Another lovely warm afternoon; rain due tonight and I hope a decent dollop lands on Perth Racecourse where we have seven declared runners for their Glorious Finale two day festival, three tomorrow and four on Thursday.  Ground currently good and likely to be on the fast side if the rain doesn’t materialise in which case we may need a rethink – a long season ahead!

We’ve been doing plenty of jumping in the school recently, here is Dom on his runaway Newcastle winner Whiskey on Ice

We haven’t had a runner since the first week of June, our longest sabbatical in many years so it is hard to know exactly where we are with the horses.  We’ve had these races in mind for a while though and have prepared the horses accordingly, time will tell whether they are fit enough to hold their own against horses that have been running all summer.  Their preparation has been very straightforward and I couldn’t be happier with where they are so we go back into battle with a sense of nervous optimism.

Bel Amigo

First up tomorrow will be Bel Amigo in the 14.47, the Lord Mansfield Memorial Hurdle.  He was 3rd in this race first time out last season off 3lb higher so can hopefully put up a bold show and banish memories of his heavy fall at Musselburgh in February – 12 run and Bruce rides.

Burning it Up

Next is Burning it Up making his chasing debut in the Thank you to Kinneston Owners Handicap Chase at 16.32.  He was 2nd over this trip at Perth over hurdles off 2lb higher and in time should improve for fences, clear round always the main priority first time but he would be a wonderfully appropriate winner. Bruce rides and 9 run.

Anamanda

Finally Anamanda runs in the Nairns Oatcakes Handicap Hurdle at 17.07.  She also ran in this race first time out last season and was a slightly disappointing 6th; beaten less than 9l though and is 9lb lower this time round so on paper she could go well if she is fit and in the form she was when signing off with a 2nd at Musselburgh last season. Bruce rides and 12 run.

The G Wizard

On to Thursday when our first runner will be The G Wizard stepping up in class and trip in the 15.59.  It is a very big ask for him but he ran well first time out last season and performed consistently well thereafter.  I’m hopeful he will stay and that he is unexposed in which case throwing our hat in the ring in a good race feels worthwhile.  12 run and Bruce rides.

Maillot Blanc

Course and distance winner Maillot Blanc runs in the 16.34; he had a good season and as a result resumes his career off the highest mark he has had for a couple of years.  Be wonderful to think he can go on higher but it may be that as a 9yo he needs to come down a bit but we will see – Dom rides and 9 run.

Beat The Retreat

We are doubly represented in the closing race at 17.10 with Beat the Retreat (Dom) and TakeyoutotheIsland (Bruce) both of whom have finished runner up over course and distance in the recent past.  A maximum field of 16 runners may not suit Beat the Retreat who likes a bit of space in his races, he’d also prefer a bit more give in the ground as would TakeyoutotheIsland.  We may get that and the latter has certainly been working like an improved horse over the last few weeks.

TakeyoutotheIsland – was a bit wetter when he was runner up here last time out

Ground will be an ongoing concern for jump racing this autumn with the long range forecast looking unusually dry at the end of the driest of summers.  Whilst it will be highly competitive it is great to see Perth having such strong fields with 128 runners declared for the 13 races.  This is in stark contrast to most of the jump racing taking place which is suffering from persistently small fields.  This is all down to one factor – the ground.  The sport needs to be ultra flexible over the next two months and adapt the racing to where conditions are suitable rather than embarrass itself with uncompetive racing.  It will be interesting to see whether the racecourses and the BHA can actually bring themselves to do the sensible thing.

Finally the Great North Run – a brilliant effort from Lucy, Kit, Johnny & Dom who all ran exceptional times (1h 20m – 1h 40m, reverse age finishing order!) and raised just shy of £10k for the Injured Jockeys Fund – a fantastic effort for a fantastic cause, sincerest of  thanks to all of you that donated.

A lovely warm afternoon, what a summer we have had, so many beautiful days up here, wonderful mornings for exercising horses and we’ve escaped the severity of the heat waves.  No runners since the first week end in June, hence no blog, a record three months of silence on this channel – a relief for many I am sure.

The horses did really well this summer, plenty of grass and the sun on their backs

Our first runners should be at Perth on 23rd September but I have resurfaced to highlight a special event this weekend.  In some ways we are veterans of the Great North Run, the world’s largest half marathon that gathers the best part of 60,000 people to Tyneside this weekend every year.  My role of course is restricted to support crew but our sons Johnny and Kit have both run very well on several ocassions over recent years, often raising plenty of money for the Injured Jockeys Fund.  What makes it particularly special this year is that they are going to be joined by their sister Lucy who whilst a jockey was a regular beneficiary of their wonderful assistance.  The IJF then stepped in big time when she suffered her career ending injury at Newcastle in November 2020 and played a massive part in her rehabilitation.  She still regularly goes to Oaksey House in Lambourn and we couldn’t thank them enough for their help.  She is of course fund raising for them along with her brothers and they have set up a page https://ajbellgreatnorthrun2026.enthuse.com/pf/lucy-kit-johnny-ijf – we would be thrilled if you were able to donate something to support such a worthy cause.  Our conditional jockey Dom is also taking part but sadly no Bruce who had been training for it (n/r self cert).

Kit & Johnny at the Great North Run in 2022

We have had a busy old time of it over the last few months, we did a particularly deep clean and repaint of all the barns and have just completed an extension of our main all weather gallop.  Lots of time devoted to finding horses and really pleased with the eight we have managed to buy from a wide variety of sources.  We have refocussed our training methods with an emphasis on more precision re speed and most importantly made some very good haylage.  The horses have been coming on nicely; we have been a little more patient with them and they and are just where I would like them to be – strong, keen and very much in the zone with their work.  They are carrying a bit more condition than they usually would at this time of year thanks to the good summer and our steady approach.  It will be fascinating to see how our early runners perform and that will give us a good benchmark re where we are with the majority of the string.  Bring it on, have a great weekend everyone.

The extension to our main gallop was completed today – two weeks ahead of schedule

Kit & Dom this morning in their IJF tops

Wet and windy down here near Epsom where I am greatly looking forward to going to the Derby for the first time this afternoon.

Back up the road tomorrow morning for Perth’s Gold Cup fixture. The ground looks like being on the soft side of good and we have one runner – Maillot Blanc in the 17.37.

Maillot Blanc

He won this race last year and has been on great form this spring. As a result he has to carry top weight in a fairly competitive 14 runner handicap which will be a tough ask especially with a couple of potential improvers in the field. We will give it our best shot – Bruce rides.

He will most probably have a break after tomorrow and if that is the case we will have no horses in training for the next month. No harm in that as plenty to do and already looking forward to filling the yard up again early next month.