Outside The Box - 2nd

Outside The Box (Bobby as he is known on the yard) ran a great race to finish 2^nd in the 0-110 2m4 ½ f handicap hurdle race at Leicester yesterday.  It was a great relief to see him jump well and in a straight line and run with some enthusiasm again.  It has been a long road with him - we have totally re-schooled the horse and done plenty of work without anybody on his back, getting him to drop his head and learn to use himself properly.  His owner, Bridget O’Flynn, has always been totally behind the horse and is up for doing what is best for him.  She has bought him his own, specially fitted saddle which is one of the things that has helped significantly as he is an unusual shape along his back.  He is also without shoes that I am sure help him in many ways. I am hoping now that the patience and hard work will pay off.

It normally happens in that if you have patience and do what is best for the horse, they seem to repay you.  I have always thought the world of Bobby and it feels like having a winner in that we have seen a huge improvement from his first run for us and I know there is much more to come!  It was such gruelling conditions for him yesterday and we couldn’t be more proud of the effort he put in – such a genuine and honest horse who would literally go to battle for you.

Racing Post comments from his run yesterday: “Outside The Box stayed on best, and was clear of the third.  This should put him spot on for his next run, which could be over further”

Whip Rules

Jockeys had a meeting with the BHA on Friday regarding the whip rules and I hope the BHA doesn’t change anything.  I personally do not think they want to bring in more stewards discretion, as that will mean grey areas that we don’t want, it needs to be black and white and a set amount of hits and the firm penalties if you go over.

In my 14-year career as a jockey, I was done once for using my stick too much, when I was beaten a short head at Cheltenham.  I knew before the winning post that I would get done and the consequences of my actions, it was not difficult to work out.

To me the penalties are perhaps not harsh enough, for example yesterday at Ascot on Channel 4 racing (which goes out to a wide audience of which racing is trying to attract), Andrew Thornton rides a fantastic race to win on Tatenen.  Katie and I were cheering him on as he deserves it more than anyone but unfortunately he went over the limit for hitting the horse.  Andrew rides a lot for us and we love having him on board and there is nobody shrewder out there and this is nothing against him at all. But, as jockey’s do, he knew immediately after the race when talking to Alice Plunkett that he had gone over.  I suppose going into the race, which would most jockeys choose – maybe finish 2^nd (and I say maybe because it is not proven if the stick actually makes a horse go faster or not) or go over the hit limit and win this big race on TV which is going to do a great deal of good for your career (plus it is for a big owner and if you win for him you may be asked to ride some of his other good horses even at The Cheltenham Festival??) and pick up a 5 day ban – I think I would choose the latter.

Situations will always arise unless the rules are black and white with very harsh penalties, or the whip is banned completely, apart from only being allowed to use the stick with both hands on the rein (slapping down the neck). 

I don’t think the stick should be allowed for corrective measures because again that will bring in grey areas and to keep a horse straight, the best thing is to keep both hands on the reins.  As soon as you take one hand off the rein to hit the horse, it has gone.  I can show you many examples of horses running straight until they are hit.

With Cheltenham coming up there will be jockeys breaking the whip rules because they still have more to gain for themselves and connections by winning and breaking the rules than losing and staying within them.

Captain John Rawdon-Mogg

It was great to see Capt John back to ride out the other day.  His dream is to ride in the Grand Military at Sandown this year.  His riding has improved a great deal; he had had quite a bit of 1-to-1 tuition from me.  John recently spent time up in Newmarket at The British Racing School and came back with videos of his riding on the gallops and schooling.  I have to say he looked the best rider of the class, even though the others had already ridden in races.  Unfortunately we do not have a horse suitable for him to ride at Sandown however he is desperately looking for a horse to ride so please, do get in touch if you have one.  Captain John also rides out at Seamus Mullins’ yard near Amesbury.

Captain John is in The Blues and Royals currently living near Andover but is moving to Windsor to start his new role as Squadron second-in-command at The Household Cavalry Regiment.  After his tour in Afghanistan he has been Aide de Camp to Lieutenant General Sir Barney White-Spunner KCB CBE, Commander Field Army.  He has hunted in Sussex and Shropshire and spent time working on a hunting yard, as well as playing polo at Sandhurst he was also in the Sandhurst show-jumping team.  John is hugely enthusiastic and it would be wonderful to hear from anyone who may be able to help in his quest for a ride!

Captain John schooling Chord

Snowy Valley & Starlight Secret

It was great last week to welcome back into the yard Starlight Secret and Snowy Valley, both owned by Mike and Penny Hancock.  They were in training last season as 2 yr olds but we then felt we should turn them out and let them grow and develop more.  I am not a fan of running 2 yr olds because most of the time they are not developed enough and you can start to get problems.  It is not uncommon for 2 yr olds to run at 2 and then never see them again because they are shot to bits.  So, I was lucky that Mike & Penny agreed to let me give them time and I hope their patience will be rewarded.  Both Snowy and Starlight have grown since their break.

Snowy Valley (left) & Starlight Secret (right) playing and enjoying their break

Runners - Huntingdon, Lingfield and Taunton

We’ve had an interesting couple of weeks with the runners and a busy time.  Headly’s Bridge ran very well at Huntingdon after being off the racecourse for a long time.  He came over from Ireland as a big 4 year old the year before last with decent form.  It wasn’t long after his arrival that he threw a curb behind, so we decided to stop with him and let him develop.  He is a lovely horse who I am sure will do well for his owner, Mrs Penelope Bridel.  We were pleased to see in The Racing Post after his run: ‘He was still going ok leaving the back straight and shaped with some promise for the future’.  He grew a tremendous amount during his break last year, and is shaping up nicely as a chaser in the making.
                Chord also ran at Huntingdon and hated the ground and to be honest didn’t enjoy it, so we have decided to retire him from racing and find him a good home where he can finally relax and not have the pressures put on him by being a racehorse.  I am very fond of him and I admire him for what he has done for us.  He deserves someone to care for him and I hope he goes to a private home so he can enjoy the rest of his life. 

