SEE WHAT HORSES YOU PICKED ON OUR SIX TO FOLLOW PAGE
WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL
GOLD PROSPECT is getting to be quite a frustrating horse as he never seems to run the same race twice. When he ran last time he came from last to first when scoring over course and distance earlier in the month. I do think that he would have appreciated a stronger pace but when he was asked by Jamie Spencer he did not really pick up. We will see how he has taken the race and probably find something else for him in two to three weeks time. SEA CHORUS ran today at Pontefract and we were hopeful of a good run. Pontefract was lucky to go ahead after an earlier inspection but the conditions did change to soft heavy in places. Hayley had her settled in third place for most of the race and she just looked as though she could not pick up in the ground and was very one paced inside the final furlong. She will definitely win races as she is a very nice filly. We did have a winner later in the afternoon when ALLIED POWERS finally obliged. Travis Block did a fantastic job to get him settled which the jockey failed to do at Haydock on Saturday and the win never looked in any doubt. He looks to be a nice horse and seems to like the soft ground. He could certainly be one to follow for the rest of the season.
Tomorrow we run our recent Southwell winner TOPAZ who makes a quick re-appearance. He seems to be a different horse this year and we think he will go close again tomorrow. Tomorrow night we have GOLDEN BISHOP running at Great Leighs. He is a nice big horse who still looks slightly on the weak side and he ran very green on his previous outing. He will be a nice horse in time.
The overnight rain made to condition perfect and the horses again worked on the back of the flat. the first to come up was HOH MIKE who looked really well and worked nicely under his usual work rider Ian Smith.
ARTSU and REDFORD were the next group to come up and I have to say that I was fairly impressed with REDFORD. He looked to be going really well and he is on schedule for his run at Haydock later in the month. ARTSU worked well and hopefully he can transfer how he works on the gallops on to the track. He has a couple of possible entries coming up at Windsor and Chepstow.
It was nice to see STATUS back on the gallops as he had been away from the yard for a couple of months. It was his first piece of work since he came back from Southfield Stables where he has been swimming and he worked well although he looked as though he may have just got tired when he met the rising ground. PROFUMO AFFAIR looks to be improving and he partnered STATUS and he looked to be going quite well.
These four fillies all worked a straight seven together and I have to say if I had to pick one to be on it would have been BADALONA. She looked to be moving very sweetly and she looks in good form ahead of her possible run at Goodwood. POULAINE BLEUE looks as though she has come on from her run and she could run again on Monday at Warwick. AURA and ITALIAN GODDESS look fit and ready to take their chances as soon as the right race appears.
SPICE ROUTE and REGIME worked together over nine furlongs. They were set a sensible pace by SPICE ROUTE under Twyron Lloyd Jones and they came up the hill nicely together, SPICE ROUTE could possibly be heading to Chester next week for the Huxley Stakes and REGIME could be going by ferry to the Curragh where he could contest Mooresbridge Stakes which is a group three.
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DANCING ABBIE AND MILANOLLO
DANCING ABBIE looked in good form as she lead the way for MILANOLLO. DANCING ABBIE is likely to make her racecourse re-appearance in the Cheshire Oaks next week at Chester and MILANOLLO is also ready for a run. She seems to be a filly that is really thriving at present and looks really great in her coat.
DOVE MEWS and the DR FONG EX MEREWOOD were having their first outing up the gallops and they worked nicely in partnership together. They are both going to be nice fillies and the DR FONG filly is in desperate need of a name!
BAHAMIAN BABE worked very nicely with two unraced two-year-olds ahead of her race on the 16th May at York in a listed race. She has been such a star this year and hopefully she will be on her game at York. SECRET SOCIETY has had a few entries this week but is yet to take his chance. He is a nice colt and is certainly one to keep an eye out for as is BRAE HILL who worked well and is due to run shortly.
MONDAY 28TH APRIL
I was so pleased that HIGHLAND LEGACY won after having reported on how well he had been working. He is now favourite for the Chester Cup and everything is crossed that he will get a run as he still needs five to come out but if this happens he should have an outstanding chance. RED LINNET ran slightly disappointingly at Leicester and Hayley Turner who rode the filly felt that she would benefit from running over a longer trip. GOLDRENCHED showed good early pace and Hayley felt that she should have made more use of her and had her right up with the pace that she would have been a lot closer. She is learning all the time and I am sure she will be capable of winning races. Finally we sent ALLIED POWERS up to Haydock and he was very unlucky in both the ride he got and in running. Poor Richard Mullen had a torrid time getting him to settle and when the horse finally settled and was delivering his run he got blocked by a wall of horses and then finished like a train but it was all to late and he had to settle for third. It was really frustrating as the horse is improving all the time, but he has taken the race well and will run again on Wednesday at Pontefract where he will be partnered by the good 3lb claimer Travis Block.
We have had no runners today but tomorrow we have GOLD PROSPECT running at Wolverhampton where he will have a good chance. Jamie Spencer is going to ride him again and the horse seems to like twilight racing at Wolverhampton having already won on his previous outing in a late race at the track. On Wednesday as mentioned we have Allied Powers running and SEA CHORUS makes her reappearance after her third and she should have a good chance.
FRIDAY 25TH APRIL
Thankfully we are back on the winning trail again and yesterday at Southwell we had a double. The first leg of this double was provided by GREAT CHARM who won in convincing fashion in the opener at Southwell. This horse is such a handsome individual and he was given a lovely ride by Tom Queally. He did not seem to really get going at Nottingham in the soft ground last time, but he seemed to really enjoy the Fibresand and the drop back to seven furlongs may also have been in his favour. We hope that the handicapper is not to hard on him as it was quite a difficult race to gauge as he may have won so easy as he was running average company. The second leg of our double was TOPAZES and this was Jamie Spencer's only ride at the meeting. He had liked him when he rode him last time at Doncaster and was keen to take the ride again. He was well supported on his last outing and seemed to just get a bit tired inside the final two furlongs. He had a really good battle with the runner up in the straight before leading with a furlong to go and he was running on well at the end to score his victory. He did really well to peg back the eventual second who had first run on him and hopefully he has plenty of further improvement in him. PAYNE RELIEF was our first runner at Great Leighs which the boss went to. The track is still in the early stages and the racing has to be watched on big screens as they have no grandstand at present. We hope that the track is successful as it only takes about an hour to get to and is fairly local for us. PAYNE RELIEF was dropped in behind after the start of the race and was held up in the rear. She was ridden along and made some headway but never troubled the leaders. She is definitely capable of winning a race and hopefully it will not be to long until she has her day.
