Riding the heatwave

Once again, my apologies for the sporadic posting; we are currently in the grip of a heatwave and with one thing and another I haven’t found the time (or patience) to sit down at my laptop and write anything. I didn’t want you thinking that I’d been swept off the pier in Aberystwyth last weekend, never to return and grace the grass tracks of Wales and the borders, so here I am to update you on the past week and a bit.


The two day meeting at Aberystwyth was a roaring success – naturally I let my hair down and enjoyed the two nights stay that I had there with Smarty, his Scottish compatriots and my Irish friends. The weather was fantastic and I was glad I’d packed the shorts for both days! Mrs B stayed at home on the Saturday as she was able to watch some of the races live on Rasus (the Welsh-speaking harness racing programme on S4C), and the only horse that The Boss took was Jingo. Julie drove him in one of the later races on the day, and unfortunately despite being drawn on the gate he lost his footing as the gate pulled away and broke stride. He wasn’t able to regain his position and the race was over for him before it had really started. These things happen, and he wasn’t the only horse to gallop over the two days.


The highlight for me on the Saturday was seeing my friend Emma driving her stable favourite, What About Me (aka Jiggy) for his 100th career run under British Harness rules. To commemorate the day I arranged for a photo and article summarising his career to be printed in the racecard – Emma had no idea about this and I stayed away from the paddock in case she threw something at me! I had a quiet word with Darren Owen and Gareth Topham at the start of the day and asked that they mention it if they remembered. When the horses paraded in front of the crowd before the race, Darren announced to everyone that it was Jiggy’s 100th race, and urged the crowd to get behind him and Emma – I think his words (live on Rasus) were ‘Let’s get jiggy with Jiggy’! I had managed to get close to the rail and as she paraded past me she had a face like thunder! He ran well but was unable to challenge the front runners and finished a respectable fifth. Emma came over to meet me for a drink afterwards and admitted that when she heard Darren Owen’s commentary she nearly burst out laughing, but wanted to look professional in case the cameras were on her! I’m glad that she appreciated the thought, and a few spectators took the time to congratulate her, and in one case even ask if Jiggy was for sale!


The other notable fact that I think some people may appreciate is that the first three horses home in the final on the Saturday were all grey – Blue Incredible in the hands of Jason Podmore crossed the line in front, with Wellfield Ghost second and Shades Of Grey third. Rather than bombard you with results, I’ll point you in the direction of the BHRC website and also Kayleigh Evans’ succinct report on the Ceredrotian website to peruse at your leisure. (http://ceredrotian.com/en/news/story/ceredigion-trotting-club2/); (http://www.bhrc.org.uk/pastresults.php - Ceredigion meetings).


Monday


The following Monday saw me back at the yard; hot, tired and struggling for motivation. The Boss decided that Melinda wouldn’t be going to the track just yet, so it would just be the three from ours (Bongo, Jingo and Big Mac) and Hamish heading to Amman Valley on the Saturday. Allensmore was the day after however we are constantly told to make hay while the sun shines and this is exactly what The Boss planned on doing.


Thursday


When I rocked up again on the Thursday I was met by the clothes-less child Eryn, who was excited about the tent I’d picked up for The Boss and Mrs B. After a cup of tea and cake (it’s still not too hot for that) The Boss, Mrs B, Julie and I attempted to put the four-man tent up. It’s harder than it sounds, especially when you have a child with no clothes on (except a sun hat which I managed to throw on her as she splashed in the paddling pool) dragging a poor dog, in this instance Ted ('come on Teddy, come on Teddy'), in and out of the half-erected tent. We managed to get it set up, and then Eryn didn’t want to leave her ‘house’, so I abandoned ship and went to see to the horses.


