And so the sun shines...at last!

When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome. ~ Wilma Rudolph


What a difference a week makes! Two of the three meetings at Leominster have passed and they could not have been more different in terms of the weather. Last weekend was cold and grey, and we were all grateful for the early finish which meant we avoided the ominous-looking storm clouds that had gathered around us. Yesterday was simply what harness racing is all about: sun, fun and watching equine athletes at their best. The shorts made their inaugural appearance on the circuit (I did wear shorts at York but I’m a Wales & West girl at my core), much to the delight of some of the spectators (and no Anthony, I am NOT one of the Pontypool front row forwards).

Before I go into detail about yesterday’s racing, and the racing from Saturday night in Tir Prince which I also attended, let me run you through the week that led up to what felt like the proper start to the summer. The Boss and Mrs B went on their holidays at the start of last week (Monday am until Wednesday pm), which meant that on Monday evening when I arrived at the yard I was completely in charge.

The responsibility could have crushed me.

It didn’t.

Derek, Big Mac and Jingo went on the walker to start with, while I mucked out their stables and filled them with straw. Once that was done and they were safely tucked up for the night, I put Bongo in the crossties and his stable had the same treatment (slightly more taxing as he’s a proper piggy). Laddie, Melinda, Maverick (who is currently on a month’s box rest as a scan on one of his forelegs has revealed a problem) and the girls, Eryn and Olympic each had a wheelbarrow load or two of straw chucked in with them. I then went about practicing my free-kicks and kicking the straw around in an attempt to save time and effort instead of shaking it out properly. Unfortunately it would appear that I am incapable of kicking straight and it in fact took me longer than it would have done had I done it properly in the first place (David Beckham I am not).

The Boss had left a bucket of feed outside each stable for all the racehorses (Derek, Bongo, Jingo, Big Mac, Maverick and Melinda, who is now back in training due to Maverick’s injury), so I set about feeding them. Once that was done I threw some hay in for each of them, including the yearlings, and was just putting the empty buckets back in the feed room when I noticed the note Mrs B had left me, asking that I feed Stripey the cat and the lamb.

Oops, nearly forgot about them.

Stripey and the lamb were fed and I left the horses happily munching away until Kevin (The Boss and Mrs B’s son-in-law) returned in the morning to give them their breakfast.

On Thursday I arrived to find Mervyn (Bongo’s owner) parked on the yard with the horsebox in tow. I knew this could only mean one thing: Sammy and/or Hamish were back in training. I believe I’ve mentioned Sammy and Hamish in passing before on my blog, but I’ve held off introducing them properly in the hope that they would come back for the summer and I could introduce them then. It would seem that my hopes were at least half-fulfilled, as Sammy is officially back in training for 2013. Hamish had travelled over as well, partly because he needed to have new shoes put on (which is what him, Mervyn and Colin got up to whilst I mucked out), and partly because Sammy won’t travel alone. Both horses have been ridden for the last few months at home in order to get them semi-fit and Sammy is obviously further ahead with his fitness, hence him returning sooner than Hamish.

Due to how much I love ol’ Sammy, and the time I could spend banging on about how amazing he is, I’ll dedicate a whole post to telling you about him. Otherwise this post would go on and on and on and on! Just suffice it to say here that I am OVER THE MOON to have him back in the team for one more year!

Sammy - aka Dark Fox

After a cup of tea and a cake, I set about mucking out as per usual. The Boss had been up to his old tricks of moving horses around without telling Mrs B and me what was going on, so I found Derek in half of Melinda’s stable (the dividing doors had been closed), Bongo in Maverick’s stable, Maverick in the empty foaling pen and Sammy in Bongo’s stable. I mucked out and strawed them all, in the process hurting my back (oops) and then headed home because I was thoroughly worn out!

************************

On Saturday I travelled up to Wrexham to meet Smarty, and together we travelled across to Towyn, North Wales, for the first meeting of the season at Tir Prince which will also hold the Breeders Crown and Crock of Gold meetings in 2013. The atmosphere was brilliant and there was a great turnout of both horses and punters, and I spent the evening as a bookie’s clerk. Tir Prince is one of two hard tracks in Wales (the other being Tai’r Gwaith, Amman Valley), and has by far the best facilities of all the hard tracks on the mainland. I can’t quite decide if it’s my favourite or if I still love York the best!

My friend Rachel had travelled up with her boss, Roy, as two of their horses, Wellfield Alfie and Wellfield Ghost, were running. Both horses put in great performances to come second in their respective races. Interestingly, Ghost was one of four greys in a race of 11, and the following race featured two greys in a field of seven. They say grey Standardbreds aren’t very common, but they seemed to be everywhere on Saturday night!

Full results are as follows:

Race 1
1st Mochart
2nd Vyrnwy Terror
3rd Heart Of Steel
2.02.7 8L & 2L

Race 2
1st No Regrets
2nd Gosip Girl
3rd The Governor
2.06.9 3L & 1L

Race 3
1st Mill Road
2nd Wellfield Alfie
3rd Frisco Minx
2.07 2L & 2 1/2L

Race 4
1st Blue Incredible
2nd Wellfield Ghost
3rd Porterstown Road
2.04.2 1L & 1/2L

Race 5 (TROT)
1st Mitt Popcorn
2nd Nolhagens Viking
3rd Quick Right
2.41.2 6L & nose

Race 6
1st Ladyford Indiana
2nd Alice Springs
3rd Oakview George
2.03.7 1/2L & neck

Race 7
1st Best Of The Fleet
2nd Whosurbaby
3rd Southsideaffection
2.02.4 3L & 2L

Race 8
1st Ayr Mission
2nd Infinatey
3rd American Gigolo
2.01.3 head & 4L

Race 9
1st Forafewdollarsmore
2nd Rhyds Fivestar
3rd Home Habana
2.00 2L & 5L

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Yesterday morning I drove down to Leominster from Wrexham, and Smarty headed back to Scotland. I arrived just after 12pm and was thankful I’d worn the shorts – the sun was shining, the sky was a wonderful shade of blue and it was so warm! I parked in the paddock next to the lorry and immediately set about helping. The Boss was out on the track giving Hamish a workout (Mervyn had brought him in the horsebox), and Julie was preparing to take Jingo out to warm him up. Sammy was also tacked up ready for Julie to sit her saddle test along with three other riders, and Big Mac was snoozing in the shade waiting to be warmed up by The Boss. To make matters even more stressful, The Boss’ friend Henry was parked next to the lorry with a three year old filly that was running in the qualifiers, and of course The Boss drives Henry’s horses for him. So we had five horses, one working out before the qualifiers, one doing the saddle test before the qualifiers, and then one in each of the three qualifiers! There were bridles, inner bridles, bluffs, lead reins and the one sulky flying everywhere in our corner of the paddock!

