BIG BOO DOES IT AGAIN

Jason Whiting urges DONT SAY BOO to the line to record a very easy win at Ascot on Wednesday.
More photos can be seen at www.hollandsracetrackphotos.com

Every now and then a galloper comes along which continues to surprise. DON'T SAY BOO is one such galloper. When the owners approached me to train the horse, I must admit to taking the horse on with some reluctance. Whilst he had the makings of a star in the owners eyes, his form to me suggested that he would have a pretty limited future. Still the owners were keen so we took him on. When he arrived at my stables after six weeks of pre-training at Bindoon, he was in superb condition however I was even less inclined to have him in the stables when I discovered he was a bad wind sucker.  Then we were informed that the horse had hung off the track at one of his last starts and he had a few other issues.This was one horse who was on borrowed time!!

To everyones surprise, the more work we did with the horse, the more we liked him, After his first up performance, I figured he would win one at Northam but that would be it. His second up run was a disaster so naturally I figured I was right once again. How wrong I was. The horse has gone on to mature and gain in confidence with each outing and he has now won three mid-week races for us along with a couple of placings. It has never ceased to amaze me how big strong looking animals are invariably the slowest to actually mature and learn what it is all about and this guy was no exception.

NINO, TINA and MARCIA all line up to give their favourite galloper a well done pat. More photos can be seen at www.hollandsracetrackphotos.com

His win at Ascot on Wednesday was not only his best win at the end of a fairly lengthy preparation, but the horse showed how far he has come since joining the stables and just how much he is enjoying himself. Once again his owners were on hand to cheer him home and enjoy the moment. We will decide over the next few days whether or not the big boy has one more run this preparation or whether we give him a break now. It is hard to stop on a horse that has just recorded a three length victory however unlike when he first arrived, I now reckon he has the potential to win in Saturday company next campaign. Who said owners have no idea???

DON'T SAY BOO IS NO CHICKEN!!

Photos courtesy Hollands Photographics - more photos can be seen at www.hollandsracetrackphotos.com

Giant sized galloper DON'T SAY BOO brought up his second win for the stable yesterday and in doing so continued the consistent form he has shown over the past few months. The horse was having his seventh run for our stable yesterday and in that time he has put two wins and three placings on the board.

Jason Whiting was again in charge of the horse and I have to admit that I was far from confident of getting a result after the horse was settled in behind the leader and locked away on the fence. At the end of the day, Jason whiting showed why he is so highly regarded by my stable with a 10 out of 10 ride to get the money in impressive style. Never one to get flustered in a race, Jason was happy to put the horse in the exact position which I thought would not suit him however his win suggests that the big horse may be gaining in confidence with the benefit of recent racing and he not only forced a run between horses but he also sprinted at the line hard when asked to extend.

The horse was having his second run for the week and will now wait a fortnight at least before we take him back to the races. The win was a nice tonic for one of his part owners who is not enjoying the best of health however the look on his face whilst surrounded by a bevvy of beauties while watching the replay back at my place last night suggests that his illness may be sympathy related!! Good luck to you guys.

BABIES STARTING TO SHOW FORM

This season, Dion and I have managed to build up our 2yo numbers and over the next few months we will produce some of them on the race track. We made a conscious decision earlier in the year that we would not have any of the babies ready for the first couple of races as they would be far better served enjoying the spring feed in the paddock. The fact that there are only 2 races programmed in a six week period also gave us no incentive to have the stables full of 2yo's. Over the next few weeks we will step out some promising types at the trials however most of them are likely to head straight back to the paddock to give them more time to develop and mature.

At yesterdays Belmont trials we took six unraced 2yo's along of which three had trialled the week previous at Lark Hill and the other three were first timers. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well they all performed as we rarely have our babies wound up for the trials.

In the first set of trials we had the first and second placegetters in AVUNCULAR and ENOUGH ATTITUDE.  Both of these babies are by Heytesbury Studs first season stallion Husson Lightning who if yesterdays trial performances are anything to go by, looks like enjoying a promising season.

The second trial of the day produced another stable quinella with Holy Roman Emperor filly SONGBURG winning in great style from first timer DREAM MERGER running a very nice second. Both horses hit the line well and both are sure to be prominent when we produce them at the track. Depending on barrier draws and how they come through yesterday's gallops, a couple of them are likely to step out this weekend.

In a later trial we stepped out an unraced Lonhro gelding making his first public appearance. The horse named TEMPLES, showed some natural speed and ability to win his trial in great style ensuring that the hype surrounding his breeding is likely to get even stronger with the win. We will see how he comes through his trial before we look for a suitable starting point for him.

All in all, we are getting together a nice team of young horses which should be able to perform on the big stage when they are produced over the next few months. Hopefully we can unearth a few stars amongst them all which can take their place in the better races over the next few seasons.