IT DOES EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN

When I named my Blog, 'Dreams and Disasters', I didn't realise that 1 hour in racing could encompass both so completely last weekend.

As we reached the end of the outstanding 2012 Flat Season, the eyes of the Racing world were firmly focused on Ascot for Champions Day (Sponsored by Frankel/Qipco). Everything that day was concentrated on that wonderful animal and he produced the goods in fantastic style, helped in no small way by one of the best pace making rides I have seen by Ian Mongan on Bullet Train.

Sat 20th for me, revolved around 2 horses. Firstly my 2 year old filly STRANGE MAGIC. After her superb debut win at Catterick, she had mixed it with the big boys and girls. Firstly in a Group 3 at Ascot, where she disappointed on ground much too quick for her and then running very respectable races in Big Sales Races at Doncaster and Redcar.

Richard Fahey and Nick Bradley from MPR had decided that a drop to 5f could help her substantially and this small field novice looked tailor made for her to regain winning ways. The ground was very testing but STRANGE MAGIC broke well and gradually wore down the field to win going away, clearly enjoying the ease in the ground.

 

 

A great start to the day as I watched from the bookies in the Members Bar at Cheltenham, where I had gone to watch MAD MOOSE'S seasonal debut in the Feature 2m 4f chase at the Showcase meeting. After Moose's  tremendous win at Cheltenham last April, we had high hopes for this debut. I had been to Nigel Twiston-Davies' yard a week ago to watch Moose work up the Naunton gallops. He was in sparkling form and worked really enthusiastically.

 

 

Moose looked in fantastic condition as he walked around the paddock. Sam Twiston-Davies was very confident about his chances and we rushed up the the stand to watch the horses at the start. After quite a delay, the horses circled at the start waiting for the starter to give them the go ahead. Suddenly they were off BUT one horse was left stationary at the start as the rest of the field jumped the first. The problem with having recognisable silks is that there was no doubt that it was the Moose who hadn't started and we stood there barely watching the race with a mixture of shock and dismay, with a hint of hysterical laughter. As soon as the race finished we rushed round to the unsaddling enclosure to greet Sam, Nigel and MAD MOOSE. Sam reported that they were waiting a long time and unfortunately the starter suddenly called them forward with Moose planted and despite Sam's appeals, he let them go. Nigel was very apologetic but fortunately we have become used to the ups and downs of racing and we still have a fit, healthy horse unlike others who are sometimes not so lucky. The badly behaved MAD MOOSE will have the help of blinkers next time out, where we hope not to see a repeat performance.

 

 

 

Which brings us on to this weekend......

 

STRANGE MAGIC was in great form following her win at Catterick and Nick Bradley of Middleham Park Racing had spotted a Listed sprint at Longchamp this Sunday that could suit her on her favoured soft ground. As final decs closed on Thursday, we decided to supplement her against 6 opponents in the CRITERIUM DE VITESSE over 1000m tomorrow. This is a fantastic opportunity for our filly to gain some valuable Black type, but she will need to be at her best to get in the top three. Drawn 2, we hope that Freddie Tylicki can get her out to the rail quickly. It's proved almost impossible for me to get over to Paris, without paying more than the supplementary entry fee!! So much for cheap and easy flights abroad with Easyjet or FlyBe.

 

STRANGE MAGIC has had similar travel problems this morning, unable to travel by ferry due to the strong winds, she is currently on the EUROSTAR making her way through the tunnel to Paris. Hope her passage through the race is smoother.

 

Meanwhile MAD MOOSE runs (hopefully) in the Matalan Handicap Hurdle at Aintree tomorrow. We had considered the OLD ROAN CHASE today but Moose would have been 5lb out of the handicap and with Sam sidelined through suspension, Nigel has decided that the hurdle route would be more suitable. David England will be charged with making sure that Moose gets away with the rest of the field, everything will be crossed.

