Horse Racing News


	Look who is back !
	10th January 2012 Guess who .................... English City is back being ridden after a while on the sidelines. He was a perfect gent and it was hard to know who had the biggest smile Caroline or him !! Lovely day x

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	Ayr Races.
	17th January 2012 Dickie Henderhoop ridden by Ross Wilson, was running in the two mile and four furlong novice handicap hurdle. He was settled nicely out the back and jumping fantastically and was just beginning to make a move towards the leaders when he fell five out. Both he and Ross hit the ground quite hard but thankfully both were up and Dickie galloped home with his ears pricked. A real shame as I dont think he did anything wrong and is such an honest little horse who always tries hard. He is coming home in one piece thankfully and there will be other days. Primrose Time ran today in the two mile four furlong handicap chase, she was ridden by Alex Voy. Having been put up 11lbs for her last win she was carrying top weight. As always she looked amazing and jumped and travelled really well, for the first two miles and then just when she needed to put in a flying leap she got a bit close to the fourth last fence and got a bit short of space around the bend and then she struggled with the extra distance and weight. She finished in fifth place, Alex just looked after her once her chance was gone. It seems that she really does not stay more than two miles, despite all that I think !!

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	Ayr Races
	2nd January 2012 Sported And Played ridden by Alex Voy was running in the three mile handicap hurdle. The going was heavy and while she led the field along very happily for well over two miles it seems the combination of the longer trip and the very heavy going were just too much for her. We will find something over a shorter trip for her, at least until the ground improves, we will also school her over fences so that may be another option for her.

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	Newcastle Races
	7th January 2012 Rinnagree Rosie made her racecourse debut at Newcastle today in the two mile bumper, she was ridden by Alex Voy, who knows her very well and knows how much we think of her, in fact he had been pestering Libby all week, just to make sure he got the ride on her !! The going was Soft, Heavy in places and had been drying out all day so it was pretty dire, and all the jockeys reported that it was really hard work. Rinnagree Rosie - winner of the Best Turned Out award, behaved like a real professional, Caroline said that she was a dream to deal with. She jumped off in about second or third place and settled really nicely, Alex kept her on the inside rail all the time and when the pace began to quicken about five furlongs out she seemed to struggle and drop to the rear of the field, however she just kept up the relentless gallop and stayed on strongly all the way up the home straight, the first two horses were well clear by this time but she just galloped on to be a very nice third. A great start to her racing career and we are certainly delighted with that run, she will come on plenty for it but we were keen to get her on the track before too much longer as suddenly time will have flown by, and I doubt she wants ground as bad as that but we had to start somewhere. Alex reported that she was every bit as good as her brother !!, so plenty to look forward to.

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	Kelso Races.
	29th December 2011 We had five runners at Kelso, so a very busy day for those that went to the races and quite a lot to do for those who were left behind. The going was Soft, after some overnight rain but the jockeys were reporting that it was very hard work for the horses and many were finishing exhausted which means that it was probably not very nice Soft Barr Head ridden by Kyle James and Edinburgh Gin Time ridden by Lucy Alexander were both running in the two mile six furlong maiden hurdle. Barr Head was having his first run for over sixteen months, he jumped brilliantly but was just a little taken off his feet towards the end of the race, he will be schooled over fences and may well have blinkers on next time out just to sharpen him up. Edinburgh Gin Time again jumped really well but just found the ground just too much for him. Mr Mansson ridden by Lucy Alexander was running in the two mile novice hurdle, he was leading the field along and seemed to be happy in front when he ran out through the wings of the third hurdle, there was a loose horse just beside him and I dont know if it caught his eye, causing him to lose concentration. It was a nasty fall for Lucy and I was glad to she was unharmed they are made of tough stuff. Primrose Time ridden by Alex Voy, ran in the two mile handicap chase. It was a higher grade race than she has been running in and I thought that she needed a longer trip, but it seems not, she WON by eleven lengths and was not blowing at all when she got back to the winners enclosure. She jumped brilliantly and was always up with the leaders, two horses pulled clear with three fences to jump and by the time she got to the last all that was needed was a good jump and she pulled clear up the long run in. 11-1, not bad. She has been in good heart at home and she was bucking and rearing when Alex got on which is a good sign for her. A great result for everyone who works so hard to keep the yard going and results like this make it all worthwhile. Dickie Henderhoop ridden by Ross Wilson, ran in the two mile six furlong handicap hurdle. He again ran another good race to finish fourth. He travelled really well and jumped like a little bunny, apart from a slight mistake at the first hurdle. A good effort from him to be in the winners enclosure again.