Julie sat her test on Sammy just before they ran the qualifiers, along with my friend Emma who sat her test on What About Me (Jiggy). They, and the other two riders Sarah Price and Keith Young, all passed their tests, and then it was a mad dash to get Julie out on Jingo for the first qualifier. The Boss gave her strict instructions to ‘make him go’ this week, which she duly did. Jingo was drawn 1 on the gate and went at a tidy clip the full mile, pulling clear down the back straight when challenged and again down the home straight, finishing in a time of 2.13.3, 4 lengths clear of the second horse. The Boss drove Mahogany Dreamaway for Henry in the second qualifier, then jumped straight on Big Mac to take him out for the third. Mac didn't disappoint and qualified in a time of 2.16, half a length behind the 'winning' horse. And before race one had even started, my day was over! I don't mind being busy but I prefer it to be a little bit more spaced out than that! Nonetheless, we were a happy team yesterday :)

Here's the girls before their saddle test:

  

And finally the results from a sunny Leominster:

Race 1

1st Sams Teatime

2nd Hurricane Howard

3rd Epynt Sophie

2.09.7 1L & 3L

Race 2

1st Tsunami

2nd Ynyston Seelster

3rd Mary Joe

2.14.7 2 1/2L & 1 1/2L

Race 3

1st Hilltop Nansboy

2nd Ontop Wye Preach

3rd Ystwyth D T

2.08.5 4L & 6L

Race 4

1st Beretta Bourgeois

2nd Limelights Frankie

3rd Young Buck

2.07.7 10L & neck

Race 5

1st Ontop Girlcharmer

2nd Wellfield Earl

3rd Billy Elliot

2.07 5L & 5L

Race 6

1st Stamp Hill

2nd Ithon Ghost

3rd Luck Matters

2.06.4 4L & head

Race 7

1st Camden Casanova

2nd Lyons Stallone

3rd Meadowland Tom

2.04.9 3L & 5L

So that's another week over, it's all systems go for Ammanford next weekend (provided there's enough entries, as there's a big trot up in Appleby on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday). I will of course keep you updated!

Over and out,

Sarah (#1 Groom)

A grey day at Leominster

On Sunday I was dropped off at the yard by my old man, along with my ex-racehorse Big Ears (her name is Shes Some Deal, or Star, whom The Boss broke in as a 2yo and trained/raced as a 3yo). Big Ears came with us to Leominster to meet my friend Emma [Langford], who will be schooling her during the summer, focussing on getting her to work in an outline, tidying up her canter and starting her over jumps. We already had her as an extra passenger, and then The Boss’ daughter Julie arrived with Thomas and Freckle the Dalmatian in tow – Thomas decided to stay at home with Mrs B who was packing for hers and The Boss’ few days away this week, whilst Julie and Freckle came to Leominster with Jingo, Big Mac, Star, The Boss and myself.

Jingo and Big Mac were both entered in the qualifiers (Jingo to get up to race fitness, and Big Mac to actually qualify). Due to the BHRC not publishing a list of runners for the qualifiers, we had absolutely no idea whether the qualifiers would be split or run as one, although thankfully as Julie also holds a driving licence if the worst came to the worst we’d be able to field two horses in the same race (although we only had one sulky with us). When we arrived we found out that Jingo was to run in the first qualifier, and Big Mac in the second. Julie went to declare them and I set about harnessing up Mac whilst The Boss harnessed Jingo. The Boss then took Mac out to warm him up, and when he returned Julie took Jingo out to do the same as she was driving him in his qualifier.


Both horses were drawn 6 (on the inside rail, second line) in their respective qualifying races, and after establishing which horse Julie would be following out of the gate (the horse drawn 1 which would be directly in front of her), I advised that the driver had a tendency to ‘chase’ horses out of the gate to establish an early lead, which unfortunately often resulted in young horses breaking with them going into the first bend. This meant that Julie was aware that the horse in front could break stride and potentially hamper her, although knowing in advance meant she would be somewhat prepared. As they crossed the start line and the starting car pulled away, the horse drawn 1 rushed into the first corner and, surprise surprise, broke stride. Somehow – The Boss and me are still not sure how – Julie and Jingo managed to dart up the inside and keep their position on the rail, while Tudor Jones and his mare Grannell Ebony Eyes sped around the outside of the group (having been drawn 4 on the gate) to take the lead. Julie & Jingo settled into second place on the rail and bowled along comfortably behind the front horse for the first six furlongs. At the three quarter pole the front horse began to fade rapidly and Julie took the chance to slip around the outside and take the lead. From there on it was all wrapped up; Jingo quickened nicely to come home 16 lengths in front of his nearest competitor in a time of 2.17.1 (within the standard grass-track qualifying time of 2.18) and without Julie having to ask him to, or tiring himself out. He came back to the lorry looking as though he’d simply been for an afternoon stroll!

