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Luna Lux: Another Cookie?

22 November 2023/in Horse Racing Blog/by Matt Bisogno

In November 2017, when we were all younger and many of us were better looking, I embarked on a jolly boys’ outing to northern France. But this wasn’t your average lads’ weekend away; no, this was a sortie to the sales – a half-cooked fantasy gaining momentum through peer group pressure!

Coquelicot, bought as a yearling at Arqana in November 2017

The innocence of (relative) youth, allied to one too many croissants during a classroom session with Ron, a master of the catalogue, led to us looking at a few yearling fillies at the Arqana November sale, and subsequently securing one of that small group.

She had an emerging sire on her page, and a proven producing mare. The filly we bought was named Coquelicot and she’s now seven, rising eight. So how did it go?

As is the way with such long-term projects, progress was not linear. Our plan was for her to be dual purpose, having a few spins on the level before her hurdling career and then back to flat handicaps later on.

As it has panned out, that’s exactly what she’s done, though not exactly as we envisaged. A growing pain as a two-year-old scuppered her early flat runs and, instead, she ran in ‘junior bumpers’ – National Hunt Flat races for three-year-olds.

On 20^th November 2019, a day shy of two years after we acquired her, Coquelicot – Cookie – made her debut in a fillies’ junior bumper at Warwick. In a field of ten, she was sent off 11/2 and, turning for home on the business lap, she looked like tailing herself off.

My first racecourse thought with any syndicate horse is always, “please don’t be useless”, and here those fears seemed well founded. But wait, what’s this? After getting tapped for toe and looking like falling out of camera shot, she found her racing gear and motored home... for second – behind her Anthony Honeyball stablemate, Belle de Manech (also bought at Arqana).

We were delighted: we had a racehorse! But that was just the beginning of an odyssey which has yet to end. Another second place, this time at Newbury, was followed by wins at Taunton, Huntingdon and – memorably, as Covid took a grip on the nation – in Listed company at Kempton, rounding out a remarkably successful bumper season and incubating some hot hurdle dreams through those warm locked down summer nights.

Cookie’s debut season over hurdles was, erm, disappointing, to say the least. The problem was she didn’t really make a hurdle shape over a hurdle. It was more of a snooker table shape, in spite of extensive schooling. And yet still she wasn’t beaten far: in 2^nd, 3^rd twice and finally 4^th, she was never more than eight and a half lengths behind the winner.

The following season, on 3^rd November 2021 and having had a maiden jaunt on the flat at Nottingham just a week before, Cookie won her handicap debut over three miles at Chepstow. But she wasn’t really right for some reason in the 2021/22 campaign and just one further effort followed, a valiant second to a good – and tough – mare in a valuable handicap hurdle at Hereford (that’s easy for me to say).

Then, last year, it all came together again. Cookie once more began on the level at Nottingham – finishing one place and a couple of lengths closer than she had a year prior in the same race – before heading to Ascot for the three mile handicap hurdle being staged this weekend. Under an inspired Rex Dingle she led them a merry dance and gave her owners – including yours true – one of the days of their lives.

Incredibly, she was still not done, rocking up next at Sandown on Tingle Creek day and delivering a similar verdict in similar fashion, this time with Aidan Coleman doing the steering. Next stop was Kempton the day after Boxing Day and here she gave best only to a well-handicapped mare in Glimpse Of Gala, still collecting up five grand for her second place.

To this year and, after a slightly flat effort in a £100,000 handicap hurdle where she perhaps had too much use made of her against a hotly contested early pace, she reverted to flat races. One more run was needed to qualify for a handicap mark on the level and, that box duly ticked at Southwell, she returned to Nottingham’s familiar turf in gloriously wet conditions.

Under Andrea Atzeni, Cookie just kept rolling all the way up the straight, eventually bashing her closest pursuer by an easy four lengths. She’d have doubled up at Pontefract on her next start, too, but for a difficult transit; and she was again close up in fourth – beaten just three-quarters of a length – at Ascot in a race where her stamina strengths were not brought to the fore.

Her debut this season was at Newmarket in a £15,000 handicap where she ran second to an old warrior, with nine lengths back to the third and another nine to the fourth…

...and on Monday she tried Listed company for the first time over hurdles, in a three mile mares' race at the same track where she claimed her Listed bumper win, Kempton. Unbelievably, she made all to win unchallenged, from a mare rated 10lb higher than her, by six lengths! Now we have to consider raising our sights still further and have the Grade 2 Warfield Mares' Hurdle at Ascot in January on the agenda.

At some point, though we have only one eye on it just now, she will go to the breeding shed and she’ll be a valuable proposition there. First, though, she will have further opportunities to add to a record of eight wins and seven seconds from 23 career starts; she’s only twice been out of the first four in her life, and one of those was a fifth place effort. She is the sort of horse any owner, regardless of depth of resources, dreams of.

And so here we are again. No trip to France this time but what was lost in being up close and personal in Deauville was more than gained by time with the videos and the catalogue; and we had the best in the business, Highflyer Bloodstock, on the ground across La Manche.

A shortlist was drawn up, a budget established, and our agent set to work. Tessa Greatrex, one of the Highflyer three (along with Anthony Bromley and David Minton), loved a filly whose page was impossible to ignore so loaded was it with Black Type – an indicator that members of the family on the maternal side have performed well, either winning or placing, in Pattern races.

Vetting sailed through, the hammer fell at our very top price of €50,000 and, rather than the usual buyer’s remorse, I am still cock a whoop at the filly we’ve secured. So allow me to introduce you to LUNA LUX. Here she is, arriving at Potwell Farm.

And here she is meeting her new mates. I love the way she handles herself with quiet authority. Note, she's a yearling in a field with mostly two-year-olds which is why she looks a little smaller than some.

Luna Lux is by Masked Marvel out of Black Luna, and she has a year younger half-brother by Doctor Dino.

Masked Marvel was a very good three-year-old, winning the St Leger by an easy three lengths, and has a National Hunt pedigree to die for: by Montjeu out of a very high class German-bred mare. His first 2yo’s hit the racetrack in 2018, so his oldest crop are now only seven.

He can already boast the likes of Grade 1 winners Teahupoo and Sel Jem, Cheltenham Festival winner Maskada (who, incidentally, finished third behind Coquelicot the day Cookie made her debut), the rapidly improving Heltenham, Aintree Grade 1 second Marvel de Cerisy, the smart French mare La Danza, and nine-time (!) winner Geromino.

He has a 43% winners to NH runners ratio so far (20 individual winners from 47 horses, according to Racing Post’s database) which, when you consider most of his progeny to have raced are yet to reach their peak, is impressive; and he’s had 52 wins from 285 runs overall under National Hunt rules (18% strike rate).

That puts him third overall amongst all NH stallions to have had at least 250 runners in the past five years! And, though it’s not really relevant in this context, backing all Masked Marvel’s on all starts would have delivered a 17% ROI at Betfair SP – 49 points profit.

So far so (very) good. But what of Luna Lux’s mum, Black Luna? Well, she was a very, very good race mare indeed. She had 18 races over obstacles, eleven hurdles and seven chases, winning six and placing on another six occasions.

Her wins included a 2m2f Listed hurdle, a 2m6f steeplechase and, on her final start, a twenty length demolition of a conditions field in a 2m4f hurdle. She was also second in a Listed chase on her penultimate start.

Black Luna is by Soldier Of Fortune, the same sire as Coquelicot, and her page is awash with Black Type. Her dam, Back The Winner, was Listed placed herself and, as well as Black Luna, threw Jazz In Montreux, an eight time National Hunt winner including at Grade 3 and twice at Listed level. And, further down the page, is the name Hiddenvalley Lake, well known to devotees of the winter game.

So Luna Lux is bred for this job, all right. She was born and raised at Maulepaire, one of the best farms in France.

And this week she made her way to Potwell Farm, home of Anthony Honeyball Racing, where she’ll be given time to settle in and get over the strains of the sales.

Thereafter, she’ll be broken in and lightly trained with a view to making her debut in 2025. If you think that’s a long way off, consider that it will be 2024 in 39 days’ time!

I’ve syndicated her into tenth shares and she sold out to existing syndicate members within a week.

Like Coquelicot, because of Luna Lux's pedigree, she'll be a valuable broodmare down the line almost regardless of how her racing career goes.

She may or may not be as good, and as fun, as Cookie - then again, maybe she will! - and it will be an incredible journey finding out.

Matt

Monday Musings: Crossing Borders

13 November 2023/in Monday Musings/by Tony Stafford

You might not have noticed, but the British flat turf season ended with a whimper, as they say, on Saturday – on the Tapeta surface at Newcastle rather than on the swamp that was Doncaster, writes Tony Stafford. The end-of-season highlight, the November Handicap, sponsored by whoever they can drum up these days, was a denuded affair of half a field compared with its heyday, not that Brian Ellison or the owners of Onesmoothoperator minded as they picked up 36k of Virgin Bet money.

The last actual turf meeting to be completed had been Newmarket a week earlier and it wouldn’t have needed much creativity to suggest to trainers and owners that a decent turf surface there would still have been more likely than anywhere else in the country and could accommodate 20 runners with ease. The horses that turned up had presumably been geared up for a big race opportunity on autumn (or worse) grass and that’s what they could have got at HQ.

Instead, in addition to Newcastle, we had Aintree in the north-west and Kelso in Scotland over jumps, with Wincanton in the West Country and an all-weather card at Chelmsford in deepest Essex. There was again a mystifyingly small field for the first go over the Grand National fences this season in the not-so-Grand Sefton which attracted just eleven.

Meanwhile down at Wincanton, Paul Nicholls had a field day, sending out the first four winners before Anthony Honeyball spiked his guns winning the main race, the Badger Beer, with Blackjack Magic and then going on to complete a double, both with Rex Dingle in the saddle, this time on Good Look Charm.

Nicholls was still happy enough having swept up the other two main prizes, the Elite Hurdle, for the umpteenth time, with Rubaud, and the Rising Stars Chase with Knappers Hill.

