trip to 2m3f, still over hurdles, and with 9 runners he was able to drop out in last to settle which he did much better and then ran on to finish 3^rd which was a good step in the right direction.  The ground was very heavy and it would be nice to try him on ground a bit better.  He was only beaten 3 ¾ lengths.

                Headly’s Bridge then ran on Sunday at Wincanton in the feature race of the afternoon, a class 3 handicap steeple chase over 2m4f.  The ground was Good to Soft, Soft in places changing to Good to Soft and it just wasn’t deep enough for Headly.  He finished 6^th and is best seen on softer ground, especially heavy ground (although he has still run some super races on good to soft ground before). Headly never got into a position to be competitive whilst traveling very easily at the end of the back straight on the last circuit, still being on the bridle but he was too far behind.  He wasn’t really got after up the home straight and by that time the race was gone – at Wincanton you really need to be close up turning in, a very frustrating day for ourselves and owner, Penelope Bridel.  I can’t tell you how frustrating this is when it happens, with all the hard work that goes into it plus the owners’ expenses.  Luckily I can only count times like this on one hand!  There had been good market support for Headly beforehand and he was the most tipped outsider in The Racing Post! And the ‘Spotlight Verdict’ and the ‘Longshot’ in The Racing Post.

                Both horses came back fine and have come out of their races well.  It was great to be able to run both of them without shoes.  Their legs were great in the morning after their runs and both were turned out onto the spring grass.  Lovely to have them out in the paddocks.

Season update

This past season has been somewhat of a nightmare for a lot of jump trainers.  The vets say this is due to the mild, damp weather which is a breeding ground for moulds and spores.  These moulds and spores then affect the airways of the horses, producing excess mucus which restricts the breathing capacity of the horses when under pressure.  This definitely affects racehorses more than any other horse as they are using lung capacity to the full.  It has been a tricky thing to diagnose here at the yard as blood tests have always been normal, nothing has coughed and the tracheal washes aren’t showing any sign of infection but there has been more mucus, with them generally not finishing their work as I would wish and not performing on the racecourse.  Hopefully we have found the source and put pay to this problem.
                One of our vets said that about 20% of racehorses this season have been affected throughout the winter across most yards with the same problem as us and that it has just kept grumbling all the time from Autumn onwards.  Our whole yard has been disinfected twice this season and we’ve taken out all the bedding each time.  We have now changed our bedding to the more expensive, but tried and tested, Bedmax shavings: www.bedmaxshavings.com . Back along all the horses had a mini break of just trotting to give them time to get over it and they are all now back in full work.  Headly’s Bridge ran at Newbury over a week ago in a Class 2 0-150 handicap chase where he came 5^th (in ground not to his liking) so things are looking up.  We have been able to turn them all out to get their heads down, get some fresh air and this has definitely helped.
                Earlier in the season we bought a Haygain HG2000 hay steamer as it is very hard to find consistently clean hay without moulds, spores and dust particles.  We had our hay tested after steaming and the results were really interesting.  The good news was that the hay came out as clean as a whistle so we know it isn’t the forage causing problems.  We like to feed all our horses ad lib hay and they consume around 7-10kg of hay a day.  It is important to us for them to have forage 24 hours of the day and whilst haylage is generally cleaner (less dust etc.) than hay, it can cause other problems if fed ad lib.  The Haygain steamer, whilst an expensive addition to the yard has been truly beneficial and to read all the benefits please visit their website: www.haygain.co.uk . The horses have certainly enjoyed the warm hay on chilly mornings and evenings!

 Our Haygain HB2000 hay steamer in action