 

So between 12.30pm tomorrow and 1.10pm we will have another opportunity for more DREAMS AND DISASTERS!!! - Hopefully both Dreams

 

 



 



STRANGER THAN FICTION

Apologies for my absence from updates recently, been particularly busy at work but an equally busy time with the horses both flat and jumps.

STRANGE MAGIC

In late April Middleham Park went to Doncaster Breeze Up Sales and bought 4 Two Year Olds. I inspected the speedy breezes of the first three carefully, but the one that caught my eye was the steady but classy breeze of the Diamond Green filly. Sister to 3 Two year old winners and from the family of Oaks winner Diminuendo, she fitted my bill of a well bred athlete at a sensible price of £26,000.
I contacted MPR and agreed to buy a share and they kindly allowed me to name her.

In my early days, I bought a jumps mare who sadly never made the racecourse. I had named her Strange Magic, a song title from one of my favourite bands at the time, ELO. I thought it would be great to get the name on the course at last and after checking with Weatherbys that I could re-use the name, our Diamond Green filly was named STRANGE MAGIC (i'm sure you can You-Tube it!!)

STRANGE MAGIC was entered for her debut in a normal Maiden Auction Race for Colts and Fillies at Catterick on Weds. In the first race of the day the two MPR fillies had come over to the stands rail and stolen First and Second place with their tactics (and their ability). STRANGE MAGIC was drawn 1, and as the only debutant in the field, she made a hesitant start from the gates, before quickly making up her ground up the rail. As the field turned into the straight, the leaders made a bee line for the stands rail but Tony Hamilton shot STRANGE MAGIC round the far bend and kicked on in front. Split by the width of the track, it was very difficult to see who was in front but to my relief, our girl had gone clear under hands and heels to win by a comfortable 3 lengths.

Sat watching in a tiny bookies in Tiverton, some 200+ miles from Catterick was not quite the dream, but the performance was. It would be wonderful to imagine she could compete at listed level or higher in the future, but for now, the genius of Richard Fahey will decide the next step for my girl.

She's certainly done the name proud so far!!

BUSY START TO THE FLAT SEASON

It's been a typically busy start to the flat season with the usual mixture of massive disappointments and very pleasant surprises. I would have liked to update these on a much more regular basis but the nuisance work (it does pay for the horses though) has rather got in the way and I'm usually fast asleep on the sofa before getting to  Blogger

I'll run through the horses one by one:

VICTOIRE DE LYPHAR

We had high hopes that Victoire would come back to his best this season so after a very promising run at Pontefract, I made the long trip to Newmarket on 1000 Guineas Day. Whilst the MPR team were delighted with LILY'S ANGEL's brilliant run in the Guineas, Victoire was very agitated before the race, not being brought into the parade ring until very late with Kieran Fallon taking him straight out for the 6f Handicap. He broke particularly well but started to weaken approaching the final furlong. He was eased right down and after the race Kieran reported that he felt like a good horse but wasn't ready yet after his long break. With Dandy's horses right out of form, we accepted that he would need to get fitter before being competitive.

I was surprised and delighted to see that he was entered for another race only 10 days later on the first day of York's Dante meeting. With Tatlisu also entered (details to follow), I took the 6.50am train direct from Taunton to York, full of anticipation and 5 hours later!! was picked up by Steve Evans, another of Victoire's owners and we went straight to the course.

2nd race in and Victoire was again very agitated in the pre-parade and parade ring. So much so that Dandy Nicholls led him around the parade ring to make sure he was ok. Adrian Nicholls went off to get on board and he left the ring. As we stood there concerned over his state, somebody suddenly said that Adrian had come back into the ring. He rushed past with a 'He's not right' and we were left in limbo to go and watch the race without our star.

I was able to get a quick word with Dandy's wife Alex, who advised that the vet's had found a slight problem with him, akin to a panic attack, that was distressing him and may have accounted for his poor run last time. We are hopeful that he can be treated with medication and get back to his best form later in the season.

