ENTRIES ON THE SIX TO FOLLOW PAGE!
WEDNESDAY 1ST APRIL
Yipee we are finally of the mark when SECRET SOCIETY obliged this afternoon at Lingfield. He was always tracking the favourite which was always the going to be the one to beat. He was given a lovely ride by Tom Queally who is a good strong jockey and he managed to get our horse up to win by a whisker. He will hopefully develop into a nice prospect for the rest of the season. Yesterday we had hoped for a big run from BUBSES BOY but he got into all sorts of trouble and after being up with the pace he got shuffled back and was staying on again at the end.
Tomorrow we have good chances with FARMER GILES and BIN END. FARMER GILES looks to be a sharp two-year-old but he has a tough task against MicK Channons runner who was second in the Brocklesby. We are pleased with how our horses has been going so fingers crossed for a big run. BIN END is our only other runner and I am only hoping that the drying ground will not be to firm for him but again we expect a good run from him if conditions suit.
THOMAS BAINES, TELL HALAF AND MADAME ROULIN
Today the horses worked on the back of the flat again. The horses seem in terrific form and this certainly is the case with THOMAS BAINES who worked very nicely with TELL HALAF and MADAME ROULIN although the camera angle definitely flatters him.
GRAMERCY, COLLECT ART AND FEARLESS FALCON
Our second group of two year olds to work also looked a nice bunch. This consisted of COLLECT ART, GRAMERCY and FEARLESS FALCON. They are certainly going to be better over a longer trip but again they all worked well together.
THE CARLTON CANNES, ALLIED POWERS AND MEZZANISI
Our third group to work consisted of the older horses and I really am getting very fond of THE CARLTON CANNES. He is such a lovely genuine gentleman of a horse and he put in a good piece of work along with ALLIED POWERS and MEZZANISI. THE CARLTON CANNES is entered on Saturday and ALLIED POWERS has an entry on Tuesday at Pontefract.
LOMBOK, SPEAKERS CORNER AND SUMMERS LEASE
LOMBOK is really starting to come to himself and he gave a really nice lead to SPEAKERS CORNER and the very nice SUMMERS LEASE. They all finished really well together and look as though they are all heading in the right direction.
PIQUANTE AND MONEYCANTBUYMELOVE
These two look to be really nice fillies and on the evidence of how they worked today they looked pretty impressive. It was good to see them work well as a lot of the Highclere owners were here to watch. PIQUANTE is being targeted for a maiden at Newbury on the 17th April. MONEYCANTBUYMELOVE could possibly run in the Sales race at Newmarket on the 15th April.
TOP OF THE SCALE, LADY ARTEMISIA AND BUSSELL ALONG
These are three fillies heading in the right direction. TOP OF THE SCALE has certainly improved a lot since her arrival and she quickened up nicely when she met the rising ground. The fillies are really starting to come and if this sunny spell continues then it will definitely help these fillies.
MONDAY 30TH MARCH
Well so far we have a record 102 entries in the Six to Follow with still a few more due to come in. This is the most entries we have ever had so many thanks to everyone who has taken part.
RED AMY
We our first runner of this new season ran yesterday when ORBITOR headed to Doncaster. He was kept in the rear early on but stayed on well despite trying to hang to his left. He shaped with promise and will surely do better next time. He is bred to want further so this is a very encouraging run.
ORATORIO EX PILGRIM SPIRIT
We have no runners today but we do have one tomorrow when BUBSES BOY takes his chance at Folkestone. He looks to have done really well over the winter and has been working nicely at home. He should hopefully give a good account of himself here. On Wednesday the promising SECRET SOCIETY runs and we liked him a lot last year. He was beaten by a horse called GALPIN JUNIOR which went on to run in two Group races so he obviously is thought quite a bit of. Our horse has been going nicely at home and looks to have done well physically over the winter.
