It was a fairly quiet week leading up to Christmas and we had no runners as the meetings were both called off, so I did my Christmas shopping and the round of drinks parties, which were very nice.
On Boxing day we drove up to Market Rasen - I ran Elmore Back on atrocious ground and he absolutely hated it and pulled up. I also ran Quebec and he also pulled up, so that was a complete disaster!! But at Huntingdon we fared a bit better; Bridal Suite ran his usual sort of race and then Expedite won a very competitive Novice Hurdle and looks like being a really nice young horse for the future. I keep forgetting he is only four and he will definitely make a lovely chaser in time.
We had a quiet day on Sunday. We got a few horses out who might be running early on this week. I then had lunch in the Malt Shovel with Martin and Nicole Myers and Ben and Clemmie. We watched the racing at Kempton, which was very exciting.
We have no runners today or tomorrow as the ground is too soft. We have entries on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We will run Morney Wing at either Haydock or Warwick and I suspect that Seventh Sky will go to Cheltenham on New Years Day as there isn't much else for him. The weather has been a little frustrating and we need better ground for most of our horses.
Monday 28 December 2015
Monday 21 December 2015
21/12/15
We had a very good lunch in The Malt with an old owner of mine called Bill Hagon and John Davies, plus their wives. I picked my daughter Tildie up and we went down to Olympia to do a lot of Christmas shopping and we watched some very good show jumping. It was a fun evening!!
Denis O'Regan was in on first lot on Friday.
Mark Grant came in on Saturday to ride work on Elmore Back. We sent Seventh Sky up to Haydock for the Tommy Whittle. Gavin Sheehan rode him and he made all the running to win by 7 lengths. It was an extraordinary performance under top weight. It will be interesting to see what the handicapper does and I am not sure where we are going next.
We took Airpur Desbois to Fakenham on Sunday and he didn't really fire and I think he probably needs a break.
Denis O'Regan was in on first lot on Friday.
Mark Grant came in on Saturday to ride work on Elmore Back. We sent Seventh Sky up to Haydock for the Tommy Whittle. Gavin Sheehan rode him and he made all the running to win by 7 lengths. It was an extraordinary performance under top weight. It will be interesting to see what the handicapper does and I am not sure where we are going next.
We took Airpur Desbois to Fakenham on Sunday and he didn't really fire and I think he probably needs a break.
Seventh Sky WINS the Tommy Whittle!
Seventh Sky put in an absolutely sterling performance to win the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park by an impressive 7 lengths under Gavin Sheehan for owner Mr John Heron. The whole team at Neardown are absolutely delighted and pleased that Seventh Sky has come out of the race fresh and well. What a super star!!
Charlie Mann eyeing Aintree with Seventh Sky after Haydock Park victory
"Having already shown his liking for the Crabbie’s Grand National fences already Seventh Sky (10-1) put himself in line for a return to Aintree with victory at Haydock Park.
Charlie Mann’s eight-year-old landed a fine front-running victory under top weight in the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park, beating 5-1 favourite Spookydooky by seven lengths.
Having already shown his liking for the Crabbie’s Grand National fences already Seventh Sky (10-1) put himself in line for a return to Aintree with victory at Haydock Park.
Charlie Mann’s eight-year-old landed a fine front-running victory under top weight in the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park, beating 5-1 favourite Spookydooky by seven lengths.
Seventh Sky had been second in the Grand Sefton Chase over the National fences two weeks ago and was even better at the Merseyside course’s sister track.
Under Gavin Sheehan Seventh Sky (10-1) always kept his chief rival Spookydooky at arms length to score a superb win.
While at crack at the Grand National on April 9 in the new year was mooted it is the shorter race, the Topham Chase, over the big Aintree obstacles which will be the target.
Winning jockey Sheehan said: “I haven’t sat on him much this year but I rode him the last day over the big ones and he was electric over them.
“I knew he was in good form and had come on for Aintree.