I’d been wondering about the definitions of the United Kingdom, Great Britain and the British Isles before offering today’s quiz question. Bearing in mind Nicholls and his Wincanton four-timer, I ask, which trainer sent out most winners in the UK on the Friday and Saturday of last week?

The answer: Gordon Elliott, who provided 11 of the 14 winners at the two-day Down Royal meeting. Benefiting from a minimal representation from Willie Mullins, he had the first four on Friday and the last two after missing the fifth. Then on Saturday, he could not improve on his first five, despite having an odds-on chance in the last of seven races that day.

His tally there equalled his entire score of 11 more on Irish (non-UK) tracks over the previous 14-day period. Down Royal is close to the town of Lisburn, in the Six Counties, and situated around 40 miles from the border with the Republic whether you are travelling south or south-west as the border meanders its way across to the sea.

Of course, all the Down Royal stats apply to Irish racing. Its meetings, and those of Downpatrick, the other (and jumps only) Irish racecourse are staged under the Rules of Irish racing and all their statistics are included in the Irish returns. Many of the top domestic English, Scottish and Welsh jumps stables get a decent portion of their better imports though from the flourishing Northern Irish point-to-point field.

If the successes of Elliott and Nicholls tell you anything, the top stables have been stocking up avidly over the past 12-18 months and are going to be more formidable than ever. £300,000 plus is not unknown for a smart point-to-point prospect and, even then, success is not assured.

To illustrate that observation, three former Irish point winners lined up for yesterday’s finale at Ffos Las. Two that cost 100 grand and 85k respectively finished miles behind the Isabel Williams-ridden (and sourced at the sales) Followango. She paid 8k for the Evan Williams-trained five-year-old and owners W J Evans Racing could increase that probably by at least ten-fold if they wanted to leave the risk to someone else!

Gordon Elliott’s rehabilitation seems to have been largely achieved following the embarrassment of that infamous picture on his gallops. Talent will out as they say, though whether the major owners who decided to leave will ever return is another matter. But training is never plain sailing as he will be quick to admit. Yesterday’s nine runners at Naas, so back home in Ireland, produced no wins and just a couple of consolation second places.

The flat season may be over, the awards having been handed out a while ago at Ascot, but several trainers and jockeys have still been aiming at some of the major prizes available elsewhere. I’m not sure how Hollie Doyle is after unseating from her mount at Fukushima racecourse in Japan yesterday, while Ryan Moore would have been happier if the mare Geraldine, second choice for the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Kyoto, had done better than finish in 5^th place.

He has the consolation of the rider’s share of 85k, one tenth of the winner’s prize won by Christophe Lemaire on the favourite Brede Weg in this race for 3yo and up fillies and mares.

And the Melbourne Cup last Tuesday week had been a frustration for Simon and Ed Crisford as their former inmate Without A Fight collected the multi-million first prize having previously narrowly denied their present high-class performer West Wind Blows in the Caulfield Cup.

West Wind Blows, again ridden by Jamie Spencer, turned out on Saturday in the TAB Champion Stakes at Flemington but despite starting favourite for the £1 million plus first prize, could fare no better than 9^th of 11. Prizemoney went almost all the way down but stopped at £33k for eighth!

There was a trio of UK jockeys riding in yesterday’s Group 2 at San Siro in Milan. The Crisfords targeted the race with hat-trick scorer Poker Face, ridden by James Doyle, while Archie Watson had two representatives with Oisin Murphy and Luke Morris doing the steering on Roman Mist and Brave Emperor respectively.

Once again, the Crisfords were disappointed, Poker Face started odds-on but the honours and the £100k pot went to Watson and Morris, with Brave Emperor striding to a four-length success over the favourite. The second Watson runner Roman Mist was denied third by a short head.

The Paddy Power Gold Cup and Greatwood Hurdle are the big races to anticipate next weekend as the jumps season now gets into full flow. The Paddy Power looks too complicated at this stage, and I’d like to see the first lot of acceptances later today before starting to formulate an opinion.

But I’m more than happy to put forward a tip for next Sunday’s Greatwood Hurdle. I always have a great respect for anything that Dan Skelton shows up with and can understand why his Knickerbockerglory is prominent in the market.

However, I was so impressed with the way Punctuation won going back on the flat at Doncaster, after a long layoff for Fergal O’Brien. That powerful win suggested he’d improved since his highly successful jumping stint last winter. Punctuation for me.

- TS

Anthony Honeyball Stable Tour 2022/23

18 October 2022/in Horse Racing Blog/by Matt Bisogno

With the National Hunt season upon us once more, the team here at geegeez.co.uk is thrilled to once again be sponsoring the upwardly mobile yard of Anthony Honeyball.

Operating out of Potwell Farm, set in a beautiful nook on the Dorset / Somerset border, Anthony and Rachael have been gradually improving both the quality and quantity of horses they race; and this season they have their biggest and brightest squad yet.

They're already off the mark with seven winners this season at time of writing and, in the table below, you'll find Anthony's thoughts and hopes for the campaign ahead.

The comments can be sorted by any of the column headings, and may be searched from the box to the right just below this sentence.