As soon as they returned to the lorry I unhitched the sulky and set about getting The Boss and Big Mac ready. Julie and I managed to get Jingo washed, scraped and rugged before the second qualifier started (only just), and then we ran across to the track to watch Big Mac. There was an older horse in this qualifier who had previously raced, but as it had missed a season racing it was required to re-qualify (same conditions as for those horses who are qualifying for the first time). Naturally, said horse led the qualifier from start to finish, but the real action was going on behind. Mac settled into third position on the rail for the first half a mile behind another qualifier, driven by David Bevan. At the bell The Boss pulled out and attempted to challenge David down the back straight, but the problem with sitting two wide means that the outside horse has to cover more ground, and despite his best efforts Mac couldn’t quite get himself past the inside horse. He finished the qualifier strongly though, in an approximate time of 2.16 (so faster than Jingo, who hadn’t been pushed), as the winner went 2.14.2 and finished a length clear of the second placed horse, who in turn finished a length ahead of Big Mac.

I was very pleased with both Mac and Jingo’s performances. Even though Mac had done the qualifying time, The Boss chose not to qualify him this time, so they’re both entered to run in qualifiers again next weekend at Leominster. After Mac had been washed down and they’d both had a drink and a walk, they were put back on the lorry and I watched the rest of the racing with my friend Emma and her parents. Star boarded their lorry at the end of the day to head to South Wales for her summer of training, and I headed home with Smarty at 3.30pm. Now, considering the first race went off at 2pm, and there were 7 races, I think you’ll agree that that’s quite an impressive speed at which to run a race meeting! It makes Mrs B’s 11 races in three hours at Cilmery races look awfully dragged out now!


Here’s the list of results from today’s racing:

Race 1
1st Ontop Girlcharmer
2nd McCoy
3rd Vyrnwy Terror
2.10.0 2L & neck

Race 2
1st Coalford Vision
2nd Epynt Sophie
3rd Evenwood Lipstick
2.12.3 3L & head

Race 3
1st Beretta Bourgeois
2nd Ontop Wye Preach
3rd Frisco Mick
2.06.8 4L & 8L

Race 4
1st Billy Elliot
2nd Wellfield Ernest
3rd Limelights Frankie
2.12.8 1/2L & 2 1/2L

Race 5
1st Rhyds Panache
2nd Wellfield Earl
3rd Ynyston JJ
2.10.0 1L & 10L

Race 6
1st She Tells All
2nd Ithon Ghost
3rd Luck Matters
2.08.0 1/2L & 4L

Race 7
1st Meadowbranch Josh
2nd Rhyds Ponder
3rd Meadowland Tom
2.05.8 4L & 7L


And finally some token photos of Star, at the track and having settled in at Emma’s yard:

 Over and out,

Sarah (#1 Groom)

New arrival (and something in the oats?)

On Sunday (5th May) Mama decided to finally evict her tenant of nearly twelve months – on the day of the first race meeting of the season, very appropriately – a colt foal by Mahogany Import (owned by The Boss and Mrs B’s good friends, Henry & Heulwen Bulman, Mahogany Stables). The little fella is currently called Joey, but his registered name will be ‘Meadowland (something)’, depending on who wins the debate between The Boss and his grandchildren, Thomas & Eryn. The Boss is just lucky Joey wasn’t a filly, because it’s about time I had a horse named after me, and Meadowland Sarah has quite a nice ring to it. Oh well, we can live in hope…

Naturally, the first thing I did upon my arrival at the yard (well, after a cup of tea and a cake, obviously) was go out and take photos of the new arrival, both for this blog and for the STAGBI Facebook page. I’m currently doing a feature that will run until the autumn on 2013 Standardbred foals; after all, everyone loves looking at foals and who knows, maybe there’s a Little Welsh Dragon/Dragoness winner amongst them, or a future Musselburgh champion! So here he is, the newest member of the Meadowland clan:

I wonder what the future has in store for him?

In other news, somebody appears to have either swapped our usually docile bunch of donks, or spiked their feed. I missed Monday night’s duties as I was in York trotting races with Smarty, honing my clerking skills ready for the big meetings this summer. However, when I arrived on Thursday The Boss told me that following Big Mac’s antics after my short ride the previous weekend, he’s been a different horse all week. Mac appears to have gone from having a very laid back, nothing-bothers-me attitude, to a buckaroo in the blink of an eye! Apparently The Boss has been jogging him up and down the lane (before heading up the track), and Big Mac has been so full of beans that he’s been bucking in the cart as they go (NOT something he’s done before I hasten to add!). All I could say on the matter was that I hoped he’d put as much effort in on the racetrack at Leominster, where him and Jingo were running for their first time this season on the grass (both in qualifiers).

Things then took another turn for the unexpected when I put the horses on the walker. I’ve been working with these horses since February – they are calm, quiet and very well-behaved. The only time any of them gets remotely excited about anything is at feeding time. But this is how I like them to be. Save it for the racetrack and all that.

So Derek goes on the walker first – lovely. Big Mac goes on second; I shut the gate and turn it on – cue Derek thinking he’s a rodeo pony, and Big Mac deciding the walker isn’t going fast enough, so beginning to tush the paddle in front of him around with his big head! I figured they’d burn the excess energy off while I mucked out, so had a chuckle at their antics and wandered off to find my barrow.

Jingo went on the walker about fifteen minutes later (if he goes on the same time as the others he has a habit of pulling back on the rope and stopping the whole walker – of course the other horses being so laid back all just stand there), as did Bongo, and the first two seemed to have settled by then. The Boss and I finished mucking out and bedding down the four empty stables and then went to fetch them back in. The Boss brought Jingo off first and I fetched Big Mac; as I walked back through the area where we cross tie them and out onto the yard, I heard (and then saw) Jingo shoot forward into the bottom shed, with The Boss hanging on to the end of the lead rope. The noise, and the sight, of Jingo darting into the shed so quickly caused Big Mac to have some sort of mental breakdown and he too decided we were going to bomb off down the yard. The only obstacle was the lorry, which I was headed for as he was looking to dart around the back of it and leave me behind. I made the decision to hang on to his headcollar rather than let him go, because I didn’t know where The Boss was in the bottom shed (i.e. whether or not he’d still got hold of Jingo, whether Jingo was loose, or whether The Boss was stood in Big Mac’s potential firing line). So I had a bit of a fight with Mac (not advisable, he is both big AND strong) and managed to only be partially dragged down the yard and into the shed, where The Boss and Jingo were wrestling in Bongo’s stable (we’d left all four stable doors open). Jingo had moved that fast as he shot into the shed that there was a smell of burning – he’d scraped his shoes so quickly that they must have heated! The minute I let Mac go in his stable he reverted to bucking, squealing and jumping around like a fool. Of course Laddie (the yearling), whose stable is between Mac’s and Jingo’s, decided this was all too exciting for him and could he join in please, so there was him dancing around on his hind legs in the middle like a dancing bear. Chaos!