HORSERADISH
We have four entries at Leicester on Thursday when our first two-year-old runner could hit the track. FARMER GILES has been entered and after watching him work on Wednesday he certainly had impressed in his gallop. Also entered is the nice filly that was third in the listed race at Newmarket last season called AUNT NICOLA. She is again another who has done well over the winter and hopefully she can stay injury free this year. Finally we have made two entries for BIN END who has also been entered at Newcastle on Saturday. He will run in the race the boss feels he has the best chance in. Also on Saturday we have THE CARLTON CANNES entered. He is a lovely looking horse and hopefully if he runs he will give a good account of himself as it would be nice to make a good start for his owner Mr Pearce who is having horses with us again after the retirement of Mr Wragg who trained his horses previously. I am not sure of any definite runner yet, so we will keep you posted as and when we know.
GRAMERCY
THURSDAY 26TH MARCH
Well so far we have declared nothing for the weekend. Saturday runners were due to be declared today but we have decided not to run either REDFORD or BIN END. We will declare for Sunday tomorrow but so far I am not sure of what Sunday's runners maybe. We have today however made more entries for SECRET SOCIETY and BUSBES BOY which means that they now have entries at Folkestone on Tuesday and SECRET SOCIETY has also been entered at Lingfield on Wednesday and BUBSES BOY has been entered at Kempton on the same day.
With things starting to get in full swing now, I went up on the gallops to watch the horses work and I was joined by Hayley Turner who was also out watching the horses. it was great to see her looking so fit and well and we were both left impressed with what we had seen after the horses had galloped.
HAYLEY TURNER, RUBY AND THE BOSS
The first group to work was four of our sharper two-year-olds and the pick of these had to be FARMER GILES who went very nicely. Sadly for me, he quickened up nicely with THOMAS BAINES and so these two are the only ones in the picture but they were joined going past us by TELL HALAF and JUICY PEAR who were quite green and took a while to get going. I like FARMER GILES a lot and he is a definite candidate for my Six to Follow!
FARMER GILES AND THOMAS BAINES
REDFORD AND GREAT CHARM
REDFORD worked nicely with GREAT CHARM and although REDFORD went well he is going to be given a bit more time. GREAT CHARM is in on Sunday although it looks as though he will struggle to get a run in his intended race with the amount of entries.
STEEL FREE AND AUNT NICOLA
The next to come up the back of the flat gallop was a very nice filly by Danehill Dancer called STEEL FREE and she looks to be a quality filly. AUNT NICOLA also looks to have put her troubles behind her from last year and they both look to be exciting fillies to have in the yard. It was a good day for AUNT NICOLA'S jockey Tom Hemsley who later in the day went on to pass his driving test after his first attempt.
MOYENNE CORNICHE
MOYENNE CORNICHE went very nicely with zest and enthusiasm under our head lad Richard Simpson and he is on schedule to run on the 18th April in a listed race at Doncaster. He seems to really love getting his toe in the ground after the recent rain that we have had.
SPEAKERS CORNER AND LOMBOK
LOMBOK and SPEAKERS CORNER worked a straight seven back and little Ian Burns kept SPEAKERS CORNER up to his work keeping up with LOMBOK who travelled nicely. Sadly we had some sad news today as poor Ian fell of a two-year-old whilst coming out of the stalls and it looks as though he may have broken his leg so we are all hoping that he has a speedy recovery as he is a lovely little lad.
THE CARLTON CANNES AND MEZZANISI
This was meant to be a trio of horses working a straight six and then three furlongs round the bend. As they come past us they were quite spread out so sadly I only got THE CARLTON CANNES and MEZZANISI in the picture but FOOLIN MYSELF was sat in behind and he joined them going round the bend. They all finished nicely together and these could be three nice horses for this season. MEZZANISI was really consistent last year so hopefully he will reproduce this sort of form on the track again this year.
EDDIE BOY AND ORBITOR
EDDIE BOY worked really well in partnership with ORBITOR who again travelled nicely throughout. These are two nice horses who should hopefully be winning races this season. EDDIE BOY was partnered by Bryan Riley who is riding out for us at the moment. He is a good jockey who after a few problems will hopefully get his career back on track.
PIQUANTE AND MONEYCANTBUYMELOVE
PIQUANTE is a really nice filly who should hopefully be doing herself justice on the track this season. She worked nicely with MONEYCANTBUYMELOVE who went close in the Tattersalls Sales race to finish fourth. They are both nice fillies who we like a lot.