TATLISU

As mentioned in previous blog, Tatlisu, our Red Clubs colt, had been showing real promise at Richard Fahey's yard before his debut at Musselburgh on 4th May. Slowly out of the stalls he soon got a position on the rail on the quite testing ground. As the horses reached the final furlong, Paul Hanagan found a gap and Tatlisu quickened well to go on and win nicely.

With thoughts of Royal Ascot already in my head, we moved on to York's Dante meeting, where Tatlisu was made favourite for the 5f Novice stakes. Everything looked good and I was hoping to make up for the disappointment of Victoire earlier.

As the stalls opened Tatlisu took a couiple of false steps and then seemed to buck for 50 yards before settling down into his stride. By this time he was already 10 lengths behind a field of previous winners. Amazingly he started to make up the ground and as the horses entered the final furlong he looked as if he could get placed. Paul Hanagan realised that he had used up too much gas making up the distance and he was eased down to finish only 5 lengths behind the winner. Paul Hanagan came back in, completely dumbfounded by Tatlisu's antics and simply couldn't explain it. He was convinced, however that he would have won with a level break, but we will never know. As you can imagine, it was a very long 5 hour train journey home that night!!!

Tatlisu is entered in 2 novice events on Saturday, where we will hope to get back on winning ways and hopefully set up a possibility of going to Royal Ascot with him. Dream time again!!

Photo Courtesy of Cath Regan

OUR BOY JACK

Not named after My Boy Jack, I bought into this fellow by e-mail from holiday in Cuba last summer. Amazing what you do with a few Mojitos inside you.

We felt that Our Boy Jack came into this season well handicapped and having made the progress over the winter that gave him a great chance of developing into a very nice 3 year old.

He made his debut at a soggy Hamilton on 18th May over 6f off a mark of 67. Looking like he'd had a very good winter, we knew he had quite a lot of improvement in him. He ran a cracker after meeting trouble in running but ran on best of all to finish a close second.

Due a 3lb rise, Richard brought him out again on 25th May under Lee Topliss. The 7f trip was a bit of an unknown, but making a strong run 3f out, he burst clear to win by an eased down 2 1/2 lengths.

The question will now be, how much more improvement Our Boy Jack has in him. Raised today to a mark of 77 by the handicapper, he will have to step up again in order to win but he is the type to progress through his 3 year old career and hopefully be able to compete in some top class handicaps as the year progresses.

Our Boy Jack is likely to run next over 6f or 7f on Mon/Tues at Leicester's big Bank Holiday Meeting. dreaming of another win already!!.

SIR LEXINGTON





Sir Lexington made his Maiden debut over a mile at Kempton on May 7th. This enormous horse is going to take a little time to show his potential and ran a nice enough race to finish 20 lengths behind the winner. He is declared for another Maiden on Friday at Haydock and we hope to see some improvement. There is still a lot to come from this boy - keep the faith!!

I will post a further blog from my visit to the Tim Vaugham stable in the next couple of days. 

JUMPS SEASON CLOSES WITH A BANG

Following closely on from my first Cheltenham Festival runner, I was delighted to find out that Lawney Hill had decided to send MINELLA THEATRE to AINTREE for a run over the big fences in the famous Topham Trophy on Friday of the Grand National Meeting.

It is fair to say that MINELLA had been disappointing so far for us so I arrived at AINTREE with hopes that he would jump safely round and nothing more. Aintree didn't disappoint with the Liverpool ladies spectacular in their amazing high heels, false eyelashes and very flimsy dresses!!!. We found our way to the Owners and Trainers Stand with a great view over the course. MINELLA struggled to keep up with the ferocious pace over the first 2 or 3 fences but seemed to be jumping really well and it wasn't long before his jumping allowed him to pass a few of the stragglers. As ALWAYS WAINING moved forward to complete his record breaking 3rd win in the race, MINELLA was in 17th place jumping the second last but started to pass horses and was 12th jumping the last. He then flew up the straight passing horses with ease as he dashed into 6th, just failing to catch 5th by a nose.