Thankfully Derek was much calmer than the first two idiots and only spooked at EVERYTHING on the yard, which he has seen hundreds of times before, and surprisingly Bongo was the most sensible of them all to lead in. The Boss then decided to tell me it was the increased oats ration he was feeding them, clearly having its desired effect. I didn’t think oats literally turned horses loopy, but I stand corrected!

After sorting out the rest of the mob, and making sure everyone was fed and watered, I headed off with strict instructions to be back at the yard Sunday morning around half 9, or ten, or half ten (The Boss is not one for specifics). I opted for the earliest time as there was a possibility of a cup of tea before the off then!

And they're off and pacing...

And so, after goodness knows how many weeks of banging on about it, the first meeting of the season has come and gone. On the morning of Sunday, 5th May, all roads for the harness racing fraternity led to Tregaron.

The day before I went to the yard to get the trailer ready, as The Boss decided there was no need to take the lorry for one horse. While I was there I sat on Big Mac for the first time. Let's say he was uncharacteristically lively! I managed a short walk down the lane with The Boss walking on foot, then back, and that was it for the day. I think next time I'll get on him after he's been jogged around the track a few times! We put him back in his stable and he bucked, squealed and jumped around for a good five minutes, which is VERY unlike him. But, now that we know he can do it, we'll be making sure he transfers this energy to the racetrack!

So on Sunday I headed to Tregaron with my significant other, whom we shall call Smarty, as not only is he a hardcore harness racing follower, he's also a bookmaker. I wasn't on-duty as a groom, but I did clerk for Smarty (basically pressing buttons on a computer, something I have tonnes of experience doing!). It's a job that helps time between races pass quickly, and then allows me to give the racing my full attention (although with a slightly warped view of what I want to win!).

Here's my round up of the inaugural meeting of 2013:

Race 1

GDS STING
RUNAWAY GIRL
HILLTOP NANSBOY
VYRNWY TERROR
TALAVARY PRINCE
SAMS TEATIME
PETERSTONE SENATOR

The first race was a maiden (for horses that have never won a race), and featured horses that had travelled from Scotland, County Durham as well as Wales. The favourite was an imported horse, Sams Teatime trained and driven by the recently-returned Steve Lees. Unfortunately the horse showed his greenness and ran wide at the first bend, which turned a bit messy for some of the other horses (GD's Sting broke stride and galloped, as did Peterstone Senator). Vyrnwy Terror ran consistently throughout the race, however it turned into a two horse finish between the favourite and the winner, Hilltop Nansboy, driven by last season's champion driver William 'Rocker' Laidler (1st Hilltop Nansboy 2nd Sams Teatime 3rd Vyrnwy Terror 2.16.2, 3/4L & 7L).

Race 2

EPYNT SOPHIE
IMMALCULATE
EVENWOOD ACHILLES
GOSIP GIRL
TALAVARY SPLURGE
THE GOVERNOR
LAKESIDE PAN

The second race was another maiden, with the favourite being Immalculate, an unraced 3yo by Immortalized. Gosip Girl broke at the first bend despite a quick start, and Lakeside Pan took the opportunity to take the lead. Immalculate and Epynt Sophie both tried to challenge the leader down the back straight on the second lap but Jamie Davies held on with Ronnie John's 4yo TheOne-Night Pan gelding to win impressively in the quickest of the three maiden divisions (1st Lakeside Pan 2nd Immalculate 3rd Epynt Sophie 2.15.6, 8L & 5L).

Race 3

ONTOP GIRLCHARMER
EVENWOOD LIPSTICK
HILLTOP SKIPPER
RED ROMANCE
RHYDS PREMIER
SAUNDERS PARIS
WELLFIELD ALFIE

The third and final maiden division was won by the favourite, Ontop Girlcharmer driven by Steve Lees. Together they challenged the race leader Wellfield Alfie who had made his move to the front at the bell (half way mark). Hilltop Skipper with the young Irish driver Michael O'Mahony made a late move coming off the last bend but he couldn't quite get past Stevie who held on to win (1st Ontop Girlcharmer 2nd Hilltop Skipper 3rd Wellfield Alfie 2.15.7, head & 1L).

Race 4

WHAT ABOUT ME
GD'S TWIST
WHOSURBABY
MEADOWLAND TOM
HAWTHORNS MAGGIE
(10 YARDS)
RHYDS PONDER
MEADOWBRANCH JOSH
VALHALLA

In the first heat of three the long time leader and favourite Whosurbaby slowed the pace in the second quarter, allowing second favourite Rhyds Ponder to challenge towards the end of the race, but the favourite held on to win comfortably. The first three horses qualified for the final (1st Whosurbaby 2nd Rhyds Ponder 3rd Meadowbranch Josh 2.15.6, 2 1/2L & 1/2L).

Race 5

ANOTHER MAN
RHYD N WRITE
HARRY CAPPER
TALAVARY ACTIVATOR
AYR HERO
(10 YARDS)
SOUTHSIDEAFFECTION
LYONS STALLONE

The second heat started explosively with Rhyd N Write and driver Lee Vaughan hurtling to the lead at the first bend; they held that lead until the bell and as the field passed in front of the crowd at the start of the second lap the horses were five wide across the track vying for the front spot. Ayr Hero took it up and looked to be clear, and with the favourite stuck at the back heading down the back straight for the final time the race looked to be concluded. However, the mare Southsideaffection found her fifth gear, and some space, and mowed Ayr Hero down coming down the home straight with an impressive blast of speed to finish ahead of her competitors and providing Rocker with his second win (1st Southsideaffection 2nd Ayr Hero 3rd Rhyd N Write 2.14.4, 1L & 4L).

