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

Get Back To Me - returns to training

The handsome, 9 year old gelding, Get Back To Me has returned to full training.  It is great to have him back in full work for his loyal owner Robert Dacombe.  By Presenting, out of a Good Thyne mare, Get Back To Me is a full brother to the Jonjo O'Neill trained Champagne Present. We are so pleased to have nursed him back to full health and have great pleasure in attaching these photographs taken of him on the grass gallops on Saturday.  Onwards and upwards.

Get Back To Me being ridden by Lester Symonds

FOR SALE: Miss Nightingale a 3yr old filly out of Miss Wizadora by Arvico (FR)

We were very pleased to be sent Miss Wizadora's 3 year old daughter, Miss Nightingale, to be broken in.  We used to train Miss Wizadora and she also appeared back on the yard to foal last year at the age of 20!  Miss Wiz was a great favourite of the yard as she was such a great character and was consistent, nearly always in the money.  Whilst a small, compact mare she had an enormous heart, tried and jumped and was very genuine. 
                Miss Nightingale has just turned 3 and is by the French stallion Arvico, sire of four time Grade 1 winner Arvika Ligeonniere amongst others. Miss Nightingale has a wonderful temperament, moves very well and is just like her mother in that she tries and jumps.  A genuine type, with enormous ears as you can see in the pictures below – a requirement for when Sir Henry Cecil bought horses!  She is for sale, preferably to stay within the yard, and if anybody is interested in either taking her on, be it in part ownership, full ownership or taking out shares in her, please do get in touch – 07850 350116/01985 840450 email: simon@simonearleracing.com.  Her half brother is Take The Crown, another consistent type who is rarely out of the money.

Miss Nightingale (above & below)

 Miss Wizadora with connections after winning a chase at Fontwell by 8 lengths, ridden by Warren Marston

Kavanaghs Corner - 3rd at Towcester. Good news!

                We ran Kavanaghs Corner first time out this season at Southwell, thinking that he would run very well and he pulled up which was very disappointing indeed.  Especially considering how well he was working at home.  We found this very puzzling as all the usual checks had been done beforehand and he had had a wind op in the summer.   

                After putting heads together, the owners suggested finding a homeopathic vet and we thought no harm can be done in doing so and it is always an interesting process finding the correct remedy.  So we called on our old friend Nick Thompson from Holisticvet Ltd (www.holisticvet.co.uk ). We rate Nick as the best holistic vet and I really enjoy sitting down with him and talking about a horse’s mentality. Sometimes they are no different from humans. The way they think and the life of a racehorse can be very stressful.  After many hours of discussion and looking at Kavanaghs Corner, Nick prescribed a homeopathic remedy.  We also changed quite a few things with him at home including getting in promising 5lb claiming jockey Kevin Jones to get to know the horse and we thought that we were seeing a difference in the days before his run.

                We ran him on 17^th December at Towcester in a 0-100 handicap hurdle over 3m with Kevin on board.  We were happy just to see a step in the right direction and the fact he finished 3^rd was very pleasing especially as he pulled so hard for most of the race.  If he had settled he would have been a lot closer as Towcester is one of the stiffest tracks; you just have to settle round there, especially over that trip in soft ground.  He understandably finished tired as he used up too much energy for well over a circuit.  Most importantly, he tried his heart out so we are relieved and very happy for his owners.  We think there will be lots of improvement to come once he matures and settles.  Notably he was the ‘eye catcher’ in The Racing Post from Towcester!

Kevin Jones (right) riding Kavanaghs Corner. Myself on Water Rail.