It's a Mad Mad World

As a long time Annual Member at Cheltenham, December has always brought a visit to the follow up chase to the Paddy Power. Most recently known as the Boylesports Chase, this year under the sponsorship of the tremendous Stewart family in support of their inspirational son Paul, the Spinal Research Handicap Chase was the big Saturday Betting Race.

Our tremendous novice chaser Mad Moose, crept in at the bottom of the weights and even though the presence of the Paul Nicholls trained Woolcome Folly kept the weight down for his well fancied stablemate, we were only 3 lb out of the handicap and to our mind, in with a much better chance than our 50/1 outsider tag.

The perpetually ebullient Sam Twiston-Davies, told us that he was going to sit handy and then see if he was in touch coming into the straight and see what happened. Moose looked tremendous going round the paddock in the winter sunshine and the team moved round to the grandstand to get a good view of the race.

Blocked out at the first two fences, Moose was soon at the rear and Sam brought him wide up the straight and got him jumping better than a lot of his much more experienced rivals. As the frenetic pace began to tell. Moose's jumping took him right through the field down the back straight and coming down the famous hill he moved into second challenging the long time leader. He hit the second last and as the hold up horses started to finish up the hill, Moose paid the price for chasing the pace so early and stumbled over the last to weaken into 8th position.

Sam Twiston-Davies returned to unsaddle, grinning from ear to ear from the great ride he had had on our young novice in this top handicap chase at the home of Steeplechasing. Sam, being ever honest, admitted that he couldn't believe how well Moose had been travelling and knew he had got there too quickly. Given his time again, he would have crept through the field and came with his run up the final hill. He may get that chance on Jan 1st back at Cheltenham, before Moose gets a well deserved break as he has been on the go since the summer without a break.

I feel very lucky to be involved in owning such a tough genuine and talented young horse and such a brilliant team as Nigel, Carl and Sam. Lots to look forward to with Moosie!!! 

                                                                              MAD MOOSE

 Guava left my team after a fine win over 9.5 furlongs on Saturday evening in a Wolverhampton claimer. Claimed for £5000 by Frank Sheridan after her win, she will be in the record books for ever for being Richard Hannon's 217th winner this year, breaking Mark Johnston's record for the most winners in a calendar year.
Whilst Guava didn't quite get to the levels we had hoped, she ran 12 times in a busy 2 yr old career, winning twice and finishing in the first 4 a further 5 times. Interestingly she had 9 different jockeys in her 12 races. Perhaps an indication of current prize money is that she earned only £5200 for all that consistency, hence it made sense to allow her to be claimed.
I wish her and her new connections every success and she goes with my thanks for a great season.

Up against the Big Battalions

A fascinating and exciting week's racing, where despite a couple of great runs, I was reminded how hard it is to get winners in this game, when faced with the might of the Big Stables and Big Owners.

MAD MOOSE went to Wincanton to contest the very hot, Gd 1 Rising Stars Novice Chase, won in Previous years by Gold Cup Winner See More Business, Grand National Winners, Bindaree and Comply or Die and RSA Chase winner One Knight and last seasons top Novice and Aintree and Punchestown winner Wishfull Thinking.

                                                                MAD MOOSE

The ground had turned a little softer than Moose likes but he went off 4th Favourite behind Paul Nicholls' strongly fancied favourite Silvianaco Conti. I attended with my two sons and found that I was MPR's sole representative at the races, so had the pleasure of chatting to Mrs T-D and Sam before the race in the parade ring on my own. Mad Moose went off in front and put in a fine round of jumping, getting just outpaced on the slow ground when the favourite went on in the final half a mile. Moose was staying on past the tiring Kilcrea King, when that horse pulled up leaving Sam and Moose to cruise home in second place behind the easy winner. Sam came in beaming as Moose had run a cracking race on conditions that wouldn't have suited him and picked up a very healthy 2nd prize of over £6000. After the race we realised that we shared the remainder of the prize money with the winner making the prize over £9000, not bad for an afternoons work. The winner is clearly held in very high regard by the powerful Ditcheat team and currently sits 5th favourite for the RSA Novice Chase at the Festival in March.

Mad Moose is such a tough battler and absolutely fits the profile of so many of Nigel's top chasers of the past. Not quite championship class as a novice but tough and gutsy and nailed on to run in Top staying chases for a number of years to come. Given his preference for decent ground, I believe that Moose could well pick up a top race at either Punchestown or Liverpool next spring and who knows maybe a Scottish National!!! - As I've titled the Blog - DREAMS and disasters. Fingers Crossed.