Race 6

INFINATEY
AMERICAN GIGOLO
(10 YARDS)
LADYFORD LAD
FRISCO HAVAGO
RHYDS HEARTBEAT
PURPLE RAIN

The third and final heat saw a fight for the lead at the start of the race, as the drivers of the two gate horses tussled down the back straight for the front. Mark Jones, driving Infinatey, abandoned his early attempt to take the lead and tucked in behind the leader American Gigolo with Rhys Evans. The pace slackened off after the early burst of speed, which allowed the remainder of the field to catch up. Infinatey made another challenge in the same place on the second lap, this time speeding past American Gigolo, and although Steve Lees and last year's Senior Welsh Dragon winner Frisco Havago tried to chase after them they were unable to catch the Welsh duo who sped over the line in the eventual fastest time of the day (1st Infinatey 2nd Frisco Havago 3rd American Gigolo 2.11.2, 12L & 1L).

Race 7

MIAMI SEELSTER
CAMDEN KINKI
BERETTA BOUGEOIS
ONTOP WYE PREACH
BILLY BONG
WELLFIELD GHOST
INSTANT COFFEE
DAKTAR
BLACKFIELD BILLIE

Rocker Laidler partnered the favourite here, Beretta Bourgeois, in the novice race (for horses who have won one race), however it broke stride on the last bend in pursuit of the leader Wellfield Ghost, who had taken up the position at the half way stage. Instant Coffee had been the early leader however was unable to maintain her early speed and faded as the race progressed (1st Wellfield Ghost 2nd Ontop Wye Preach 3rd Instant Coffee 2.15.5, 1/2L & 6L).

Race 8

ONTOP FUGATIVE
BRYWINS JASPER
RHYDS SOLUTION
MEWITH FORSURE
CONWAYS QUEST
MERRINGTON MISSILE
SHELWICK HERO
RHYDS PANACHE

The favourite in the Grade 1 handicap was again Rocker with his homebred horse Merrington Missile. Ontop Fugative was left behind and looked outclassed on the day. Rhyds Panache, with local (to me) driver David Bevan took the lead at the halfway point and managed to just hold on from the favourite, although both horses were pushed to the line by their drivers. Rhyds Solution ran well, bearing in mind he is only 3, and finished strongly in third (1st Rhyds Panache 2nd Merrington Missile 3rd Rhyds Solution 2.15.6, neck & 2L).

Race 9

SHE TELLS ALL
LAKESIDE IDEAL
KIPLYN
YOUNG BUCK (N/R)
DAYLON DREAM
BILLY ELLIOT
AYR UNION
(10 YARDS)
RHYDS TRICKSTER

In this Grade 1 & 2 (Grade 2 horse starting off 10 yards) race yet again Rocker went off favourite with She Tells All. This time there were no flies in the ointment and he managed to notch up his hat-trick of wins on the day, after Rhyds Trickster was pulled up with a broken hopple and Ayr Union broke, although recovered. Lakeside Ideal also broke at the start which put an end to Ronnie John's hopes of a double with his homebred duo (1st She Tells All 2nd Billy Elliot 3rd Lakeside Ideal 2.16.4, 1L & 6L).

Race 10

BRYWINS JOLENE
RUDD HANOVER
GINGER MAN
(10 YARDS)
RHYDS PAN AM
PAGE BANK MAGGIE
WHISPUR
CAMDEN CASANOVA

Rudd Hanover in the hands of Jason Podmore was chased early to the front to overtake initial leader Brywins Jolene, although the burst of speed caused him to falter as the race went on. David Bevan made a big move at the bell to take it up with Camden Casanova and was never caught, storming home in a very impressive fashion with the rest of the field fighting it out for the placings (1st Camden Casanova 2nd Whispur 3rd Rhyds Pan Am 2.14.0, 11L & nose).
Race 11

HOWARDS CONTENDER
HOME HABANA
MATADOR HALL
RHYDS DESTINY

Although there were only four runners in the Open Preferred Handicap (for high grade horses, with the horse with the lowest earnings drawn 1, and the horse with the highest earnings drawn (in this case) on the outside in 4 - in racecard order, as above), this race proved to be as exciting as it possibly could be. Howards Contender failed to get up onto the gate quickly enough at the start of the race and actually went off 10 yards behind the other three, which in this company is not advisable! Home Habana was the winner of the Appleby Final last summer, Rhyds Destiny a winner of over £31,000 with a lifetime best of 1.56.9 and Matador Hall, winner of 15 races and consistently placed at the highest level. The Cilmery Final winner recovered and made a move at the quarter pole, taking the lead from early front runner Home Habana who made full use of the empty space on his inside at the start. The highlight of the race was the finish, however. All four horses crossed the finishing line together with a photo finish called, after Andrew Cairns struggled to get out from the back coming off the final turn with Rhyds Destiny and Howards Contender rallying to challenge Home Habana. Top level racing provided a top level finish, and these horses proved the old adage 'quality, not quantity'! (1st Home Habana 2nd Rhyds Destiny 3rd Howards Contender 2.16.7, neck & nose).