After the busy weekend we have no runners until Tuesday night when Gold Prospect runs and so we can update you on his chances on Monday. Tomorrow I am not needed in work and so I will not be out watching the horses work. I shall be tucked up in my bed sleeping while the rest of Fitzroy are hard work. Its a tough life!
THURSDAY 24TH APRIL
We had another two seconds last night at Kempton when OAT CUISINE and EVERYBODY KNOWS just failed to get their heads in front . EVERYBODY KNOWS ran a really nice race having made the running and although he had been a bit keen early on, he certainly seemed to appreciate this step up in trip. OAT CUISINE seemed to take her time to get going inside the last furlong having been kept pretty close to the lead by Hayley Turner throughout the race. She was doing some good work late on and on the evidence of her run here it looks as though a slightly stiffer test of stamina would suit her.
Our only runner tomorrow is lovely old RAWDON who is making the long journey down to Devon to run at Newton Abbot. He will be partnered by Charlie Huxley who has already won on him at Haydock on the flat. He will again wear his visor and we hope that Mr Huxley can work his magic again and get the horse home in front and with a clear round. On Saturday at Haydock we run ALLIED POWERS who has been in good form at home and he will be partnered by Richard Mullen. The horse seems to be thriving on his racing and this will be his first time out on the turf this year which will hopefully see him to good effect. We also have two runners at Leicester in RED LINNET who has not run since she won her race at Lingfield in February. The form of the race has not turned out to bad and the horse that finished second to her Always Bold has since won his maiden winning it by five lengths. GOLDRENCHED runs later in the day and she is a filly who seems to be improving since her run and has been working well. She is a filly that will definitely improve with time and with experience. Our last runner of the day is possibly our best chance of a winner on Saturday. HIGHLAND LEGACY it has been decided will now take his chance at Ripon. He has impressed me in his work and fingers crossed he will get his head in front on Saturday which can help his chances of getting into the Chester Cup.
WEDNESDAY 23RD APRIL
Its been a couple of days now since we updated you on our runners and on Monday night we had two runners at Windsor. Poor Jim Crowley had a torrid time on ARTSU where his saddle slipped and the horse pulled so hard he did not have a chance. Sadly it was a waste of a run but thankfully the horse has returned sound and in good form and we will have to look for another race for him. GLITZ has not shown a lot of improvement and sadly was disappointing on Monday. Hopefully we will be able to find a race that she is capable of winning as she is now handicapped and we will wait to see what handicap mark she is given. Another who is handicapped now is STAR CHOICE who had his third run at Pontefract on Tuesday. He is another who has been disappointing since his first run and maybe he would be better over a bit further although he is by the sprinter Choisir. POULAINE BLEUE was having the first outing of her career and she showed some good early pace but then just looked to have got tired inside the final two furlongs. She will come on from the run and is a nice filly who should win races. At Kempton we had HOUSE OF LORDS running and we like this particular horse alot. He looked slightly uneasy on the track and he did hang when put under pressure but was staying on well inside the final furlong but it was all to late. He has taken the race well and we will look for a suitable opportunity for him in a fortnights time. Finally JUST LIKE A WOMAN was our final runner to update you on. She was very slowly into her stride and was found not to have to much room with two furlongs to go and was staying on again at the end. She is a funny filly to judge as we thought she would be suited by the seven furlongs but it maybe that she does want a mile after all.
Tonight we have two runners at Kempton and we are hopeful that OAT CUISINE who was unlucky in running last time out will hopefully get her head in front tonight. She has been working nicely at home and is good form. We also have a three year old running who will be making his racecourse debut for this season after having one run last year at Lingfield called EVERYBODY KNOWS. He has been doing some nice pieces of work at home and as long as Neill Callan can get him settled he will give a good account of himself. On Thursday we have a nice colt and gelding running at Southwell. GREAT CHARM takes part in a five runner event and as long as Tom Queally can settle him he should run well with Midnight Fling and Zeffirelli being the main dangers. We also run TOPAZES who showed significant improvement first time out from his two starts last year. He has been working nicely since his run and we are sure that he will run well at Southwell tomorrow. We also have our first runner at the new track Great Leighs when PAYNE RELIEF makes her racecourse reappearance. She ran well last time where she was slightly hampered when she was delivering her challenge and was staying on well at the end. She has been in good form and hopefully she will give us our first winner at the new track. Plans for the weekend are still slightly up in the air but RAWDON is likely to head off to Newton Abbot for the Friday evening meeting as long as they do not much get much rain. We are also having a slight dilemma with HIGHLAND LEGACY and if we should run him at Ripon where he would have an outstanding chance but he would get a three pound penalty if he was to win for the Chester Cup which at this stage he possibly would not get a run in. This is what he had been targeted for from the beginning of the year and it would be such a shame if he was not able to run in it but thankfully I have not got to make the decision on if he should run at Ripon or not, we will have to leave that to the boss.
Today the horses working, worked over racecourse side again coming back along the flat. HOH MIKE looked in terrific form and he really seems to thrive on his work and looked really happy coming back over five furlongs on his own doing a nice easy piece of work.
TOP DRAW, AFRICAN FLIGHT and LOVEINANELEVATOR worked back over a straight seven and LOVEINANELEVATOR looked to be really enjoying herself. AFRICAN FLIGHT has entries at Wolverhampton and Southwell coming up this week but the other two fillies have not been entered anywhere just yet.
