The horses are all incredibly well and bouncing along. Although the lack of recent rain means we are yet to really get going, they’ve done a lot of jumping in the school and they are fit and ready to go. We’ve made plenty of entries but participation is very much dependent on the ground
The weather is such a dichotomy for trainers. We’ll welcome the rain with open arms, but I think every trainer in the land would secretly agree that this autumn has been a lovely time for training horses. After so many warm, sunny days, its incredible that this weekend the clocks went back and soon enough the storms will arrive.
An inch of rain last Monday enabled us to have our first schooling session of the autumn on the grass. Dave Noonan came in and we rode Regal Encore, Rouquine Sauvage, As De Fer and Cresswell Breeze among others over the fences, while the girls had a pop over the hurdles on their rides including G For Ginger and Pure Vision. With the ground lively, it was lovely to see them all pinging over the fences, with smiles and happy faces the order of the day. I love schooling the horses and although I am no longer race riding, it’s enough of an adrenalin buzz to keep me happy, especially on good ground when the horses are flying.
The sales are in full swing and I am hoping to purchase a foal to join the one I bred by Milan, out of my good mare Gan On. It’s a rewarding pastime that we’re incredibly lucky to be able to do here with such good facilities.
I also bred Nocturnal Myth, who is by Midnight Legend, and owned by a new partnership, – The Night Shifters, and he will hopefully run in a bumper at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day. It will be a nerve wracking time. Breeding, breaking and training your own horses is very rewarding, but you do feel such an affinity towards them.
We’ve penciled in the listed Bud Booth Mares’ Chase at Market Rasen on Thursday for Cressell Breeze. She’s really well and we’re hopeful she will build on her success of last season where she concluded her season going down just half a length in the Hanlon Concrete European Breeders Fund Glencarraig Lady Mares Handicap Chase at Punchestown in April. There is a good programme of races for mares in the UK to take advantage of.
