It was fantastic to have Bob Champion visit the yard yesterday and thanks to my team for all their hard work in preparation for his visit, the yard was very smart and we were thrilled to host Bob and his team. Bob is in the process of walking 191 miles (representing the 191 days he was in hospital with cancer) over 40 yard visits (it’s 40 years since he won the Grand National on Aldiniti) and he is walking on gallops from Aintree to Findon – Josh Gifford’s gallop, where his son Nick now trains and where Aldiniti was trained by his late father.
Bob has raised over £15 million so far through his Bob Champion Cancer Trust helping fund vital cancer research. Many of you will know that Freddie races his shetland pony Blackie in the Shetland Pony Grand National which also raises money for Bob’s amazing trust. Poor Freddie has had, what Doctors think must have been a severe bout of gastroenteritis since winning Man of the Match in football the Sunday before last as he’s not been able to go to school (I won’t share details!!) but thankfully turned a corner on Monday and the school wanted to play safe and didn’t want him back until today. That was pretty perfect timing as he felt well enough to accompany us and Bob up the gallops on Blackie and it was very special for him to spend time with Bob and listen to the riding tips he had too!
It was also great to get two retired Champs together….. Bob met Champion Court who won three graded races at Cheltenham for us and was 4th in the King George too. For a horse that jumped so superbly he didn’t actually enjoy his spin over the National fences … he much preferred Cheltenham!
Today we had Warren Marston, Kai Lenihan and Harry Stock all in to help ride work. We worked Found On, Brorson, Back on the Lash, Fiddledi Dee, Samtara, Cloud Formation, Capricia, Goldie’s Lovingit, Reve, Pinnacle Peak, Be Thankful, Dariya, Enforcement, Cul De Poule, Eclat De Mottes, Herecomeshogan and Brianna Rose. All the rest cantered with some doing a swinging canter.
Still lots of horses in training and entries for the weekend and early next week. Some horses having their last runs before going out in the field but some we will keep going over the summer.