Race 12

AYR PANDEMIC
FRISCO MICK
OAKVIEW GEORGE
BABY ROSA
CLOUD BURST

The feature race of the day, and the only race not to be run as penalty free (where the prize money isn't added to the horse's lifetime earnings, thus not affecting its handicap mark), was the Senior Welsh Dragon, for 4yo colts/geldings and fillies that have usually raced at 2 and 3 in the Welsh Dragon series (or at least have to have been paid in since foals). The colts and fillies race together at this age and Baby Rosa was the strongest candidate of the two fillies (the other being Ayr Pandemic who never figured in the race) to try and overthrow the power of the colts. She raced out of the gate in the hands of Tregaron-based Rhys Evans to take an early lead, and the rest was history. Mick Lord with her strongest challenger Oakview George found himself boxed in by Andrew Cairns and Cloud Burst coming off the last bend, and by the time he found his escape route the damage had been done. He chased Baby Rosa to the line but never managed to pass her, and Rhys Evans celebrated two wins in a row, this time with the family-owned filly (1st Baby Rosa 2nd Oakview George 3rd Cloud Burst 2.15.8, 1/2L & 1 1/2L)

Race 13

RHYD N WRITE
AYR HERO
WHOSURBABY
(10 YARDS)
SOUTHSIDEAFFECTION
MEADOWBRANCH JOSH
RHYDS PONDER
(20 YARDS)
INFINATEY
AMERICAN GIGOLO
(30 YARDS)
FRISCO HAVAGO

And to the last race of the day, the Tregaron Spring Handicap Final. Infinatey went off a short favourite due to his scorching time in the heats. Rhyd N Write again led out of the gate, as he did in his heat, and maintained his position until Whosurbaby took up the mantle at the quarter. Meadowbranch Josh came to challenge at the halfway mark, and Ayr Hero found himself boxed in. Infinatey, biding his time, decided to make progress at the third quarter, and came off the bend chased by late finisher Southsideaffection and Whosurbaby who stayed on well. However on this occasion it wasn't enough to stop the homebred 5yo holding on, to add yet another trophy to the cabinet following his impressive victory last year in the S4C sponsored Welsh Cup (1st Infinatey 2nd Southsideaffection 3rd Whosurbaby 2.13.5, 1 1/2L & 2L).

So there we have it. Phew, that was a long post! Don't expect every week to be the same, I was particularly hyped up about the start of the season and perhaps paying more attention than usual as my friends Emma and Rachel were otherwise engaged (Emma had two drives and Rachel was in the beer tent!).

Roll on Leominster!

Over and out,

Sarah (#1 Groom, or clerk in this case!)

Horse-filled weekend :)

Another week, another workout day at Amman Valley.

Unfortunately the qualifiers that were due to be held today (28th April) at Leominster were cancelled due to a lack of entries, and as Maverick has a swollen hock we decided to take just Big Mac and Jingo to Amman Valley yesterday instead. It was a cold morning at the yard, and I set off in my car behind the lorry with the heaters set on full to thaw out after spending half an hour plaiting up Jingo (what a pretty boy!). Thankfully the sun was shining in Brynamman though!

Jingo was due to run in the fifth workout and Big Mac in the sixth, and last, workout. That gave us enough time to harness both of the horses up, and The Boss took Jingo out for a quick jog to let him see everything. Jingo has a habit of literally seeing everything, which prevents him from concentrating on the job at hand. Apparently on Friday, Julie took him around the track at home and not only was he sharp, he was also super-observant of his surroundings! When The Boss came back, he said the horse was looking around on the track, but he didn't make any obvious errors or spook so we weren't too concerned.

The fifth workout came around and off I sent Jingo to the track. His owner, Austin, stood with me to watch the workout, having helped with him by the lorry and generally fussed over him :) we really do have some lovely owners who clearly adore their horses. Jingo's owner is no different! I was left with the task, along with Emma and Sammy stood beside me, of timing the 'race'. The Boss managed to sneak up to the starting gate in the '1' position, inside Camden Kinki (2yo Breeders Crown fillies winner - and owned by my aforementioned friend Emma), and the successful race mare Too Hot Today. As Jingo has only been in for five weeks we expected him to struggle to finish the mile and be left behind by some of the more experienced horses. Jingo had other ideas however. He shot out of the gate, immediately settled into a rolling rhythm and sat at the front of the field, clocking a first lap time of 1.06. Down the back straight on the second lap the horses behind him began to pull out to overtake and Austin and me expected Jingo to begin to slow at this point, however he continued to roll around the last two corners and then paced comfortably, staying slightly ahead of the field, to finish in 2.12. He came back hardly blowing and looking a little pleased with himself, and The Boss confirmed he'd felt good on the track with something left in the tank that wasn't needed or indeed used (after all, the plan had been to use the run to freshen him up and let us see how far along we are with his training).


Jingo leading the fifth workout

Big Mac ran in the last while I washed Jingo, which unfortunately I meant I didn't have a chance to time him, however The Boss came back and was pleased as he hadn't made any mistakes. It would appear that it is all systems go for him to run in a qualifier at the first meeting of the season next week in Tregaron. After I'd washed Big Mac and he'd had a drink, I threw a rug over him and my friend Emma came over to see him. I'd mentioned that The Boss had backed him and I was hoping to get on him soon (unfortunately last week the weather and time were not permitting), and without a second thought she said 'give me a leg up'...so I obliged, and there she was, sat on him bareback and tied to the lorry! Big Mac didn't think anything of it, so off I took her for a walk on the lead rope, like a donkey ride at the seaside. I don't think I've ever met a horse so laid back!

After Emma and I had loaded him back on the lorry, I left to head back to her house. I stayed the night last night and today we went riding on her ex-racehorse Brywins Beama, and her current horse in training, What About Me (Jiggy). We had an absolute whale of a time, wandering around the villages and through the forestry. We switched horses half way and then raced each other along a bridle path that ran parallel to the main road. Both horses are fit and both horses are capable of two-minute miles. I loosed Jiggy go at one point and it felt phenomenal; the exciting thing was that I knew he could go twice as fast if he was asked! We then raced each other round an old playing field - childish but exhilarating! We finished off our ride by cantering around their track at home. Jiggy was put away as yesterday he'd worked out in 2.04 and he'd had his stretch and blow on our hack, and we then messed about jumping with Beama. Beams has been out of racing for 18 months now; he was broken and trained by Emma as a young horse, raced with British Harness for years before going back to Wales&Borders. Now Emma is reschooling him for eventing, and he's also turned his hoof to a bit of dressage. Jumping, however, is what he absolutely loves! Jiggy will be targeting the saddle races this summer with Emma, and she'll be one lucky jockey getting to ride him all the time - his paces are divine (canter included). I gave four of the five (we didn't get a chance to gallop!) a good go before he went to bed for the afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

  

Back at the yard, things have been much the same during the last week. Mama is closer to foaling, Derek is possibly going home soon and BJ is going back to Wesley as well. Melinda is due to go to the stallion as well in the next few weeks so it sounds as though things will be getting quieter and there won't be so much mucking out to be done!