Due to the hot weather and the shearing/hay making that The Boss has been busying himself with, the ‘racehorses’ had been jogged early Thursday morning, and Melinda and Pinky had been left until it cooled later on. I harnessed Mellie up before sending her and The Boss up the track; they had only made it across the yard before I was called to walk to the top of the hill to open the gate to the track. Trust me when I say this – it’s a steep hill. The Boss told me not to run, but for some bizarre reason I felt compelled to and I made it all the way to the top without stopping. I don’t know who was more surprised by this: The Boss or me! After he’d disappeared over the brow to the track itself I staggered back to the stables to muck out. I may be fitter than we both thought, but I’m not THAT fit! I think I was still blowing when they came back fifteen minutes later!


Pinky went out next after I’d given Mellie a cold shower, and I called it a day. The agreed plan before I left was that I’d meet The Boss at the track on the Saturday, as I was due to travel down to stay with Emma and her parents so I could see my ex-racehorse Star and take her for a ride. Bongo was entered for his first ever qualifier, and it would be the first time he’d ever been to a racetrack. Considering the difficulty The Boss had had trying to break him in, you wouldn’t blame us for being a bit apprehensive about how he’d react away from home, however both of us were quietly confident that he’d behave himself impeccably. The Boss has described him as ‘the perfect gentleman’ in recent weeks, and I’ve noticed that he’s much happier in his stable and much friendlier towards me. The Boss also said he’s faster than his brother (Hamish) who won at Amman Valley last time out in 2.04.3, so the pressure was on for his qualifier! Jingo and Big Mac were also entered, and Hamish was travelling there separately again.


Saturday


Spending a day with the Langfords makes me want to work with horses all day every day. Hanging around their yard is a lesson in doing as you’re told (if Dai’s about, he likes being the gaffer), getting stuck in (Emma hands you buckets of feed, brushes, tack) and having a laugh as you work (Helen is wasted where she is, she should have been a comedian). Emma also has an apprentice in the form of 11-year-old Katie who stables her ponies at the yard and who invested in her own Standardbred (Brywins Bonnie Lass, a mare who was broken but unraced).

After our brief ride in the morning, due to the already unbearable heat, we packed the lorry up, prepped the horses and set off for the races at half past two (first race was 4.30pm). It was a case of girls on tour, as Dai was meeting us there after work, but we couldn’t be less rock’n’roll as the only drinks we had on board were seven bottles of water! 


The Boss arrived at the track not long after we’d got there, so I said my farewells to my surrogate family and set about getting the horses ready. The heat was beyond belief, and both Jingo and Mac had sweated up on the journey over. I washed Jingo to cool him down and we harnessed up Bongo so that he could go out on the track for his first look. He coped very well with the noise and hustle and bustle of Ammanford track, a notoriously noisy location, and stood quietly to be tacked up. The Boss took him out on the track for a spin and I had my first look at him pacing.


It was amazing, breath-taking even. The way that he moves, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen from our horses before. I’ve tried racking my brains to see if I could think of any other horses that move like that but so far I haven’t come up with any. I used to be awe-struck by little Eternal Lobell, whose legs would motor when she was hitting fifth gear; they were moving so fast it was almost a blur. Bongo on the other hand is the total opposite – it’s like he’s pacing in slow motion. His ground clearance must be phenomenal because quite frankly his feet aren’t on the ground very often! He simply floats across the surface; it’s so smooth and graceful. And he makes the job look so easy. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not foot perfect, but this was the first time on the racetrack and he hasn’t had a chance to really extend himself like that before. I’m confident that with a few more runs he’ll gain the confidence and become 100% balanced. 


