A wet morning for a change but weather has been pretty good most days recently, at least it feels like we are actually having a summer which certainly isn’t always the case. Yard is fully back up and running now with 45 horses to ride each morning, all bar one just walking and trotting and will start steady cantering soon. This conditioning work to build muscle strength is an essential part of the training programme for equine athletes and will play a key part in their ability to remain robust through the winter, patience is paramount.
Seems like an age since we last had runners; three at Perth at the beginning of the month when the French air traffic controllers prevented me from being there. An inauspicious day – Beat the Retreat ran well to a point prior to backing out of the battle, 10th run for him was probably one too many so he is out in the field. Maillot Blanc ran well enough to be 4th, this was also his 10th race so he is also now having a break. I think the ground was probably too soft for Everyday Champagne, he has had an easy month and will hopefully be back at Perth in August.
Katie on Mack the Man at Carlisle
And then there was Mack the Man in the Ladies Day Charity Flat Race at Carlisle with Katie on board – she had a great spin, right up there turning for home prior to taking his time a bit in the closing stages. It was always going to be his swansong and I’m delighted he has been retired to live with Zoe who rode him a lot here. He’s been a cracking horse for Kit, his “second career” having been a high class performer in the South in his younger days. He won three times for us including a valuable Go North Final and his overall career stats look pretty good with 7 wins from his 39 starts and £104k in prize money.
Mack the Man – Kit
Lovely to see him finish racing sound with a good home; we have retired & rehomed 12 horses this summer, I see it as one of our key responsibilities to “do right” by the horses that give us so much fun. Fortunately we have roughly the same number of new horses joining the team and I feel very blessed by the quality of young horses that have arrived. Let’s hope we can do them justice and they are lucky. We failed to buy at the Arqana sale at Deauville but still managed to come home with a very interesting juvenile hurdler, more of him later. Aside from him we have six graduates of the Irish point-to-pointing scene including several winners, two bumper horses with good form and a couple of very nice homebreds joining us as well as three horses that were in pre-training last season. Exciting times and I love watching them develop from week to week.
The entrance to Clairfontaine racecourse in Deauville
And of course our star recruit in France, Hamandio, may well end up not coming here at all. Having won three in a row he was beaten at Dieppe two weeks ago so is now having an easier time prior to hopefully returning to Auteuil in the autumn. Not sure what after that, I’m suggesting point-to-pointing but not sure that is idea is gaining much traction… Our next runners are planned for three weeks today back at Perth, by then we should know whether or not we have a Chair for the BHA, actually we will hopefully tomorrow night as there is a crucial Board Meeting taking place where I imagine they will have to decide whether to vote for their own demise… or not? Enjoy the rest of the summer, I’m loving the flat racing season and all the top quality sport – great to have a little time to enjoy it.
Lords a couple of weeks ago, lucky to enjoy a fabulous day watching England play India