VIEW ANTHONY'S UPCOMING ENTRIES / RECENT RESULTS HERE >>

NAME	Colour/Sex	OWNER	BREEDING	COMMENT
ASK LILEEN (IRE) 2017	br. m	Potwell Racing Syndicate I	SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (IRE) X TRENDY NATIVE (GB) (OVERBURY (IRE))	She was placed in two Irish point to points before winning her third start in commanding fashion by 6 lengths (the 2nd has won since and sold to Lucinda Russell). Her dam is sister to 7 winners and the grand dam Celtic Native was a top notch race mare. She’s a good looking quality mare who may well kick off in a bumper but I should imagine will quite quickly move on to obstacles as she’s got size and scope.
BING BELLE (GB) 2019	b.f	Mr and Mrs Jack Barber	ROYAL ANTHEM (USA) x ROXY BELLE (GB) (BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE))	Her dam was 2nd in a point to point and is sister to the two time winner Princess Roxy. She’s already had a few short stints in training and is quite forward for a 3 year old so we will be aiming her at either the national hunt juvenile hurdle series or a juvenile bumper this Autumn.
BLACKJACK MAGIC (GB) 2015	b.g	Hayward, Walker, Paterson and O'Gorman	BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE) X ONE WILD NIGHT (GB) (RAKAPOSHI KING (GB))	New to us this season (formerly with Jack Barber), he won two of his four completed starts over hurdles last season and is now rated 126. He jumps well and handles proper Winter ground so this season we will now turn his attention to chasing.
BOB BACKUS (IRE) 2015	b.g	Decimus Racing IV	MILAN (GB) X BORO BEE (IRE) (BOB BACK (USA))	He got the hang of hurdling in his last two starts in the 2020 / 21 season winning well at Plumpton before finishing a solid 2nd there again on final start (winner went on to win 5 more races and the third 25 lengths behind). Unfortunately he picked up a tendon strain and had to sit out last season. The plan will be to resume over hurdles this term and it’s likely that he’ll kick on over fences at some point during the Winter.
BOHEMIAN LAD (IRE) 2018	b.g	DECIMUS RACING IX	MAHLER (GB) x REHILL LASS(IRE) (SHERNAZAR (GB))	Out of a bumper winning mare and brother to Dolly’s Destination who has won 4 including a bumper and 3 hurdle races, as well as achieving black type when she was 2nd in a mares listed handicap hurdle at Killarney (peak rating 127). He proved to be very straightforward but a little backward last season and by the time he was anywhere near a run the firmer ground took over and we put him away for a Summer break. We will probably kick off in a bumper but he jumps well so may not hang around long in that sphere.
BORDERLANDS (IRE) 2019	br.g	The Mighty Six	GETAWAY (GER) X KNOCKNABROGUE (IRE) (AFZAL (IRE))	A very good looking, well put together athletic youngster, who is also brother to three winners. We broke him in, cantered and schooled him in May since when he’s had a Summer break. He will be prepared for a bumper or two between February and mid April.
BREAKING COVER (IRE) 2018	b.g	Cartwright, Langford, Redknapp, Saunders	GETAWAY (GER) X PEACE AND THE CITY (FR)(ELUSIVE CITY (USA))	His dam is sister to 4 winners including the Grade 1 Triumph hurdle winner Peace And Co with a career high of 159, and another black type performer Piccolino . Breaking Cover was 2nd in his Irish point to point, 2 lengths behind a horse who subsequently made £150,000 to join the Willie Mullins yard. He jumped and travelled beautifully in that point to point and looks a smart horse. He’ll kick off in bumpers this Autumn.
CAPE VIDAL (GB) 2017	b.g	Potwell Racing Syndicate III	KAYF TARA (GB) X MIDNIGHT MINX (GB) (MIDNIGHT LEGEND (GB))	His dam Midnight Minx was a smart performer for us, winning 3 bumpers and a hurdle and she’s passed that ability on to this lad. He was a very impressive winner on his debut in a bumper at Ffos Las at the end of May. He may next be aimed at a listed bumper at Cheltenham in November.
CAPTAIN CLAUDE (IRE) 2017	b.g	Decimus Racing V	SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (IRE) X PRINCESS SUPREME (IRE) (SUPREME LEADER (GB))	Brother to two winners (peak ratings 129 & 131) and got off the mark himself when winning a bumper at Ffos Las last Winter. He needed the experience of his first three runs over hurdles but hopefully now after another Summer under his belt he can capitalise on his low mark of 80 this Autumn. I suspect he’ll step up in distance and he’s proven he can cope with soft winter ground conditions.
COCO BRAVE (IRE) 2019	b.f	Cartwright, Tomkies Syndicate (SHARES AVAILABLE)	COURT CAVE (IRE)X COMING HOME (FR) (EXIT TO NOWHERE (USA) )	She is a very attractive, athletic filly who is sister to 5 winners including 2 achieving black type status. Three of the winners have NH ratings of 135 / 145 & 146 (the other two were 116 & 122). She was broken in, cantered and schooled in the Spring then went out for her Summer break. We will prepare her for bumpers this season.
CONCLUDING ACT (GB) 2019	b.g	FOR SALE	BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE) X GAN ON (GB) (MISSED FLIGHT (GB))	His dam was quite smart and a great jumper, she won 4 for us and reached a career high rating of 134. The only sibling to run so far was Nocturnal Myth who won a handicap hurdle at Plumpton. We are targeting an early start with this lad in NH Juvenile hurdles or juvenile bumpers.
COQUELICOT (FR) 2016	b / br. m	geegeez.co.uk PA	SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (IRE) X MOSCOW NIGHTS (FR) (PEINTRE CELEBRE (USA))	She got off the mark over hurdles last season in a £10,000 mares handicap hurdle at Chepstow. Only the three runs in total last term though, due to some health niggles that she just couldn’t fully shake off. Still loads of upside to her off her current hurdles mark having now got the hang of jumping. She may also have another run in a maiden on the flat as I think she would be very competitive in staying handicaps.
CREDO (IRE) 2015	b.m	Potwell Racing Syndicate II	FAME AND GLORY (GB) x TASMANI(FR) (TURGEON (USA))	A maiden point to point victory and 3 national hunt wins to date (2 bumpers and a maiden hurdle). Even though she won her maiden hurdle last season and ran very respectably a few times in defeat, I have to say overall she had me scratching my head . To me she ran like her breathing was affecting her so we eventually decided to give her a breathing op and she duly won with authority on her first start after that. Just as we thought we’d cracked it she reverted back to mediocre form again. She obviously has the talent and has what you’d think is a very workable mark of 107 to kick on with this season plus a switch to fences is also under consideration.
DEAR RALPHY (IRE) 2016	b.g	Mr J. Pike	WESTERNER (GB) X LETTERWOMAN(IRE) (FOURSTARS ALLSTAR (USA))	Half brother to the useful The Kings Writ (career high 141), he shaped with lots of promise in both his bumpers last season and in the latest one he was only beaten 6 lengths when finishing 4th having made most of the running. I think we will have one more crack at a bumper as he’s more than good enough to win one before heading over hurdles for the remainder of the season. Lots of potential in this son of Westerner and will hopefully end up a decent chaser later on in his career.
DOCTOR FOLEY (IRE) 2017	b.g	Dolan-Abrahams, Newton, Farrer.	MALINAS (GER) X QUARRYANNA (IRE) (MILAN (GB))	New to us from Jack Barber, he was bought after a promising 3rd in an Irish point to point that worked out well as the 2nd in that race, Pembroke, won a bumper last season at Huntingdon by 11 lengths. He didn’t set the world alight on his first two starts over hurdles but that said his season was over very early due to an injury so whether that was niggling in the background we don’t know. He needs another run over hurdles for a handicap mark so once that’s out of the way we could have a lot of fun in handicap hurdles or even straight over fences as he’s a very well put together strong horse.
DOYANNIE (IRE) 2014	ch.m	Barber, French & Shortland	DOYEN (IRE) X ANNIE MAY (IRE)(ANSHAN (GB))	New to us from Jack Barber, a big strong mare who has been placed in bumpers over hurdles and over fences but has not got her head in front as yet in 13 attempts. A very solid second at Exeter over fences last season before looking a certain winner at Taunton next time out but then collared late on. Usually travels strongly in her races, but sometimes not the most resolute so we decided to do a breathing op to help her out and give her a little more confidence. Her brother has won a bumper for Willie Mullins and was 3rd in the grade 1 champion bumper at the Cheltenham festival last season so she’ll be a good broodmare prospect one day (hopefully after a handful of wins to her name !!!!).
DOYEN FOR MONEY (IRE) 2018	b/br. G	Mr H. Kingston	DOYEN (IRE) X MRS JAY DEE (IRE) (HERON ISLAND (IRE)	An athletic forward going individual who made most of the running on debut in an Irish point to point and went on to win easily by 7 lengths. We bought him at a Cheltenham sale after his win and were trying desperately to run him in a bumper last Spring but the weather wouldn’t play ball so we put him away for this season. He will kick off in bumpers.
DREAMING BLUE (GB) 2017	b.g	Mr R W Devlin	SHOWCASING (GB) X GOT TO DREAM (GB) (DUKE OF MARMALADE (IRE))	He was back in action last season having been off the track for nearly a year, and posted some respectable efforts most notably when winning a maiden hurdle at Fontwell ahead of two subsequent winners. He backed that win up with a solid 3rd next time out, again at Fontwell, beaten only 3 lengths. He reached a peak rating of 119, ended last season on 117 so may well be competitive in handicap hurdles this Winter at around 2m 2f on soft ground and we may venture over fences at some point.
FANFARON DINO (FR) 2015	g.g	Mr John P. McManus	DR DINO (FR) X KADJARA (FR) (SILVER RAINBOW (GB))	Lightly raced half brother to “Epatante”, he’s been a bit hit and miss so far but rounded off last season recording his second career win in good style. We’ve been patient and given him plenty of time to fill his frame so I’m hopeful off a mark still at 100 he can really progress this season and fulfil his promise.
FERRET JEETER (GB) 2017	ch.g	Mr R.J. Matthews	RECHARGE (IRE) X HALO FLORA (GB) (ALFLORA (IRE))	He is a half brother to three winners including the useful Sizable Sam (4 wins so far / peak rating 131), Raffle Ticket a maiden hurdle winner with a peak rating of 128 and Fairly Grey a novice hurdle winner with a peak rating of 130. He was very backward early on when broken in, but has improved after every break and will now target an early Autumn bumper run.
FIRESTREAM (GB) 2017	b.g	Buckingham, Chapman, Langford & Ritzema	YEATS (IRE) X SWINCOMBE FLAME (GB) (EXIT TO NOWHERE (USA))	4 runs in bumpers last season, placed in three of them and winning very impressively at Exeter by 11 lengths. We’ve always thought a lot of him at home and I’m very hopeful he will make it to graded level events in novice hurdles this season.
FORTUITOUS FAVOUR (IRE) 2018	b.f	Decimus Racing XI (SHARES AVAILABLE)	SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (IRE) x NORTHWOOD MILAN (IRE) (MILAN (GB))	Her dam is sister to no less than 8 winners including two at black type level and three rated in the 140 - 149 range. She did very well to win on her debut in a juvenile bumper at Wetherby last season, she hadn’t been away for a racecourse gallop and in fact the race was the first time she’d galloped in anger on grass let alone coping with the long journey up there. She couldn’t follow that effort up with another run due to a cold which held her up then drying ground in the Spring. That extra time will have done her no harm as she’s still only 4yrs old. The initial plan is to line her up for a listed bumper but she jumps superbly well so will soon be going hurdling.
FORTUNA LIGNA (IRE) 2017	b.m	Owners For Owners Fortuna Ligna (SHARES AVAILABLE)	SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (IRE) x QUIET THOUGHT(IRE) (BOB BACK (USA))	She was very green at Warwick first time out but rattled home and was a fast finishing 5th passing 7-8 horses up the home straight !! That race has worked out really well with the first two having picked up black type since. She’s a mare I like a lot and should go very close in a bumper this Autumn. If she were to win on her return we would probably look at a Listed bumper next or otherwise switch to hurdling.
FORWARD PLAN (IRE) 2016	br. g	The Steeplechasers	VALIRANN (FR) X CULMORE NATIVE (IRE) (BE MY NATIVE (USA))	Irish point to point winner who was 2nd in a bumper last season as well as another two 2nds to his name in handicap hurdles in May before his Summer break. A little unlucky not hitting the mark but showed in his last two starts that he’s heading in the right direction and we should be able to place him to win in the Autumn. It might be that win comes over fences as he’ll turn his attention to the larger obstacles sooner rather than later.
FOUNTAINS CHIEF (GB) 2016	b.g	The Fountains Partnership	NATIVE RULER (GB) X TIGERALLEY (GB) (REVOQUE (IRE))	He was placed in a bumper last April and went on to win three in a row over hurdles during the Summer. He’s progressed really well and we may now let him take his chance in either a valuable handicap hurdle or the grade 2 Persian War Novices Hurdle at Chepstow in October.
GABRIEL'S GETAWAY (IRE) 2017	b.g	Buckingham, Chapman, Kingston & Langford	GETAWAY (GER) X CHOSEN DESTINY (IRE) (WELL CHOSEN (GB))	A horse that I've always felt posesses plenty of talent, but to date he's not really shown it on the track except for a very respectable effort when 4th in a bumper at Ludlow. He's always been electric over bumpers at home and did jump well on hurdles debut, so I'm hopeful that he can build on that effort and be competitive in Maiden Hurdles this Autumn. Plenty of size and scope so I suspect we'll see the best of him when he tackles fences.
