I dreamt of owning a racehorse ever since those first vists to Taunton Races at the age of 11. Those dreams came true when my friends and I bought our first horse, a 4 year old mare called Tashlee Grove in training with our friend Brian Forsey when I was 18. She never got to the racecourse but a few horses later I had my first ever winner in my own colours on 14th May 1991, when Lady Primrose won a selling handicap hurdle at Newton Abbot under young jump jockey Carl Llewellyn (who went on to win the Grand National on Party Politics the following spring).

There followed one more winner in my colours (Aldahe at Lingfield Park over hurdles) before grown up things like work, mortgage, marriage and children took up more of my finances. I became a serial Syndicate member with Elite, Full Circle, Henry Ponsonby to name but a few before I took a share in Outset with Mark Kilner Racing. Outset was very successful on both the flat and over jumps and took me to some big racedays which gave me a taste of the life of the owner.

In Autumn 2005, I took the plunge and took a share in a 2 horse syndicate with Highclere Thoroughbred Racing. The 2 horses were Squadron trained by Amanda Perrett and Treat trained by Mick Channon. Treat surpassed all my wildest dreams by finishing 2nd in the Fillies Mile at Ascot as a 2 year old and then 4th in the 1000 Guineas before eventually being sold to Sheik Mohammed to stand at Darley Stud in Japan.

In Jan 2008, I bought into my first horse managed by Middleham Park Racing, Bonnie Prince Blue, quickly followed by my first 2 year old Victoire de Lyphar. I have become very impressed by the syndicate and Nick, Tim and Mike who run it and have got carried away to the extent of now owning shares (generally 5 percent) of 18 different horses in separate syndicates with MPR.

I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences with anyone who might be interested. If you have any interest in racing, I hope that my experiences may tempt you into the wonderful world of racehorse ownership.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog.

Thursday, 5 July 2012

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!!

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