Keeping Busy
It was the last of our September Syndicate Saturdays this week – having visited Fergal O’Brien, Olly Murphy and Donald McCain over the course of the last few weeks, we headed to Alan King’s Barbury Castle Stables to see the horses that we have in training there, including the three that will run for the Alan King Racing Club.
The remainder of the week was quieter than of late – which was handy, as it meant that I could catch up with some office work!
Monday – due to a clerical error (I forgot) I sent out the photos from the yard visit to Olly Murphy’s, Warren Chase Stables that Debbie took earlier in the month. Once again, Debbie got some great images of a fun morning before she headed up to Doncaster to photograph the St Leger. I know I say it every week – but having Debbie on the team and capturing these images for us adds another level to the service that we provide, and we are very lucky to have her. I often look at the photos I take with my iphone and think, ‘Yes, that’s a good one!’, until I see what Debbie has produced! We are lucky to have her, and it was nice to hear this week that her work for NBR is very much appreciated! Once again, she had taken some fantastic images at Olly’s, ‘Gatsby’ our unraced 3 yr old gelding looked fantastic. He continues to build up to full fitness, he takes his work very well, and as we had seen during his breaking and pre training with Jason Maguire over the course of the last 2 years he takes any amount of work – he simply loves graft and is handling Olly’s 4 furlong, deep sand gallop with any amount of ease. Olly continues to work on his base fitness with plenty of long, slow cantering on the deep sand, and when we have any sign of significant rain, and ease in the ground, it will not take long to bring up to ‘concert pitch’ and be ready to make his debut in a Junior National Hunt Flat Race. There is still a share remaining in this gorgeous grey – head over to the FOR SALE PAGE, and have a look at his details!
https://www.nickbrownracing.co.uk/ForSale/8143/the-grey-gatsby-x-tucupita
One that you will not see on the For Sale page anymore is Molly’s Lad (Finbar) who found his final owners on Monday. Congratulations to Kirsty and Chris who manged to sneak in ahead of two others to grab the last share in him. A bit like London buses – you wait for a buyer for the last share for weeks and weeks and then three come along all at once – yet again it goes to show that if you are interested in any of the share options in our horses, don’t hesitate – you may lose out!! I have seen it happen so many times! Kirsty and Chris both have a share in Dino Bellagio, and along with Archie, they were in at Donald McCains last Saturday and then after a trip up to Blackpool, just got back to Chester to see Dino win! They blame Dino for the expansion of their string of horses, and we wish them the very best of luck with their new boy, Molly’s Lad!
Tuesday, a day in the office, I tried to get in touch with Chester to get the contact info for Tribal Society, who sponsored the race that Dino Bellagio won in Chester. Sadly, I wasn’t able to get in touch with the person that could give me the info – Chester seems to employ some sort of phone answering service away from the run up to race days – and despite emailing the person who’s details I was given I have still not heard back. I will go down the route of ‘unofficial channels’ next week and try and find out who to write to to thank for their generous sponsorship. The folks from Tribal Society, were a fun bunch, and were enjoying their time at the races as much as we were! Racing relies on companies such as theirs sponsoring races and bringing money into the sport, their efforts deserve a letter of thanks – I will continue to search for the contact details of the person I need to get in touch with!
While I was on my quest for those contact details, Debbie was in at Barbury Castle taking advantage of a sunny morning, and getting more great photo’s and videos for both NBR members and owners and Alan King Racing Club members. The forecast for the stable visit, although dry, looked as though it could be a bit overcast – so Debbie was keen to take advantage of the sunshine.
NEVADA SAMBA
While Debbie was enjoying the fresh Wiltshire air – I was logging onto the BHA website just to see what the handicapper had done to two of our runners last week. Dino Bellagio up 6 to 77. This is just about what I had expected – his 5 length win in heavy ground was very impressive, and the rise was justified. We had always thought that he would be best suited to turf with a bit of give in it – the slow surface in Southwell ended up suiting him well, but we were not at all sure going into that, and the ground in Haydock was plenty quick enough for a horse with a round action like him. To his credit he ran as well as he could on that ground – but we got to see what he could do when he encounters soft ground, and we hope that there will be plenty of give in the ground when he runs again in mid October. There are a number of suitable races for him, and he is likely to get entries in all of them, and we will pick the one that looks like it gives him the best chance of adding to his win tally. He has won over £20,000 for his syndicate members since we switched him to a flat campaign in the early spring – not bad for a ‘failed hurdler’!
Greyval was dropped 5 to a new mark of 65 after her ‘pipe opener’ in Newbury last Friday. I am not sure when we will see her back on the flat – as this was just a run that fitted in well with her prep for a crack at the £75,000 handicap hurdle in Chepstow in a couple of weeks, but if we ever do it again – she will be well treated off of her mark next time. You never know we may give her a try on the flat again at the end of the jumps season, that new mark is quite tempting!