“I schooled him the other day and he was electric.
“Me and Charlie discussed plans after his run at Liverpool and I think he’d be better in the Topham.
“I don’t think he’d be too far away but in the National it might just drag him out a bit.”
Thursday 17 December 2015
Schooling over fence this morning...
A video of Seventh Sky, Morney Wing and Elmore Back schooling over fences this morning,
filmed by Kyril!!
Gavin Sheehan schooled Seventh Sky upsides Tommy on Morney Wing, followed by Mark Grant on Elmore Back. They all flew over the fences to Charlie's delight!
Wednesday 16 December 2015
Update...
We all watched Leicester beating Chelsea on Monday evening at Evelyn Faber's house, which is a very good result for us as it means that Newcastle stay one point ahead of Chelsea. We had no phones in action on Tuesday which made life fairly quiet, but as usual, BT are doing their best to get it sorted. I bought all my families presents on the internet, which I have never done before, and it was remarkably easy!
We worked horses first and second lot on Wednesday - Morney Wing worked very well along with Seventh Sky, Some Kinda Lama and Expedite. Iffy then drove me to London and I went to "the Punters lunch" which was in the Sydney Arms. We watched the racing all day and had to try to pick all the winners at Newbury. It was a very good lunch and a lot of nice people were there.
We are schooling horses this morning. We are planning to run Seventh Sky at Haydock on Saturday and Airpur Desbois at Ascot. We also have entries at Fakenham on Sunday.
We worked horses first and second lot on Wednesday - Morney Wing worked very well along with Seventh Sky, Some Kinda Lama and Expedite. Iffy then drove me to London and I went to "the Punters lunch" which was in the Sydney Arms. We watched the racing all day and had to try to pick all the winners at Newbury. It was a very good lunch and a lot of nice people were there.
We are schooling horses this morning. We are planning to run Seventh Sky at Haydock on Saturday and Airpur Desbois at Ascot. We also have entries at Fakenham on Sunday.
Monday 14 December 2015
Ephraim WINS at Doncaster!
I had a meeting at Pinewood on Friday night with my sons Form Master, who informed me that he has to pull his socks up to get his Common Entrance into his next school, so he definitely takes after myself!
On Saturday, James Davies rode out and Morney Wing worked well on the grass, as did Le Legro and Baltic Storm.
We took Ephraim up to Doncaster and although the ground got soft, he coped with it well and he won probably with a little bit in hand. He is a very talented horse and we will go back to Doncaster for "The River Don" on the 30th January. The plan has always been to get him to Cheltenham in March and he will have two more races before then,which he'll need to win in order to go to Cheltenham. He is an exciting prospect for David Fox and it was a nice tonic for him as he had been in hospital for about a week prior to the race.
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| Ephraim's winning trophy! |
We sent Bridal Suite to Southwell on Sunday to let Shane Harte have his first ride in public. He had a nice ride on him and was unlucky not to get placed.
We had a good lunch party at Sarah Cutcliffe's on Sunday.
We've got a dry day today (being Monday), with lunch in The Malt Shovel at 1pm.
We've got a fairly quiet week this week because of the ground. However we do have entries for Dukes Den and Airpur Desbois at the end of the week. Seventh Sky gets another entry at Haydock on Saturday.
Friday 11 December 2015
Friday 11th December..
We went to Fontwell on Tuesday and ran Gowanauthat on virtually un-raceable ground; he pulled up. I then took My Anchor out as the ground was so bad, so we only had the one runner. I'm afraid I got Paul Mott to come all the way to Fontwell for a non runner, but he took it well.
On Wednesday we worked some horses up the back of the hill - we had Denis O'Regan and David Crosse in to help. Morney Wing worked well, as did Le Legro. Some Kinda Lama has come out of his race very well and Baltic Storm was in very good form. Elmore Back did a nice bit along with Dukes Den.
