31st March 2016 - a productive month....

Spring is in the air, and the spring is certainly in our horses step. The horses continue to be in form and we’ve added another couple of winners to our tally this week.

Wildehearted Women took the long trek north last Saturday for a bumper, but she repaid our faith with a lovely victory. She benefitted from a small wind op to finish 2^nd at Wetherby last month, and improved further on this occasion. We’ll consider running her with a penalty before going novice hurdling next season.

Wildehearted Women wins her bumper at Carlisle.

I was delighted that Lunar Flow got his head in front at Exeter yesterday. He is the half brother to Lemons Ground who won a bumper on debut for us, but Lunar has been a bit of a slow burner, but he showed gritty determination to win well. He’ll improve for a summer out and will be a staying chaser down the line.

Lunar Flow wins over hurdles at Exeter.

Having had a muddled autumn we sent Present View hunting and show jumping through the winter, and he looks to have come back in good form. We gave him a spin over hurdles on Tuesday at Southwell where he showed a great attitude to finish 2^nd. He was just out paced between the last two flights but he stayed on well from the back of the last hurdle to be beaten only 3 lengths by a smart performer with 14 lengths back to the 3^rd horse. He needs 15 to come out to get a run in the Grand National, and I doubt that will happen. He is in the Topham and I’d love to see him over those fences, but 2m5 looks a bit short for him now, and we might end up going to Cheltenham for their April meeting.

Good to see Present View back in form.

I was lucky enough to win The Grand Military Gold Cup as a jockey on 4 occasions, and I’d love to win it as a trainer too. We went close earlier this month with Ardkilly Witness who finished 2^nd and only beaten a length. It was very close to being a fairytale ending as Ardkilly Witness is owned by The Cherrypickers which is a partnership consisting of Colonels from my old Regiment, The Kings Royal Hussars, and the partnership is lead by Corporal Jordan Wylie, who was in my troop when I first joined the KRH!

Ardkilly Witness is just touched off at Sandown in the Grand Military Gold Cup. 

Jean Fleming has been a wonderful mare for us and she all but added another victory to her name when narrowly denied at Warwick last week. She was all out to be beaten only a length, and I think we’ll look to sell her as a broodmare now – she’ll produce some smashing offspring.

Jean Fleming finishes 2nd once again.

Of our other recent runners, Rhythm Star would have been 2^nd on her first start for The Jamie Snowden Racing Club, but she tumbled over at the last at Fakenham in a novice chase. Midnight Silver was 3^rd at Chepstow and might need her wind doing again before next season, Fact of the Matter was 4^th in his last novice hurdle and should hold his own when we go handicapping with him on decent ground.

Unfortunately we didn’t have a repetition of our 2014 Cheltenham Festival success with our only runner at the Festival this season. Not much went Dark Lover’s way – his preparation wasn’t ideal; our amateur Page Fuller was out injured; he didn’t enjoy the quicker ground; he got a bit wound up in the prelims; and he had a troubled passage through the race….. At least he’s come out of the race in good order, and although entered in the Aintree Foxhunters, we might drop him back into handicap company now as he looks nicely treated.