Attheraces

Those of you who read my blog will know that Attheraces were here doing a yard profile. It was a great experience and Robert Cooper is very easy to work with, he has a great ability of making one feel at ease. We spent the morning filming different services that I offer. I'd been wanting to girth a horse since the middle of last week and thought that I would wait until the camera was rolling. The filly delivered and had a real good buck and a kick before accepting the girth and carrying on with her work as if nothing had happened. We filmed 2 horses working upsides, Kiss Me Twice who will be ready to run within 2/3 weeks if we get some rain and Cavite Gamma, Cavite Gamma has strengthen up considerably over the summer and is a smashing horse. He'll run in a Pt-Pt in November before heading to the Cheltenham Sale 2 weeks later. Both horses worked very well. Cavite Eta gave a faultless display of loose schooling.

Its been a tough time trying to find a real good lad to come and work in the yard and take the rides in the point to points. Thankfully my scout (Micheal Talland) in Irealnd has potenially found me a lad. His name is Declan Leavy, he comes with glowing reports having been champion jockey for 2 years in the pony racing. He's ridden over 200 winners and has worked for Adien O'Brien and Tony Martin in Irealnd. Its very exciting for us both. He's desperate to get a chance to make a name for himself and we desperatly need another real good rider in the yard. I find the lack of young lads coming into the industry very worrying. Lets hope it all works out for both of us. He arrives on Monday night for a weeks trial. It can be very rewarding helping young lads get going.

We are very busy at the moment and I hope the yard is full to bursting by the end of next weeks yearling sales in Ireland

At The Races

Its been a busy few weeks in the yard. A handful of yearlings have now arrived and its another enjoyable part of the yard. Having been around NH stores since May theses flat yearlings appear to be so so small. They are so well handled these days from foals making my job pretty each - excluding the odd one!

Robert Cooper from At The Races is due here on Wednesday. They are going to spend a morning with me and I will be doing my best to show and explain everything I do here at Cottage Field Stables. I am very much looking forward to it but dread the thought of having a microphone hooked on. I'll have to watch my F's, the lads will think i'm ill.

I am trying to find a real good lad to come and work in the yard, with the veiw of giving him the rides in the Point to Pointers. I have the word out in Ireland that I'm looking and hope someone comes along. They are a great bunch of horses that any trainer would be happy to have any one of them in their yard. Its a real chance for a young jockey to get noticed.