GETMETOTHEMOON (GB) 2019	b.f.	Unity Farm Holiday Centre Ltd	PETHER'S MOON (IRE) X GERTIE GETAWAY (IRE) (GETAWAY (GER))	Her dam was placed in a bumper and is herself sister to two winners including the Grade 2 placed Denise’s Profiles. She will be trained for juvenile bumpers or the new series of National Hunt Juvenile hurdles which are particularly valuable in the mares only category.
GOOD LOOK CHARM (FR) 2016	b.m	The Isle of Blue and White	COKORIKO (FR) X UNE D'EX (FR)(BRIER CREEK (USA))	She had a very good first season with us with two placed runs as well as winning twice from 6 starts. She kicked off finishing 3rd of 18 in a mares bumper at Aintree, went on to win her mares novices hurdle at Hereford then a £20,000 mares handicap hurdle at Exeter. I think she’s still on a very workable mark off 115 and I’m very much looking forward to taking advantage of that mark over fences this season.
GUSTAVIAN (IRE) 2015	b.g	Decimus Racing I	MAHLER (GB) X GRANGE OSCAR(IRE) (OSCAR (IRE))	He has won 3 times and been 2nd or 3rd 11 times from 15 career runs, so to date he’s been a fantastic fun horse for his syndicate . Last season he would have added to his tally of wins but for some untimely blunders in each novice chase. Overall his jumping was more than adequate but those mistakes certainly cost him. That said he ended the season with a tremendous 2nd in a £40,000 chase at Uttoxeter and the key positive is that he remains a novice for this season so we have lots of options and last season’s experience under his belt. My main hope if his jumping really comes together is that he can run in the Grade 2 3m 5f novice chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
HATOS (FR) 2017	b.g	Hats Off To Hatos	DIAMOND BOY (FR) X SANTALISA (FR) (LAVERON (GB))	Last season he shaped with lots of promise on debut for us when 3rd in a bumper at Chepstow first time out. He then went on to win his maiden hurdle again at Chepstow, but unfortunately in doing so he struck into his fetlock joint which sidelined him for the majority of the remainder of the season. He squeezed in one more run at Hexham but with the ground drying out he never really looked comfortable that day so best put a line through that effort. I think we will run in one handicap hurdle early on to get his eye in again before turning his attention to chasing. He seems to handle soft / heavy ground very well so should be at his best in the Winter when the mud's flying again.
I GIORNI (IRE) 2017	b.m	The Soldiers of Fortune	ARCADIO (GER) X SHECHANGEDHERMIND (IRE) (KOTASHAAN(FR))	Full sister to the two time winner Justmemyselfandi (career high rating 133). She won on debut in an Irish point to point at the end of January, and we bought her at the Cheltenham sales. We were very pleased with her ability and attitude at home but by the time we were ready to run in a bumper the ground dried up and stayed dry so we didn’t take any chances and put her away for a Summer break. Exciting prospect who will kick off in a bumper this Autumn.
JAIL NO BAIL (IRE) 2017	b.g	Bryan Drew & Friends, Chapman & Kingston	MAHLER (GB) X KITTYS OSCAR (IRE) (OSCAR (IRE))	His 1/2 brother was placed in a bumper and won twice over hurdles with a career high rating of 127. His dam is sister to 3 winners, two with black type, in particular Saxophone who won a Grade 3 hurdle and two Grade 3 chases. Last season was a write off with a few issues affecting his preparation so we really hope for a clear run and find out what he’s made of this time round. I’ll consider starting him off in a bumper but having missed that campaign last season and the fact he jumps very well, and has already schooled well over fences, we may well kick on in a maiden hurdle.
JEPECK (IRE) 2009	b.g	Mr J. Pike	WESTERNER (GB) X JENNY'S JEWEL (IRE) (BE MY NATIVE (USA))	Winner of 5 and placed in 19 of his 33 National Hunt starts as well as £123,000 in prize money; and 10 wins from 19 starts in point to points so somewhat of a legend !! He started last season slowly, but in his third run at the age of 13 he bolted up in a handicap hurdle at Wincanton - on this occasion all conditions finally came right for him - the ground was soft / heavy, over the distance of 2m 5f. He went on to be placed in all of his next 4 races in good company off marks around 130. We will see how he trains on this season, all being well and given his favoured testing ground he should continue running to a high level and pick up another win or two.
JITTERBUG GEORDIE (GB) 2018	g.g	Mrs S. J. Maltby	GEORDIELAND (FR) X DANCINGTILMIDNIGHT (GB) (MIDNIGHT LEGEND (GB))	New to us from Jack Barber - his dam won two point to points and had two seconds from 5 starts for Richard Barber before going on to win two hurdle races. This lad made his debut in a bumper at Wincanton last season finishing 9th of 12 runners, and he made a bit of a noise in his wind that day so he’s had a breathing op since joining us. We hope that along with maturing and filling his big frame this will result in a big step forward.
JUGGERNAUT (FR) 2019	b.g	Mr M Chapman and Ms G Langford	SPANISH MOON (USA) X SACOLEVA (FR) (LAVIRCO (GER))	This half brother to two winners is a compact, neat and athletic sort who has done plenty of early prep work to give him every chance of being ready for juvenile bumpers or the new national hunt juvenile hurdle race program starting in the Autumn. The NH juvenile hurdles are for horses that haven’t run on the flat or in bumpers and are quite valuable so a good alternative to the usual starting point in bumpers.
JUKEBOX JAZZ (IRE) 2019	g.f	Mr R. W. Huggins	JUKEBOX JURY (IRE) X SWEETHEART (GB) (SINNDAR (IRE))	Full sister to the 6 time winning black type performer Jukebox Jive (peak rating 100 on the flat - whilst trained here at Potwell Farm and 140 over hurdles). Her dam, Sweetheart was a superb race mare with 7 wins in total to her name including a Grade 2 win over hurdles (peak rating 140) and the winner of a big staying handicap on the flat at Glorious Goodwood (peak rating 80 on the flat). This filly was a little weak during the early part of the Summer so given a little more time out in the field to strengthen up and prepare for her debut on the flat this Autumn.
KEEPITFROMBECKY (IRE) 2018	b.g	Barber, Braid, French and Rees	DIAMOND BOY (FR) X TOBETALL (GB) (TOBOUGG (IRE))	New to us from Jack Barber, his dam was placed in a bumper and she’s produced Smoke Man who has won 8 point to points to date amd was 4th in a 4 mile Cheltenham Hunter Chase, The Grey Monty who won an Irish point to point and subsequently made £95,000 and has so far gone on to finish 3rd in a maiden hurdle, and the 3 time winner Arcade Attraction with a peak rating of 116. His dam is also sister to 6 winners including Aintree and Cheltenham festival winner Attaglance. He was a bit backward last season and given time to develop so I’m really excited to see what he can do this time round.
KILBEG KING (IRE) 2015	b.g	M.R.Chapman, E.Jones & H.Kingston	DOYEN (IRE) x PRAYUWIN DRUMMER (IRE) (PRESENTING (GB))	He won his bumper very impressively on debut for us under rules. That bumper worked out well with subsequent 125, 119 and 132 horses following him home. Unfortunately he picked up a tendon strain when being prepared for novice hurdling last season, and after rest and recuperation he's now back in training and getting ready for novice hurdles. He jumps very well so I’m very hopeful that he’ll make up into a high class novice hurdler this term.
KONIGIN ISABELLA (GER) 2018	b.f	geegeez.co.uk KI	ISFAHAN (GER) X KONIGIN CALA (GER) (CALL ME BIG (GER))	She ran with lots of promise in her first two bumpers particularly when staying on well in 3rd at Newbury (beaten 3 lengths - the winner won a listed bumper at Cheltenham next time out). She was a little disappointing in her next two starts, this may have been due to health at that time but we also decided she needed a breathing op so that has been done and I’d be very hopeful that she’ll continue her progression over hurdles this season. Another Summer break under her belt will have done her the world of good too as she’s still only 4yrs old.
LE COEUR NET (FR) 2012	ch.g	Wessex Racing Club	NETWORK (GER) X SILVERWOOD (FR) (GARDE ROYALE (IRE))	5 wins from 36 starts, his career high was 126 and last season is the first time the handicapper has really got hold of him. He still managed two 2nds and is now down on a mark of 103 which is his lowest for quite some time. This would lead you to think we could have some fun with him again this season. Either way he’s been a lovely horse for the yard and his owners over the years.
LILITH (IRE) 2015	b.m	DECIMUS VI	STOWAWAY (GB) x FLIRTHING AROUND (IRE) (FLEMENSFIRTH (USA))	She had a fantastic season with one 3rd, four 2nds and two wins from 9 starts. You could argue she has been quite frustrating up to March 1st as we kept hitting the bar finishing 2nd on four occasions to that point but then came a super performance in winning at Newbury followed by another win out in Ireland at the Punchestown festival !! She’s already qualified for a £35,000 mares chase at Hereford in December (2nd in that last season) and with her mark of 122, races like that still look the right option. She will also head back to Punchestown again in the Spring. Obviously if she progresses again through this season we could be looking at Listed and Graded mares chases. Both mares handicap and graded chases are available at the Punchestown Festival.
LILY THE PINK (GB) 2014	b.m	Wessex Racing Club	MALINAS (GER) X CARRIGEEN QUEEN (IRE) (DARNAY (GB))	3 wins and 7 placed efforts from her 13 runs so she’s been a particularly consistent and solid mare for us (has progressed to 118). Unfortunately she missed last season due to a tendon strain - that should be behind her now and we can hopefully kick on this time around. Probably start off over hurdles before trying her over fences in mares only events. She’s half sister to another solid mare in the yard Midnight Callisto and both are out of a half sister to Gold Cup winner Minella Indo so lovely broodmare prospects later on.
MARCO ISLAND (IRE) 2017	b.g	Buckingham, Chapman, Langford & Ritzema	MAHLER (GB) x FLORIDA BELLE (IRE) (FLORIDA SON (GB))	He took us a little by surprise when winning his bumper on debut at Chepstow, that was a lovely performance and he backed it up when winning a maiden hurdle again at Chepstow two runs later (the 2nd and 3rd won next time out). A big horse who should still be maturing and filling his sizeable frame so you’d hope he’ll improve plenty for his Summer break and could well switch to fences sooner rather than later.
MATTHIAS (GB) 2019	b.g	Mrs J. L. Buckingham	BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE)x ROUQUINE SAUVAGE (GB) (LOUP SAUVAGE (USA))	He is out of the 3 time winner Rouquine Sauvage who is herself half-sister to Master Tommytucker who won a grade 2 and was also 2nd in a grade 1 reaching a career high rating of 160. The grand dam was also very useful winning 7 and reaching a career high rating of 140. He’s a strong, solid and athletic youngster who will be aimed at bumpers this season.
MELK ABBEY (IRE) 2016	b.m.	Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates Melk Abbey	SHOLOKHOV (IRE) X CARRIG'N MAY (IRE) (CLASSIC CLICHÉ (IRE))	A solid strong mare who has won an Irish point to point, just the one run last season shortly after joining us at which point we decided to give her a good long break due to a few minor issues. That one run was very useful as she was subsequently given a mark of 78 and I’d like to think after a good Summer break she can really make the most of this low starting point. It may be we crack on over fences this term
MIDNIGHT CALLISTO (GB) 2015	br.m	Ms Gill Langford	MIDNIGHT LEGEND (GB) X CARRIGEEN QUEEN (IRE) (DARNAY (GB))	She ran eight times last season, placed in four and won two so a very solid season improving 7lb in the ratings ending on 109. Her mark doesn’t really tally with the ability we’ve always felt she possesses but she is gradually picking up the wins and has become very consistent overall. We will at some point this season try her over fences to see if that brings about further improvement and one day she will make a fantastic broodmare as she’s out of a sister to the Gold Cup winner Minella Indo.
MIDNIGHT MALIN (GB) 2016	b.m	Mrs S. J. Maltby	MALINAS (GER) X DANCINGTILMIDNIGHT (GB) (MIDNIGHT LEGEND (GB))	New to us from Jack Barber, she's half sister to Jitterbug Geordie (GB). Her Dam won two point to points and had two seconds from 5 starts for Richard Barber before going on to win two hurdle races. She had one run in a bumper two seasons back but got bogged down in the heavy ground, missed last season due to a nasty cut picked up whilst turned out for the Summer. She’s a compact, neat and athletic mare who put her previous experience to good use in a bumper the other day. She'll be running in a mares' maiden hurdle before too long.
MOLLIE BROWN (GB) 2018	b.f	Mr T. C. Frost	BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE) X MIDNIGHT CRACKLE (GB) (MIDNIGHT LEGEND (GB))	She is a well put together solid filly who is out of an unraced mare by Midnight Legend who was a half sister to the Grade 2 winner Sam Brown. A very straightforward filly and I'm looking forward to running her in bumpers this Autumn.
MOONCOIN QUEEN (IRE) 2018	b.f	Wessex Racing Club	DOYEN (IRE) X CARRIGEEN QUEEN(IRE) (DARNAY (GB))	Half sister to 3 winning mares trained here at Potwell Fm - Midnight Callisto, Lily The Pink and Precious, and her dam is sister to the Gold Cup winner Minella Indo. She was weak last season and had a slight setback too so we put her away, she’s grown on and strengthened up so we hope to find out what she can do on the track this season. We will start her off in mares bumpers (all 3 sisters won bumpers)