GOLDEN BISHOP and GUNNADOIT worked over nine furlongs and GUNNADOIT looked to be in great form following his Brighton win he went nicely with GOLDEN BISHOP joining him round the bend on the gallops and finishing nicely together. GOLDEN BISHOP is entered on Saturday at Leicester where he could take his chance if the race looks right.
RAWDON AND HIGHLAND LEGACY
This was certainly the best group to come up today. RAWDON is easily my favourite horse in the yard as he is such a great character and is so cool. He gave HIGHLAND LEGACY a really nice lead and Big H looked to be going really well when meeting the rising ground. RAWDON could head of to Newton Abbot for evening racing on Friday.
SEA CHORUS and WOOD CHORUS seemed to have certainly improved for the runs that they have had and both worked well together again over nine furlongs. They both have entries coming up and hopefully we will be able to find suitable races for them to get on a winning mark
Our last group to work consisted of DANCING ABBIE and RED LINNET ridden by Jamie Spencer and Hayley Turner. DANCING ABBIE lead the way and RED LINNET followed in behind. They both quickened up nicely and worked well together. They both look nice fillies whish is really exciting. RED LINNET is due to run on Saturday at Leicester and DANCING ABBIE could possibly go for one of the Oaks Trials.
MONDAY 21ST APRIL
Sadly we have had a blank weekend with no winners to report. REGIME was making having his first outing of the year when he ran in the John Porter at Newbury on Saturday. He was very slowly into stride and was kept out the back by Jamie Spencer. He was ridden and switched left over two furlongs out and started to make steady progress to chase leaders and with one furlong to go he just faded inside final furlong. I am not sure if he just got tired in the ground or did not stay the mile and four furlongs. He has returned fit and well and will definitely come on from the run. SAVANNAH POPPY was our other runner at Newbury and she was contesting the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes. She pulled far to hard and gave her jockey no help what so ever. She was awkward leaving stalls and Tom Queally switched her to the centre group soon after the start but she was pulling hard and always towards rear. She has taken the race well and we will see how she is before making further plans.
Tomorrow we run STAR CHOICE and POULAINE BLEUE at Folkestone. POULAINE BLEUE is having her first run of the season. She was with us last year but was on the weak side and so a decision was made to put her away until this year. She is a nice filly who will benefit from the run as she is still slightly on the burly side. STAR CHOICE is having his third run and we are hoping that he will show some improvement as he was fairly disappointing last time out. Later in the afternoon we run HOUSE OF LORDS at Kempton and he has been a difficult horse to gage, as it has been well documented on the website, he is a lazy worker at home in his gallops. The horse looks really well and we are hopeful that he can put on another display like he did at Wolverhampton last time. Also we are running JUST LIKE A WOMAN who has been in really good form. She is well liked in the yard and the drop back to seven furlongs will hopefully be the key to her tomorrow.
SATURDAY 19TH APRIL
Last night we had MONTRACHET running at Yarmouth and sadly she never really seemed to get in the race. She was held up and didn't make much impact when the race began in earnest. She was in touch in midfield until she lost her place and was ridden out with three furlongs to go and was then running on again inside the final furlong but it was to late and she never troubled the leaders. We will see how she is before making further plans. It may just be that the race might have come a bit to soon for her.
Today it was a very cold on the gallops early on and it is more like February than April. HOH MIKE seems to really enjoy working on his own and he was ridden by our Headlad Richard Simpson over a straight six on his own.
We had a group of two-year-old colts working next and the pick of this bunch had to be BATTLE OF HASTING who was ridden by Mrs Bell. He worked really nicely along with BUSBES BOY and SICILIANDO who did not look quite as sharp as him.
We then had two, two-year-old fillies working in LA ADELITA under Jamie Spencer and EARTHSHINE ridden by Hayley Turner. These to fillies went really nicely together and LA ADELITA looks to be a very nice filly in the making although EARTHSHINE was staying on well towards the end.
GREAT CHARM and REDFORD worked nicely in company together and GREAT CHARM is due to run at Southwell on Thursday. They both came back together and finished upsides in what looked to be a nice sensible piece of work.
TOPAZES looked as though he had come on a lot from his run at Doncaster and he worked well with HOUSE OF LORDS who is known for being a lazy worker. Both have engagements coming up with HOUSE OF LORDS running on Tuesday at Kempton and TOPAZES on Thursday at Southwell.
OAT CUISINE, AMBER MOON and AFRICAN FLIGHT all worked back together and Luke Morris who rode AMBER MOON had her really well settled as she has been quite keen in her races. They all went nicely and OAT CUISINE runs on Wednesday at Kempton and although we have no firm plans for the other two but they are not far off having entries made for them.
GOLDEN BISHOP worked in partnership with EVERYBODY KNOWS and they both looked to be going nicely when they passed me. EVERYBODY KNOWS is another that can pull quite hard and Zuzanna Merrellova did a good job to keep him settled in behind the other horse. EVERYBODY KNOWS could run on Wednesday at Kempton and we have no firm plans just yet for GOLDEN BISHOP.
On Monday we run ARTSU and GLITZ both at Windsor. ARTSU ran fairly wee last time and was little unlucky in running and left his best work a little to late. He will be partnered by Jim Crowley and Fingers crossed he may be able to keep the winners coming. GLITZ is a filly who has been improving in her races and she has the help of Jamie Spencer on board on Monday night. We are hopeful of a good run.
FRIDAY 18TH APRIL
We have had another winner today in the form of BAHAMIAN BABE at Thirsk. She ran a lovely race and was just pushed out with hand and heels and the victory never looked in doubt. She did slightly hang across the track inside the final furlong but she is a nice filly who will give her lovely owners Mrs Gray and Mr Farr lots of fun. They are also responsible for breeding her so well done to them. WRITINGONTHEWALL was slightly disappointing in his race straight after Bahamian Babe's. He was slightly hampered in his run but he never really looked to be a factor in the race. He is definitely better than this and we will see how he is before making further plans. Tonight we have MONTRACHET running at Yarmouth and we are hoping that after her second last time that she will go one better this evening. She has been in great form and should go close tonight.
