It’s always a busier than usual time in the run up to The Festival with not only the usual workload for us and the team but also getting everything ready for the many more visitors that we enjoy calling in en route to Cheltenham. Please don’t feel you are a hassle and avoid us next week…we are all prepared and very much looking forward to welcoming you all so just let us know and so call in.
We have already had some visitors here this week watching their horses on the gallops including Graham Saville who called in to see his mare Finescope who is going nicely and pleasing me. Lindsay Morgan has been in to watch her mare Windy Cove on the gallops a few times and schooling as well. James Williamson and Joanne Cowley in to watch their Westerner filly Western Safire and good to have Patrick Cowley back in to ride her out earlier this week and ride her and Ben Buie out this morning.
We worked a few this morning including Sojourn, Blazing Court, Ten Past Midnight, Cut And Run, Kazontherazz, Samtara, Windy Cove, Forecast, Culverwell, Carumba, Western Safire and Brianna Rose. James Best, Warren Marston, Miranda Theobald and Tim Gibbs all in to ride out.
Mark Boothright was in as well ahead of next week and to watch Back On The Lash however he decided to sell him ahead of The Festival and we have set up a new partnership for him which includes two new owners to the team here. A huge welcome to both Harry Redknapp, whose colours were drawn out of the hat this morning by Beth Whittle so he will run in those at Cheltenham, and also to Marcus Freer and Karen Salters who live locally in Cheltenham so who we hope will be able to come and watch Lash on the gallops regularly. The partnership is completed with current owners Ollie Ryan and David Maughan so a really fun partnership that we obviously hope is tremendously successful too starting with a bold bid next week in the Cross Country Chase hopefully! I was obviously very keen to keep Lash in the yard as we’d have hated to have lose such an important horse for our yard and one that we’ve done so well with and hopefully have far more to achieve with too. Thankfully we are not losing Mark to the yard either as he still has Pinnacle Peak here who has won 3 this season and he owns with Richard Lloyd.
We took Lash back to Cheltenham on Wednesday for a schooling session over those iconic fences and Sean Bowen was thrilled with him. He jumped for fun and so did his stable mate Big Nasty who was partnered by Finn Lambert and was jumping them for the first time. Big Nasty may well run in one of those races next season and Finn loved it! He promised to bring in a cake for the team after riding our 41st winner as Belinda had ‘made’ a cake with 40 on (created rather than baked!) the day before after Breizh Alko became our 40th winner and Finn didn’t let the team down. It’s been a week full of cakes as Kris from The Cotswold Larder in Broadway arrived with his amazing chocolate brownies for the team on Wednesday too from David Parry & Breizh Alko and he also braved standing nearby Breizh for a photo! Kris sent a “good luck at Cheltenham” cookie cake in today too which was much appreciated as well.
No runners this weekend but we have two in the bumper on Monday at Stratford – Love of Neymore and Kalibrate. More about them on Monday.
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