He came back, was washed down and stood patiently before he headed back out in the second qualifier. The first qualifier had gone 2.14, and the minute I’d unclipped him on the track (I had to walk him the whole way just in case something upset him) I rushed back to get Mac ready for the first race and Jingo half-ready for the second. The Boss somehow managed to snaffle the one hole (there was no draw on the gate, position depended on who managed to get to the gate first) and I stopped harnessing up just to watch. The second time of watching him only confirmed what I’d seen the first time, and I wondered whether the people around me could see the same thing. He floated around the track, at one point was half-challenged by the horse in second but seemed to cover more ground and re-establish the gap without actually moving his legs any faster. He came home 8 or 10 lengths clear of the rest; if it had been a betting race it would have been called an annihilation, a lesson in the art of pacing, and he never looked like he was really trying. When the commentator called the time as 2.09 dead, I think I went into shock. It didn’t look like 2.09, because he didn’t look like he’d tried that hard. To think that Jingo, who a fortnight before had won in 2.02.3 at the same track, had only gone 2.10 on his first outing this season there put it into context. Bongo is younger, needs to fill out more, and needs experience and more speed work like that to bring him on. The Boss may be right – he may well be faster than his brother Hamish.

Buckland Foxtrot (Bongo)

Mac headed out for the first race looking a little bit too laid back. I’d had to shake him a little to wake him up in the back of the lorry, because he’d taken relaxing to a whole new level and actually gone to sleep. He was drawn two off 10 yards, was stuck two wide for 80% of the race, and the remainder he was three wide! The Boss decided that coming wide around the outside was the new tactic, and although he didn’t win the race he came a respectable third with the distances not much between them. I took two positive things from the race – 1. He’d knocked a second off his race time from a fortnight earlier, AND with a ten yard penalty, and 2. when The Boss decided to move up the pack at the bell, the horse absolutely motored. He’s such a big lump of a horse, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was a bit one-paced but after what I saw on Saturday I’m convinced otherwise.


Jingo went out in the second race drawn three on the gate; he took up the running from the start, settled well and was pipped not far from the line by two in-form horses. The race went two minutes flat and again the distances weren’t great, so Jingo had managed to knock a good second off his time too. There were a few comments as The Boss came back to the lorry that he’d have to give the drive back to his daughter, but we were pleased with the run nonetheless!


Hamish, who had been messing about so badly at the box that we’d had to shut him back inside, was the last to run in the sixth race. He never looked comfortable and failed to fire in his race, coming home outside the first four. He’d tied up at home during the week and wasn’t happy at the box after the race but there was nothing wrong enough with him to cause us great concern. He was due a visit from the dentist the start of the following week so perhaps that will make a difference.


By this time I had almost melted, and with the dust and dirt from the track and the horses I looked an absolute mess. To try and cool down I emptied a bottle of water over myself – it’s a good job the cameras from Rasus that were filming the doomed coloured race and the below par Welsh Cup didn’t spot me because it was not a good look, especially with my curly hair that had earlier prompted Helen Langford to ask if I’d had a perm. Nobody would pay to look like this!


Sunday


Just a brief update from Sunday’s racing at Allensmore as we didn’t take any horses and I’m aware that this post is dragging on. I hadn’t planned on going as there tends to be around a thousand races, usually with four horses in, and not of particularly good quality (sorry to the committee, but it’s a widely held opinion), however a horse that my family bred was running in the low grade trot. I found this rather amusing, as he is pacing-bred.


I went to see him at the box, had a chat with his owner and then before the race broke one of my personal harness racing rules and had a small bet (I don’t think trots can be bet on, the horses are too unpredictable and prone to random galloping!). The horse was finishing well having broke early in the race however he galloped wildly coming up the home straight and finished fourth of four. It was bizarre to watch him with his high-stepping square-trotting action, but nice all the same.

Our pacing-bred trotter

Tsunami Sunshine

So now we're looking forward to the Crock of Gold meeting at Tir Prince - a race for the top handicapped horses from the UK and Ireland, followed by a thirteen-race bonanza at Allensmore. Bongo, Mac and Sammy will be running at Allensmore; Jingo is having the week off as is Hamish.

The results for both of the above meetings can be found on the BHRC website (www.bhrc.org.uk)

Over and out,

Sarah (#1 exceptionally hot groom)