ALLIED POWERS AND THE BETCHWORTH KID
The last group to come up consisted of two yard favorites, THE BETCHWORTH KID and ALLIED POWERS who was ridden by John Maxse. They went nicely staying together and they are both horses that hopefully will bring lots of fun for the connections again this year.
There is still time to enter the Six to Follow contest and as we have no runners at present, entries will now close on Saturday morning. A big thank you to everyone who has taken part in what could be a record amount of entries that we have received so far. We will post peoples selection on the Six to Follow page next week so you can see what horses you have picked. Once again many thanks for taking the time to enter and good luck to you all!
MONDAY 23RD MARCH
BUBSES BOY
Firstly sorry that the website has not been updated for over a week but I have been away on holiday and sadly that has meant no one has been able to update it. It was a quite a good week to have off with the only action coming from GARTER KNIGHT who ran on Wednesday. He was always towards rear and was ridden with three furlongs left to run and he never looked like troubling the leaders. He is still a very green horse at home and is still quite babyish. Hopefully we can have some fun with him when the turf season starts this week.
BUSSELL ALONG
In preparation for the start of the turf season we have made six entries today for the weekend. On Saturday we have entered REDFORD in the Cammidge Trophy which is a listed contest over six furlongs. The horse looks in tremendous form and has really wintered well so if he runs we are hopeful of a good effort from him. Also on Saturday BIN END could have his first run of the new season as he has been entered in the mile and a quarter maiden. He ran encouragingly first time out to finish third on his debut and he is certainly bred to stay further. That is all we have entered for Saturday.
THINK GREEN
On Sunday we have two entries in the seven furlong maiden. The first of these is for SECRET SOCIETY who we have liked a lot. He was beaten by a horse called Galpin Junior who has gone on to run in two Group Ones since scoring his victory. SECRET SOCIETY is liked a lot in the yard and will give a good account of himself if he is to run. Also entered in this race is a really nice unraced filly called STEEL FREE. She is owned by a lovely man called Mr Tom Burrage who had an awful year last year. Hopefully as the season progresses she will shape up into a really nice filly who can put a smile back on his face. She certainly looks the part. GREAT CHARM could run later on the card in the six furlong handicap. He was a smart consistent performer last season who managed four wins to keep up our great run going. Hopefully he will add at least another four to the total this season. ORBITOR is the last one on the card and he takes his chance in the mile and a quarter handicap. He is a progressive individual and hopefully we will be able to assess his ability and see which way he is heading. He has done really well physically after his win at Great Leighs and could be a nice horse in the making.
CLEAR HILLS
THURSDAY 12TH MARCH
SPEAKERS CORNER
Well sadly the Cheltenham nap money will not be coming to me this year. I have not even had a winner at the meeting and so with the last day approaching I need a miracle. The boss and Mrs Bell went to the meeting today so hopefully they managed to find a winner at the track. It has been a good meeting so far and it was great to see Punjab win on the first day of the meeting for Mr Tooth who has CHURCH OF ENGLAND in training with us.
BAHAMIAN BABE
We have made an entry today for GARTER KNIGHT next Wednesday at Lingfield. He is a horse that has been improving with every race but he still is like a big baby. He is gradually coming to hand and learning what his job is all about.
SOFONISBA
The season is now only two weeks away and we are all really raring to go. Hopefully in the next week or so we will be able to give you an update on our intended early runners as we have one or two. Yesterday we had plenty of the visitors to the yard and it was really great to see Mr Redman and Mr Philipps who own MEZZANISI. He looks in fantastic form and we hope that he will continue with the consistent form that he showed last year. We also had Mr Fox who brought three lovely ladies with him to see ADBURY. He has been so patient with this horse after having to have a year off already due to immaturity and it is good to see the horse improving all the time. We hope that he will stay sound and reward the patience that his owners have showed in him.