David Bass came to talk to us afterwards and was delighted with his first ever run over the fences and was certain that MINELLA could have got close to the winners with an extra 4f to run. Immediate thoughts were to come back in November for the Becher Chase but MINELLA will now have a nice rest  before we see how he is in the Autumn.

GRAND NATIONAL DAY was a very exciting but ultimately disappointing day for Middleham Park Racing with JUNIOR getting worked up with the occasion and the long delay before over jumping and coming down at the second. It was an honour to share the day with MPR and Junior's owners and I'm sure he will be back for more big races next season.

I was lucky enough to be connected with 2 runners in the AINTREE LEGENDS CHARITY RACE that opened GRAND NATIONAL DAY, with PRIVATE STORY ridden by GRAHAM THORNER and JUST LILLE ridden by CARL LLEWELLYN (who rode my first ever winner all those years ago). Neither horse ran up to form but this was all about being involved on this wonderful day.

Thursday 19th April saw MAD MOOSE go back to Cheltenham with Top weight in a Novice Handicap over 2m 5f. A late change of plans meant that I was able to attend and the torrential rain I had encountered on my journey had made the ground very testing by race time. Sam arrived in the Parade Ring and told us that he was going to conserve MOOSE'S stamina by creeping round the back as he was convinced that 2 front runners would take each other on and not get home. In the race, 2 went on but MOOSE was struggling to jump out of the bad ground and was tailed off in last at the top of the hill. In typical Sam style ha got after MOOSE, who started to run on really strongly and had close to a 15 length 3rd as the front 2 started to tire. 8 lengths down at the last, MOOSE flew past the weary leaders to snatch first place on the line under an inspired ride from the very talented SAM TWISTON-DAVIES, to screams of 'Go on Moosie' from the Owners Viewing Area.

   

We were met by a delighted Carl Llewellyn in the Parade Ring and I was able to lead MOOSE in to the Cheltenham winners enclosure, with another of the owners Steve and my brother Pete as the only connections there. There followed the presentation of the winners trophy and champagne and pictures of us all followed by a Champagne Viewing of the race. We agreed with Nigel that MOOSE had earned a rest so he will be back in the Autumn with lots of Big Races open to him and our tactics now worked out!!

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A DREAM!!!

FLAT Season here we come.

Hot on the heels of a fun Jumps season, the Flat 2012 kicks into action this weekend with the Lincoln meeting at Doncaster.

I am very fortunate to have a really exciting team for this Flat season and am looking forward to a lot more luck than last year, which was littered with disappointments and injuries.

I have shares in a total of 7 horses with 4 different trainers and a very interesting mix they are.

Richard Fahey looks after 3 of them. OUR BOY JACK a 3 year old gelding, who may be on a competitive mark for handicaps following his gelding op late last year, LEXINGTON PLACE, a 2 yr old Compton Place Colt who might be quite early and TATLISU another 2 yr old colt by Red Clubs, who is very well bought and might be out quite early.

The Master Trainer Richard Hannon has 2. SIR LEXINGTON, a fantastic specimen of a horse, was unable to run at 2 as he had a small bone chip removed from his knee just as he was preparing to debut in one of the decent late season maidens. A very expensive purchase as a yearling, this Desert Sun Colt could be a bit special. Another Compton Place 2 yr old colt, DOUGLAS PASHA, is well liked by the Hannon team and will probably debut mid-summer.

Ann Duffield looks after the well bred 3 yr old filly, MIDNIGHT TRYST. A half sister to the decent sprinter Midnight Martini, our filly made a very encouraging maiden debut late last season, she could be anything.