I picked up Tildie from her school, which is St Edwards in Oxford, she stayed on an extra five days after they broke up because she is in the rowing team and she had managed to get into the first VIII which is a great achievement. We then picked up William from Pinewood. Charlie Nugent popped in to look around evening stables and to see the horses, which was nice. Charlie owned a share in my first winner as a trainer and has always had a share in something, but he now makes out he is too poor and is a steward at some of the racecourses now.. I took the children to The Malt Shovel for supper and had a very nice steak.
We schooled five horses on Thursday morning. Mark Grant was in to help. I had my lawns cut which I think is extraordinary only two weeks before Christmas, but it definitely looks a lot tidier. Tildie started her first job which was bottlewasher at The Malt Shovel. I bought her a new pair of Marigolds to celebrate the occasion.
We sent My Anchor up to Doncaster on Friday and he was running away at 2miles, but he did not get home over 2m 3f, so needs dropping back in trip. The ground is quite dead at Doncaster, so we have already taken Quebec out of tomorrow's race, but we are sending Ephraim there tomorrow and are hoping that he runs well and builds on his race at Ascot. We are also giving Shane Harte his first ride on Sunday at Southwell on Bridal Suite.
We have got one or two horses ready to run right now, but lots of them want better ground, which is a bit frustrating.
On Wednesday we worked some horses up the back of the hill - we had Denis O'Regan and David Crosse in to help. Morney Wing worked well, as did Le Legro. Some Kinda Lama has come out of his race very well and Baltic Storm was in very good form. Elmore Back did a nice bit along with Dukes Den.
I picked up Tildie from her school, which is St Edwards in Oxford, she stayed on an extra five days after they broke up because she is in the rowing team and she had managed to get into the first VIII which is a great achievement. We then picked up William from Pinewood. Charlie Nugent popped in to look around evening stables and to see the horses, which was nice. Charlie owned a share in my first winner as a trainer and has always had a share in something, but he now makes out he is too poor and is a steward at some of the racecourses now.. I took the children to The Malt Shovel for supper and had a very nice steak.
We schooled five horses on Thursday morning. Mark Grant was in to help. I had my lawns cut which I think is extraordinary only two weeks before Christmas, but it definitely looks a lot tidier. Tildie started her first job which was bottlewasher at The Malt Shovel. I bought her a new pair of Marigolds to celebrate the occasion.
We sent My Anchor up to Doncaster on Friday and he was running away at 2miles, but he did not get home over 2m 3f, so needs dropping back in trip. The ground is quite dead at Doncaster, so we have already taken Quebec out of tomorrow's race, but we are sending Ephraim there tomorrow and are hoping that he runs well and builds on his race at Ascot. We are also giving Shane Harte his first ride on Sunday at Southwell on Bridal Suite.
We have got one or two horses ready to run right now, but lots of them want better ground, which is a bit frustrating.
Tuesday 8 December 2015
Seventh Sky 2nd in the Grand Sefton at Aintree!
On Saturday morning I saw first lot out and then jumped into the car with Gavin Sheehan and went up to Aintree. We had a good run up the M6 and got there in plenty of time. The weather was pretty foul as it was wet and windy, and I went down to the Chair to watch the Becher chase with Jimmy Moffatt. We watched Jimmy win the Becher with a horse he had only bought four weeks previously, out of Emma Lavelle's yard. We ran Seventh Sky in the Grand Sefton and again, I went down to the Chair with Donald McCain to watch it. He ran an amazing race and was given a beautiful ride by Gavin to finish 2nd. He jumped like a buck and did us proud. I am hoping that John Heron will let me enter him in the Grand National as he proved that he can jump the fences well and I think he would be competitive. It is always exciting when you see a horse take to the National fences and Seventh Sky absolutely loved it. He lost very little weight and was very fresh on Monday morning!
We schooled a couple of horses on Sunday morning and then we had a very good lunch for 12 people at home. Katya cooked a very good meal. We drank some of the wine I bought from an auction, and it really was superb.
