- Wednesday, 04 June 2014 06:58
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
It's a busy old day on the racing front with five meetings taking place this afternoon - four of them are on the level at Nottingham, Southwell, Ripon and Kempton, while there is also a jumps card from Fontwell. The stable has one runner at Fontwell, Mount Haven who makes his debut for the yard in the bumper at 5.40pm. He finished second on yielding ground in an Irish point-to-point on his sole start to date and that looks to be decent form with the winner posting a decent time. He has pleased us at home since his arrival - there is not a lot of form to go on for the rest of his rivals, although Mount Haven looks sure to run a big race under Tom Scu.
- Tuesday, 03 June 2014 07:01
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Today there are four meetings taking place, three on the level at Ripon, Brighton and Yarmouth as well as a jumps card at Southwell. It is that time of year again when I get that buzzing bee in my bonnet about prize money and both Brighton and Southwell have managed to get away with seven race cards worth a total of only £29,000 each. As far as I can tell, unless you finish first or second in most of the races you will struggle to cover your expenses and that is not the way to attract owners (or racegoers for that matter) to racing. If I were still owning racehorses, I wouldn't be in any hurry to rush to these tracks.
- Monday, 02 June 2014 06:50
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
There are four flat meetings taking place this afternoon at Leicester, Chepstow, Windsor and Carlisle, while there is a valuable flat meeting taking place this afternoon in Ireland at Naas, so you are out of luck if you are a jumps fan. The meeting at Naas is worth £243,000, not bad at all for a Monday afternoon. Having said that, it doesn't quite compare to the pot landed by Japanese Derby winner One And Only who picked up a cool £1,326,909 at Tokyo yesterday.
The stable had one runner at Stratford on Saturday evening, Purple 'N Gold (pictured above, winning last time out) who finished a close fourth in the competitive handicap hurdle - I think that if he had jumped the last cleanly he would have finished at least second. He looks well up to winning a race from his current mark of 116 and I am sure you will be seeing plenty more of him over the summer months. Unsurprisingly, there are no runners from the stable today.
- Sunday, 01 June 2014 07:02
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Horses on the Gallops
There are just two meetings today, a flat card at Nottingham and a jumps card at Fakenham and the stable does not have any runners. tom Scu goes all the way to Fakenham for just one ride. He rides Flash Crash in the first race. I hope Tom has managed to catch a lift with someone, one ride would not pay for the petrol to get there from Devon! If you are in the area and can get to Fakenham today though it is well worth a visit. It is like a track from about 100 years ago and I mean that in the nicest possible way. There is some great prize moeny on offer as well with the lady amateur race even worth £4,000. A pat on the back for Fakenham.
- Saturday, 31 May 2014 06:41
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Purple N Gold runs at Stratford
Today we have six meetings, five on the flat at Haydock, York, Newmarket, Chester and Newbury plus a jumps card at Stratford. David has one runner this evening at Stratford, Purple N Gold in the 7.55pm handicap hurdle. There is some good prize money on offer which has attracted a competitive field but our five year old will like the sharp easy track but he would not want the ground to be too soft. He won an amateur race at Kempton last time out and should go well again tonight with Tom Scu back on board. How can a track like Newbury get away with just £32,000 in prize money on offer on the card. Stratford has more than twice that on offer so fair play to them.
- Friday, 30 May 2014 06:36
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
We have had better nights at Gotham City, or should I say Wetherby after we didn't manage to make it onto the scoreboard despite three well-fancied runners. Broadway Buffalo finished second on his chasing debut and to my mind it didn't look as though he got home on this soft ground. A drop back in trip or an easier track could be the answer, while I am sure that he will be more polished in his jumping next time. While it is always disappointing when an odds-on shot is beaten, it is worth remembering that the winner, Lovcen was a Grade One winner over hurdles so all is far from lost. Barton Stacey never appeared to be going, while Western Diva seemed to be gifted her race when the 1/2 favourite departed at the penultimate hurdle...I think we will draw a line under last night!
- Thursday, 29 May 2014 07:07
- Written by Chelsea Eggleton
Today we have five meetings, three on the level at Sandown, Haydock and Bath as well as jumping action from Worcester and Wetherby. The eight race card at Bath offers prize money of just £28,000 - how can they run races on the turf for less than £2,000? Just think, there is a thirteen runner race on the card and if you finish fourth, you pick up a paltry £144.30. I know that if I was paying to keep a horse in training I would instruct my trainer to avoid these sort of tracks. The stable has three runners this afternoon up at Wetherby; Western Diva, Broadway Buffalo and Barton Stacey (pictured above). We have two forecast favourites and a second favourite so hopefully it will be a productive day for the yard.
