PICS FROM NORTHAM.

CASTLE BLITZ below, shows his style with a comfortable win at Northam on Thursday with Jason Whiting up.



COLD COMMAND below, in full flight with Andrew Castle up.



Andrew shows his style as he punches COLD COMMAND to the line at Northam on Thursday.



Who's a clever boy then???? And just a little bit proud of his effort I might say!! Note the similarity in looks to anyone we know?

(All photo's courtesy Hollands Photographics)

DOUBLE UP AT NORTHAM

Last week we took a few runners up to Northam and were lucky enough to come away with a winning double as well as a quinella result in one of the races.

As much as it is nice to win a race anywhere, nice to win two in a and quinella one of them but the real thrill came when my young apprentice rider Andrew Castle was on board one of them giving him his first ever win. It will be a day that I am sure Andrew will remember well and he can look back on in years to come with a lot of pride. Andrew has only had his permit to ride in races for less than a month however he is showing plenty of talent and I am confident that there are plenty of winners in store for the young hoop.

My two winners were COLD COMMAND with Andrew on board defeating stable mate BASKERVILLE STREET with Jason Whiting on board. Jason stepped out in the next race and landed lightly raced four year old CASTLE BLITZ a winner making it a double on the day and another winner for the Amelia Park Syndicate. He should be able to train on from here and win a few more races as should COLD COMMAND.

DESTROID AT LAST

DESTROID breaks his maiden status at Northam yesterday with Jason Whiting on board. The runner up Cold Command ridden by stable apprentice Andrew Castle gave us the quinella in the event.( Photo courtesy Hollands Photographics)

Consistent galloper DESTROID finally put things together yesterday to record what ended up being a fairly soft win and what we hope may be the first of many wins.

The lightly raced four year old has run some nice races in his past two preparations without being able to get over the line. In fairness to him, he has been a bit of a slow maturing horse who has taken time to toughen up enough to be able to work through and carry his few minor ailments. Now that he has realised that there was no greater effort required for him to win instead of running second or third, I hope he can go on with it over the next few months.

Last year I was confident that this horse would win more races during the season than my beloved football team the mighty West Coast Eagles. It was a bit of a barb at some of his co-owners who are all prominent members of the coaching staff with the team. Although I ended up as the loser of the challenge I am not confident enough to make the same prediction this season!

Although the horse only won a Northam maiden yesterday, his good form throughout this campaign suggests that he should be able to bring that form to town and be prominent in mid week races over the next few months.

UNRACED COLT TO MAKE RACE DEBUT

You may recall that back in June this year I posted an article on this site regarding a couple of very promising unraced colts I had in the stables. Since then nothing has happened to make me change my mind about either colt,in fact I would have to say that I have been more than happy with their progress. Both continue to work well and both have shown enough in their trials and track gallops to suggest that they have a very bright future.

On Wednesday I will be taking the first of the two unraced colts to the Belmont races where he will make his debut in R5 The Pacific Transport Hcp over 1400m. Although lacking in experience but certainly not confidence, I am confident that he will acquit himself well over the next few months as he gets a handle on what the world of racing is all about.

The next day he will be taken to Northam where he will get a couple of chances to show off his style. It is very unusual that someone so young and inexperienced should get the opportunity to ride for the states leading stable however his lack of experience has not stopped Neville Parnham from giving him a "sit" in one of the 1400m maidens on the day. He may even get to take one or two around for me in the hope that beginners luck may bring good luck.

Good luck for the future "Roo" and keep up the good work.

The second of my unraced colts, Kevin "Crow" Bohorun still needs a few more gallops and a few more trials to bring him to his top but should be ready to make his debut in another month or so. Kevin started a bit later than "Roo" but is not wasting any time in bringing his skills up to the level required.

GUYNO HAS WORK STEPPED UP

After enjoying a couple of easy weeks having a freshen up at a "country retreat" GUYNO has returned to my stables in fine fettle ready to embark on another eastern states campaign. The horse has not only put on weight, he has come back totally refreshed. So much so that he is keeping his track riders on their toes in the mornings and has even chased his most ardent admirer and strapper Keith "Tubby' Humann around the yard on a few occasions. GUYNO is the most relaxed horse I have ever handled so when he is feeling well enough to have a buck or a pig root across the yard we know he is ready to get back to business.

The horse will be having his first up run at Belmont in the WFA Goodwood handicap over 1300m on August 23rd before we make a final decision on when and where he has his next start. GUYNO ran a very promising 2nd in the Goodwood last year before we headed off east with him. I would be surprised if he was able to run as forward a race this time around but then again nothing much surprises me anymore.

Although the horse failed to win a race or even run a place in Melbourne last campaign, I was very happy with his performances and did not consider the trip to be a waste of time. We all learnt a hell of a lot and we will all be wiser for the experience. This year however I am far more confident that the horse can win one of the second tier races in which he will compete and I will be disappointed if he doesn't live up to my expectations. In saying that, I wouldn't expect to see the best of the horse until he gets up to 2000m and further.

Unfortunately the programming on the local scene for horses like GUYNO (and a few others) is such that unless you are happy to take your horse to Kalgoorlie for the Cup races over the round, there is nothing available in the city for them. That is unless I am prepared to race with 65kg in an 80+ Hcp. I accept that there are not a lot of horses in the same position as GUYNO however I can't accept that the whole racing programme revolves around the goldfields during the next month.

QUIET WINTER MONTHS

During the past few months, we have been going through an unusually quiet period in comparison to previous years as far as winners produced. We have made a habit of having our better horses out spelling during the winter months and relying on our late developers and less qualified horses to keep the winners ticking over during that period.

Unfortunately a lot of the late developing horses have failed to measure up even when given the extra time to mature, which has left us a bit light on in the winners department. Having been down that path before, I know what its like to have a quiet winter however I am confident that over the next few months we should be able to change the recent stable trend.

Our handful of runners for the new season have all run encouraging races with BLACK HABIT and PRINCESS AMELIA both running second while FOUND AND KEPT ran a great race first up on Saturday and two lightly raced maidens running promising races last Wednesday. I hope that one of those horses, VAIN NOVERRE can get starts when we step him up to 1600m and further as he looks a promising staying type.

Over the next few weeks we will not have a lot of Saturday runners with only BLACK HABIT, FOUND AND KEPT and GUYNO all set to step out however there are a lot of young unraced or lightly raced horses coming through which we hope will take the next step for us and develop into city winners with time.

Unfortunately when the stable is having a quiet time there is not a heap of news to be posted on this site however I hope to change that over the next few weeks and months!!!