We had my new Bank Manager down on Monday to finalise the move to RBS; Robert came down with his assistant Uz and they gave Tess and I lunch in the Malt Shovel, which was a very good way to start the week!!
We are off to Fontwell this morning as I have two runners; Gowanauthat and My Anchor. The ground will be bottomless and I just hope that they can both act on it. We are letting Tommy ride them both as 10lbs in this ground is quite a lot of weight.
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| Gowanauthat (IRE) runs in the 1.10 at Fontwell today |
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| My Anchor runs in the 2.40 at Fontwell today |
Friday 4 December 2015
Seventh Sky
We schooled Seventh Sky over the National fences on Thursday morning and Mr Big kept him company. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he was brilliant and it really lit him up. So much so that Gavin Sheehan couldn't pull him up! So on the back of that, he runs tomorrow at Aintree in the Grand Sefton, over the National fences and we will see what happens!
The weather has been better today. We took the horses up the grass which they all enjoyed. The Jockey Club have built a new schooling facility, so we took Mr Big up there with Shane on board and jumped all the fences. It is a good facility and a big asset for young horses who are learning to jump. I think Mr Big quite enjoys being a performing monkey!!!!
It has been a fairly quiet week this week as we ran a lot of runners last week. We only have Seventh Sky in at the weekend, but we will get busier next week and have just made entries for Dukes Den, Ephraim and My Anchor.
The weather has been better today. We took the horses up the grass which they all enjoyed. The Jockey Club have built a new schooling facility, so we took Mr Big up there with Shane on board and jumped all the fences. It is a good facility and a big asset for young horses who are learning to jump. I think Mr Big quite enjoys being a performing monkey!!!!
It has been a fairly quiet week this week as we ran a lot of runners last week. We only have Seventh Sky in at the weekend, but we will get busier next week and have just made entries for Dukes Den, Ephraim and My Anchor.
Thursday 3 December 2015
Seventh Sky zooming over the National fences....
Seventh Sky & Mr Big
We schooled Seventh Sky over the National fences this morning. Mr Big gave him a lead... Both jumped beautifully as you can see. Gavin Sheehan was very pleased with Seventh Sky and is jocked up to ride him on Saturday in the Grand Sefton Chase at Aintree!
Wednesday 2 December 2015
Wednesday 2nd December
The week started very well as Robert and Gina Cohen took myself and Katya out for a very jolly lunch at The Woodspeen near Newbury, which was very spoiling.
We sent Cody Wyoming to Rodney Powell's. Rodney is a top class event rider. He is going to do all sorts of different things with Cody to try and get his head sorted out.
On Tuesday we went to winter-time, which means we pull out at 7.30 rather than 7am (first lot) and I must say it was a big success as it is nice to be able to see your horses in daylight, rather than in the dark.
We ran Tango Unchained in his first bumper a Southwell and for some unknown reason, he pulled up. We cannot find anything wrong with him and I think it is best to draw a line under that one.
This morning we worked Seventh Sky with Bridal Suite and they both went nicely. No Bad News did his first bit and went really well. Ephraim, Quebec and My Anchor did a nice piece of work up the back of the hill.
We sent Cody Wyoming to Rodney Powell's. Rodney is a top class event rider. He is going to do all sorts of different things with Cody to try and get his head sorted out.
On Tuesday we went to winter-time, which means we pull out at 7.30 rather than 7am (first lot) and I must say it was a big success as it is nice to be able to see your horses in daylight, rather than in the dark.
We ran Tango Unchained in his first bumper a Southwell and for some unknown reason, he pulled up. We cannot find anything wrong with him and I think it is best to draw a line under that one.
This morning we worked Seventh Sky with Bridal Suite and they both went nicely. No Bad News did his first bit and went really well. Ephraim, Quebec and My Anchor did a nice piece of work up the back of the hill.
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