After a spell of dull and misty days the sun has broken through to give us more beautiful autumnal weather.  Dry conditions are certainly having an impact on field sizes for the early jumps fixtures though Carlisle tomorrow hasn’t fared badly at all with 55 runners lining up for a seven race card including our own Bel Amigo in their first race of the season at 13.22.  Ground hopefully on the easy side of good which would suit him perfectly and having won on the inside track here three times in the spring, hopes will be high that he can go close again.  Certainly a repeat of his Perth form from last month would see him involved – especially with Dom claiming a valuable 10lb in this conditionals’ hurdle. Question will be whether the drop back in trip to two miles is in his favour, I am hoping the switch to the stiffer outside track will make it enough of a test – 7 run.

Bel Amigo at Carlisle with Dom & Jesika

Seems an age ago now but our  Perth runners were a bit of a mixed bag, a few of them were a little rusty and the highlights were definitely Bel Amigo’s bold display to be 3rd and the veteran Artic Mann being narrowly denied when filling the same position.  Everyday Champagne was also 3rd despite being outpaced in the 2m 4f Chase, the rest were a bit so so.  We hope to be busy back at the track on Tuesday with entries in all seven races, that should kick things off nicely for what looks like being a busy season.

Cavalier du Luy – one of several exciting recruits on parade at our Owners Day

We enjoyed entertaining our Owners on the first day of the Perth meeting and even more so having 100 plus here in the morning to see all the horses on parade.  It was a very happy ocassion and the Team did a brilliant job having 51 horses turned out beautifully and all paraded on time in “racecard” order.  The racecard was our 2025-26 Horses in Training book which you can read here.  If you would like to hear more about some of the horses you can watch a stable tour the Tote have produced which you can watch here.  And if you would like to see what goes on here on a Saturday work morning then Seona Scott made a lovely video that you can watch here.

L’Appel du Large – a promising unraced horse from France

The busy bee….

We were devastated to lose Stainsby Girl’s colt foal by Logician to colic at the end of last month, very tough for everyone and I’d just like to thank all at the Dick Vet for their care during his illness along with the team here plus Richard and his team at Kinsale Stud for bringing him into the world.

Hard to believe that 48 hours after taking this photo “Noodles” was hospitalised. He was such a ball of energy and I will be forever grateful for the immense joy he gave us during his brief time on this planet.

Bright and sunny, quite cold, beautiful autumnal weather.  The Team have been doing a fabulous job preparing the horses and we are now ready to run our “advance party” at Perth’s September meeting which is always a special gathering at the end of summer as thoughts turn to our winter sport.  We have three runners declared for tomorrow and five declared for Thursday, I walked the track on Sunday and it appeared in excellent condition, the best I’ve seen it at this time of year and I expect it to ride on the easy side of good.

First up will be Bel Amigo in the 15.08, he won three novices in a row at Carlisle in the spring and was then beaten 6l when reverting to handicap company here at Perth in May.  He is 2lb lower tomorrow and should improve for the step up to 2m 4f but this does look competitive and he may just be a little rusty first time out – Bruce rides and 12 run.

Bel Amigo

Everyday Champagne then carries top weight in the 16.50, he drops back in trip having run very well over 3m last time so ought to give a good account especially if he can grab the lead – Bruce rides and 7 run.  We have him declared for Thursday just in case conditions tomorrow don’t suit or something silly happens.

Everyday Champagne runs in the “Thank you to Kinneston Owners Handicap Chase” – a little gesture to recognise that without them we wouldn’t exist!

Finally tomorrow we run Anamanda in the 17.25, she was only just denied on her final start last season and tomorrow’s race conditions suit her well so she should give a good account if she is fit enough – Bruce rides and 10 run.

Anamanda

On Thursday we hope to have four runners starting with Burning it Up in the 15.08, he has top weight and drops back in trip having been 2nd over 2m 4f here in April.  There should be plenty of improvement to come from him this season, probably over further but he should give a good account in this company if he is fit – 9 run and Bruce rides.

Burning It Up

Half Track runs in the 15.43, he ran a nice enough race over course and distance in better company back in April and I was keen to come back here as we try to build his confidence over fences following a false start in this sphere earlier in his career.  Thursday will primarily be about continuing that process, particularly first time out, so whilst he is more than capable of being competitive I’d expect him to improve a lot for the run – Jamie Hamilton rides and probably 8 runners on assumption Everyday Champagne runs tomorrow.

Half Track (Bruce)

Artic Mann might be approaching veteran stage but he ran very well over course and distance two weeks ago so we hope will run well in the 16.53, Dom will claim a valuable 10lb again and 7 run.

Artic Mann (Becca)

Finally we run Maillot Blanc in the 17.23, dropping back in trip in a competitive handicap having won over 3m here in the spring.  He’s in good form and should be fit so I’d like to think he will be involved – Bruce rides and 10 run

Maillot Blanc winning at Perth

We were very pleased to host our second “Friends and Family” day on Saturday when we open up the yard so that the Team’s loved ones can see what they get up to every day, it always seems to be very well received.  And many thanks to everyone tht donated to Kit’s Great North Run effort which generated approx £2250 for the Injured Jockeys Fund.  Time to go now, a busy day tomorrow….

Harry Turcan with his Kinneston horses last week –

Mild and breezy down here on south Tyneside this afternoon. A tremendous effort from Kit in the Great North Run, completed in 1h 33.38mins despite being held up for over an hour at the start and hence meeting significant trouble in running – 1850th of the 60,000 runners.  Slightly frustrating, I sense he may be back next year… (and if so inclined you can still donate to his chosen charity – The Injured Jockeys Fund – here)

The Red Arrows provided spectacular entertainment throughout the day

On to Perth tomorrow where I hope they have had a perfect drop of rain to make the ground ideal for our two runners, it is given as good at this stage.  First up is Everyday Champagne in the 3.40, he can go very well over this course and distance, especially if he can use his jumping from the front. He’s a genuine horse and we are using a visor tomorrow just to focus his attention in the early stages – Bruce rides and 8 run.

Everyday Champagne

We run Artic Mann in the 4.40, he’s a course and distance winner who would run better on softer ground, hopefully he can give a good account with the benefit of Dom’s 10lb claim – 10 run

Artic Mann