Wednesday – plenty of updates from Alan King. The way he keeps everyone up to speed with their horses is second to none – Alan splits his workdays – some work on a Tuesday and others on a Wednesday. Nevada Samba is in great form – and worked very well. Alan is very much training him like the good horse he thinks he is – while he is doing plenty of faster work, his riders are under strict instructions not to press any buttons at this stage. We know the level of work he is capable of at home, and when the true jumping ground is prevalent, it will not take long for him to be ready for his debut.
As the mist and fog lifted and the sun came out for second lot, Alan sent through a clip of AKRC horse, Uhtred Ragnarson, who put in an impressive shift alongside Punchestown Festival bumper winner, Baron Noir. An impressive shift – I know that Alan thinks he could be well handicapped this winter – on the evidence of that piece of work it looks like he could well be!
Thursday – that time of the month when all the bills have to be paid! Not a day I look forward to – but it has to be done!
One thing that did put a smile on my face was receiving a letter from Victoria McIlwraith at The Injured Jockeys Fund, thanking our owners and members for their generosity in the trophy auctions we have when we are fortunate to have a winner, with the proceeds all heading to the IJF.
At lunchtime Donald McCain called for a catch up. Like me, he was still smiling after a great day in Chester at the weekend, and we chatted through options for Dino – as mentioned earlier, we talked through a number of races for him – when race planning, what you are always on the lookout for a short period when there are several similar races open to your horse – there will always be a certain amount of horses to run in races at any particular time, so the more races available to them means that the pool of possible entries is spread across a few more race options – which will disperse the final declarations – all you have to do is keep an eye out and pick the right option. Donald and I discussed the programme book, and the plan is to run Dino Bellagio again in mid October – but at this stage there is no race targeted in particular.
With October fast approaching, Donald had been busy schooling plenty of horses earlier in the week. Ridin Solo schooled over fences once again – and his trainer was very happy with what he saw. Ridin Solo was very good, Charlie Maggs had told me when we were at the yard last week, that he had schooled him over fences and he was very impressed with him – this week – Donald was too – describing him as ‘very assured and accurate’. We have always felt that Ridin Solo would be well suited to chasing, and from what he has shown in these schooling sessions it very much looks like that will be the case. Shares in Ridin Solo are for sale for just £550 – which includes the £200 share purchase price and the £350 all inclusive training/keep fee through to July 1st 2026. This is outstanding value for a winning horse that has the most consistent profile, and who works and schools like a horse that is on a very attractive mark! Click the link and get involved!
Donald and I discussed options for Ridin Solo, who will be ready to run in around 2 weeks. First things first, he would need some rain – he will not be risked on ground that we feel is too quick. With that in mind, it makes race planning a little tricky – especially with a horse like Ridin Solo who has a huge number of options open to him. As a result, we didn’t make a clear plan for him, preferring to wait and see where the ground is suitable and entering him – be that in a hurdle or in a chase – I have left it up to Donald to decide. One thing is for certain – at this stage - if his seasonal debut is over hurdles – he will switch to fences when he is seen again.
Another one who schooled was Old Blue Eyes. He has schooled over hurdles since he was a 2yr old so he knows all the basics – and even though he was kept to two starts in bumpers last season – he did jump plenty of hurdles at home and he schooled nicely this week. Donald said he was a ‘little high’ for a start but he was good and safe, and got lower and quicker the more he did. He will be ready to run in around 3 weeks now ground permitting. He couldn’t handle very soft ground last season as he was immature and weak but he will be better on it this term and will not be risked on ground that we think is too quick for him. He is an exciting horse for the upcoming season – I think he is well capable of winning a novice hurdle and time will tell how high he can climb in the ranks.
In the afternoon I popped over to see Rob Parrot at BMC Leisure. I have known Rob for years, and since we started, he has provided us with our branded clothing. I was there to collect our new Alan King Racing Club jackets in time for the stable visit at the weekend. Good to see Rob for a quick catch up!
Friday – work day at Ravenswell Farm – and it was great to get a video update from Fergal – Molly’s Lad working upsides on the hill gallop. I have to say – it was a joy to see – ML did a very nice piece of work. Later in the morning I sent Fergal a message thanking him for the clip and to say how much I had enjoyed seeing him work and how I thought he had worked well. He replied –‘He worked very well’ – so the trainer is very happy with him! He will be ready to run in a couple of weeks – and once again we will keep an eye on the going for him – he will not be risked on ground we feel is too quick for him at this stage. He will start in a 3 yr old bumper in October – and the hope at this stage is that he will follow the path we took with Mamoon Star a few years ago – in going from a bumper in October to the Listed 4 yr old bumper in Cheltenham on New Years Day. He looks like he has a bright future and is another bright young prospect on our roster for the upcoming season!