That afternoon, GUAVA tried to follow up her good third place in the final day nursery on very soft conditions at Doncaster. The race didn't go her way but again she was staying on over what now looks like an inadequate 6f. It loooks like we will perservere on the AW in order to try and add some value to her but these races are becoming more and more difficult to win.

The GODOLPHIN Team seem to have chosen to clean up these late season and All weather nurseries and maidens, making it increasingly impractical and financially unviable, to run relatively cheap horses through the winter. Guava finished a fine 3rd Place at Brighton in October, picking up just £336, behind 2 horses owned by Godolphin. Given that it costs roughly £2000 per month to keep Guava racing, she needs to win at least 1 race per month to stand still and not lose all her value. The horses that beat her were ABHAATH, a 400,000 usd purchase, trained by Saeed Bin Suroor and a half brother to US Gd 1 winner Hot Dixie Chick and OSCAN, a home bred son of Street Cry and a half brother to St Leger winner Mastery and Gp 1 winner Kirklees. The winner picked up roughly £2000, clearly meaningless to the massive 'Boys in Blue' operation, but the lifeblood of the smaller owner.

To rub it in, NOT BAD FOR A BOY made his comeback on 11 November in a modest 0-75 Nursery at Lingfield, where he ran a much improved race, only to be beaten into 2nd by the Godolphin owned ASIFA, a half brother to Listed placed Maali. Again we would like to keep him on the go over the winter but unless he can win his share, costs will quickly outrun the horse's value.

Like any owner, Godolphin are entitled to run their horses, wherever they chose, my point is, that if they continue to be so active with these very well bred horses, then the decision to sell on or keep our horses, may be very different in seasons to come.


Still waiting for TRUE BLUE and BENEFIT OF YOUTH  to run, waiting for the right opportunity for both, but should be out soon. MY MOMENT will aim for Fakenham after bursting a small blood vessel at Ascot, which might explain his lacklustre run.

On the DREAMS front, this week brings the invitations to the DUBAI CARNIVAL 2012 - Watch this space for news.

Another Busy Weekend

After a quiet few days, horses entered up all over the place this weekend and early next week.


GUAVA goes again under Sean Levey at Doncaster in the 6f (0-75) Nursery on Saturday. This filly has really found her form at this level and has been really consistent since Sean has taken over on her. This is a more competitive race than her previous few, but off the same mark (66) that she was very unlucky at Kempton, must have a great ew chance. She is likely to be kept on the go over the winter unless we get an offer for her.


MY MOMENT is entered at both Sandown and Kelso on Saturday and Carlisle and Bangor next week. Quite simply decent ground and a smallish field will see My Moment at his best. Loves being in front and dictating his races, I'm sure Tim Vaughan will pick the best race for him. Up 4lb for his good win last time out, given optimum conditions, has a great chance of picking up another chase over 2m 4f to 3m.


MAD MOOSE is entered in the Grade 2 Rising Stars Novice Chase over 2m 5f at Wincanton on Saturday. Moose has been on the go since the summer and is a typical Nigel Twiston-Davies tough chaser. He is top rated but is up against a lot of very promising and unexposed Novice Chasers, including Paul Nicholls Silviniaco Conti, who chased home Cue Card, first time out. A lot of the fuss on Saturday will be about Ruby Walsh and the 'Will he or won't he ride' saga and I see that Daryl Jacob is jocked up on Saturday at Wincanton. We will hope that our boy will go out and sneak under the radar and use his experience to put these novices under pressure. The slightly shorter trip should suit better than the extended 3m at Cheltenham. It's a very big prize and well worth a go. Let's hope the weather relents so that the ground doesn't get too testing and spoil an excellent day's racing. I will be going so already getting very excited.

Next week could see two of my nicest prospects reappear, after their summer breaks at Tim Vaughan's Yard in South Wales. 

Benefit of Youth is entered in a Bumper at Carlisle on Monday. We ran him against our better judgement at the end of last season, but the ground was too firm and the horse too weak to do himself justice. Tim is convinced that we will see a different horse this season, so exciting times. Bumpers are getting much more competitive now, so no doubt there will be 3 or 4 strongly fancied. Hopeful of a promising run, whether he runs here or somewhere else in the near future.