We have a quiet weekend ahead with only the two runners as reported yesterday. Plans for next week look fairly sketchy at present but we have made entries today for GREAT CHARM and TOPAZES at Southwell on Thursday and PAYNE RELIEF at Great Leighs. We have also entered RAWDON at Newton Abbot on Friday and CALYPSO CHARMS at Wolverhampton.
THURSDAY 17TH APRIL
Sadly INK SPOT had to settle for second AGAIN!!!!. INK SPOT who ended up finishing his race down the middle of the track, did all his best work late on to clinch second. He hopefully will not be to long in winning and we feel that six furlongs would be his absolute minimum. SPICE ROUTE carried on with our run of seconds at Ripon and he was easily travelling the best with two furlongs to go and after getting his head front he was pegged back by Championship Point of Mick Channon's who had made all the running and our horse thankfully just managed to hold on to second place. MISS BROWN TO YOU ran a cracking race at Newmarket having been slowly away and she was staying on well at the end when the penny had finally dropped but she was never going to be able to peg back the first and second but she was a good third. It was a very pleasing run and she will come on a lot from this as she starts to learn her job. The BETCHWORTH KID was having his first run of the season and was a little bit disappointing. He was a consistent horse last year and due to this he could struggle to win this year as he has not been given much help from the handicapper and seems to be on a harsh rating.
We have declared REGIME to run in the John Porter where he has fifteen other runners to contend with. He will be partnered by Jamie Spence and as previously reported he went nicely in his work yesterday with HIGHLAND LEGACY. He is a good horse and hopefully he will show justification for keeping him in training as a four year old by giving a good show of himself on Saturday afternoon. He is not our only runner in a group race on Saturday as we have SAVANNAH POPPY fresh from her Doncaster win running in the Group Three Fred Darling Stakes. She has been good form after her victory and she will be partnered again by Tom Queally who rode her so well last time.
We have today made entries for OAT CUISINE and EVERYBODY KNOWS at Kempton and LIZZIE WIGGINS and FLY FREE at Nottingham on Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY 16TH APRIL
We were absolutely thrilled with ART CONNOISSEUR'S win today at Newmarket and especially in the style that he did it. He was given a lovely ride and the win never looked in any doubt. He will probably have another run which could either be at Ascot or Windsor before heading for the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. ITALIAN GODDESS had headed of early this morning to Beverley. She travelled well throughout the race and looked as though she was cruising with three furlongs left to run and then just faded away to finish fifth she may have just got tired inside the final furlong and will certainly come on from the run.
The horses worked again on the The Back of the Flat gallops and sadly the picture taking did not go to well. It was so busy with so many horses and different strings about that it was quite confusing whose string was coming up when so sadly I missed HIGHLAND LEGACY and REGIME who came up together. Both looked in really good form and REGIME is entered on Saturday in the John Porter which is where he is most likely to run. HIGHLAND LEGACY is still on target for the Chester Cup.
The first group I did capture coming up was ARTSU, WRITINGONTHEWALL and JUST LIKE A WOMAN. These worked a straight seven and They came up nicely finishing together. WRITINGONTHEWALL is due to run on Friday at Thirsk and ARTSU is pencilled in to run on Monday at Windsor with JUST LIKE A WOMAN likely to run on Tuesday at Kempton.
ALLIED POWERS worked six straight furlongs and three round the bend with MEZZANISI and HOUSE OF LORDS. I stood in the dip and when they passed me Jamie Spencer had HOUSE OF LORD nicely settled a few lengths of the others and so sadly he did not get in the picture. They all worked well and all are ready to run and have possible entries coming up.
RED LINNET worked well under Mrs Bell but it looked to me as though DANCING ABBIE was possibly travelling the best in this particular group. They are both nice fillies and hopefully DANCING ABBIE will keep our dreams alive of having a runner in the Oaks. No firm plans have been made for these two just yet but they both looked in good form and to be happy in themselves.
OAT CUISINE who was unlucky in running on her last outing, lead the way with our new acquisition sat in behind her LIZZIE WIGGINS and she was followed by MONTRACHET who runs on Friday at Yarmouth. They all looked to go nicely finishing together and on first impressions of LIZZIE WIGGINS she seemed to go up the gallops well moving very nicely. OAT CUISINE is pencilled in to run at Kempton on the 23rd of this month.
BARBARY BOY made his first outing of the year up the gallops doing a solo piece of easy work and he strided out in good order and seemed to be on really good form with himself. He is a nice horse who is unlucky to still be a maiden.
AFRICAN FLIGHT worked in company with POULAINE BLEUE and AURA. POULAINE BLEUE we have always thought of as a nice filly but she was slightly on the weak side last year and was given plenty of time. She is an absolute darling and could possibly have her first racecourse outing next Tuesday at Folkestone. AURA and AFRICAN FLIGHT seemed to have taken a while to come to hand but both are definitely improving and are not far off a run.
Tomorrow we have two runners at Newmarket which are MISS BROWN TO YOU who is making her racecourse debut. She is a nice filly that we like a lot and she will have to give a good account of herself if she is to keep her Guineas entry. We are also running THE BETCHWORTH KID in the handicap, which is the last race on the card. He has been in good form and we are hopeful he will show himself to his best ability in what looks to be a tough little race. We have sent two runners of today to run tomorrow at Ripon. These were INK SPOT who should possibly have won last time but was very unlucky and SPICE ROUTE who has been dropped from Listed class to run in a Conditions race which looks to be a hot little contest. He has been in good form at home and hopefully he will be able to improve from his third last time out to go two better tomorrow.
