Friday 10th March, 2023

As ever, the staff are doing a great job of working through the snow, sleet and rain over the last few days.  Fortunately with our excellent facilities we are able to keep the horses on the move and able to do plenty of exercise in these wintery conditions.

The ground is certainly beginning to change for the better for a few of our horses and we look forward to getting some targets for them in the coming weeks.

It was great to welcome owner Brian Duckett to the yard this morning. Brian has been a great supporter of the yard for over a couple of decades and is now retired living in Portugal.  However he has been responsible for putting together many successful syndicates for us in the past, including Beautiful People, Organdi and Muthabir – all of which have won plenty of races for us.  Brian and I also came up with the idea of the Adlestrop Club over a cup of coffee in Daylesford one day and certainly that decision has created a great deal of entertainment for many over the years.

I attended the annual Carbine Club Cheltenham Preview at the Oxo Tower on Tuesday.  Having had the pleasure of training for the Carbine Club in the past and hopefully in the future, it is always a splendid evening where Nick Luck, George Baker, JA McGrath and myself attempt to pick the winners of the major races at the Festival.  Amongst the attendees were the owners of three of the major chances for next week.  Michael Buckley, Robert Waley-Cohen and Patricia Thompson. Good luck to all.

I also attended Robert Bellamy’s Cheltenham Preview for the Cotswold Hunt on Wednesday with Emma Lavelle and Jonjo junior joining G Clarkson on the panel, I feel better informed than GCHQ but only time will tell.