True Blue has done well enough to earn a mention in Tim's Stable Stars on Racing UK recently. This chap was bought in Ireland after winning two point to points and finishing as highest rated 4 year old point to point horse in Ireland last year. He ran once in a bumper soon after joining Tim, but hadn't recovered from his move across the Irish Sea and has been given a complete break over the summer and is now working and schooling extremely well. Tim will start him out over 2m 4f over hurdles (entered Tuesday at Sedgefield) and holds him in high esteem amongst his novice hurdlers. Fingers crossed he could take us to Gloucestershire in March!!!!





Richard Hannon Stable Visit

Sunday morning and it's off on the road early to Richard Hannon's beautiful Herridge yard for the Middleham Park Racing Open Morning.

I've had the pleasure of visiting the Champion trainer's stables on many occasions and it is a most wonderful experience. The stunning surroundings and the mix of American Barns and traditional stable blocks give a sense of tranquility, amazing when you consider the 250+ horses in training here.

On this occasion it was the Champion trainer himself, Richard Snr, ably assisted and guided by his trusty Head Lads Tony and Steve, who guided our group of about 30 round the yard. Firstly we were able to go to the 'Parade Ring' where the 5 horses currently in training were trotted round with their number cloths for easy identification, and then brought in one by one for photos, Richard has never been one for telling you if your horse could win the Guineas or a seller but chatted about each horse, the phrase "a very nice horse" and his usual witty banter, belying the obvious genius of the man.

                                       NOT BAD FOR A BOY                                                       

                                                                   MAYO LAD

                               SIR LEXINGTON                                    

It was then up to the gallops to see Esentepe, Guava, Mayo Lad (Canford Cliff's half brother) and Not Bad for a Boy do a nice piece of work. To my eye, the horse who seemed to have improved loads, was the filly Esentepe, who could well step up a class next year. My big hope Sir Lexington is back on the walker following an operation to remove a chip from his knee but he looked every inch the 3 year old miler, and remains my dream of owning a top class horse.

We were then treated to my first sight of the three 'Babies'. The three colts, were all bought at Doncaster's Premier Sales by a combination of the MPR buying team and Richard's extremely successful agents Peter and Ross Doyle, who have been responsible for the majority of the Hannon's recent superstars.

                                            RED CLUBS COLT (Red Refraction)

                                     COMPTON PLACE COLT (Douglas Pasha)

All three were brought into the barn and then long reigned for us to see them in action. The Red Clubs and Proclamation colts looked a lot more experienced than my Compton Place colt, but it transpired that he was only having his second go, as he had been brought in a bit later than the others.

This was a brilliant experience with Richard and Tim Palin talking through the horses, as both physical specimens and from a breeding/family perspective.

We then had time to visit the horses in their boxes, including Clare Island Boy, who is recovering from a fracture sustained in his last race. He appears to be making good progress and remains a very exciting 3 yr old prospect for his connections.


It was then down to the Shears Inn to chat through our hopes and dreams with the other owners, over a cuppa and a bacon roll, with the odd pint for the non drivers,, before making the journey home with those visions of success, reignited in my imagination. The chance to do this is a distant dream for most racing fans, but in MPR and the Hannon team, those dreams are within grasp and with shares still available in all three yearlings, I would beg you to have a go, if you can afford it.

 Details of the syndicates are on the Middleham Park Racing Website www.middlehamparkracing.net and only a phone call away.

Busy Old Week

Guava ran a storming race to finish 3rd at Brighton behind the two Godolphin horses. She was much more prominent than last time and Sean Levey went for home 2 out. Guava was passed by the winner but ran on again very gamely. She can clearly continue to be competitive off this sort of mark on the all-weather and I guess we will keep her going as long as she's in form.

Friday saw 2 more runners with My Moment looking to bounce back from his disappointing run at Market Rasen and Refusetosurrender visiting the last chance saloon at Wolverhampton. With work extremely busy I managed to avoid the results and text messages and let good old Sky+ and Attheraces provide me with the excitement on my return home at 7pm.

Refusetosurrender has been very disappointing since being bought for 35,000 euros at Arqana Breeze Up Sales last spring. She was injured at two and Richard Fahey couldn't get a run into her until January this year. She ran three times on the all-weather, failing to settle each time and basically looking completely out of love with the game. She was nicknamed 'Refusetorun' by her connections and then suffered another setback, which kept her off the track until September when, again, she ran disappointingly off a ridiculously low mark. Today at Wolverhampton, she broke well and travelled like the best horse, in behind the leader, until she was brought wide for her challenge in the home straight. Whilst she ran on really well for 3rd place, she still seemed reluctant to go past the leader, despite looking the winner all the way round. She is in the sales at the end of the month but is impeccably bred and hopefully someone will fancy her as a broodmare.

