Quiet weather, cool and settled.  Watered ground everywhere, hopefully Kelso have put plenty on and the ground is as advertised – on the soft side of good – or we will end up with a depleted team.

Whiskey on Ice with Sarah, Dom & Zoe

All being well we will kick off with Newcastle winner Whiskey on Ice in the 12.20; he carries a penalty in which looks like a tight novice with four of the five runners very closely matched on previous form.  Whilst he won easily last time it was a muddling sort of race and it is possible he was flattered. Hopefully not in which case he should run well as I feel he has improved; he is well and fresh – Dom rides.

Old Comrades

Old Comrades make his handicap debut in the first division of the 2m 5f hurdle at 12.55; we were pleased with his seasonal reappearance at Carlisle two weeks ago and he ought to improve for the step up in trip tomorrow, main question mark is whether this comes up a little soon after his first start back but he is less exposed than most of the field – Bruce rides and 11 run.

Lester Mail

We run Lester Mail in the second division at 13.30; he is a steadily improving young hurdler who should run well if he can build on his seasonal reappearance at Hexham, he should ultimately be better over further but he seems to like Kelso so this appeared a logical next step – Bruce rides and 11 run.

Burning it Up

A quick break then we have two of the five runners in the staying novice chase at 14.35, Burning it Up (Bruce) and Jirko (Sean).  They may well be the outsiders but Burning it Up seemed to stay the trip at Hexham last time so will be ridden more prominently tomorrow, Jirko unseated early at Ayr last week so is on a bit of a redemption mission, he was a close 3rd in this race last year behind Sir Carnegie who has won another three races since and Wearelongterm with whom we are 16lb better off this time.

Jirko

Ned Tanner runs in the feature handicap “Wishing Well” chase at 15.10; he ran well on reappearance at Perth and has won twice over course and distance off higher ratings.  On paper that gives him a good chance so let’s hope he handles the faster surface and turns up in top form – Sean rides and four run.

Ned Tanner

Finally another course specialist, Eloi du Puy, runs in the last race at 15.45.  He would probably prefer softer ground and may be a little high in the weights to win but he is in very good order so should hopefully run with credit – Bruce rides and 11 run.

Eloi Du Puy

Tremendous to see Hexham featuring on ITV this afternoon; we don’t have as many runners there as I would like but they punch well above their weight in prize money terms, particularly in comparison to  to their Northern neighbours Carlisle and Newcastle.  The latter two being part of the large groups (ARC & Jockey Club) they unashamedly milk “core” racing to fund premier level racing.

I am sure Kelso will be disappointed with the small fields for their chases tomorrow, especially for the feature “Wishing Well” chase.  It is worth noting that this race was run for £30k as a 0-130 in 2019, from 2021 to 2024 it was a 0-125 £20k race.  It is now a higher banded 0-140 but the prize money has been cut to £16k and the field size has gradually fallen, hitting a new low this year.  This should come as no surprise, I feel racing is suffering from “squeezed middle” syndrome at the moment.  There seems to be plenty of people who want a fun horse to run at the core level and those races fill well but at the more aspirational Class 3 & Class 4 level funding has been cut to fund the top level.

Every good sport is about excellence at the top; in most sports the elite level more than funds itself and the benefits trickle down.  In racing the middle and lower levels are being used to fund the top and that is simply wrong; the long term effects of this policy are there for all to see, a shrinking mid division that will ultimately lead to a weaker elite level.  Sorry to be gloomy but it needs addressed urgently – have a great weekend everyone!

Another fine autumn day. One runner at Newcastle tomorrow where I hope the ground will be on the soft side of good. Ozzy Cosmo in the 3:15 – he has had further wind surgery since he last ran and looks very well treated on his earlier form, so hopefully can show his ability again. Patrick Wadge rides and 9 run.

Ozzy Cosmo

A generally good day at Ayr on Saturday with a very special winner in the form of The G Wizard. A fuller debrief to follow!

The G Wizard wins at Ayr on Saturday

A fine autumn day, settled weather again and drying up here at home and on the racecourses.  Watering back on the menu at Carlisle, Hexham, Newcastle and Kelso.  We are hoping it will be lovely good to soft ground at Ayr tomorrow where we have nine declared runners on what understandably looks a popular and competitive card.

We start with stable and hurdling debutant Jackson Court in the novice hurdle at 12.43; he’s a lovely horse who works well, schools well and won his last point to point prior to us acquiring him at Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale in April.  He’s had a straightforward preparation and I hope he will acquit himself well in what looks like a highly competitive race of its type.  We will certainly learn more – Dom rides and 8 run.

Jackson Court

Next up is Jirko in the staying handicap chase at 13.18; he ran some great races in defeat over course and distance last season and ought to go well back from a decent break off what looks like a competitive mark – Bruce rides and 12 run.

Jirko

We run The G Wizard in the feature staying handicap hurdle at 13.53; we were delighted with his 3rd when stepped up in class at Perth last month, that form has worked out well so he should be involved in what looks like a select but competitive field – Bruce rides and 7 run.

The G Wizard

We are then double handed in the middle distance handicap chase at 14.28 with chasing debutant Cavalier du Luy (Bruce) and My Kiwi Girl (Kevin Brogan); Cavalier was lightly campaigned over hurdles last season but showed plenty of ability, he’s a winning pointer and schools well so ought to progresss over fences this season.

Cavalier du Luy

Kiwi looked highly promising over hurdles in the 2024/25 season and had plenty of excuses for losing her form completely last season.  Hopefully those problems are behind her and she can fulfill her early potential. It is a shame to run two of our brightest prospects against each other but as ever I feel obliged to look through the prism of every horse as an individual to ensure we do the best for them. 10 run.

My Kiwi Girl

Ginger Mail is our representative in the 2m handicap hurdle at 15.03; he has come down a whopping 18lb since he ran in the 3m race on this card a year ago and has run very well at this fixture over two miles in the past.  He’s had minor wind surgery this autumn and seems in great form – Bruce rides and 11 run.

Ginger Mail

Course winner Platin Moon makes his chasing debut in the 2m novice chase at 15.37; this is a good little race but he schools well and on hurdle form would be competitive – Bruce rides and 6 run.

Platin Moon

Finally we are double handed in the staying handicap hurdle at 16.10 with course and distance winner Better be Definite (Bruce) and Anamanda (Dom).  Both seem in very good order and ought to give a good account; BBD is 7lb higher than when he won here in February but should be capable of further progress, Anamanda is slipping down the weights and has the added benefit of Dom’s 7lb claim – I would expect her to leave her poor form last time at Perth behind her – 12 run.

Better be Definite

Anamanda

On to Carlisle on Sunday where we have one runner on an excellent looking card, the ground should be on the easy side of good and course winner Orkney Blue takes a major step up in class to run in The Cumberland Chase at 15.33.  A big ask first time out but he seems in particularly good order so I felt it was worth rolling the dice for an excellent prize – Kevin Brogan rides and 8 run.

Orkney Blue

We were pleased with 4 of our 5 Kelso runners last week; Royal March made a nice debut to finish 4th, Oor Wish took a major step forward to be 3rd, Suspected was just getting involved in the race when he slipped on landing two out and unshipped Bruce, Ballyfort ran an excellent race to fill the runner up slot for the third consecutive time.  The disappointment was Maillot Blanc but a little issue came to light during the week that probably explains his performance so we have treated that and will hopefully run better next time.

Have a great weekend everyone!