NEVADA SMITH (GB) 2018	b.g	Potwell Racing Syndicate IV (SHARES AVAILABLE)	KAYF TARA (GB) X MIDNIGHT MINX (GB) (MIDNIGHT LEGEND (GB))	Full brother to our impressive bumper winner Cape Vidal, his dam Midnight Minx was another smart performer for our yard winning 4 out of her 9 races. He’s similar to his brother, a very strong solid and athletic sort, we will be aiming him at a bumper to begin with. He’s one of the two horses we have in Potwell IV syndicate along with Pure Theatre.
NORTON HILL (IRE) 2016	b.g	Mr and Mrs J. J. Barber, & Mr A. Norman	FAME AND GLORY (GB) X CHARMING LEADER (IRE) (SUPREME LEADER (GB))	New to us from Jack Barber, he won a bumper at Wincanton on debut. That bumper worked out well - the 2nd now rated 120, the 3rd won a listed bumper next time then 4th in a grade 2, and the 4th won a bumper next time out and also won on hurdles debut. He’s subsequently been placed in both his maiden hurdle starts and those races have also worked out well with the horses around him having progressed since. He was still quite green in his hurdle races and his jumping was a little hit and miss so there’s tons of improvement to come. I would still be thinking he has the talent to make up into a graded novice hurdler but we may initially target handicaps as I think he’s extremely well treated off 111 !
NOTBITTERBUTBETTER (GB) 2017	b.m	Pryde & Van Der Hoeven	CHAMPS ELYSEES (GB) x PURELY BY CHANCE (GB) (GALILEO (IRE))	Half sister to the 3 time winners Ucanaver and Golden Spread. She’s not had a lot of luck in training having picked up an injury and therefore no run in her first season and health issues throughout last season. Her owner has been very patient and as a result we did manage to get her to the track to make her debut in May. She was the only horse in the race that had no previous experience and ran a respectable race back in 5th (only beaten 7 lengths). Hopefully her preparation will go more smoothly this season and we can see what she’s really made of.
ONEUPMANSHIP (IRE) 2015	ch.g	Phil Fry & Charlie Walker	MAHLER (GB) X LETTHISBETHEONE (IRE) (MOSCOW SOCIETY (USA))	New to us this season (formerly with Jack Barber), he has been placed in 8 of his 11 starts as well as winning his maiden hurdle two seasons back. Only the three starts last season, shaping very well on chase debut at Ffos Las before falling two from home. He picked up an injury later in the season which has kept him out of action but all should be well to resume his chasing career this term.
PARIS DIXIE (GB) 2015	b.m	Owners Group 037 (SHARES AVAILABLE)	CHAMPS ELYSEES (GB) X LAST OF THE DIXIES (GB)(HALLING (USA))	A bumper winner at Carlisle a few seasons ago, she went on to join Nicky Henderson and made a very encouraging debut over hurdles at Chepstow when 2nd. Unfortunately after that her form took a downward turn. She joined our team over the Summer and has run two very encouraging races finished 2nd & 3rd in two mares maiden hurdles. I’m very hopeful she’ll get off the mark over hurdles soon and the way she jumps I’m expecting her to have a future over fences too.
PURE THEATRE (IRE) 2018	b.f	Potwell Racing Syndicate IV (SHARES AVAILABLE)	COURT CAVE (IRE) X FAUCON (GB) (POLAR FALCON (USA))	She’s sister to 6 winners including As I Am who won 8 including two listed hurdles at Newbury and Cheltenham (career high rating of 142), Western Way 7 wins / career high of 130 jumps / 81 flat, and Elegant Touch who won his last two hurdle starts reaching a rating of 133. Pure Theatre was very unlucky not to get off the mark herself when beaten a short head in a bumper at Fakenham last time out and I’d be very hopeful she’ll improve for a Summer break and win a mares bumper this Autumn. If that happens we will then look at a listed mares bumper for her in November / December.
QUEENS FORTUNE (IRE) 2018	b.f	Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates Queens Fortune (SHARES AVAILABLE)	SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (IRE) X DOWN BY THE SEA (IRE) (FOURSTAR ALLSTAR(USA))	She made a very encouraging effort on debut when 3rd in an Irish point to point against the geldings. She’s sister to 3 winners and her sire Soldier Of Fortune has been lucky for us - we’ve run 6 horses by him / 5 have won and the other ran with lots of promise when finishing 5th of 16 in a bumper on debut - she’ll kick off in a bumper this Autumn.
REGAL ENCORE (IRE) 2008	b.g	Mr John P. McManus	KING'S THEATRE (IRE) X GO ON EILEEN(IRE) (BOB BACK (USA))	Two placed efforts in very valuable handicap chases at Ascot again last season, plus his third faultless round of jumping at Aintree over the national fences - this time in The Topham chase (finished 12th of 29 runners). He’s now 14yrs rising 15 so we play it race by race and see what he tells us but it will be fantastic to see him have another go at Ascot and see if he can yet again win a big pot there !! (4 wins and 7 placed efforts at Ascot to date all achieved in £75k,000 - £100,000 chases).
SAILING GRACE (GB) 2019	b.f	Mr A J Honeyball	DARTMOUTH (GB) X WAR CREATION (IRE) (SCORPION (IRE)	Her dam won a bumper and two hurdle races reaching a career high of 117 from only 8 runs. She’s done quite a lot already having been broken in last December so seems quite forward and we were delighted with her win in one of the new NH juvenile hurdle series. She did plenty wrong there but showed a great attitude, and will remain a novice next season whatever happens the rest of this campaign.
SAM BROWN (GB) 2012	b.g	Mr T. C. Frost	BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE) X CREAM CRACKER (GB)(SIR HARRY LEWIS (USA))	He is lightly raced over the years but now 6 wins from 13 runs, a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 win and £117,000 in prize money. Last season was definitely a much more straightforward campaign for him, with 3 very good runs including a fantastic 2nd in the Grade 2 Peter Marsh chase behind Royale Pagaille who went on to finish 5th in the Gold Cup. His highlight though was winning the £100,000 Betway Handicap Chase at Aintree on Grand National day by 15 lengths ! He’s now up to 157 and we will have a crack at the Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on the 29th October.
SERIOUS CHARGES (IRE) 2017	b.g	Potwell Racing Syndicate III	SOLDIER OF FORTUNE(IRE) x SOUTH WEST NINE (IRE)(OSCAR(IRE))	2nd in a bumper on rules debut before winning his next three races over hurdles in impressive fashion. He then went on to the Aintree Grand National meeting finishing 6th of 21 in a valuable handicap hurdle. He’s still only 5yrs old and looks to have a very exciting novice chase season ahead of him where we hope he can progress and mix it at the highest level.
SMART CASUAL (GB) 2018	b.g	Mr John P. McManus	BLACK SAM BELLAMY(IRE) x ROUQUINE SAUVAGE (GB) (LOUP SAUVAGE (USA))	His dam won 3 races and is a half sister to Master Tommytucker who is a 6 time winner including a Grade 2, and placed at Grade 1 level (career high rating 160). His grand dam won 7 races reaching a career high of 140. He is a tall horse who is going to take a while to fill his frame but an exciting prospect, we will kick off with him in a bumper this season.
SOMESPRING SPECIAL (IRE) 2018	b.f.	Yeo Racing Partnership	WESTERNER (GB) x NATURAL SPRING (GB) (GENEROUS (IRE))	She was 2nd on her debut in a UK point to point and is by the top class sire Westerner. She’s also half sister to a winner. Her Dam won 3 , reached a peak rating of 128 and is sister to 5 winners including the black type Ted Spread. I would imagine we will kick off in a bumper this Autumn.
STARSHIP MONA (GB) 2018	b.f	The Lifeboat Crew	TELESCOPE (IRE) x LIFEBOAT MONA (GB) (KAYF TARA (GB)	Her dam won 6 of her 10 races including two at Listed level, and reached a career high rating of 144. She was a little weak and backward last season but has been given time and developed in to a strong athletic type. We will aim her at mares only bumpers initially and potentially hurdling later depending on what level she reaches in her bumpers.
SULLY D'OC AA (FR) 2014	b.g	Mr John P. McManus	KONIG TURF(GER)X SAMARRA D'OC (FR) (MOON MADNESS (GB))	He has been a very good chaser for us over the last few seasons reaching a career high rating of 147. Two seasons back he won at Ascot first time out, was 3rd in a valuable chase at Newbury, then ran in all three Spring festivals finishing a solid 8th of 21 at Cheltenham followed by a 2nd of 18 at Aintree and rounded off by giving us our first winner in Ireland, winning a 19 runner 2m handicap chase at the Punchestown festival ! Last season was always going to be tricky having gone up in the weights but he still managed some solid efforts the highlight being when finishing 3rd beaten 2 lengths in an £85,000 handicap chase at Ascot. Unfortunately in his last run, again at Ascot, he broke a bone in his foot and has been sidelined since so missing all the Spring festivals. It’s hoped he’ll be back fit and firing again at some point this Winter targeting the Spring festivals once again.
SWINCOMBE FLEAT (GB) 2016	b.m	Yeo Racing Partnership	YEATS (IRE)X SWINCOMBE FLAME (GB) (EXIT TO NOWHERE (USA))	Her dam Swincombe Flame was a top notch race mare and she’s sister to a grade 2 winner and to our own smart bumper winner Firestream. She’s been more than respectable on the track herself having won a bumper and finishing 4th in a 16 runner listed bumper. Last season she won her novice hurdle and was placed twice before her form tailed off a bit in her last two runs of the season. She still looks on a very workable handicap mark and will more than likely kick on straight over fences.
TALKINGTOTHEMOON (GB) 2018	b.g	The Lunatic Partnership	PETHER'S MOON (IRE) x BLUE BUTTONS (IRE) (KING'S THEATRE(IRE))	Only two career starts so far - 2nd on his UK point to point debut before going on to win easily next time out. His dam Blue Buttons won 4 races and reached a career high rating of 137. One of her wins came at listed level and she was also 2nd in that grade. This lad will start off in a bumper this Autumn.
TROJAN HORSE (IRE) 2019	ch.c	Mr R Huggins and Mr Peter Jones	ULYSSES (IRE) X GUARDIA (IRE) (MONSUN (IRE))	He was twice a winner on the flat reaching a career high rating of 84. He’s got several winning siblings including Group 3 placed, Punchestown festival winning hurdler Guiri. His dam is full sister to the group 1 winning sire GETAWAY. Slightly disappointed us on his first hurdle start but it was a terribly muddling affair.
UCANAVER (GB) 2016	bl.m	Ifuwonner Partnership	MAXIOS (GB) X PURELY BY CHANCE (GB) (GALILEO (IRE))	Won 2 novice hurdles and placed once from 4 starts last season, a high quality mare who can hopefully take another step forward this year. Plan A is to have a tilt at a valuable mares handicap hurdle at Wincanton in early November and then we may well send her mares chasing as she seems to enjoy her jumping, she may well excel in that sphere.
UNNAMED (GB) 2019	b.g	geegeez.co.uk XXII	BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE) X BEHRA (IRE) (GRAND LODGE (USA))	His dam was 3rd in a listed race on the flat, and won a 17 runner maiden at Newbury (flat rating 92 with Sir Michael Stout). She is now the dam of 6 winners to date including two black type horses - Barizan who won 10 and reached a peak rating of 146 and Baradari who won 3 and a career high of 140. This lad is a lovely athletic type who has been cantered away and schooled. We will aim him at bumpers from January onwards (is qualified for a £100,000 sales bumper at Newbury in March).
UNNAMED (GB) 2019	b.g	FOR SALE	BLACK SAM BELLAMY (IRE) X DOLLY PENROSE (GB) (HERNANDO (FR))	His dam made £120,000 as a yearling and went on to win twice and reach a flat rating of 84. She was also a winner over hurdles reaching a rating of 117. She is sister to 6 winners, three of which were black type performers and her dam won the Grade 1 Cleeve hurdle at Cheltenham. This lad has been broken in, cantered and jumped. We like him a lot and will hope to run him in a bumper January onwards (he is also qualified for a £100,000 sales bumper at Newbury in March).
UNNAMED (IRE) 2019	b.g	Mr Gavin Pike	COURT CAVE (IRE) X SOUTH WEST NINE (IRE) (OSCAR (IRE))	A straightforward, athletic individual who is half brother to 4 winners including the smart horse trained here at Potwell “Serious Charges” (3 wins to date / rating 133). He was broken in, cantered and schooled in the Spring then out for a Summer break, the plan will be to prep him for bumpers this season.
WHYNOTNOWROY (IRE) 2018	ch.g	Mr Brian Derrick	NOTNOWCATO (GB) X MIDNIGHT LIRA (GB) (MIDNIGHT LEGEND (GB))	He’s had two educational stints with us, so after his latest Summer break he’s very much ready to crack on with this season. His dam Midnight Lira won 6 races reaching a career high rating of 125 so plenty of positives on pedigree. He’ll kick off in a bumper in the Autumn.
WINDANCE (IRE) 2015	b.g	Decimus Racing III	SHIROCCO (GER) X MACA RINCE(IRE) (RAINWATCH (GB))	He really got the hang of hurdling in his final three starts in the 2020 / 21 season winning two of them and third on his final start. Unfortunately he missed last season due to a tendon strain, and he’ll resume this term over hurdles before heading over fences as he’s a really good jumper and should thrive over the larger obstacles
WORLD OF DREAMS (IRE) 2016	b.g	Mr R. W. Huggins, M Bisogno & P Williams	KAYF TARA (GB) X ROSE OF THE WORLD (IRE) (VINNIE ROE(IRE))	He is a high quality performer, winning 4 of his 6 starts to date including two over hurdles last season. His 2nd in a novice hurdle at Hereford reads particularly well as the winner (which he gave 7lb) subsequently went on to win a Grade 2 novice hurdle next time out. We had him lined up for a very valuable hurdle in March but an injury forced us to shelve that plan and put him away. Hopefully we will be back on the front foot this season and he could be very interesting off a mark of 120 in some valuable handicap hurdles this term.