TUESDAY 15TH APRIL
RAWDON ran another good race today to finish third under Tony McCoy. He hit the second last hurdle and looked as though he would come down but the jockey did a fantastic job to keep the partnership in tact and he could now head for Newton Abbot. He had the visor on for the first time in a while and he travelled really well throughout the race and he would definitely have been a lot closer had he not had trouble at the second last fence. Tony McCoy has suggested that we try him on a sharper track and hopefully he will be available to ride him again when he runs. We have just seen SEA CHORUS run a good race on her racecourse debut to take third place. The winner of the race looks to be a really nice colt called Bold Choice who won in convincing fashion and I am sure that this Michael Jarvis trained horse will certainly shape up into a promising prospect. We were really happy with SEA CHORUS who was making her racecourse debut and she will come on a lot from the run and will hopefully go two better next time. We were also pleased with our other runner in the race GOLDRENCHED who ran slightly green early on and was running on nicely at the end to finish in the middle of the pack. She will have learned a lot from this experience and I think she will be seen to better effect next time.
We have a busy few days coming up with the Craven Meeting down here at Newmarket and runners all over the place. We have ART CONNOISSEUR making his racecourse reappearance after his victory at Leicester and we are hopeful that he will be able to add to his victory again tomorrow afternoon although this will be a much tougher task. At Beverley we are running a nice filly by Medicean who ran two nice races on her first two outings last season and then was slightly disappointing when she had her third run. She has had the winter at her owners Barton Stud and she returned back to us a much stronger filly. She has been working well at home and hopefully she will be able to show herself to her best ability at the races tomorrow afternoon.
We have today made entries for Monday which includes ALLIED POWERS at Pontefract, and ARTSU and GLITZ at Windsor.
MONDAY 14TH APRIL
On Saturday we had two runners at Kempton and Doncaster. HONKY TONK SALLY was our participant at Kempton and we were hoping that she would win but more hopeful of her getting some black type to help her pedigree. Sadly she ran a moderate race and a decision will now be made if she should be given another chance to run in this particular company again or she should go for something a little less prestigious. KING'S BASTION ran a cracker to finish second and, had he not hung to his right, he might well have prevailed. He will probably go up a couple of pounds for this effort, given that he finished clear of the third, but hopefully it will not be to long before her can go one better. On Sunday we managed to keep the winners coming when GUNNADOIT finally got his head in front. He made hard work of it considering he was an odds-on favourite and Hayley who kept him going looked as though she had left plenty to do as Fairly Honest made the best of his way home running down the hill. GUNNADOIT was under strong pressure over 1f out, but he stayed on up the hill to score going away. It was a good victory as our horse never looked quite happy going on this particular track. We will see how much he is raised before making further plans.
Today we run a nice filly called WOOD CHORUS who was third on her only start last year. She is a really nice filly by Singspiel and is owned by Mr Henry Farr who runs the very successful Worksop Manor Stud which also bred this filly. We are hopeful of a good run from her today, but she may just need the race. She is certainly one to keep an eye on this season. Also today we have declared RAWDON to run tomorrow at Exeter. He set of today at 11.00am for the long journey down to the west country where he will be partnered by Tony McCoy and we have applied the visor again just to keep him sharp and to keep his mind on the job. At Nottingham tomorrow we run two nice fillies called SEA CHORUS and GOLDRENCHED. These are both nice fillies and we are hopeful that they will give a good account of themselves as we feel they are both progressive fillies.
SATURDAY 12TH APRIL
PROFUMO AFFAIR showed some slight improvement from his previous starts and Hayley always had him prominent. He was ridden after halfway and weakened in the last two furlongs. He was well beaten but he could make his mark in some small handicaps now that he is eligible for a handicap mark. STAR CHOICE was slightly disappointing in his division which was run later in the day. He was always in the rear and was soon ridden but could never get on terms with the leaders. The winner of this particular division, The Oil Magnate looks to be a very nice horse in the making and could go on to better things. We also had TOPAZES running in this particular division and he ran a nice race for his first run of the season and looked as though he may have just got a bit tired in the last couple of furlongs. GOLD PROSPECT was our runner in the evening at Wolverhampton and he managed thankfully to get his head in front for his very patient owner Mr Bernard Warren. He is a nice horse who we have always thought a lot of and he ran in what looked to be quite a tough handicap last time and was much suited by this sort of opposition and the drop back in trip seemed to suit him. He picked up well from what was a respectable pace and looked to win with a bit in hand.
RAWDON AND FLY FREE
We had plenty of horses working this morning and they came up in the following groups. RAWDON worked ahead of his possible participation at Exeter on Tuesday and he partnered FLY FREE over nine furlongs. They both looked to be in good form and finished nicely together.
HOH MIKE
HOH MIKE came up the back of the flat on his own doing an easy six furlongs and he looked in great form ahead of his intended race at York in May.
WRITINGONTHEWALL REDFORD (MIDDLE) AND ARTSU
WRITINGONTHEWALL who is entered on Friday at Thirsk worked with ARTSU who is entered on Thursday at Newbury and REDFORD who is heading for the a handicap at Haydock on the 24th May all worked well but REDFORD looked to be going particularly sweetly.
ALLIED POWERS AND EVERYBODY KNOWS
ALLIED POWERS who has an engagement on Wednesday at Beverley worked with the unraced colt by King’s Best called EVERYBODY KNOWS and they went over nine furlongs. They went nicely together and they both looked in good order.
POULAINE BLEUE MISS BROWN TO YOU AND FAR GONE
FAR GONE who was unlucky last year to not break her maiden tag and she was working over a straight seven furlongs with a nice unraced Bertolini filly called POULAINE BLEUE and they were also joined by MISS BROWN TO YOU who has a Guineas entry and could make her racecourse debut next week at the Craven Meeting on Thursday where if she runs she will be partnered by Neill Callan. All worked well and POULAINE BLEUE and MISS BROWN TO YOU looked to be going in a nice fashion considering they are both unraced and still quite green.