My Moment was bought by Tim Vaughan out of the Henry Daly Draft at Doncaster in May for just £19,000. He had been a tremendously promising young hurdler and chaser but lost his way at Henry Daly's yard last season particularly after a very bad fall at Haydock dented his confidence. He was the perfect horse to get the Vaughan Magic Touch. He showed improvement in his first 2 chases for us, only just getting caught by AP McCoy on the line at Stratford after making all. He then went to Market Rasen for their Ultra Competitive Summer Jumping Finale (alongside Mad Moose). He was unable to get to the front and soon appeared to be hating things boxed in amongst horses in the big field. He sulked a little and was pulled up on the second circuit.

Nick Bradley from MPR was certain that My Moment needed a small field and the chance to make all and the Fakenham race was selected as the perfect opportunity to regain his confidence. Against only 4 opponents, My Moment was sent off in front by Richard Johnson and quite simply jumped his rivals into the ground. AP McCoy was again the challenger on the favourite Court Red Handed but despite his urgings, My Moment stayed on really well to win by 3 lengths. I am convinced that our boy just likes galloping and jumping out on his own and doesn't want any of his mates spoiling his fun by being in front or close to him. A decent prize of over £6000 was won by brilliant placement, a top ride and a brilliant training performance. We will almost certainly look to find a similar race before the ground turns against him.

Last 4 runners 3rd-3rd-1st-3rd - Not Bad for a Syndicate Owner.

RUNNER ALERT

GUAVA declared in the 4.05pm at Brighton on Thursday, Nursery over 6f 209yds.

Guava runs on Thursday at Brighton over nearly 7f off a mark of 65, 1lb less than her run last week at Kempton. Richard's good apprentice Sean Levey rides her again. I spoke to Sean at Ascot on Saturday and he was certain that Guava would have won if he had got a run a little earlier, but that she flew home after a couple reminders. I would hope that the longer trip will suit her and she must have a great chance in this slightly better class race.

So Close and Yet So Far

Friday 14th October saw a bright sunny day at the home of National Hunt Racing, Cheltenham, where the Nigel Twiston-Davies trained Mad Moose was having his second run for us in the light blue silks. Nigel and his Head Lad Sparky were very confident of a big run and young Sam was his usual effusive self explaining exactly how he was hoping the race would be run. Mad Moose got away very slowly at the back of the field but soon got into his rhythm and crept closer coming down the hill for the second time. As he turned into the straight he burst into the lead and jumped the second last clear in front. The shouts of "Come on the Moose" soon turned silent as suddenly his legs turned to jelly and he paddled the last just in front and battled up the hiull for an honourable third place at 11/4 Fav.

Sam confirmed that he had travelled and jumped really well but just ran out of gas between the last 2 fences. Nigel immediately suggested coming back for the Paddy Power Meeting over a slightly shorter trip. My immediate sense of disappointment soon turned to pride with the reality that in Mad Moose we have a horse good enough to tackle all the good novice chases this winter and hopefully end up at the festival in March.

My Moment was meant to be running at Cheltenham on Saturday to try to regain his confidence following his disappointing run at Market Rasen. The firm ground had given us the small field we needed but unfortunately the lovely weather left Tim Vaughan with no choice but to pull him out because of the ground. He may now go to Fakenham next Friday, where we would love to find a 4 or 5 runner field.

I took the opportunity to visit Ascot for the British Champions Day and again was blessed with the most glorious day. The prize money on offer was spectacular but it was a shame that some of these races only had Group 2 or 3 status, the sprint offering £100,000 to the winner, less than some of the sales races and not much more than the Big Sprint handicaps like the Ayr Gold Cup. I believe they are looking at upgrading all the races next year. Star of the show was Frankel, he got a round of applause when he entered the parade ring before the race and a roar when he returned after his 9th victory in a row. It was great to see so many people desperate to see the horse who has captured the imagination of everyone this year and incredibly generous of Prince Khaled to keep him in training next year. Wonder if any of our Hannon 3 yr olds can take him on next year!!!