Last but not least is the Superstar of the team VICTOIRE DE LYPHAR with Sprint King Dandy Nicholls. Victoire had a stellar 3 yr old career, winning easily at Doncaster before running away with York's Reg Griffin Trophy, Europe's most valuable 3 yr old sprint handicap. Flying up the handicap, Victoire continued to improve, coming 2nd in the Stewards Sprint at Glorious Goodwood before a brilliant 2nd place as the only 3 yr old in the Ayr Gold Cup in September.
Big things were expected from Victoire last year, but he was a disappointing favourite at Haydock on his debut behind Bated Breath (2nd in 2 Group 1s later in the season), Society Rock (Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot) and Royal Rock (Group 3 winner), not too shabby in retrospect. Victoire then ran very disappointingly in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot and the Stewards Cup at Goodwood, without explanation. It transpired that he had been carrying an injury all season and needed box rest for the rest of the Summer and Autumn.
Our plans to join Dandy's raiding party to Meydan were thwarted by a reduced handicap mark but it means that we have a very fit and very fresh horse to go to war with this season.

If he is fully recovered we hope that he will be a force in all the top Heritage handicaps and will hopefully progress to Listed and Group class. He is a big long striding horse so a bit of give will always be preferable, so foreign raids may be on the cards and Dandy is a genius at scouring the European Pattern Book.

Victoire has his first entry at Doncaster on Sunday in a 0-100 6f Handicap and if he runs, we will be watching to see if that old spark is still there. Definitely a Dream to follow last season's Disasters.

Lifetime Ambition - Festival Runner MAD MOOSE

Our brilliant gelding MAD MOOSE ran at the Cheltenham Festival recently. After attending as an Annual Member for over 15 years, I finally had the thrill of having a share in a runner at the famous Cheltenham Festival.
Nigel's original plan was to run Moose in the Novice Handicap but with the 'Good Thing' HUNT BALL in opposition as well as Nigel's strongly fancied ACKERTAK, the decision was made to run Moose in the Byrne Group Plate a handicap over 2m4f.
As Sam was claimed to ride THE COCKNEY MACKEM, it was left to Moose's regular work partner Willie Twiston-Davies to take the ride. MAD MOOSE travelled and jumped really well through the early part of the race and coming down the hill moved up into 6th under strong driving from Will. The winner SALUT FLO had gone and as Moose tired he made a slight mistake at the 2nd last before weakening into 8th place.
This was a great run from a novice in such a competitive handicap. It looked again as if Moose didn't quite get up the hill so we may look to have a run on a flatter track, maybe Aintree!!!

2012 String - National Hunt

The ice and snow put paid to Mad Moose's challenge to Oscar Whisky in the Welsh Champion Hurdle on Saturday, with Ffos Las failing to beat the freeze. Great shame as the Prize Money was superb and Moose was well up to picking up some cash.

Whilst we have a cold spell forecast for next two weeks, I thought I would do a brief summary of the horses that I currently part own, jumps and flat, with my views on their prospects for the weeks and months ahead.

I won't pretend that owning a share of a horse is cheap but it is surprisingly affordable with the right team. I own all my shares in individual partnerships managed by Middleham Park Racing. In general my 5% shares cost 5% of purchase costs plus between £125 and £145 per month depending on the trainers costs. All the MPR syndicates give you a genuine share of all prize money plus sale proceeds and are a great way to get involved with fellow enthusiasts at the races (where you will get an owners badge every time your horse runs). There are currently shares available in 2 year olds with Richard Hannon, Richard Fahey, Michael Bell, Sir Henry Cecil, Ann Duffield and David O'Meara to suit all budgets as well as a number of other unexposed horses. Please visit www.middlehamparkracing.net for full details.

