Kiss Me Twice Gets The P2P Season Off To a Winning Start

Kiss Me Twice won the restricted on Saturday at Barbury Castle beating 16 others. He won well and Sam Drinkwater gave him a smashing ride. We returned to Barbury the next day when James had his first ride on Custers Last Stand. James enjoyed himself and Custers jumped well and pulled hard. James's arms are now 3 inches longer!

Kiss Me Twice went to Cheltenham sales on Friday night and to my knowledge there wasn't a bid for him. I just can"t understand it a winners of 1 in Ireland (their restricted races) would have possibly topped the sale. We weren't asking silly money for him, he had a 15,000 reserve on him and he is a sure fire winner of more races. It's another example of how little is thought of point-to-points in England. Sadly, until they are more respected I am forced to aim my sales horses at bumpers. I feel this is a great shame but we are trying to be commercial. I will still use p2p's as a stepping stone for horses that aren't sales horses and may take a few of our own to Larkhill later in season if the ground hasn't gone by the time our babies are ready. I feel very sad that it just isn't working commercially and bumpers will have to be our starting point from now.

Proximo ran a blinder at Warwick last month finishing 3rd behind The New One, I hear that The New One is highly thought of and that he may be aimed at the champion bumper in March. We think a lot of our horse and have given him a rest for a few weeks since his race. It's a big ask for a 3 year old and he deserves to be let down for a while, we plan to get him back into full work next week.

Cavite Gamma was hugely disappointing at Plumpton and it's a run to forget, he came home with very sore shins. His shins are now in good nick and he's spent plenty of time in the Spa. I think Charlie will look for a race for him in January.

The rain has finally arrived and we'll be on the grass gallop this week.

Can't keep up with myself

Time seems to fly by and my blog has been neglected again! The last few months have been incredibly busy - a great complaint as the yard continues to be running at full capacity and 15 hour working days seem to be the norm of late.

The Derby sale horses are all cantering and I am very happy with them. I can't believe that we have only just started clipping this week the weather is painful, please send some rain.......... We took a lorry load of bumper horses to Kempton earlier in the week and I'd like to think that we have some exciting months ahead.

The flat yearlings have started to arrive and Ralph Beckett is again my biggest supplier of yearlings. Ralph has always been a huge supporter of mine and is a great friend too.

I think Ferdy Murphy's comments in the racing post today about the new whip rules were spot on and it's the same for all jockeys. If any of them need some help with counting my 3 year old daughter is free after school most days from 1 p.m onwards. If Gay Kellaway thinks she needs to put blinkers on all her horses to help her jockeys perhaps she should think about putting the blinkers on her jockeys!

Next winters crop

Charlie Brooks and I had a very successful trip to Ireland for the Derby sale where we bought 5 horses all 3 year old geldings. We struck early buying lot 3 paying 31,000 euros for a lovely Midnight Legend gelding. Having had them home for a week he's my pick and I think he'll be the first one to run. He's very strong and well furnished for a 3 year old. We paid 10,000 euros for lot 63 a Oscar gelding, he's very active and I was surprised that there wasn't anyone else there to buy him. It was the same scenario with lot 287 a Milan gelding, he's quite big and will need a bit of time, certainly worth a punt for 10,000 euros, he's out of a winning Supreme Leader mare the dam of 2 winners. Lot 347 is a very athletic Flemensfirth gelding, we had to pay a little more for this fella and secured him for 32,000 euros. I love this horse and he could easily be a Cheltenham bumper horse. Lot 266 stretched the budget to the last. He's a very precocious gelding by High Chaparral with a super pedigree out of Monte Solaro. I couldn't be happier with the horses and it's a privilege to be involved with them.

It's a very exciting time of year for me and I spend many happy hours visualising each one of them crossing the line with their heads in front! I shall do my best to keep the blog updated with their progress.

Malt Master makes £155,000 and I trained my first double. What a weekend!

What a fantastic weekend! It all started off at Newbury racecourse on Saturday night when Malt Master was sold to Mr Henderson for £155,000. He was an impressive winner at Doncaster 10 days earlier when convincingly beating a quality field of other runners. I am sure he'll go to greater things and could end up being a horse for The Queen Mother Chase one day - I'd love to think so.