Over at Catterick, the Hannon trained Not Bad For a Boy tried to win his maiden over 7f. We fancied him to run a really big race after his break but he ran really disappointingly, running on into 5th place after the race was over. He never looked comfortable and got in and out of trouble throughout the race. The jockey Kieran O'Neill reported that NBFAB never acted on the soft ground at any stage so the run is probably best forgotten. Bought for just £26,000 at Doncaster last summer by the brilliant Doyle team, who buy so many of the Hannon squad, he has fallen in that intermediate area of a 71 rated 2 year old, probably not quite good enough to win his maiden (and the £10k Bonus, which is so important) and probably unlikely to make a lot in the Horses in Training Sales. The Hannons will advise whether they think he will develop into a much better 3 year old and we will make our end of season decision soon.

Monday brought the long awaited debut of Midnight Tryst, a lovely filly in training with Ann Duffield. I was attracted to Midnight, specifically beacause she is a half sister to Midnight Martini who won the DBS Sales race at York, two years ago, taking home the £147,000 first prize. A very cheap £14,000 purchase from the same Doncaster Sale, she has taken a long time to come to hand as she has continued to grow, whilst showing significant promise. She has also been held up for the last month by an aversion to the stalls. Ann and her team have done a brilliant job trying to sort her head out, so it was a pleasure to see her jump out on terms with the others today. The booking of Champion Jockey, Paul Hanagan, clearly alerted the bookies to her chances and 12/1 soon became as low as 5/1 during the morning and early afternoon. Midnight was caught out wide during the early stages and Paul gave her a superb sympathetic ride, educating her as she ran green and she chased home the first two favourites (who had run before) clearly coming out as the horse to follow from the race finishing in 3rd place. Hopefully we can get her out again before the end of October to try to pick up her Bonus Maiden and make a big dent in the years training costs.

Guava may go to Brighton on Thursday, My Moment may run at Fakenham on Friday and Refusetosurrender may finally beat the ballot mark on Friday!!

Have a Great Racing Week.

Unlucky at Kempton and Off to Cheltenham

Guava, trained by Richard Hannon, went to Kempton this evening, attempting to defy a 6lb penalty following her long awaited first victory at Nottingham last week. Guava broke slowly and Sean Levey tucked her away on the inside rail. As the field turned into the straight, Guava struggled to find a gap and Sean had to manouevre to the outside before he could make his run. The winner got first run but Guava swept past her field to just fail to get up, finishing a 1/2 length second.
When I bought into Guava, Richard Hannon was hoping that she would be a Royal Ascot runner but she is quite small and has taken a long time to strengthen up and find her form. A £30,000 purchase from Doncaster last Autumn, we looked like we might have to let her go for £6000 in sellers and claimers but we will now have to see what the rest of the season holds for Guava. She may be out next week off her new mark of 65 (1lb less than tonight) to strike while the iron is hot.
I have already comitted to 2 new yearlings for next year and 3 jumps horses and need to move horses on each year in order to afford to keep paying training fees. Guava is one of those horses who may be able to maximise her value late in the season before being sold on. We will see.

Tomorrow is an incredibly exciting day, with Mad Moose running at Cheltenham. I have been a member at Cheltenham for the last 15-20 years and this will be my first runner there for a very long time. MPR share ownership of Mad Moose with trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, and this will be his second run for us following his excellent 7th place in the ultra competitive chase at Market Rasen two weeks ago (Ostland, the horse that finished 2 places behind us came out this week and won by the length of the straight!!). I hadn't intended getting involved in another horse this year but the chance to have a horse with Grand National winning trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies and the man that rode my first winner Carl Llewellyn, was too good to miss. We also have Talksport's Ian Abraham (Moose) in our syndicate and I know that the Moose will be keeping his listeners up to date with Mad Moose's progress towards a dream run at the Festival in March.

Mad Moose is top rated over 3 miles of the Prestbury Park circuit but as with most Novice Chases at Cheltenham, jumping will be the name of the game and we will hope he jumps round safely and gets competitive at the end of the race.

We also sell our very promising And He's Dreaming at the Select National Hunt Sale after racing. He is probably the best of the 10 young National Hunt horses we bought as an experiment 18 months ago. He has run very well on his two bumper runs and will certainly go on to be a very nice horse in time. We have learnt a lot from the venture, not least that you cannot rush these big jumps types, you have to wait until they tell you that they are ready.

More runners over the weekend, I hope to update you on my string (with pictures) probably on Sunday.