Mad Moose (Presenting - Sheshollystar)

Nigel Twiston-Davies agreed to sell 50% of Mad Moose to Middleham Park Racing after his runaway hurdles win at Newton Abbot and his second Novice Chase win at Uttoxeter. Moose went straight into a competitive handicap at Market Rasen off a mark of 144 (His new hurdle mark, 15lb higher after his 15length win at Newton Abbot). He ran really well in a very competitive race to finish 15 lengths 7th under his regular pilot Sam Twiston-Davies. His next race at Cheltenham was over 3m 1f and again he ran a blinder, leading into the home straight before fading up the stiff Cheltenham hill.
Moose then stepped up in class in two of the best novice chases of the season running fantastic races in 2nd behind Silviniaco Conti and 3rd behind Bobs Worth and Cue Card. On both occasions Sam eased Moose right down once his chance had gone. The handicapper very kindly dropped Moose a few pounds for his next run in an ultra competitive handicap over 2m 5f at Cheltenham's December meeting, where Moose came from a long way back to challenge turning into the straight before weakening again up the straight. Sam believed that he might have made his move too early and that a more patient ride might help him go very close next time. Both Tatenen and Calgary Bay (who both finished close to Moose) have gone on to win valuable handicaps in their next runs. As Moose ran from 3lbs out of the handicap (138) he now has a mark of 135, some 9lbs lower than at Market Rasen.

Moose has been on the go since the Summer and Nigel is keen to let him go to the Festival Novice Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in March off his current rating, so he will probably have just one run before then, possibly over hurdles if we can find a suitable alternative to the cancelled Ffos Las race.

Moose has picked up over £13,000 in prize money by the very shrewd placement by Nigel and the Middleham Park Racing Team and we hopefully have a trip to the Festival to look forward to as well. I have been incredibly impressed by all the Twiston-Davies team, Nigel, Carl Llewellyn, Sparky and of course the incredibly enthusiastic and very talented Sam and would thoroughly recommend anyone to get involved with them if you get the opportunity.

Out with the Old year

A really busy time over Christmas and the New Year with runners all over the place and the usual chaos, all over too quickly and back to work, but a free weekend to catch up and review 2011 and look forward to 2012 (more to follow later)

NOT BAD FOR A BOY has been really busy, a really consistent 2 year old, he finally got his head in front under a brilliant tactical ride at Lingfield under Kieran O'Neill, in a 7f Novice stakes beating Delf (78) and Colourful Notion (82) by a neck and a short head getting 3lb. Everyone could see that the favs had got caught out and that NBFAB had just scraped home because of the ride, but the handicapper decided it was worth raising him 8lb from 70 to 78, after a season of trying to get a winner. Is it any wonder that people try to cheat the handicap system??.
Our lad tried again on Boxing Day at Wolverhampton of his new mark and despite running a really good race, he found 3 too good to be beaten 3 lengths into 4th. Our attempt to dodge the handicap mark in a claimer 4 days later was just one run too many with Not Bad for a Boy finishing 3rd as a well backed 5/6 fav in a race he would normally have won.
At this stage it looks as though the handicapper hasn't dropped him a single pound for two losses, shame it doesn't work both ways!!

                                                        NOT BAD FOR A BOY

TRUE BLUE has been a disappointment so far for Tim Vaughan and he has run 2 very similar races at Towcester and Southwell, fading badly in the straight after travelling very well in front. He looks to have taken some time to find his form since coming over as a highly rated young horse in Ireland but at least now will get a handicap mark. Let's hope the handicapper gives him a mark from which he can be competitive off. I'm sure we will get a win out of him this season.

MY MOMENT finished down the field at Ffos Las on bottomless ground and will now have a rest before a Spring/Summer campaign.

Finally we had a very pleasant surprise when BENEFIT OF YOUTH made his comeback on Boxing Day on Ffos Las Heavy ground in a 2m Bumper. Running against Tornado in Milan (a £70,000 purchase from Ireland at the Brightwells Cheltenham sale in Oct), we hoped for a decent run. Our boy chased the 1/5 Fav all the way up to straight only going down by a neck at the line. I was delighted as not only do I own 12.5% of this horse, I was also lucky enough to name him. He is for sale and hopefully won't have done any harm to his value.

                                                          BENEFIT OF YOUTH

I hope to produce a list of the horses that I have in training for 2012 in the next few days, which I hope you will find of interest.