Over and out for now,

Sarah (#1 Groom)

Two weeks to go...

As I sit here writing this, it is exactly two weeks until the Tregaron spring meeting. Everyone is stepping up a gear now, all aiming to take the spoils at the first meeting of the 2013 season. And what a cracking start it always is, with horses travelling from all over the UK and Ireland to compete for the top prizes, and the buzz that comes from meeting up after spending over six months apart.

This week we appear to have acquired another horse. At no point did The Boss convey to me that we were expecting any other horse to join the team; in fact, this oversight may have been because The Boss himself didn’t know we were expecting any other horse to join the team. When I arrived on Monday afternoon, The Boss’ friend Wesley’s vehicle and box were parked on the yard. Melinda’s double stable had been split in half by closing the partition doors, and there was a freshly bedded down empty stable by the crossties. It’s not uncommon for Wesley to bring a horse over just to work out on the track, however I probably should have put two and two together to get four. Freshly made up and empty stable, no sign of anyone on the yard, all ‘my’ horses in their stables…yes, the clues were there. Within minutes The Boss and Wesley appeared on the yard with a rather scruffy looking little grey horse in tow.

The little fella, I soon found out, was a purchase from the sale in York a couple of years back. His name is B J’s Amir, by the grey stallion Young Commander (Corbiewood track record holder for 15 years) out of the Disraeli Hanover mare, Cams Disraeli. I immediately set about grooming him, because that’s what he looked like he needed most, and it’s my way of showing the horses I’m not a total monster (I only turn into a broom-wielding screecher when they squabble with each other through the partitions).

By Thursday, BJ looked like a different horse. He now looks like a ball of grey fluff, with a fluffy little head, and fluffy little legs. He’s small and sweet-natured enough, and although The Boss says he threw a few tantrums in the crossties and up the track, the method of ignoring him as if he was a child throwing his toys out of the pram seems to have worked, because once he realised he wasn’t being met with any resistance he quickly resumed normal business. I think it’s fair to say The Boss is pleased with his progress.

Another horse who seems to be coming along quietly now is Bongo. Due to the events that occurred during the breaking in of Bongo, The Boss has been very wary of him. Apparently he has a ‘wild look’ in his eyes, because you can sometimes see a tiny bit of the whites of his eyes. Now I think that’s just a mildly alarmed look, one that I quite often have on my face when I see the state of the youth of today. I think Bongo must feel the same as me about such matters because we share this alarmed facial expression. I have found him to also be quite a sweet-natured chap. He will stand with his head over the stable door and let me cuddle him like a teddy bear, which is something I quite like doing and is probably part of the reason my car smells permanently of horses. It also reassures me that I’m building up some sort of bond with these boys.

Derek is still with us. I think it’s fair to say he’s at the end of the breaking process now; he’s pacing without fault and focussed on the job. We’re not entirely sure when he’s supposed to be going back to his owners, so The Boss and me decided yesterday that we might as well just take him to the next workout day at Ammanford. It won’t do him any harm; in fact, it’ll be better for his owners that he’ll have seen all the sights and sounds of a racetrack. Our reason for taking him is just to show everyone that not all of our horses are as hairy as the two we took yesterday *blush*

And so we arrive to Maverick and Big Mac. Yesterday they made their inaugural journey to the track. We *just* managed to wedge Big Mac into the lorry (he’s terribly long), and Maverick thankfully wasn’t put off by the memory that the last time he went anywhere in the lorry it was to be gelded. The Boss had taken scissors to Big Mac’s impressive feathers on Thursday, and then hid the evidence from me by leaving overreach boots on. I’m not that easily fooled and uncovered his handiwork before we set off – you’ll be pleased to know he’d done an alright job.

It was a lovely sunny day at Ammanford, and there was a decent turnout of British Harness and Wales & Borders horses. Maverick ran in the first workout (against Talavary Activator who clocked a time of 2.04 – organisers, if you’re reading this, where’s the sense in putting a three-year-old unqualified horse in with a seasoned speed machine like Activator?! The answer is: there is none. Sort it out!). Anyway, for a first attempt he went well. The Boss said he didn’t think much of all the horses around him when they went up to the starting gate, and he noticeably shortened his stride on the home straight (he actually broke stride on the second lap), although that may be due to the hard surface of the track, but he coped well with the start car itself, the other lorries, the grandstand and shell of the new clubhouse so there was nothing to leave us disappointed with him.

Big Mac then ran in the fourth workout, against the Tregaron Classic Final winner Foolaround (again, organisers, seriously?!), and put in an impressive performance despite nearly being knocked off his legs by another driver who somehow couldn’t see Big Mac’s enormous body on his inside, and veered straight into him on the first corner. Big Mac had nowhere to go but the inside of the track, which has white marker poles at regular intervals. Mac decided that the best way to tackle the white pole in front of him would be to jump it – so he did. From where his owners and me were standing, it looked as if he was about to hit the deck. For a split second all I could think was ‘he’s going to fall on the furthest part of the track from where I am…I’m going to have to run in public’. Thankfully for us all (because frankly, nobody wants to see me run – what do you do with your arms?!) he regained his stride without losing too much ground and completed the rest of the mile in a comfortable and steady pace. He clocked a time of 2.15, which would be just outside the qualifying time; taking into account his jump, halt and attempt to rebalance himself, had he been running in a qualifier without incident he would have come in within the requisite time. Most importantly though, Mac did it all without a second thought; he approached the start car in the ‘3’ position (two horses inside him, two horses outside him), he took the corners easily despite his long stride and apart from the mishap with the clearly blind driver, he never broke stride either. He also didn’t take offence at my buckets when he came off the track, unlike Maverick. I couldn’t get within three feet of Maverick’s head with my water bucket because he’s a dingbat. Obviously I’m harbouring crocodiles in the bottom of my water buckets now and if he sticks his head in he’ll get eaten. He’s going to have to spend the week with a bucket in his stable because I can’t cope with him being such a diva at the races.