Fancy owning a racehorse and a share of £100,000?

30 August 2022/in Horse Racing Blog/by Matt Bisogno

That's a tempting carrot being dangled as part of geegeez' latest racehorse syndicate.

Shares are available now in this handsome three-year-old gelding purchased at the Goffs Spring Store Sale in May.

A strapping son of Black Sam Bellamy, he is eligible for the £100,000 Goffs Sales Bumper in March and his trainer was keen to make the entry.

If this sounds interesting, here's what you need to know:

The Horse

This as yet unnamed 2019 gelding is by the same sire as the likes of The Giant Bolster, Sam Spinner, Sam Brown, Sams Profile, and Tidal Flow.

The dam, his mother, is a mare called Behra who was smart herself: Listed placed over a trip on the flat as well as winning a 17-runner Newbury maiden, and beautifully Aga Khan-bred.

Behra herself has produced six winners so far, including Grade 2 winner Baradari and the winning machine Barizan, who was second in the both the Triumph Hurdle and the G1 juvenile hurdle at Aintree before winning the Punchestown Grade 1 juvenile.

Our gelding's full pedigree is available at this link

Since the sale he's been ridden up the gallops, and had a jump over a barrel showing a really good attitude and aptitude for the job. He's a lovely, big and strong athletic type. Of course, he's done nothing serious yet but it's very much a case of so far, so good. He's had a short break and is now ready to come back in and continue his development. The plan for him is in the section below.

One of the first things we'll need to do is give him a name - syndicate members will be invited to make suggestions after which we'll vote to decide what this fellow will be called!

The Trainer

He was sourced, and will be trained, by Anthony Honeyball, who is based on the Dorset/Somerset border. Anthony has been a progressive trainer over the past decade or so and has his biggest and best team this season, improvements in terms of both the quality and quantity of horses in the yard.

Anthony has been responsible for the careers of the likes of Sam Brown (same sire) and Regal Encore, both firm yard favourites, and has been a regular in the winners' circle at the Aintree and Punchestown Festivals in the past few seasons.

Importantly, he's an expert with young store horses like this one, and has a better than one-in-four win rate in bumpers during the past five years (36 from 132, 27%, at time of writing).

Anthony has trained lots of winners for geegeez.co.uk syndicates including the Listed-winning bumper mare, Coquelicot, and we very much believe this chap will join that club.

The Plan

The plan for this season is geared towards the spring, and specifically the Goffs £100,000 race. In order to try our luck there, we'll probably need to have a prior race a month or so beforehand though it's not inconceivable we could go straight to Newbury. He will be coming back in from the field in the next week or so where, as you can see below, he's been having a good time bulking up on the grass cover, and he'll start his work routine immediately thereafter.

Beginning with steady canters on the round gallop, he'll move through the gears both there and on Anthony's searching - and picturesque - Seaborough gallop (see below) until he's ready for a run. It is quite possible he will also have an 'away day' on a racecourse somewhere prior to his debut.

We expect he'll be ready to race in February or early March but, of course, it's very hard to be precise about such things. He won't be rushed as his future will be as a chaser, graduating through hurdle races en route. It's an exciting path with plenty to look forward to in the spring and maybe, just maybe, he might trouble the judge in that valuable sales race.

The Details

He's being syndicated into twelfth shares at £3,050 covering all fees until the end of March 2023, including grass, training, transport, vet, agent and sales fees incurred to date. A two-part payment plan is available if that helps.

Training dues of £190/month start on 1st April 2023, so there's every chance he'll have run before the first monthly contribution is required. Who knows, he may even have picked up a very healthy prize cheque by then!

All VAT is reclaimed and returned to the syndicate account, and members receive a full pro rata percentage of prize money as well as, in the case of a sale, any sales proceeds.

As an owner, you'll be entitled to all of the privileges associated with that status: access to the owners' and trainers' facility at racecourses when our lad runs, as well as the parade ring and, hopefully, winner's enclosure. Additionally, you'll be able to visit the yard and see him work either as part of an arranged group event or by appointment on your own/with a friend or partner. And you'll receive regular updates via WhatsApp and email with videos and bulletins on his progress throughout.