BAHAMIAN BABE, LA ADELIA AND SILK GALLERY
SILK GALLERY who was injured last year partnered a couple of two-year old fillies LA ADELITA and Southwell winner BAHAMIAN BABE. This looked a nice group to catch the eye and BAHAMIAN BABE looked in good order after her Southwell win.
ART CONNOISSEUR AND BUBSES BOY
ART CONNOISSEUR worked over a straight five, with a nice Needwood Blade colt called BUBSES BOY who was partnered by Jamie Spencer. ART CONNOISSEUR looked in fantastic form ahead of his possible run at Newmarket and BUBSES BOY looked a little green went nicely when the penny finally dropped.
ITALIAN GODDESS AND WOOD CHORUS
Finally we had WOOD CHORUS and ITALIAN GODDESS who worked together over the nine furlongs. WOOD CHORUS runs on Monday at Wolverhampton and on the evidence of the work she should give a good account of herself. ITALIAN GODDESS has also looked in good form in her work as well.
Today has been really busy as we have had the Thurloe Thoroughbreds stable visit. This is a very successfully run syndicate which is run by Mr and Mrs James Stafford. They currently have BARBARY BOY with us and BRAE HILL. The syndicate members enjoyed a delicious supper at the Jockey Club Rooms last night before seeing the horses on the gallops this morning. We are really hopeful that we will have a very good season for them this year. Tomorrow as mentioned on Friday we have another syndicate visit from the Eclipse Partnership which is also very professionally and well run by Mr Darby Dennis and they will be in the yard on Sunday to View SEA CHORUS and BEAT DANCER. It will be a busy weekend for the Bell Family and will certainly keep the boss on his toes!
FRIDAY 11th APRIL
MONTRACHET
Sadly we had another second last night at Kempton when MONTRACHET ran another solid race but just failed to get up to win against a filly called Miss Marauder that had certainly been treated very fairly by the handicapper. MONTRACHET ran extremely well, staying on strongly down the outside of the track but sadly was held by the eventual winner. These two fillies pulled miles clear of the remainder of the field and sadly for our filly is that her handicap rating will again go up for finishing second. She has taken the race well and we will hopefully be able to find a suitable contest for her shortly. We do not wish to sound ungrateful moaning about finishing second as at least the horses are running well but it is quite frustrating as they go up in the handicap for finishing second which makes it even harder to win races with them.
WRITINGONTHEWALL
Tomorrow we run KING'S BASTION at Doncaster and we are hoping he will show the attitude he showed on his last outing of last years flat season at Redcar when he won nicely under Tom Queally. Jamie Spencer partners him tomorrow and hopefully he will have enjoyed leading the yearlings and having an easy time of it over the winter and show the best of his ability. HONKY TONK SALLY is running in the Masaka Stakes which is a listed race at Kempton. She has been in good form at home and we hope that she will be able to at least run into a place to gain the valuable black type. On Sunday GUNNADOIT will hopefully be lucky enough to get his head in front finally after having been fairly unlucky on his previous starts. Although he has failed to win a race at present is certainly it has not stopped him climbing up the handicap and after his second last time out the handicapper has raised him six and he now has a handicap rating of 61.
SEA CHORUS
Next week looks fairly busy with possible runners and these could include RAWDON who could make the long journey to Exeter on Tuesday where he will be partnered by Tom Scudamore if he runs. Also on Tuesday we could see a nice filly by Singspiel making her racecourse debut at Nottingham called SEA CHORUS. She is owned by The Eclipse Partnership and some of the members in this particular syndicate are making a stable visit on Sunday to see her and BEAT DANCER so we hope the sun will shine for them and they will have a lovely day. GOLDRENCHED also has an entry in this race and is another that could possibly be making her racecourse debut. Things are not quite as clear for Wednesday but I think ART CONNOISSEUR will make his racecourse re-appearance after his win at Leicester at the Craven Meeting which will be really exciting!
FLY FREE
THURSDAY 10TH APRIL
We had hoped that we would possibly have a winner last night at Kempton with LOVEINANELEVATOR where she was having her first outing of the season. She pulled very hard under Hayley Turner through the early stages of the race and got very tired towards the end. Hopefully next time she will settle better and we will be able to see her to her best ability as she is a filly who definitely has it. GLITZ was having the second start of her career and although not quite as progressive as LOVEINANELEVATOR she is showing signs of ability and I am sure she is capable of winning races.
REGIME
Tomorrow we run PROFUMO AFFAIR who has been fairly disappointing on his last two starts and we are hoping that the penny will have finally dropped with him and he will at least show some sort of gradual improvement as he is a big lazy horse and we are certain that he does have ability. He runs in the first division of the seven furlong maiden stakes and then in the second division we have STAR CHOICE and TOPAZES running. STAR CHOICE who is the son of Choisir ran a nice introductory race at Doncaster on his first outing of the season and we are hopeful that he will show the usual improvement and will give a good account of himself tomorrow. TOPAZES was fairly disappointing last season on his only two starts but he was still on the weak side when we ran him. He looks to have done really well over the winter and hopefully he will have strengthened up well and can show some ability for the season ahead.
