Tuesday 17th January, 2022

We have declared Bluenose Belle at Kempton on Thursday in the 8pm race with David Probert booked to ride.  She will once again wear cheekpieces and hopefully this time she will be able to have a lead, as she had to make her own running in her two previous races.  Let’s hope there will be a faster pace on and although the race looks hot, she appears in good form at home.

Following all the rain, we now have plenty of frost about but we are able to keep the horses on the go despite the cold weather.  Ground conditions are not suiting many at present so we are short on runners but hopefully that will change soon.

Despite the ground, there was some exciting racing at the weekend.  It’s great for the sport that once again a female jockey won the big race, with Bridget Andrews getting her mount West Balboa up in the final strides of the Lanzarote.  Luckily, no time for any post race celebrations like her husband.

Yesterday Charlie Brooks in his Telegraph column, paid tribute to our great friend Barry Allen who sadly passed away recently.  A semi-professional footballer from the midlands, Barry was a unique character with the brain capacity of an Oxford College.

He was instrumental in setting the parameters of blood tests for the NHS before moving into the equine world where he worked closely with Michael Stoute, Martin Pipe and John Gosden amongst others.  He was a great scientist who loved the sport of horseracing and his views and knowledge were both insightful and thought-provoking.

An eccentric who shunned any limelight who was a good and loyal friend and had immense personality and humour.  Barry’s contribution to the training of racehorses over the last few decades is immeasurable but his passing reminds us of his huge contribution to the welfare of racehorses.