It has been a whike since the last post but the work has continued as ever, through some trying circumstances!! First of all we stopped having runners from the middle of Decemver we had been delighted with how things had gone to that point but from the start of December we were not happy with the health of the yard. We hardly had a runner through January, Two Smoking Barrels being about the only one when she ran a great race to be 2nd at Wincanton on the 17th of January ridden by Tom Scu for Martin Jones. We had declared to have runners at the start of February before the equine flu broke which then held us up for a few more days!! Since then we have been very busy with runners, which on the whole have been running really well.
Northern Beau finished second on the 14th Feb at Leicester her first run back following a break ridden by Richie McLernon, she ran a great race to keep up her unbelievably consistent record! She heads back to Leicester tomorrow to try and break her duck again ridden by Richie she should have a great chance!
15th feb- Hurricane Minnie had her first run in a handicap at Fakenham finishing fourth, she ran well but didnt really handle the sharp Fakenham track. Two Smoking Barrels had her last run before going off to be a brood mare at Sandown, she didnt quite handle ther step up in grade and finished 8th the drying ground had very much gone against her. It was with great shock and sadness that Martin Jones has decided to take his horses else where his three horses had won 12 races between them and we were very sad to see them leave , but wish him luck in the future.
Some Chaos got back to winning ways in style when winning by 12 lengths at Wincanton ridden by Ben Poste. He was very impressive here and is now rated 138 so will have some nice end of season targets as he looks to improve with every run. He wont go to Cheltenham as we feel he is no ready for that yet.
Justice Knight made it two winners in two days when winning at Huntingdon for Mark Savidge. Mark is our neighbour and farms alot of the land around us and has been very good to us since we moved here so this made the victory extra special. Also he has not always been the easiest to train Gabby and Ben Poste have done a fantastic job with him and it was made all worth while when finally getting his head in front after a couple of narrow misses.
Smiths Cross finished fourth when a short priced favourite for his novice hurdle but he returned very lame and will be off for some x rays this week so fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery. Belmount Jewel ran much bette than her form suggests Tom Scu rode and felt the three miles stretched her stamina but was looking forward to seeing her back in distance. Issac Wonder ran very well to be 5th in a novice juvenlie hurdle at Warwick traveling and jumping well before finding a few too good but he wasn’t beaten far and is now qualified for handicaps. Speedy Buck put a very disappointing first run behind him to be 5th in his novice hurdle at Chepstow, he is a big horse who will come on for the experience but shows plenty of ability and will be a lovely chaser next season but will very competitive next time.
Mysteree went back to Newcastle on Saturday to contest the 2019 Eider Chase having won the race back in 2017. Ridden by Brendan Powell for owner Lynne Maclennan, Brendan will ride most of Lynnes horses this season. Together they put on a great show to just get caught on the line and finish second by a neck. It was great to see this 11 year old back to his best, great credit to Bella who looks after him so well and Gabby who rides him every day. He will now head either to the Midlands or Scottish National, but it was fantastic to see him back at the level he belongs, and if we do get a bit of rain at either of those he goes there with a great chance judged on this form.