Jason Maguire sent through a clip of Intrepide Sud who is out in the field at Ivy Lodge Farm. IS is recuperating from a small injury sustained in the summer, and he will be back in work in the new year. He looks very well and is progressing day on day.
Louise Kemble from The Elms called for a catch up – it has been a while since we got over to the stud to see Savingforvegas and her filly foal, ‘Nancy’. Our diaries have just not coincided to facilitate a visit. Hopefully we will get over to see the Louise and the horses in the next couple of weeks. She did report that both Vegas and Nancy are well – Vegas was scanned last week and Louise confirmed that she was in foal to Nirvana du Berlais. We can look forward to the spring and see what she will give us this time round. Louise is very happy with her 2025 foal, Nancy, who has settled into her group of fellow weanlings and is developing very nicely.
Saturday – an early start – a shade too early for those of us that stayed up to watch an intriguing first day of the Ryder Cup on Friday night - our final September Syndicate Saturday stable visit – Alan King’s – a joint visit with NBR and AKRC owners.
Alan away early – but we just managed to grab a quick coffee with him before he left. He had entered AKRC horse, I’d Go Maniac in Ascot next Friday. He was keen to run him as there are limited options for him for the next couple of weeks should we wait. IGM will need this run for his handicap mark – and when he has that we can start planning a route forward with him.
With a good number of folks in attendance – we would see Nevada Samba, I’d Go Maniac, Uhtred Ragnarson and Ghost Dancing all work up the hill over at Sharpridge – and And She Was would have a trot in the school as she has been on light duties for a couple of weeks after contracting a bout of ringworm – she will resume cantering on Monday.
After a look at them warming up in the school we jumped in a convoy of cars and headed across the estate to Sharpridge. After a warm up canter, first up was I’d Go Maniac who worked very well – he looks in great order!
i'D GO MANIAC
UHTRED RAGNARSON
GHOST DANCING
ID GO MANIAC
Next up was Uhtred Ragnarson who was once again paired up with Baron Noir – he worked well – and under Phillip Armson. Speaking to Phillip back at the yard after work – it was interesting to hear that he feels what we can all see that UR has really strengthened over the summer, which you would expect for a 4 yr old, but that he also thinks that he has grown up mentally. He certainly looks like he has progressed, and as a result could be well handicapped off the mark he achieved last term.
Third up was Nevada Samba who worked in behind two others. As mentioned earlier, no buttons being pressed with him at this stage – and he certainly did what he was asked to do very easily.
The final one to work was Ghost Dancing, who put in a very impressive shift – coming up on the inside of two others, she showed plenty of speed in her work – and she looks tailor made for a season in junior bumpers and hurdles. That is the perfect series for her – made even better with recent changes which mean that you can come back to a bumper after a hurdles run if you have not won over timber – this will open up plenty more opportunities for these types of horses – she will be lots of fun!
After a cuppa, and a chance to get up close with the horses we saw And She Was in the school third lot – she is very fresh and well – and is obviously very keen to get back cantering on the hill next week.
AND SHE WAS
A thoroughly enjoyable morning – great to see so many people and meet up with lots of the members of the Alan King Racing Club for the first time! There are still a few spaces available - £3000 for a years membership – 3 horses – flat and NH, stable visits – social events and other outings planned. If you prefer you can pay monthly - £275 – which like the one off payment is all inclusive – there are no hidden extras to pay!
Hit the link and get involved – you have seen the horses – now’s the time to get racing with them!!
https://alankingracing.co.uk/racing-club/
While at Barbury – it was good to get another update from Fergal – Molly’s Lad needs to be kept entertained so the trainer likes to vary his routine as much as possible, so he gets to school pver hurdles a fair bit. Saturday morning, he schooled again and was very good – he loves jumping and this is a great way of honing his technique while keeping his very active mind occupied. He has such a ‘go forward’ attitude when he is at work which is wonderful to see from a young horse of his age, but it does have to be managed – you could easily ask a willing chap like him to do too much – schooling does the trick. Once he is back in his stable, he is one of the most chilled out characters you will ever meet – which is also wonderful for a young horse. At the moment he ticks all the boxes- fingers crossed he does on the track what he is doing at home!
Back home in the afternoon – I was glued to the Ryder Cup again – what a sporting spectacle - not sure about the crowd interactions – they seemed to step over the line later on – but it made for a riveting watch!
Next week I hope to get to The Elms before I start to get busy racing – and I’d Go Maniac has the entry in Ascot on Friday – so lots to look forward to – I may even get another yard visit in on Tuesday – check in next week for all the latest – remember get in touch to grab one of the last shares in the Alan King Racing Club – having met most of the members now – it is sure to be a fun year with three lovely horses! Simply drop me a line to join in the fun!
