Work morning and more of the winter horses stepping up their work and an autumnal chill in the air first thing too.
Lewis Stones, Ollie Murphy’s Conditional Jockey, in for a few lots and we worked Primogeniture, Sarasota Star, Gold Mountain, Bobble Emerald, Cut And Run, Witness Protection, Cotswold Prince, Ballymountain Boy, Fairmount and Raving Bonkers. Plenty doing a stronger canter too.
Great to see Matt Capp in to watch both Robsam and Dreamsundermyfeet on the gallops and to have a catch up. Time really does fly by and it won’t be long until their summer holidays are a distant memory and we are back on the racecourse.
Yesterday we took some horses schooling at Jon Trice-Rolph’s which not only gives youngsters especially an opportunity to get a trip out in the lorry for a bit of experience, but also some gymnastic jumping which they all benefit from and the jockeys on top too. We took Pinnacle Peak, Debden Bank, Back on the Lash, Sarasota Star, Primogeniture and Enforcement. They jumped really well and it was a very worthwhile exercise. I wish we could bottle Johnny’s enthusiasm – he’s a brilliant teacher and so passionate about racing.
New owner Tony Corcoran, who secured the final share in Witness Protection on Tuesday, asked if he could call back in with his family on Wednesday to meet him as they are all staying locally this week on holiday. Of course we agreed and as it was Granddaughter Ella’s 4th birthday, Freddie kindly let her have a ride on his Racing Shetland, Blackie, and absolutely made her day. All three other grandchildren had a sit on him too and it was fantastic to meet the whole family.
What an amazing week of racing at York – one of our favourite flat tracks not least because we had that very special day at York with Belinda and Buckle Street winning the Macmillan Ride of Their Lives Charity Race. A proud day.
Another proud man is, I’m sure, Paul Hughes, our electrician, whose son Chris is a member of the ITV Racing Team and is doing a fabulous job on the Social Stable hopefully spreading the word on racing and what a great day out it is to those who don’t usually watch it.
We are having an Open Day which is open to the public for a change this year and literally all are welcome! The more the merrier! It’s on Sunday 15th September from 11am to 1pm and is totally free! Ample car parking and plenty of friendly faces, both human and equine, to greet you! Please do drop us an email if you would like to attend so we have an idea of numbers and keep watching this space for details of the day.