A belated but huge HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. Thanks to all my team for working so tirelessly over the Christmas and New Year period and during 2019 too. Thanks to all of the support from our owners, friends and family during a successful and thoroughly enjoyable year. Here’s to more winners, success and lots more fun too.
My parents were here to spend the New Year with us and we just had one runner on New Years’ Eve – Robsam finding the drying heavy ground hard work at Uttoxeter and Patrick Cowley pulled him up. He’s find since and we’ll run him on better ground next time so he may not be out for a while – it just won’t stop raining will it?!
Busy with visitors over the last few days and thanks to Sammy Martin, NAF’s Racing Specialist for dropping in some products as we’d run out – such great service as ever. Chris Dee was in yesterday to watch Eclat Des Mottes on the gallops and she brought some friends with her and Matthew Baker was in this morning watching the gallops and schooling too.
We also entertained Alex Woodward and Philip Jones who were sent to us via Course & Distance Tours for a Morning on the Gallops with breakfast and Paul Davis helped look after them. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy it and had the added bonus of watching schooling over hurdles and fences too – something some Trainers are reluctant to let visitors watch. Another added bonus is that they were in the right place at the right time to be offered tickets to Hereford today as we have a runner and a couple of spare tickets and it’s ‘not too far (according to Philip!)’ out of their way home so they were keen to go!
Miss Antipova runs there for Anna and Alan Varey of Batsford Stud. It’s a step up in trip to 2m 4f which I think will suit her and she didn’t seem to mind the heavy ground at Ffos Las last time and wasn’t beaten far by the 2nd horse – when admittedly the winner outclassed them all. It would be pleasing to see another bold run from her as she’s settling better at home and in her races and I remain convinced there’s some fun to have with her.
Alan Johns was in this morning to help with schooling and we schooled: Eclat Des Mottes, Be Thankful, City Never Sleeps, Samtara, Debden Bank and Enforcement.
We worked Anaan, Ten Past Midnight and Black Prince and Warren Marston was in to ride work.
Ollie Garner and Steve Adams (of Cotswold Forage) brought a delivery of haylage as I was leaving to go racing. We last saw Ollie in an different coloured velvet jacket every night at Olympia where he, his brother Tom and father Sebastian virtually run the show there. They supply us with our haylage and shavings too and are an important part of our extended team.
Ben Brain called in before 1st lot to scope a couple of horses too. So all in all a very busy time – it’s a good job we love what we do as some who’ve had 2 weeks off work are moaning about going back on Monday! I wonder how many people have kept their New Year Resolutions…..?!