Ground looks hopeful

At last better ground, we have a few runners this week that are working well and have been waiting for a trip. There isn’t much between Composed and Standing Bear, both are going well. Composed is penciled in for some Deauville claimers, afterwards.


Mons Calpe has been waiting for faster ground for entries, to give him a better chance. Zing Wing is in good form, he runs at Lingfield on Wednesday. Don Libre hated the bad ground at Newmarket and found it difficult to run. Gifted Girl is back in work, we have high hopes for her. Kaiser Wilhelm came out of his race well and runs at Folkestone, he could be improving. Silver heels runs at Goodwood, looking forward to that. Swing Land is back in work, after a rest. Carlton Blue has not yet shown her true potential, on the course, hopefully this will happen at ascot on Friday.



I though Lee Newman's punishment was totally out of order like most of racings penalties, it was way over the top. Poor lad had his punishment, in the fact it happened at all. One week would have been enough. One of the dangers of backing an apprentice, is that, we all make mistakes all our lives.

Rain delays runners..

Many of the horses here require fast ground so until the weather changes there won’t be much action. We were pleased with Dance With Dragons first run at Windsor as it was too short for him and he was green, he should have a chance on Wednesday 18th July at Sandown. Kalicamix may run at Lingfield on Saturday. We are not sure if he 6f or 7f. Don Libre runs at Newmarket on Friday 20th July, he won well at Lingfield but I'm not sure how he will go on the soft ground. Silverheels received a bump at Newbury which may have cost him the race according to the jockey. There is a possibility he will run again at Haydock on Saturday as he does go on the soft. Kaiser Wilhelm runs tomorrow at Lingfield, he has a chance but he wouldn't carry any of my money.



Charlie Mann's loan effort to improve prize money was given the thumbs down by the media, lots of tut tutts on channel four but no suggestions on what else should be done?! With racings weak leadership we have been run over by the government, especially the tote fiasco, the Rubens brothers and Northern racing and every Tom, Dick and Harry but I am lead to believe his protest has probably worked.



On a lighter note Sheik Mohammed’s stallion parade hosted by Nick Luck is one of the most enjoyable days and lunches of the year. Fantastic food in a beautiful setting, very well organized and New Approach, who I saw as a yearling, looked magnificent.

Picking up a bit..

The weather is still affecting the horses performance but of course it is the same for everyone. The jump trainers should be cleaning up with these conditions. Carlton Blue runs at Epsom on Thursday if there is no more rain, he needs the fast ground. Composed who needs 7 furlongs may run at Newmarket on Saturday in the Nursery if he gets into the race. Dance with Dragons (Namid Colt still for sale) ran well last night at Windsor (4th ) he needs better ground and seven furlongs but he looks like a winner. Standing Bear runs at  Warwick on thursday if it is not abandoned, he needs seven and it's anybodys guess what will go on the heavy there. Cut No Ice ran well at Newbury but would like faster ground. Don Libre is working well and will run when the ground is better. Velvet star has imporved with a tongue tie on at home and is probably well handicaped. Looking at the results from France, their prize monet for claimers are nearly the same money as our Listed races. Even if you halfed their prize money it would be better than ours. Without the Arabs, racing in the UK could collapse. At least the trainers at the top are ok but I think 70% of trainers must be losing money.

Rain still getting in the way

Carlton Blue was a little disappionting at windsor, he was struck into at the four pole but then finished well and was only beaten by 1 1/2 lengths. Kalicamix runs today at Wolverhampton in the 3.15pm maiden. It looks like a stiff task but he will run well. We will have two or three runners at newbury on Thursday but none of them will like it if the ground if it remains soft but Cut No Ice is looking well. The good news is that our two best fillies are back on the move, Gifted Girl's form at kempton was given a boost at Royal Ascot when Fallen For You won the Coronation Stakes andSwingland has recovered from her virus and is back in work.

We have not got many runners at Ascot this year, the two year olds haven't really found their form, mainly because of the ground. Carlton Blue, who we like, will not run until the ground is back to normal. Composed will wait until the Nurseries are out. St Paul De Vence has been entered for the Chesham at Ascot on Saturday. He needs a run, we like him a lot and he may be heading for the July Meeting at Newmarket. Puteri Nur Laila who finished 2nd at Lingfield on Saturday has been working really well at home, stupidly they didn't move the turf races to the All Weather track for that meeting. Most trainers are fed up with silly results created by bad ground at the Racecourse. York's valuable sprint looked more like the end of a four mile chase at Cheltenham, the ground at York has been unpredictable for the last four years. Silverheels may run in the Buckingham Palace Stakes on Friday if he gets in. It is not an easy race to win and he is not an easy horse to fins a race for, otherwise he is in good form. Gifted Girl and Swingland, two of our best horses, have recovered from minor set backs and our back in training. Kaiser Wilhelm's run at Yarmouth was disappointing, he couldn't handle the rough, firm ground. There is a small race in him somewhere. Ziefhd ran satisfactorily at Goodwood, she will improve on faster ground. We were pleased with Don Libre's win at Lingfield and Puteri Nur Laila will win when the ground gets faster. 

The weather continues to affect our racing plans. Carlton Blue ran a good race at Leicester on conditions that didn't suit. He may run at Salisbury on Sunday and he looks good to win a maiden race for us. Composed runs today, I would prefer faster underground conditions but his experience should help. He is still for sale in shares or full ownership. Kalicamix was only beaten 5 1/4 lenghs at Newmarket last Saturday and over seven furlongs he sould improve. Cut No Ice ran a little below expectations but seems to want further. Puteri Nur Laila will run when the grouns gets faster, she seems to be improving. The runners for the rest of the week, depending on the ground, include Ziefhd, Joy to the World, Flashbang and Daring Damsel. Hayley Turner was onto a good point in her article about fines, why not start with a warning. The power that be are too keen to levy heavy and over the top fines on people who can ill afford to pay them. It is up to the bodies that represent them to take up this problem (some hope!!) Jockeys and Trainers associations, both as inaffective as each other.

Historically horses at Whatcombe seem to run best on good or faster ground. The gallops here are so good that they only work on perfect ground and after the rain this week it makes the withdrawals more likely. I always believe it takes four chances to get one winner. At the moment I am finding hard to get a horse in with a chance. Carton Blue goes very well at home but is unlikely to run at Leicester tomorrow because he ran poorly on the soft at Newbury, although it was a good race and he was beaten only by five lengths. Zeifhd will not run today due to the soft ground, she may run at Newmarket on Friday. Puteri Nur Laila is learning with every run and should improve again. Kaiser Wilhelm will need further and has a bad draw tomorrow. Mons Calpe runs at Goodwood on Friday, it is difficult to predict how he will run. Zing Wing runs at Kempton in the Handicap on Wednesday and our apprentice Duilio Da Silva rides her. I think the French Derby’s shortened trip looks like a disaster. Most of the horses that ran in it need a mile and half, so why run a derby over a mile and quarter, that thinking is out of date. The Maktoom / Coolmore battle looks one sided at present, with the Maktooms having a last at Epsom and not much else, they seem to be better on the all weather in the winter.