Sunday was also a great day when when I trained my first double with Jacalou winning the restricted and Cavite Epsilon the first division of the Maiden. Jacalou did it well and galloped all the way to the line in tough fashion, Sam Waley Cohen gave her a great ride getting a lovely blow into her after jumping the water for the second time. Cavite Epsilon is by Kahyasi and is a real good horse. He ran very green but jumped and galloped himself to the front far sooner than I would have liked. However green he was, he demolished the others. Sam told me that he felt the horse could have won by a fence had he had a bit more experience under his belt. This horse has been my pick of all the National Hunt stores we bought and has done nothing but impress me with everything he's done at home. He finds it all so easy. What he does now is all a bonus. He's only 5 and he's a big horse with a bit of filling out to do yet. I really rate this horse.

Cavite Alpha a winner of his maiden in January will now run in a bumper on 14th March at Stratford.

Cavite Eta showed plenty of promise before falling upsides in front at the last

Cavite Eta showed plenty of promise on his debut when falling upsides at the last when looking like the winner on Sunday at Chaddesly Corbett. The eventual winner pulled up 2 fences from home before restarting the race. I'm more sorry for the horse than anyone else. It is the last thing he deserved, he's a very accyrate jumper on the whole. He is a light framed horse and I had hoped he'd win. Had he have won I would without question have put him away until offering him for sale at the Brightwells Cheltenham sale on 13th April. However, he will now have to run again before and the plan is to enter him for Siddington in 3 weeks time. The track will suit him and fingers crossed he'll win and get a well deserved rest and some spring grass. He will be a better horse with another summer under his belt as he still has a lot of filling out to do. He certainly has gears!

Cavite Zeta scores second time of asking.

Its been a busy few weeks following on from Jacalou's Whitfield win. I've been held up with a few of the young point-pointers and have had to be very selective with the ones i've galloped. A few have had a low grade virus. I don't beleive in blood tests,they are costly and actually tell you what you already know. If I'm forced into doing anything I would take a tract wash. However, I knew they were wrong and treated them with IV antibiotics for 5 days. I feel now that they are through it and we can start to step on the gas a bit.

Cavite Zeta won nicely at Whitwick Manor after having a very (unplanned)quiet run 6 days earlier at Barbury Castle. I felt he never really got in the race at Barbury and should have made a much better fist of it had he been given a more positive ride. Declan is a smashing lad but lacks racecourse experience. Sadly for Declan we are trying to prove young horses with the veiw to selling them on in the spring and can not afford for him to learn on the job. Cavite Zeta will be offered for sale after racing at Newbury on 5th March.

Tom Weston will ride for us when he can and Olly Murphy and Oliver Greenall will be asked to ride when Tom can't.

Tom is riding Cavite Eta for us on Sunday at Chaddesley Corbett, I expect him to run nicely, he won't be knocked about. There are 4 or 5 horses to respect at entry but whether they turn up or not we won't know until the day. Cavite Eta is by Spadoun and has worked very well. He's a light framed horse and won't take much racing this time round. He'll be stronger for another Spring and Summer at grass and he's a horse to follow. He has a engine!

Cavite Epsilon is possibly going to run at Tweseldown on 6th March. I like this horse a lot. He's by Kayhasi and has a super pedigree. Jacalou will also have an entry there. She ran at Whitwick Manor over the weekend finishing fourth. I think Tweseldown is a lovely tarck and would be ideal for both these horses. I rode a good few winners there and will be giving strict instructions to the jockeys!

I'm desperate to get one of The Cottage Field Syndiacte horses on the track but they just aren't ready. We have 2 four year olds, 1 by Epalo named Tang Royal and the other by Flemensfirth named Beckhani. Beckhani has done nothing but grow and he's found it all rather difficult. However he's begining to come to hand and I hope to have him in the winners enclosure and also through the sales ring by the middle of May at the latest. Tang Royal looked as if he would be one of my first runners but got very low with the bug. I'm just having to wait for him to tell me when he's ready. I can't wait for him to have a buck and a kick. When he shows me that he's feeling well again he won't take much getting fit.

Cavite Alpha gets the season off to a winning start

Cavite Alpha won easily at Chaddesley Corbett yesterday. Declan gave him a lovely ride holding him up until 3 out when he just eased in to the lead and went on to win with head in chest. The ground was dead and tiring and it was a great performance from horse and jockey. Our other runner Kiss Me Twice looked like making a double 5 fences from home. He was travelling like the winner but dropped the bridle 4 fences from home and stopped very quickly before unseating Declan when in fourth at the second last. I think he wants better ground and a shorter trip 2.5 miles. I be chatting with the owners before making and other plans for him. Cavite Alpha will go to the Cheltenham sales (29th January) with a sensible reserve, should he not make it we beleive in him enough to go and win a bumper. To that end Nicky Henderson would have him 2 weeks before the bumper race.

I hope that the weather stays kind and we get plenty more racing. I won't have many ready to run now until early Febuary.