Firstly, and most importantly, we hope you are all keeping safe and well during this difficult time.
We truly look forward to a time in the, hopefully not too distant, future where we can all come together once again to enjoy this magnificent sport!
In the meantime, we have been working with each of our trainers to keep you up to date on how the club horses are getting on – so here is a little update on each!
Balgair
Balgair, has always been a keen sort, illustrated perfectly in the image above, and he’s been preparing nicely for his first start of the season. Of course, while it may well be unlikely that will be the intended race at Yarmouth, that he won last year in early May, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that he will get the opportunity to run somewhere during that month, assuming racing gets going again.
The latest plans which naturally, have to be made on the proviso that the lockdown is lifted at some stage, are to resume racing on the all weather surfaces at Lingfield and Newcastle, for example. Both tracks have on-site hotels which could be used to house staff for a five day meeting, with all participants tested on arrival. Unfortunately, the likelihood is that this would be behind closed doors though apparently one owner may well be allowed and, of course, strict social distancing rules applied.
In the meantime, Balgair has been seen on video courtesy of Tom Clover and his wife, Jackie, cantering strongly up Warren Hill and he looks on really good terms with himself.
He will be ‘ticked over’ until Tom gets the right vibes from the BHA and it will only take a couple of strong pieces of work to have him spot on. So we’ll all keep our fingers crossed!
Bullington Boy
Bullington Boy who had disappointed when stepped back to 7f at Kempton at the end of February, found his form again when stepped back up to a mile in a supplementary fixture held at short notice, at Chelmsford at the beginning of March. The £10k added handicap was won by the favourite Papa Stour but Bullington Boy was right there with a chance two out until outpaced inside the last furlong, coming home fourth beaten around three lengths but, as you can see above, only just over a length from second!
It has since been agreed with Jane Chapple-Hyam that Bullington Boy should be given a little holiday now, while there is no racing and, after seeing him run on so well here, we’re looking forward to exploring our options with him once racing is resumed. In particular, we’ll be keen to see how he performs on turf and we already know he is admirably consistent on the all weather, finishing third, second and fourth on his last three starts over a mile. He has seemed quite at home in the sunshine while enjoying the early days of his hols..
Sixties Icon X Rose Cheval Filly
Our Sixties Icon filly with Charlie Fellowes is, of course, only a two year old, and a late foal but, as a result of the lockdown, has been making good use of the time to learn more and more about what is expected of her. Indeed, this cancellation of racing can only be in her favour as the earlier sorts, the more precocious, or sharper types that would have been dominating procedures in the early days of the flat will start to be caught up by the slightly less precocious sorts like her, as time wears on. Nevertheless, we have been really pleased with what we have been seeing from her so far. She is as sweet as a nut, easy to manage and learns quickly! She is developing all the time under the tutillage of one of the country’s most progressive trainers.
It was Charlie’s view and, indeed, our own that, once she had the basics, the warmer weather would be the perfect time to give her a little break, as the warmer air sweeps in. We know she will benefit greatly from a little sun on her back and the nicer weather we have seen lately is expected to help her thrive, develop and strengthen.
She is, of course, a full or half sister to four winners and Charlie has conveyed his pleasure at seeing how easily she has picked things up. We are extremely hopeful she will follow in the family footsteps and Charlie’s expert handling of her is expected to see her fulfill the obvious potential that her pedigree suggests.
She is seen above coming up the stiff Warren Hill canter really nicely. Her development is fascinating and we’re looking forward to seeing the finished article in due course…
She will, of course, eventually require a name and, in due course, we will be looking for some imaginative suggestions. Keep them to yourself, for now, and we’ll let you know what the process will be for arriving at her racing name when it’s appropriate.
You can read a little more about the background of each of the horses here.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
We look forward to updating you again soon!
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