TOPAZES
WEDNESDAY 9TH APRIL
It has been a beautiful day summers day in Newmarket today and the horses worked on racecourse side and so it was an ideal opportunity to go out and get some pictures of the work. The first group to come up were HOH MIKE and KING'S BASTION who worked over a straight six. They both looked in good form coming up together and KING'S BASTION looked in really good order ahead of his run on Saturday at Doncaster where he will be partnered by Jamie Spencer. HOH MIKE also looked on good terms with himself and his first target for this year is possibly the Duke of York Stakes at York in May. HIGHLAND LEGACY worked with SPICE ROUTE and REGIME and these went an easy nine furlongs. REGIME has a lot of good entries coming up including a Group 2 in Milan which SPICE ROUTE has been entered in, a Group 3 at the Curragh and also a Group 2 at Baden Baden. These are possible races for him but it is quite fancied to run him in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown where he is a course and distance winner or the John Porter at Newbury. SPICE ROUTE has taken his race at Kempton well where he finished a gallant third in a listed contest and he to will have some fancy entries in listed and condition races. HIGHLAND LEGACY could possibly go straight for the Chester Cup which has been his target for a while. The governor will make a decision on whether or not he should have a run beforehand but if he was to win he would carry a 3lb penalty. Sadly I did not manage a to get a picture of JUSTLIEKAWOMAN, MISS BROWN TO YOU or BADALONA who worked a straight seven as I stood slightly round the turn today so I could watch the horses who were working over a longer trip but I did see them finish and they worked well finishing all together. Mrs Bell rode RED LINNET who won at Lingfield back in February and she worked with SEA CHORUS and WOOD CHORUS. They both have entries next week and they all look exciting fillies to have. AFRICAN FLIGHT is another nice filly who seems to have taken quite a while to come to herself this year. She worked nicely partnering AURA who was in training last year with Sir Michael Stoute. Both will be having entries made for them shortly. ITALIAN GODDESS who we liked last year was another who looked to be putting her best foot forward working with GOLDRENCHED who has her first entry for us next week at Nottingham. They both went well and will be running shortly. Finally THE BETCHWORTH KID and HOUSE OF LORDS did a piece together and THE BETCHWORTH KID looked in cracking form ahead of his intended race at the Craven Meeting on Thursday going really well but the work could be slightly misleading as HOUSE OF LORDS is a fairly lazy horse at home in his work.
WOOD CHORUS, RED LINNET AND SEA CHORUS
Yesterday we had two runners at Lingfield and we both thought these had good chances. The first of our runners was MEZZANISI who has developed into a really nice horse over the winter. He was given quite a lot to do by Jamie Spencer although the horse did not help him by hanging when put under pressure but he stayed on well and showed some promise. He is now eligible for his handicap mark and we will see how the handicapper treats him before making further plans. OAT CUISINE sadly was not given the best of rides by her jockey Hayley Turner which she admitted herself to the boss and sadly she lost her place with two furlongs to go and was running on again at the end. The filly is definitely suited better by a mile and its easy to criticise but Hayley very rarely gets it wrong and is the first to admit it when she does so.
AFRICAN FLIGHT AND AURA
Tonight we have two runners at Kempton where we run the filly that was much liked last year LOVEINANELEVATOR. She ran respectably on her only outing and then sadly cut herself quite nastily which required her to have some time off and so it was decided to put her away for the rest of the season. She has done so well over the winter where she was looked after by the Players at Whatton Manor Stud and they have done a fantastic job with her and sent her back into us looking absolutely fantastic. She is definitely a nice filly for this year and hopefully will loose her maiden tag if not tonight shortly. GLITZ is another that runs tonight and she seems to have improved from her run at Warwick and hopefully she will show some progression this evening.
THE BETCHWORTH KID AND HOUSE OF LORDS
Tomorrow we run MONTRACHET who we were lucky enough to win with twice and also finish second with twice last season. She is another filly who wintered really well having had five star treatment up in Windermere at her owners Mr & Mrs Middlebrook's stud. She is a good filly who is capable of winning races and hopefully she will be able to give a good account of herself tomorrow.
GOLDRENCHED AND ITALIAN GODDESS
Yesterday we had a new arrival in the shape of LIZZIE WIGGINS who had won a claimer at Kempton on Monday. It certainly looked to be a competitive little contest for a claimer and she won it quite nicely. She will now run in the colours of Mr Richard Green and we are hopeful that she will develop into a nice progressive filly.
HIGHLAND LEGACY, SPICE ROUTE AND REGIME
TUESDAY 8TH APRIL
Thursday was the day we had our first two year old runner of the season at Leicester in the shape of Art Connoisseur who we had high hopes for. He duly lived up to expectations under Jamie Spencer as he went on to win by three and a quarter lengths from the well fancied favourite Joe Caster trained by James Eustace. This was the perfect start also for the horses sire Lucky Story as Art Connoisseur was his first ever runner as a sire. Plans are fluid now for this exciting colt and he may well be seen at the upcoming craven meeting at Newmarket. Golden Bishop was our other runner on the card making his debut in the three year old maiden run over a mile and a quarter, he ran green in rear to finish tenth of fourteen and will hopefully come on for the experience.
KING'S BASTION AND HOH MIKE
On the same day we had three runners at Kemptons evening all weather meeting. The first of them was Bonne ridden by Jamie Spencer who was slightly disappointing but she is now qualified for handicaps and this is where her future lies. The second of the three was Milanollo who ran an encouraging fourth of ten, Jamie thought the surface was plenty quick enough for her so we will look towards the turf with a bit of cut in the ground. Last but not least was Payne Relief who ran a very pleasing race to finish sixth. The main aim with this filly was to keep her as relaxed as possible and Luke Morris did a good job to achieve this by settling her in rear and she ran on strongly suggesting that she is not void of ability.
On Friday we quickly followed on with our second two year old runner Bahamian Babe, a daughter of Bahamian Bounty and she made all to score readily by five lengths and again this was the perfect start to her career. With all the field being newcomers it is impossible to evaluate the form and only time will tell as to what the horses she beat will achieve but at this early stage she has a promising future.
In the evening we took one runner to Wolverhampton who was Ink Spot. Unfortunately he again managed to find one too good despite being odds on for this maiden and is becoming a little frustrating but we will do our best to find a little race for him somewhere.
On a quiet Saturday for the yard we had just Top Draw to run at Lingfield in the seven furlong handicap. She finished a slightly unlucky second as she couldn't quite reel in the winner who was given an easy time of things up front. She is clearly going in the right direction and her turn will not be not far away.
To end the week we had jumping action at Market Rasen with Metaphoric. He had to carry a penalty in this two mile one and a half furlong juvenile novices hurdle for his win at Warwick but after his excellent fifth at the Cheltenham festival he was sent off a warm 5 to 2 on chance in the hands of his regular partner Tom O Brien. He was slightly outpaced on this sharp track and it was to his credit that he stayed on strongly to win by six lengths and he will appreciate further in time. That will be it for this season on the jumping front for Metaphoric and he will now be targeted at the Royal Ascot meeting for the Queen Alexandra stakes back on the flat.
