What A Week

It has been pedal to the metal all week for us and I am quite glad we have a quiet week ahead as there a plenty of jobs to catch up on at home (a lot of bookwork has been neglected this past week). Lots to report so this could be a bit of a long one.

The best part of the last week has been without a doubt the three winners we have turned out. Ben Asker won nicely under a front running ride from Billy Garritty at Ayr on Monday. He is such a kind little horse who tries his hard in his races I am very lucky the Robsons have allowed me to have him for this spell.

Ben Asker and Billy after winning at Ayr on Monday

Not to be outdone Spartakos quickly followed suit in determined fashion at Catterick on Tuesday. Spartakos has been waiting on a bit of rain and the soft ground at Catterick allowed him to put his best foot forwards and reward his owners for their patience. It was a positive ride from Sam and the move to bag the stands rail on the home straight probably proved to be a winning one. I am hoping we get a wet autumn and Spartakos will be able to pick up one or two more for his owners Making Headway Racing.

Spatakos and Sam after winning at Catterick

Our third winner of the week came from Far From A Ruby at Ayr on Thursday night. She really deserved this win after several near misses over the past few weeks. We claimed off her on this occasion using Aiden Brookes who gave her a very cool ride in a trappy, messy race. This was a particularly satisfying winner as I feel we have done well settling this mare who was very fractious when she came to us. I still have PTSD from her behaviour that first run for us at Newcastle when she had the jockey, Greg and Abby all on the floor! She has now settled in well to the routine at Lindean and seems to be a very happy horse loving her racing. It was also the first winner we have trained for URSA Major Racing and I hope there are plenty more to follow.

Ruby’s winning owners URSA Major Racing at Ayr

We were also at Newcastle on Wednesday where Slainte Mhath finished third. She was maybe a little ring rusty as we have been waiting for rain to get her out and I also think she will improve again for soft turf. I think this race was competitive and expect to see a few winners come out of it over the next month or two.

On Thursday Christy’s Star went to Ayr with Ruby and made his racecourse debut, he was green but not without promise.

Slainte Mhath and Phil

Friday was an eventful trip to Haydock having a blowout on the M6. Thankfully everything was fine, the traffic officers, insurance/breakdown recovery company were all amazing as was Casey who was in the lorry with me. The horses remained calm and we made it to Haydock safely and just in time, even if the trainer was very stressed by the whole experience! Maureen’s Lass showed progress under Phil whilst still looking like there is further improvement to come. Phil also took the reins on Colinton who ran another super race for second, beaten by a well bred improver. This little horse tries his heart out on every trip to the race track and the distance back to the third showed what a great run it was.

Colinton (Casey) ahead of his run at Haydock

Jackmeister Rudi took us back to Ayr on Saturday night where he finished 6th. Owned by Making Headway Racing it was very much a learning curve as he has only been in the yard a fortnight, Jason gave us great feedback and we have lots of plans for him over the back end.

While myself and the team at home took care off the above we had Gweedore down at Ascot to compete at the Shergar Cup on Saturday. Abby travelled down with him on Thursday night with my father Murray and uncle Jack sharing the driving. Family affair! They travelled through the night on Thursday when it was cool and the roads were quieter to give him the best chance of a good journey. We had top Canadian rider Emma-Jayne Wilson in the saddle and he ran well for a long way, but the ground was a bit lively and the nature of the straight track did not play to his strengths. His owners had a fabulous day and I was just disappointed we were too busy at home for me to make it down.

Gweedore, Murray and Abby. Check out fb for lots more Ascot pics!

This week really has been amazing but incredibly busy so it is a massive testament to all the staff that we pulled it off without a hitch. We covered 2154 miles travelling to racecourses this week which for a yard our size is no mean feat. Three of those meetings were evening meetings to meaning some late finishes followed by early starts!

Do not forget while all this was going on every horse in the yard at home was still received our top care getting fed, hayed, mucked out, watered, exercised, brushed, turned out. We had farriers, vets and dentists in - all time consuming. There was a day at the sales and two new horses arrived (more about them next time)! Everyone put in extra shifts, late nights and hard graft. Jack even managed to fit in passing his driving test on Saturday morning before he went to Ayr to lead up Jackmeister Rudi.

We are definitely ready to take a breath and catch up on jobs at home.

I can’t finish this without giving Jason Hart a mention following his first Group 1 win aboard Highfield Princess in Deauville today for his boss John Quinn. A fellow Borderer, Jason has been showcasing his talents for years and it was great to see him get this win at the top level after an already great season with plenty of notable successes. We are very lucky that we can often secure Jason to ride for us and hopefully that continues. Jason has ridden 11 of our 32 flat winners at a strike rate of 20%, hopefully we can give him a winner at the top level one day!

Highfield Princess and Jason Hart winning at Deauville today

I will fill you in on the new arrivals next time!

Katie x