STEEL FREE
MONDAY 9TH MARCH
GARTER KNIGHT was our only runner at the weekend and looks as though he is still learning as he is still quite green. He was a little keen early on and when he was asked to go he was taken extremely wide into the home straight. He was being eased once his chance had gone inside the final furlong. He is still quite an immature horse and is learning more and more all the time. Hopefully he can be one that will do well later in the season in handicaps.
ADVISOR
We have made no further entries for this week which is not a bad thing as everyone here will be glued to Cheltenham. We are running our usual naps competition again and so hopefully the money will be coming in my direction by the end of the week. It is always great fun watching the days racing and we were lucky enough to have METAPHORIC run at the meeting last year. Sadly we have no runners this year but hopefully after his forced absence he will be back at the track again next year for the festival.
ORBITOR
The horses seem to be in great form and I was lucky enough to go up this morning and watch the horses canter. Miss Heather Chellingworth and Mr John Munro came for breakfast this morning and then went to see NIGHT KNIGHT on Warren Hill. He has done well over the winter both in his attitude and the way he has strengthened. Hopefully he can give them and his other owners a lot of fun this season. I like going up to the gallops and it gives me the opportunity to get some pictures of the horses and see how they are going especially with the Six to Follow starting soon. We look to have a nice bunch of horses this season and hopefully I will be able to pick some winners from them.
YU TIGER
We are glad to report that Hayley's on the mend and she seems in really good form which is fantastic news. We are not sure when she will be back but it is great that she has turned the corner and we cannot wait to have her back.
NIGHT KNIGHT
WEDNESDAY 4TH MARCH
Well it has been quite a week and its only Wednesday! Yesterday not only did we have to contend with derby forfeits and guineas entries we were also shocked after hearing the horrible news that poor Hayley had taken a nasty fall and that she was quite badly hurt. Thankfully she is going to be okay and Mrs Bell has been to see her this morning and although bruised and battered she is a tough cookie and has suffered no permanent damage which is such a relief. We cannot wait to have her lovely smiling face back in the yard.
We did make some nice entries in the 1000 and 2000 guineas yesterday which has been really exciting and hopefully we will have a runner in each. In the 2000 guineas we have ART CONNOISSEUR who is a really exciting prospect on the evidence of last season and hopefully if he runs he will have a trouble free run up until the 2nd May. In the 1000 guineas we have entered three nice fillies, one of these being SARISKA who won her maiden nicely at Newmarket and also ACT GREEN who finally got off the mark at Great Leighs. The other filly we have entered is a filly called MISS EZE which is a really good looking homebred filly of Mr John Pearce's
We only have two left in the Derby to keep our dream alive in June and they are FOUR WINDS who has wintered really well and YU TIGER who is a bit of a unknown quantity. He is a unraced three year old by Haafhd out of Pure and when he came in he was a bit of a handful. He has now knuckled down to the job in hand and is starting to go quite nicely. FOUR WINDS we are delighted with and he seems to have thrived and matured over the winter months.
We have made an entry for GARTER KNIGHT on Saturday and a decision will be made in the morning if he is going to run.
FRIDAY 27TH FEBRUARY
We have had a quiet week this week with sadly no runners and not even any entries. It has given us a chance to get the colours and sponsorship sorted out for the new season which is quite a task as sadly we no longer have a yard sponsor and the horses have to be sponsored in order for the VAT to be claimed back. Our string looks really good and we are all now really eager for the season to start. We have posted on the website this years six to follow competition which we hope everyone will take part in and make it as successful as it has been over the previous two season where we have had record entries each year for.
On Wednesday Emma Berry came to take pictures of our three Motivator Colts for some advertising material. We are really pleased with our Motivators and as you can see from the pictures they look a fine bunch. It was kind of Emma who is John Berry the trainers wife to give us such a lovely picture so many thanks indeed to her.
THE THREE MOTIVATORS
We are nearly to capacity in the yard and we have two new arrivals today in the form of brother and sister. THINK GREEN is a three-year-old filly, who is nicely bred by Montjeu out of Hasty Words and she will be arriving this evening along with her brother who is really good looking two-year-old colt by Haafhd Ex Hasty Words and the boss liked him a lot when he saw him. They are arriving from Mr Gredleys stud and we are really lucky to have five horses now for Mr Gredley.
