Berkshire has come out the Greenham well, we could see his chances were doomed as soon as he came out the stalls in front and started pulling and he was never going to get home. Last year first time out he did the same at Newbury, had no cover pulled and ran out of steam. He will do a bit of work on Saturday on our Woolley Down grass gallop for the first time this year and he will go the full distance. We are obviously hoping the race would have brought him on mentally and if we are happy with his work on Saturday a tilt at the Guineas is not out of the question. We would hope for a fast pace which would suit us.



Circumvent ran well again at Kempton in a 1m 0-105 handicap he finished very fast and we will look for another race shortly. 1m is too short for him, 1m 1f is a perfect distance for him but they are few and far between I think we may have to go back to France where he won his Group 3.



Complicit's race was far to rough for him and getting bumped finished him off. When you have the maximum field size like that a smooth passage over that distance is beneficial. Silverheels may have not had the easiest runs around although at the same time it was a very competitive field.



Gifted Girl is in great form and all being well she heads to the Dahlia Stakes, she did a nice piece of work last Saturday and is due for another piece this weekend.



Dark Days is due to run at Doncaster on Friday over 1m 4f he ran encouragingly at Newbury and will need further in time but he has improved from his last run.



Bluegrass Blues may need a pair of blinkers to help him he still maintains stacks of ability. Meritocracy had bad luck in running at Newmarket and will probably head to York he has obviously trained on and should be capable of picking up a couple of races this year all being well.



Grecian is fit and will run at Sandown over 5f we have not done too much finding out work here but he heads their in good form.



We have some nice two year olds to come out starting with a Starspangledbanner colt called Rotherwick that seems to be going nicely a race is yet to be found.

Springing Off For The New Season

Our 2014 season got off to a fantastic start last night with Secret Success winning at Kempton. We are now looking forward to our first big weekend at Newbury where we have 5 horses running on the Saturday.

Most notably Berkshire heads for the Greenham, he is fit and has been working well. We think he has improved from last year and we are hoping for a good run. For the first time we have a good draw! Fingers crossed!

Bluegrass Blues runs in the Spring Cup, he's in great form and is working really well. He's got a good draw and is fit and well.

Fort Berkeley and Dark Days two of our three year old maidens they run in the 4.05pm. Fort Berkeley is a half brother to First Mohican and we think he is a really nice horse in the making. Dark Days is a very good looking, stoutly bred horse and we expect him to run well and come on for the run.

Our final runner is Circumvent. He ran very well in the Winter Derby, he's a different horse on grass but all being well we expect him to run a big race.

Here's to a fantastic weekend racing and the start of a great season!!

Full Steam Ahead!

January has seen a few more new additions to the yard with the arrival of a Filly by Motivator and another by Rail Link. Also now on the books is a lovely 3 year old Filly named Abbakova.
So its full steam ahead for the remainder of the month with the majority of the Yearlings starting to canter next week and our older recruits back in and walking.
Plenty to look forward to!

Happy New Yearlings!

Its been a rather wet and windy start to 2014 here at Whatcombe however the sun is now shining and there is plenty to look forward to for this coming season.
We have a really nice bunch of 2 year old's on the yard for next season, all have been backed and are now trotting with most of them cantering before Christmas.
All of our older horses bar a few have been enjoying a well deserved break through the winter and we are all looking forward to their return.
Treasure Cay runs in Deauville on Monday 13th January in a 7.5 furlong Maiden. We think he will run very well.
All in all lots to look forward to. Happy New Year!!

Complicit broke the track record at Lingfield and qualified for the Million Pound Finals day by beating the strongly fancied Sir Robert Cheval trained by Marco Botti by a length. Graham Lee reported it was all over once he got balanced up the straight at Lingfield.

He then travelled to France where he beat the strongly fancied favourite of Jean-Claude Rouget called Zvarov. He will now take a break until the Million Pound race day where he will line up in the 7 furlong conditions race.


Elysian Prince ran a great race at Lingfield coming second he was very unlucky in running on the bend as he tripped up and took a while to get balanced. He will now have a winter break and be back next year.

Berkshire is very well in himself, putting on weight and the plan is probably to have a prep race before the Guineas.

All the yearlings have been sold apart from a Champs Elysees Colt which we bought for 4,000 Guineas. He is half-brother to a Royal Ascot Chesham 4th in Mine Host and a Listed winner ‘Antediluvian’. He moves extremely well and will be ridden in the next couple of days. 

Lisamour put up a nice performance to come second at Kempton she broke very quick and found herself at the front, the instructions were to sit in third or fourth, its not that she would have won. She ran green and its like she had never run before forgetting the last time where she came 9/10 having missed the kick with the hood on and never faced the kickback. She will now head to Newbury for the 1m 1/4 maiden that Pink Symphony won "The Robert Sangster Memorial". The racing post describes her as "a filly that clearly has a future".

Rush will run again this year, as it's good for the pedigree if she is a two-year-old winner. She will probably run again over six furlongs but she will most definitely get 7f. She should win and improve with age.

The enigma Complicit passed his stools test. We are most sure we have the key to him now. He will go in with a hood on. He has been working very well and could be a nice horse for the future he has a lot of talent if he wins he is sure to be packed up until the big meeting at Lingfield next year the million pound day. 

All of our yearlings are sold so we are going to the December yearling sale to buy a couple of more. Berkshire is doing very well and is putting on weight he is still a big baby bouncing and playing at every opportunity, his lad Surrender does very well with him in the box because he will bite at every opportunity "approach with caution".

Black Run racing is a very exciting prospect, shares are available in eighths and quarters of three horses. A Rock Of Gibraltar a Royal Applause and a Aussie Rules with French premiums. These are all very nice looking horses by good stallions with decent pedigrees. 

Please feel free to ring, as they are inexpensive and going!

We have a few runners this week Dutch Art Dealer is going well and also is Treasure Key who didn't like the ground at Newbury its very hard for a two year old to overcome soft ground first time out. Lisamour will probably need the experience but could be a nice future project.

Please look at our site and see if any of the horses for sale could suit you!