New faces

This time of the year is always frantic. Newmarket comes alive for the sales and it’s a great time to catch up with so many friends in town for the two weeks but fitting in exercising our current inmates, spending time assessing potential new recruits at Tattersalls, going racing, writing reports, taking pictures, making beds for house guests and socialising can be exhausting. It’s also a huge amount of fun and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Last week I was working at the sales for the TDN and Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder but this week I’ve had time to look at horses with John. He was also looking last week but the incredibly strong market prevented us from getting too involved on the buying front. The market seems also to have been strong this week but I would be interested to know how many of the horses have genuinely changed hands. Taking the figures at face value, it’s encouraging for the bloodstock market in the midst of a recession but one has to bear in mind that the yearlings sold in the last fortnight were conceived on 2007 stallion fees which were, on the whole, much higher than they are now. Once you factor in the keep of the mare, her foal and yearling, vet fees, transport, etc., breeders really have to be clearing at least 30,000gns to make a profit on even one of the cheapest nominations. Figures at the top end are high but there will be plenty of breeders feeling the recession’s pinch just now.

John was delighted to be able to buy what we consider to be two really nice fillies (both pictured on this page) on behalf of existing owners in the stable with a few of their friends brought in for two new syndicates. It’s not simply a throwaway line to say that every horse matters in this stable. You really wouldn’t believe how much they matter. Every owner who rings and says ‘please buy me a horse’ or ‘can I send you a horse’ is another vote of confidence for the trainer. The syndicate horses are a lot of fun as the owners in these form their own social clubs. The good times are multiplied by the number of owners in the horse (witness the day when Anis won on her debut at Uttoxeter and the Tri-Nations, of which I am a member, nearly brought the owners’ box to the ground with our screaming). That sense of camaraderie lives long in the memory. Of course, for John, the angst of having to tell a syndicate that there’s been a hold-up or an injury to a horse (witness Anis again) is also multiplied and that’s the hardest and most awful part of a trainer’s job.

The two fillies from Tattersalls are not the only two new arrivals this week as early tomorrow morning, the first of our two homebred yearlings arrives here from France. I say ‘our’ but really this is John’s horse, a gelding by Largesse out of Minnie’s Mystery, who goes by the name of Grey Panel, which will only be meaningful to readers of Thoroughbred Internet. But, yes, you’ve guessed it, he’s grey and he’s likely to be the last Largesse horse to be trained here at this stable. Having trained his sire and his dam, this horse is pretty special to John and I hope he will carry the royal blue and dark blue silks, made famous by J C de Pomeroy Berry then Godolphin and Mrs Susan Magnier, to many memorable victories.

I’ll be waiting a few more weeks to bring my yearling Oscar in from Norfolk. In the meantime, we will also be welcoming Ruby In The Dust back from Ireland. She’s by Doyen, who has had six two-year-old winners from his first crop to date, out of a mare by Halling and she will be racing next year as a three-year-old. The plan is to start a syndicate for her from January. She’ll be divided into eight shares and very reasonable rates apply so do get in touch if you’re interested!