THURSDAY 3RD APRIL
We still have a few runners from this week to update you on and the first of these was ARTSU who was making his seasonal return. He was held up as he was running over a mile for the first time and the way he finished his race would suggest that stamina is not an issue with him and hopefully by the way he was running on at the end a victory for him will not be to far off. FLY FREE who was having her first run for us having been in training with Dermot Weld. She was close to the lead and was asked by Tom Queally for effort and she was soon ridden along and weakened inside the the final two furlongs. On the evidence of the race it certainly looks as though she may have just got tired towards the end. She has taken the race well and we will give her a week or so before we plot the next move for her. Yesterday we had two runners at Nottingham where GULL WING was running in the Further Flight Stakes which is a listed race over a mile and six. We had booked the services of Richard Mullen who only arrived back from Dubai on Tuesday and he gave her a fantastic ride to take the prize by a nose. We have always felt that she would end up a listed filly but it was nice to get the black type so early on in the season with her as she will I am sure end up at Lady Bamford's stud when she has finished racing. Possible targets for her next are the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot or possibly a similar sort of race abroad. Our second runner on the card was GREAT CHARM who is another who was having his first run of the season. He unfortunately was very slow in his stride and when Tom Queally got him up with the leaders he pulled to hard and was ridden over two furlongs out and he soon weakened and was hanging right. In the evening we had hoped to add to our early success with a double when we thought GUNNADOIT had a good chance in the mile and half handicap at Wolverhampton. He seemed to get very hot down at the start and he was given a good ride by Hayley Turner who had him well in touch in midfield and when she asked him to go up the inside of the track she had driven him into a lead with a furlong to go but sadly he could not keep his head in front and was beaten half a length by the favourite Cape Colony. He is certainly capable of winning races and hopefully his day will not be to far off.
Our runners today include our first two-year-old runner, ART CONNOISSEUR who is taking his chance in the five furlong maiden at Leicester. He has been working well at home and in a six runner field with only one of these having ran before, we are confident that he will give a good account of himself. Our second runner on the card is GOLDEN BISHOP who is having his first outing on the racetrack. He is quite a lazy horse at home in his work, but he does look as though he has the makings of a nice individual and he is also a half brother to Woodcracker which we trained and was a very nice horse. We also have three runners at Kempton with MILANOLLO probably our best chance of adding to the winners total. She is a nicely bred filly by Soviet Star and was second on her seasonal debut at Kempton back in February. She has been going nicely at home and we are hopeful that she will run well this evening. BONNE is having her third run of the season and she is taking part in quite a weak contest with her main danger being All In The Red. Finally we bring the evening to a close with PAYNE RELIEF running in the 8.50pm race which looks quite a tough contest. Tomorrow we have another two-year-old running when BAHAMIAN BABE takes her chance at Southwell. She has been working well at home and we are very hopeful that she will give a very good account of herself. INK SPOT is making his racecourse debut for the season and he was very unlucky not to win a race last year. He is a nice bonny little horse and we are hopeful that if not tomorrow then it will not be to long before he finds his way in the winners enclosure. On Saturday TOP DRAW reappears after having been unlucky on her previous outing and she is another that should not be to far away at the post. On Sunday we switch to jump racing when METAPHORIC is due to run at Market Rasen, hopefully he will jump like he did at Warwick when he won and if he does he will not be far away.
We have entries next week where we have entered MEZZANISI and OAT CUISINE. We will look at the entries before deciding if they will run or not . GLITZ and LOVEINANELEVATOR are entered at Kempton on Wednesday.
Today is the start of Aintree and we are again doing our naps table which is run by Chris Conway, I picked disastrously at Cheltenham and I hope my luck is much better this time. It will be sad that we do not have any runners at the meeting but it is always great fun to watch the meeting.
WEDNESDAY 2ND APRIL
It has been a busy few days at Fitzroy House and we have got two winners to let you know about which is good. DANCING ABBIE was the first of these and she won in convincing fashion last Thursday at Wolverhampton. She was given a really good ride by Hayley Turner and never looked as she was going to be beaten. She is a nice filly and currently holds an Italian Oaks entry and also an entry in our Oaks. We had hopes that we would be able to keep the winning run going when we had three runners at Lingfield that we felt certainly had each way chances. JUST LIKE A WOMAN who is filly that is certainly liked in the yard was the first to run and she could only manage to finish fifth and it was felt that she might not have stayed the trip and was slightly leg weary inside the final furlong. She will probably be dropped back in trip now and tried over seven furlongs. ALLIED POWERS was another who we felt had good each way chances and was having his third run. He was slowly into his stride and was always kept at the rear early on. He was asked for effort with four furlongs to go and was staying on at the end but was never on terms with the winner. TOP DRAW was definitely our unluckiest runner of the day as she was settled in the rear of the field and when she was asked to make her move she had to be checked inside the final furlong and was running on at the end. On Saturday we had a very pleasant surprise when SAVANNAH POPPY won her division of the maiden at Doncaster in nice style. She ran quite keen early on and when she was asked to go she went on in nice fashion holding on the gain her first victory. She certainly looks as though she could be an exciting prospect. STAR CHOICE is the son of Choisir who we failed to get on the track last year but he certainly showed some ability finishing fourth in the second division of the maiden and was slightly outpaced early on but was staying on inside the final furlong. He could possibly head back to Doncaster for a similar sort of maiden on the 11th April. GOLD PROSPECT ran slightly disappointing in his race at Kempton but it was felt that he had not stayed and he will be dropped back to a mile and a quarter. SPICE ROUTE ran a really pleasing race in his race also at Kempton considering most of his rivals had already run and he ran a cracking race just getting tired inside the final furlong. He should hopefully be capable of winning a listed race this season.