It was a great day at Huntingdon as our new owners have formed a racing partnership and club called EPDS Racing (www.epds-racing.co.uk) and had sponsored most of the races at the meeting, so having two runners at Huntingdon was a great experience.  Luke Kilgarriff led up both Headly’s Bridge and Chord and rather cheekily won best turned out for Headly’s Bridge.  Well-done Luke!  I understand there are still shares available in both EPDS Racing’s horses: Shilpa and Lisselan Amazon, so do check out their website and follow them on Twitter – more to follow below…

Opera Prince ran a lovely race to finish 3^rd at Lingfield on the all weather, over a new distance of 1m 5f.  It was a test to see if he could get the trip and we were very pleased with the result.  David Probert rode him and felt he didn’t get to the bottom of him and if he could have got out off the rail and had a bit of a clearer run earlier, then he may have been even closer.  He was only beaten 1¾ lengths so we were delighted.

Onto this week and I had great fun at Taunton on Monday with EPDS Racing.  Both their horses were running and first up was Lisselan Amazon (Maisey as she is known at home) who was having her first run for us, over hurdles and in this country.  Maisey was jumping super until unseating Gerard Tumelty in the back straight (which was nobody’s fault) but she continued to gallop round and have a great time.  She came back full of beans and genuinely having loved the whole experience.  She is only just 5 yrs old and we aim on running her again very soon and possibly back at Taunton.

Shilpa then ran in the last race, a 0-115 handicap hurdle.  We knew she wasn’t 100% fit and wouldn’t like the ground but she still managed to run on and finish 4^th (nearly getting 3^rd!) which has made us all think - what will happen when we get everything right??!! We have a great deal to look forward to with her.

 It was my first day racing with EPDS and I think it is important that owners have a good time and enjoy the experience.  Taunton is the head of the partnership’s favourite racecourse and it was also his birthday so it was rather nice his first two horses ran and happened to be there on this day and, to cap it all off it ended very positively.  It was also great to meet the new faces of the partnership and club and welcome everyone on board.  Taunton’s owners and trainers bar is always a fun place to be and I met up with a few old faces from my riding days, in particular Godfrey – who likes to have a good time and once had a horse in training which he called ‘Up The Pub’, totally typical and where I ended up that night!

Lisselan Amazon in the paddock before the race

Lisselan Amazon with Gerard Tumelty on board leaving the paddock

Shilpa leaving the paddock with Gerard Tumelty and Holly Brown

Shilpa at the start

Kauto Star

It was great to see Kauto Star win the King George for a 5^th time – a terrific performance from all involved.

The one thing that stood out for me about the horse is that he is very comfortable on both leads and is a much better jumper than the rest.  He would have learnt his jumping in France, probably as a 2 year old, which would have made a big difference.  He changed his legs over 25 times in the race and if you look closely he will sometimes change his leg going into a fence whether it be 10 strides out or on his last stride, so he is putting himself right (there is no instruction from the jockey to do this).  This is a huge advantage and out of all the fences he jumped, there was only one he had to ‘fiddle’.  So he must be supple in his body and pretty ambidextrous.  For a horse to be at his best it is good if they can spend the same amount of time on both leads and not favour one over the other. 

Note that Long Run changed onto the wrong lead coming round the home turn because he was tired on his right lead (correct lead for the bend); he then became unbalanced and it wouldn’t have helped his cause at all.  In the US, they say if you come round the home turn on the wrong leg it will cost you a minimum of 2 lengths at the finish…!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year and all that 2012 brings.  Please see the picture below of an old yard favourite, Kavi, wishing everyone a Happy Christmas from his home in Shropshire!  Picture courtesy of his now owners - Steve and Helen Newton.  Kavi often sends well wishes to his old mates on the yard and wishes them luck when they run.  He is still barefoot and is well and enjoying his retirement.

Chord & Opera Prince

We had two runners last week and a good week it was!  First up was Chord on Monday at Plumpton in a 2 ½m handicap chase - it was his first run for a while and he tried really hard as he always does - as did the jockey!  It didn’t look good at the start of the back straight but Andrew didn’t give up on him and nor did the horse and they ran on to finish 4^th, beaten by just over 6 lengths.  I felt watching the race that he didn’t look totally comfortable and our vet, Buffy Shirley-Beaven, came to have a look at him on Thursday – as suggested by our physio, Anita Miles.  I think there is room for improvement, and I was pleased with the Racing Post comments:  “Chord ran well on ground that would have been soft enough. He´s capable of winning something similar on drier ground.”

                On Thursday we had Opera Prince run at Kempton in a 1m 2f flat all-weather race, which was his first run since April after joining us from Lady Herries’ yard.  He finished 2^nd under a good ride from ex-jump jockey Jim Crowley.  We were very keen for the horse to run well for Robert Dacombe and I am very pleased that it happened.  Both Robert and his son Jack were at the races, and smiling; it is much deserved and good to see.   It was the horse’s first run for us, and we are hoping he will go on from there.