Importantly, you'll be able to follow the career of a racehorse up close and personal as he progresses through the National Hunt disciplines.

To register your interest, click here.

Racing Systems: NH Trainer Angles

1 March 2022/in Dave Renham/by Dave Renham

When Matt sent a survey out to Geegeez members in January he got some interesting and refreshing responses, writes Dave Renham. In this article I will combine trainer angles with system research, two areas that surveyed members wanted to see more of.

A system based approach using trainer data / patterns is a tried and tested formula which has long been very popular with many punters. Indeed, in the first article of this series I shared a John Gosden system that had been successful on the flat in recent years. In this article my focus is going to be on National Hunt racing where I'll be looking for profitable trainer systems within this sphere.

I am going to look over the long term studying UK racing trainer data from Jan 1^st 2009 to Dec 31^st 2021. If trainers have proved profitable over such a long time frame then we have a potential system to use. From there, though, we may need to drill down further to try and determine the likelihood of an angle continuing to perform well. Of course we cannot know what the future will bring results wise and, as all of us are aware, past results may not be replicated in the future. So, with those messages in place, let’s start:

Rebecca Curtis – ‘Close’ season system

Rebecca Curtis started training in 2008 and quickly established herself as a trainer to keep a close eye on. In 2012 she had 47 winners from 189 runners which equates to a strike rate of 24.9%. Also in 2012 she had the first of her five Cheltenham Festival winners when Teaforthree won the Diamond Jubilee National Hunt Chase. Everything continued smoothly until 2017 when she split from her bloodstock agent, Gearoid Costelloe. That year she struggled, mainly due to losing roughly 50% of her horses. By 2019 she was back on track hitting a yearly win strike rate of 26.4%, but since Covid in March 2020 the performances from the stable have dipped again.

However, despite the more recent ups and downs, Curtis has continued to produce the goods in the warmer months. Focusing on May to August, the Pembroke-based handler has been consistently impressive all the way back to 2009. So our first trainer system to look at reads:

Trainer Rebecca Curtis
National Hunt UK racing – May 1^st to August 31^st

These are the annual strike rates for this micro angle:

At first glance the chart line may look a little volatile but the strike rate has exceeded 20% in all bar two years (2009 and 2016). It should also be noted that she had no runners in 2020 (due to the pandemic). Even last year, when she had a very modest overall 12 months, she still managed a strike rate of 29.4% making profits to BSP of £23.05 to £1 level stakes (ROI +135.6%).

From 2009 to 2021 the overall system results were:

A highly impressive bottom line and we know the strike rates have been decent year in, year out – so let’s look at the annual BSP profit figures:

Overall, then, it's nine winning years and only three losing ones, which is pleasing to see – consistency is something that we should all look for in systems.

Breaking the data down like this does highlight that 2016 must have had a huge priced winner or two. In fact it was a just one winner that after Betfair commission would have paid a remarkable 155/1. Thus, the original bottom line of +£220 to £1 level stakes does not look quite as impressive now. It is important to realise that big priced winners can skew results markedly and potentially turn a system on its head. Using Query Tool, the A/E metric will help here, and this - along with other metrics used extensively on geegeez.co.uk - is explained in more detail in this post.

All things being out in the open now, I would still hope this system has potential for the future. Even without that huge priced winner the figures remain solid. My biggest concern in reality is whether Rebecca Curtis will have the ammunition to produce such positive results in the future, but of course nobody can answer this.

There are other options for those who want to narrow the system down further, though - as we saw in my second article in this series - basic is generally best.

That said, if you had focused only on Curtis runners that started clear favourite you would have witnessed 47 winners from 78 runners giving an exceptional strike rate of 60.3%. They have naturally proved extremely profitable securing profits of £35.33 at BSP to £1 level stakes (ROI +45.3%). These market leaders also produced profits in all but one year. Adapting the system to focus just on favourites may be a way to go for some of you. (For the record, Ms Curtis has also saddled six qualifying joint-favourites, two of which won, giving a small profit also).

Before moving on, it is interesting to note that Peter Bowen, a trainer Curtis worked for prior to securing her own license, also has a good long-term record with his runners in the ‘close’ season. His overall performance from 2009 in the months of May to August reads:

Like Curtis, one big-priced winner in 2018 (220/1 after commission) has clearly helped. However, even removing that winner from Bowen's figures, the overall bottom line still looks rosy. I am more circumspect about Bowen, though, because if you take out that big priced winner and look at the more recent years 2014 to 2021, he has only made a small profit. Further, in 2020, he had just one winner from 63 starters! Now, of course, Covid really impacted the 2020 season for many, so that may just be a blip, but it is/was a big blip.

Paul Nicholls – Claiming jockeys in hurdle races

Paul Nicholls has been one of the top National Hunt trainers since the turn of the century but making profits from his runners is easier said than done. Top trainers are by definition unable to fly under the radar and finding value can be tricky. However, one area where Nicholls has performed relatively well is with horses ridden by claiming jockeys. Since 2009, Nicholls has used claiming jockeys on 1513 horses, of which 308 have won (SR 20.4%). Backing all these runners would have shown a loss to BSP but only £15.98 which equates to just a penny in every pound wagered. Compare this to his runners ridden by professional jockeys which would have lost £243.95, equivalent to losing 4p in the £.

Thus, claiming jockeys look a potential route to profits. Here is the system I have come up with:

Trainer Paul Nicholls
Hurdle races
Horse ridden by claiming jockey
Jockey has ridden the horse before

I chose hurdle races simply because there ought to be less chance of an inexperienced jockey falling. In addition I felt that if the jockey had ridden the horse before it would probably be a plus given these riders' general greenness. Again, I have very few rules in the system which hopefully avoids the dreaded back-fitting issue. The overall results from ’09 - ‘21 are in the positive range:

A strike rate of just over one in four and returns of 27p in the £ is a really good outcome. Let’s see how consistent the system would have been by looking at the annual strike rates first:

For this type of system we are more likely to see a volatile strike rate year to year but, as can also be seen, the figures have been stronger in recent years. Six of the past eight seasons have seen a strike rate in excess of 29%.

All well and good, but what of the bottom line? Below, we are looking at BSP profit to £1 level stakes. Looking at ROI% would be far too volatile due to sample size.

There have been nine winning years and four losing ones; but, since 2013, that reads eight winning years and only one losing year. The overall placed percentages are slightly above what I would expect which offers a further layer of confidence.

Sticking my neck out here, I would expect this system to prove profitable over the next five years, assuming nothing changes drastically within the Nicholls set up. The system has been relatively consistent with a decent overall strike rate; the trainer is one of the best in the business and the system has not been skewed due to big priced winners.

Venetia Williams – Chasers coming off a break

Venetia Williams has consistently been more successful with her chasers compared to her hurdlers over the years. Her overall strike rate in chases going back to 2009 stands at just under 16%; in hurdle races this drops to around 12%. In addition to this, for years now I have noticed that Ms Williams' horses seem to be fit regardless of how long they have been off the track. Hence I have devised a system that can take advantage of this. The rules are:

Trainer Venetia Williams
Chases
Horse off track for five months (150 days) or more

I have chosen five months or more because that is roughly the break between the official end of the NH season in late April/early May and when the next season starts to get into full swing around late September/early October. [For the record, if I had chosen six months instead the figures would be very similar]

In terms of days therefore the five months equates to a break of more than 150 days. The overall results from 2009 look strong:

The yearly results are consistent, too – nine winning years, three losing ones and one that broke even. Indeed, two of the three losing years occurred in 2009 and 2011 so, since 2012, there has been just one year producing negative returns.

More positives can be found when we examine the prices of the winners. The pie chart below breaks down the 87 winners into Betfair SP price brackets.

As is shown, the vast majority of winning prices were at the shorter end of the market. 23 winners were 4.00 (3/1) or lower, while 60 were 10.00 (9/1) or lower. Just five winners were bigger than 20.00 BSP (19/1), and the two biggest priced winners were both under 40/1 BSP. This again helps explain why results have been consistent over the years.

Runners off a long layoff is an underused pattern for some punters. However, there are some trainers, like Venetia Williams, who are able to make a break more of a positive than a negative. It is interesting to note that Ms Williams has made profits at all distance ranges as the table below shows:

Strike rates are similar across the board, but the biggest returns by far have been in the longest distance races (3 miles or more), returning nearly 88p profit for every £1 bet. Yes, the strike rate has been marginally higher in that group, but I think this is more an example of punter bias. I think many punters are put off backing horses that are running at long distances after a decent length break. Their thinking, (which is logical), is that they surely won’t be fit enough to be competitive in a really long contest. Hence the prices available become slightly higher than they should be due to that lack of betting interest. Venetia Williams is clearly adept at getting horses fit and that gives us betting opportunities that represent value.

Other potential system ideas to look into further

I have looked above in some detail at three potential systems that I think could and should continue to be profitable for the next few years. To finish, I want to share four more potential systems that you, the reader, might want to use, or indeed to dig around a little deeper:

Anthony Honeyball – Lower Class races

Anthony Honeyball, whose yard is sponsored by geegeez.co.uk, is a trainer that has performed extremely well in lower grade races in recent years. Focusing on class 5 or 6 races only, Honeyball has secured a strike rate of 23.5% (105 wins from 446 qualifiers) showing a profit to £1 level stakes of £148.14 which equates to returns of 33p in the £. There were eight winning years out of 13, while ten of the 13 seasons saw a strike rate of 20% or more.

Nicky Henderson – Debutants in hurdle races

Henderson is one of the best in the business and before sharing the system, if you haven’t done so already please check out Matt’s excellent trainer profile article he wrote on him.

Henderson has produced decent profits since 2009 with horses making their debut in a hurdle race: 78 winners from 201 runners (SR 38.8%) is remarkable. BSP profits stand at £94.49 to £1 level stakes (ROI +47.0%), and eight of the last ten years have shown a profit.

