A busy week, and a difficult one with Jane being ill with flu and me not being able to drive. I still managed to fit in three visits to the racecourse, and with Cheltenham coming up I’m going to be raced out be the end of next week. On Wednesday I went down to Fontwell, where Betfair were hosting a …
Decisions decisions
Cheltenham approaches and I have a few potential runners, but it brings a few dilemmas. Currently I have both Mon Michel and Prince Ary declared for the Imperial Cup on Saturday and the County Hurdle on the Friday of Cheltenham, and they could both run in both races. I also have King’s Head and Hope Road declared in the same …
King’s Head is a non-runner
Bert is en route to Lambourn and has asked me to report that King’s Head won’t be running as Gary Moore is concerned that the ground will be softer than he wants. The times and jockey comments from yesterday suggested that it’s unlikely to dry out enough despite a bright and breezy day today. At least it means that Bert …
The name game
The time has come to name the 2yos, and the Comic Strip Heroes horses are always good fun to do. Jeremy and I compiled a list of around 40 names and we sat down with Ed to hammer it out. We have three colts with Pete by Rock of Gibraltar, Bahamian Bounty and Fasliyev – they will respectively be named Maxwell Hawke, Skid …
Moving on
I’ve finally got myself sorted with a reliable internet connection, and I can get back to my blogging. It’s been a busy week. Last week I finally moved into my farm – 330 acres in the rolling Surrey countryside. Four woods making 55 acres, one decent sized lake, six ponds and a little brook running through the middle. They haven’t had horses on …
Another day
Not a great day Saturday for the Black family coffers, although I managed a little late damage limitation. The football wasn’t great either with Swindon losing 1-0, but my man at the game was reasonably positive about how we played. Pete C-H runs two at Lingfield today, both trading at very short prices. As far as I know they are …
Chapple-Hyam update
I had a long chat with Pete today – I really do need to find some time to go down and watch the horses work, as he is just beginning to wind them up. I haven’t updated my horse list for a while – I own or part own six horses with Pete. The are two 3yos – Winker Watson (as …
A ray of hope
A poor day on Saturday on all fronts. Swindon lost to an early goal in a tight match with few chances, which following on from last weeks draw against Northampton makes the play-offs look a bit distant again. Gary and Jamie Moore won the big race, and of course Jamie would have been riding Mon Michel had we made the …
Mon Michel misses out
A major blow yesterday when Mon Michel coughed and later returned a bad blood test after his final piece of work for the Totesport Trophy. Everything up to this point had gone right and I thought he had a major chance of picking up the prize, but it wasn’t to be. He won’t be out for long but it is a real …
Come on you robins
I made my first move in a new direction over the Christmas period when I effectively took a piece of Swindon Town FC. Jeremy Wray (Ed€™s brother) is a long time friend, and he was working on the deal alongside his business partner, Andrew Fitton. Andrew takes the lead (and is chairman) with Jeremy playing a strong supporting role. The other two …