Finally, we must quickly discuss Jingo. Mr Grumpy got his knickers in a twist yesterday morning because we left without him. For a short while The Boss and me actually contemplated chucking him on the lorry and taking him with us, it would serve him right for kicking up such a fuss when we took Maverick and Big Mac out. Then we remembered that he’s only been with us for four weeks and he’s still looking like a little pudding. Besides, I think it would do him some good not to get his own way. He’s behaving like a spoilt child at the moment because he’s clocked that Dark Fox (Sammy), the stable star and all-round favourite, isn’t back and therefore he thinks he's top dog! Look at that face!

So this coming week I’m hoping to bite the bullet and get on Big Mac, and we’re planning to head to Ammanford again with him and Derek on Saturday. Depending on whether or not the workout day at Leominster on Sunday goes ahead we may take Maverick there instead. I’ll be heading to Ammanford separately from The Boss as I’m going to stay the weekend with my friend Emma, who trains and drives horses along with her parents, Helen and Dai.

Over and out,

Sarah (#1 Groom)

The Countdown Has Started

It is now less than four weeks until the first meeting of the season at Tregaron. (http://www.bhrc.org.uk/fixtures.php) Where has time gone?! It feels like just last week I was starting this blog and getting back to my mucking out duties. Now we’re only a few weeks away from the starting point of the whole summer’s racing. Up until now I’ve not even laid hands on a set of harness, it’s simply been mucking out and grooming, however this week that has all changed :)

There isn’t much to report from the start of the week; on Monday it was much of the same in the way of jobs to be done. Thursday proved to be a much more interesting day however.

The Boss had been looking after two of his grandchildren in the morning (Thomas and Eryn – hence the filly Meadowland Eryn, and there was once a very laid-back horse on the yard called Meadowland Tom. So laid-back that one day I had to try and drag him up because he was fast asleep in his stable. At first I thought he might be dead because there was absolutely no movement; however a flicker of his ear eventually gave him away. There’s no escaping work at the yard and he was duly roused from his slumber). As a result, only Jingo and Maverick had been taken out in the afternoon, and I was informed during our customary tea that Derek, Big Mac and Bongo all needed to go out afterwards.

Before we got started exercising and mucking out the horses, I had to present a cheque to The Boss as part of my other part time job. I also work for the Standardbred and Trotting Horse Association of Great Britain and Ireland (STAGBI), which awards money at the end of the racing season to the breeders of horses that rack up the highest number of wins. The horses must be British-bred, and payments are awarded to the top three horses from Wales, from England, from Scotland and from Ireland (twelve prizes in total). The Boss bred the second-placed Welsh horse, Meadowland Hasty, who was sold several years ago and raced last season with Wales & Border Counties. Mrs B was on official photography duties and The Boss tried to hold Maverick (Hasty’s half-brother) still long enough for us to get a photo together.

Tonight was the first night that I harnessed up a horse since the end of last summer. Putting harness on is much like riding a bike – once you’ve learnt how to do it, you never forget! A set of harness can look quite complicated, but trust me, it’s not. It has seven main pieces: the backband, breastplate, front hopple hanger, 2x hopples, bridle and reins. Not all of the harness is needed for jogging at home, particularly with older, experienced horses that don’t need the hopples to support their pacing gait (e.g. Sammy, Hamish and the legend Loden Scoot, who has sadly retired), however The Boss requested that the first horse out, Big Mac, have his hopples on so on they went.

While The Boss jogged Big Mac, I mucked out and got Derek out to harness up. I’ve not put harness on any of these horses before so the first thing I do is try to figure out their likes and dislikes. Some horses clamp their tails down when you try to get the crupper on, some horses blow their bellies out when you try to do the girth up, some snatch their feet up when you put their hopples on. Big Mac is a tail-clamper (and according to The Boss he swishes his tail when asked to speed up), and Derek is a foot-snatcher. Although I’ve never handled these horses like this before I trust that the work that The Boss has done beforehand, breaking and training up to this point, will make them sensible and safe to handle. As you can see from the photos, harness comes in all sizes and colours. Big Mac is currently in the largest harness The Boss could find, with some straps lengthened because he's just too big! Derek on the other hand is sporting a wonderful combination of different colours. As you can tell, he's very proud of his 'look'! While I was harnessing them both up there was a young lad up a ladder on the yard fixing a new light to the side of the house. Big Mac paid him absolutely no attention whatsoever, whereas Derek (aka Deckers) was fascinated. Not scared, just fascinated.

The view from behind Big Mac.

The Boss came back on Big Mac, switched to Derek and then I gave Big Mac a quick wash down. The shower isn’t currently working so we don’t have any hot water, although there was a suggestion bandied about that the breeders premium money could go towards a new shower system (Mrs B would rather a holiday). Once Derek’s stable was mucked out and he was tucked up for the night, The Boss took Bongo up the track and I mucked him out. There was just enough time for me to chuck some fresh straw under a heavily-pregnant Mama and a highly-spirited Laddie before we called it a day. Julie helps jog the horses on Fridays so I left Jingo and Maverick’s stables, plus messy Mellie, for her to do because time was getting on and I was absolutely shattered!

The Boss decided that we wouldn’t take Big Mac down to the workout at Ammanford on Sunday as he is still lambing and the forecast wasn’t looking too special. Hopefully we’ll be ready and raring to go for the weekend after!

Over and out,

Sarah