In particular, keep an eye on the shorter priced runners: horses which were sent off at 3.5 (5/2) or less on Betfair have produced 53 winners from 83 runners (SR 63.9%) for a profit of £30.71 (ROI +37.0%).

David Pipe – winners returning within 10 days

David’s father Martin was one of the first trainers to realise that National Hunt horses could return to the track after a very short break and perform well. David has continued to some extent in his father’s footsteps, certainly in terms of success, although not perhaps in volume of runners. When David Pipe winners return to the track within 10 days, their strike rate has been close to 40% with returns of around 31p in the £. There have been ten winning years from 13, but in recent years qualifiers per season have been in single figures. Hence this system will not make you fortunes, but when a runner crops up it commands close scrutiny.

If you want to increase the number of runners, Pipe’s record with winners returning to the track within 20 days is decent also.

Gordon Elliott – handicap hurdle races

Gordon Elliott is a trainer who has excelled in handicap hurdle races since 2009. He has saddled 93 winners from 459 runners (SR 20.3%) showing a BSP profit of £167.99 (ROI +36.6%). A couple of biggish priced winners have made up roughly half of these profits, but it is interesting to note his record if we ignore any horse priced greater than 20.0 (Betfair price).

Doing so means the figures are not hugely skewed in any way. Focusing on these runners (shorter than 20.0) sees Elliott's record read 89 wins from 374 (SR 23.8%) for a profit of £108.59 (ROI +29.4%). That is comprised of nine winning years out of 13 with three of the losing years producing extremely small losses.

It is worth noting that Elliott's record in Ireland in handicap hurdles is much poorer. As an aside, and maybe a point worth further research, the vast majority of his handicap hurdlers in the UK ran in Ireland last time.

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I hope you have enjoyed this article and fingers crossed the systems shared will continue in the same profitable way. Nothing is guaranteed but I remain hopeful!

- DR

Monday Musings: Bolger’s Bright Futurity

26 October 2020/in Monday Musings/by Tony Stafford

I remember back in May when the BHA and the more influential trainers were hoping for a resumption of racing during that month, I was thinking that because the weather can be less wintry during October and November, maybe Flat racing could extend a few weeks longer to help restore some of the losses of fixtures during the spring closure, writes Tony Stafford.

Fortunately the BHA are not so stupid, and the end of turf racing will be at Doncaster on November 7 when hopefully the Bombardier British Hopped Amber Beer November Handicap – if not simply so that the commentator can try that on for size – can be staged, unlike last year.

Last year, not only the end of season card but also the two scheduled turf meetings at Doncaster and Newbury equivalent to last weekend were washed out. The Vertem Futurity, the last UK Group 1 two-year-old race, was switched to Newcastle’s Tapeta the following Friday and won by Kameko, who went on to 2,000 Guineas success seven months later on the first Saturday after the restart.

This year’s Vertem Futurity went ahead at the normal venue. The Doncaster going, officially described as heavy and deemed too testing for Wembley, left the Ballydoyle team with a rare blank in the contest. It was won by the Jim Bolger-trained and -bred Mac Swiney and while the race didn’t have a single son (or daughter) of Galileo on hand, Mac Swiney is by Galileo’s son New Approach out of a mare by Teofilo, also by Galileo so is closely in-bred to the great champion.

Both Teofilo and New Approach were bred and raced initially by Bolger and went unbeaten through their juvenile campaigns, each winning five out of five, culminating in the Dewhurst and being awarded two-year-old champion status.

Teofilo retired after that single season, being the first juvenile champion for the sire, but New Approach went on to win the Derby at Epsom, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Champion Stakes by an overwhelming six lengths. Narrow defeats in the 2,000 Guineas and then the Irish equivalent briefly tarnished his reputation as did a sole third place in the Juddmonte, switched to Newmarket when York closed for a year. His overall record stands the closest inspection.

Not content with a track career, he was sent to stud and immediately produced Dawn Approach, yet another unbeaten juvenile champion that collected the Dewhurst as his rite of passage and then the 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes for good measure. The family has done Mr Bolger proud, just as gentleman Jim was fundamental in the early years to help along the Galileo legend.

But back to the going, and certainly Mac Swiney’s combination of speed and power through soft ground – it was barely heavy according to the times on Saturday – will serve him well when sure as night follows day he turns up for the Classics on one side of the Irish Sea or other, possibly both.

It was definitely heavy at Newbury and looking at those seven times I wager that the racecourse authorities there must be relieved they can turn their attention to the separate jumps course which will not have been watered during the dry months while racing was off, unlike the Flat strip where the recent deluges have rendered it virtually unraceable.

The least excessively slow time was the 10.22 sec above standard it took to run the second race, a six-furlong fillies’ nursery. Everything else, including the Radley and St Simon, the two Group races on the card, were almost two seconds per furlong slow, unconscionably so for Flat races. The finale, an amateur handicap, took almost 30 seconds more than standard to run a mile and a half.

With rain seemingly about all over the country it will be more interesting to see which of the remaining nine scheduled turf Flat fixtures can go ahead. Leicester (heavy) and Redcar (soft) are planned for today and are expected to survive. Then we have Catterick tomorrow (soft/heavy), Nottingham Wednesday (soft), and Newmarket on Friday and Saturday for the season finale again on soft ground. Next week Redcar and Nottingham on Wednesday and Thursday respectively and that Doncaster date on Saturday week bring matters to a damp conclusion.

Last weekend featured, as ever, three of only 13 Group 1 juvenile races to be run all year in Europe. Ireland’s three are run earlier than the five each of the UK and France. This year the 6f Phoenix Stakes in August and both the Moyglare and National Stakes the following month were staged on decent ground and run in acceptable times.

The first four juvenile Group 1 races in England were all staged at Newmarket. The Royal Lodge, Middle Park and Cheveley Park are the triple centre-pieces of Future Champions Day and the Rowley Mile on that September afternoon was blessed with fastish ground and quick times. It was also satisfactory for the Dewhurst won by St Mark’s Basilica early this month. Interestingly, before their Group 1 victories, both colts had run in the National Stakes behind Thunder Moon, St Mark’s Basilica finishing third and Mac Swiney eighth. Immediately before that, they each won on the same card again at the Curragh, the O’Brien colt in a maiden and Mac Swiney as a 28-1 shocker in a Group 2.

But it’s the French who are most often a hostage to fortune, seeing that their only pre-October Group 1 race is the Prix Morny close to the end of the Deauville summer festival. Wesley Ward and Frankie Dettori won that this year with the filly Campanelle and, while the ground was officially soft, the winning time of only a second slower than standard argues with that.

For the remainder, there are two races on Arc Day, the Jean-Luc Lagardere over 7f for colts and fillies, and the one-mile Marcel Boussac for fillies only. Heavy was the designation, and times of plus 3.49 and 5.73 suggests the description may be a shade exaggerated. When you get to heavy, after that, there’s probably only treacle. Of the year’s last two G1 races, one is the Criterium International, a race I remember fondly because of French Fifteen. That, over a mile, is the shorter while the Criterium de Saint-Cloud is a gut-busting 10 furlongs.

They were run on the Paris track on Saturday and heavy really did mean heavy. The Aidan O’Brien-trained Van Gogh, by American Pharoah, was an emphatic four-length winner but took 10.71 sec longer than he normally should have done. The Mark Johnston-trained Gear Up, making it three wins in four starts, relished the ground and with a show of great determination saw off a challenging quintet of would-be top-level winners at 27-1 under James Doyle. His time was more than 18 seconds slower than standard.

That race’s scheduled off time was only five minutes after the Vertem Futurity and you could call it an acceptable few minutes in the 78-year life of Jim Bolger as Gear Up, by Teofilo, was also bred by the trainer/breeder. The dam Gearanai, by Toccet, was of little account in racing terms but has been a brilliant mate for Teofilo producing four decent winners as well as another by New Approach. Sold as a yearling for €52,000 at Goffs just over a year ago, Gear Up has brought fantastic enjoyment to Teme Valley 2 and the Johnstons.

Having collected the final French juvenile Group 1 race of the year, Mark also had the last word by winning not only France’s final Group 1 of any age but also Europe’s concluding Group 1 of all at Longchamp yesterday. His three-year-old, Subjectivist, who faded into seventh behind Galileo Chrome after setting the pace in what is turning out to have been a high-quality St Leger, kept going to the finish to win the Prix Royal-Oak against his elders. Tony Mullins’ mare Princess Zoe, attempting to follow her Prix Du Cadran win over the Arc weekend, could get no nearer than fourth over the half-mile shorter trip.

The ground was pretty slow too for both Cheltenham on Saturday and Aintree yesterday as the jumps season finally got into its stride. I also watched one early race at Hexham where 14 set off for a 14-runner handicap hurdle and with half a mile to go basically two were galloping, one plodding and the rest crying enough. It was heavy for much of last winter and trainers will be dreading similar conditions this winter having had the last season so cruelly ended before Aintree and the other important spring fixtures could be concluded.

Aintree yesterday gave a couple of indications that the Skelton team was getting into full stride. Their summer activity, a feature of Dan’s early training career, is almost negligible in comparison nowadays, but the smart horses are coming out now. Two from yesterday (from a sample of 13 winners during an accelerating two-week period) that advertised the team’s well-being and the trainer’s skill, were debutant Real Stone, a comfortable 50-1 winner of the competitive maiden hurdle which opened the card and bumper winner Elle Est Belle, also a newcomer who swamped previous winner Windswept Girl in the finale.

She is a daughter of Fame And Glory, whose early demise – he was just 11 having raced until six winning 14 times – was such a loss to Coolmore’s jump stallions. After this stylish win Elle Est Belle would be an early contender for the Cheltenham and Aintree Festival bumpers if Dan and owner Mrs Suzanne Lawrence can wait that long.

It was a frustrating few days for the Geegeez.co.uk colours as Windswept Girl’s stable-companion Coquelicot was a beaten favourite at Fontwell, where her jumping on hurdles debut was open to a deal of improvement. Both talented females carry high hopes into their second season with Anthony Honeyball and, don’t worry Matt and co, I reckon you have days of success and enjoyment to look forward to.

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