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	Carlisle Races:
	18th December 2011 Carlisle had to pass two inspections before it got the go ahead to race, and they did a great job to get the meeting on, there were tractors working on the course all morning. It was very very cold, but at least racing happened. The going was Heavy, and having been frosty was really nasty and testing ground, and as a result all of the jockeys rode very sensibly, but there were a lot of horses who didnt finish their races. We ran Edinburgh Gin Time ridden by Lucy Alexander and Sported And Played ridden by Alex Voy in the two mile four furlong novices hurdle. There was no one who was going to make the early pace so Alex jumped Sported And Played off in front and got her into a great rhythm and she seemed to love being in front, jumping fantastically and was still in the lead and going strong coming to the second last, when she just didnt have the burst of speed that some of the others had and she just kept on at one pace, she finished in sixth place. This is only her third race and first time she was really competitive, she is now qualified for handicaps. Edinburgh Gin Time having his first run over hurdles, jumped brilliantly and was very clever which was really pleasing, he did struggle in the really testing ground but will benefit enormously for his first run for quite some while and will hopefully run again soon. Ballycarbery ridden by Lucy Alexander, ran in the two mile bumper, the last race on the card and by this time the frost had returned and it was bitterly cold. He is such a lovely big horse who really just ran for the education as three miles and fences will be his forte, but he showed improvement from his last run when he was very green. He will now run over hurdles before going over fences next season.

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	Catterick Races
	13th December 2011 Primrose Time ran in the two mile handicap chase, ridden by Alex Voy and as we had expected two miles on a flat sharp track was not really to her liking, she finished in fifth place, just losing fourth place on the line. She jumped really well but was just not really able to land a blow when travelling perhaps just a little faster than ideal and Zander just looked after her, its great that he knows her so well. We have been looking for races over two and a half miles but there has just been nothing for her, so this race was not ideal but better than standing in her stable - watching the rain and wind. Local Quine ridden by Dougie Costello ran in the two mile bumper. She was up with the early pace and making good progress but down the back she just began to struggle with her breathing in the very soft ground and Dougie just nursed her home, so she didnt have a bad experience, but he feels that when her wind is sorted out and stepping up to two and a half miles that she will be a nice prospect. By all accounts the journey home was quite testing and the wind was pretty vicious at times so it was a great relief to hear the lorry pulling into the yard and knowing that the horses were back in their stables all cosy and eating up.

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	Sedgefield Races:
	6th December 2011 Agricultural ridden by Jimmy McCarthy was running in the two mile handicap hurdle. The going was Soft, and this was our one concern with him as he has never run on going like this before. Jimmy said that he really hated the going and was never really travelling on it, but he was still able to get into a good position down the back straight, but he just got in a little close to the third last hurdle and that knocked him momentum and the vital stage in the race and he was just never able to get competitive after that. He finished in sixth place, he is a very honest little horse who always tries hard but just found the ground too much for him. He won the turnout prize, and as you can see from the picture a handsome chap. He may wait for better going now. Snow here late today so plenty of work with shovels and salt in the morning !!

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	Musselburgh Races
	5th December 2011 Musselburgh today was absolutely freezing today, but there was no doubt of the meeting being off it was just very cold although sunny. The going was Good, Good to Soft in places but all the jockeys reported that it was riding soft. Carnelian ridden by Alex Voy was making his hurdling debut in the two mile novice hurdle. He has only been with us for a few weeks but has been such a joy to teach to jump, he really loves his jumping and today never touched a twig, even when something fell just infront of him it never put him off his stride. He looked a picture and Becky won the turnout prize, and behaved like a real gent. However he struggled with his breathing and may need a wind op before another run, he may also appreciate better going.

	Kelso Races
	4th December 2011 We had two runners at Kelso, one in the first and one in the last not ideal planning. There had been some overnight rain but the going was generally Soft, confirmed by the jockeys in the early races. It was pretty chilly, but thankfully there had been no snow, we had some this morning and it has been bitterly cold all day and freezing again now. Mr Mansson ridden by Wilson Renwick was making his hurdling debut in the two mile novice hurdle. He was a little novicey at times during the race, his jumping was generally good but he did made a mistake down the back and that affected his momentum. Wilson was not over hard on him after this. He is still a big baby and can be a bit keen at home and is still learning but will come on for this valuable racecourse experience. Dickie Henderhoop ridden by Dougie Costello, was running in the three mile three furlong handicap hurdle. Although he runs very much as if he would appreciate this much longer trip we were worried that he would not stay this far, and this was very much the case today, especially on the soft ground. He travelled and jumped very well throughout the race but was never able to get to the leaders where it mattered.

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	St Andrews Beach
	10 Aug 2011 It was off to the beach this morning for an early start. We took Frith,Strobe,Boston Lad & Mary. They all worked really well. Libby and the lads were really lucky they missed the worst of the rain. All the horses went for a paddle to cool off and Frith did his usual as soon his saddle was off rolling in the sand for about 5 minutes. The horses seem to love going to the beach its a shame that we are not a bit closer.