April 2008
A very
pleasing start to April as Mission Impossible,
making his first appearance of the year, takes a 5 furlong handicap at
A couple of days later Bedouin Blue takes 2nd place in an Amateur Riders Claiming Race at Southwell, following which he is claimed for £7,500. Riguez Dancer then maintains his consistent form by finishing third in a Novices' Hurdle at Sedgefield, he has now finished in the first three in each of his 6 races in 2008, winning 2 of them.
Another
of our 3 year olds to show improved form following his winter break is Duke Of Touraine as he takes a 7 and a half
furlong handicap at Beverley by no less than 5 lengths! After making smooth headway Duke Of Touraine leads over a furlong out and is
ridden clear by our promising 7lb apprentice Paddy Donaghy. Just one week later Duke Of Touraine returns to Beverley but an
extra 2 and a half furlongs to travel holds no terrors for Middleham Park Racing and John
Maguire's son of Linamix as he defies a 6lb penalty by staying on strongly to the line to
record another victory, again with Paddy Donaghy in the saddle. This second win leaves
Paddy only 2 winners short of reducing his 7lb allowance. After the race Ben remarks
that Duke Of
Two of our older horses remind us that a new jumping season started at the end of April. The 4 year old Green Day Packer runs a good race coming back from a break to take second place in a Lady Riders' Handicap Hurdle at Wetherby, beaten just half a length, whilst the 8 year old Monsieur improves on his recent runs with a 4th place in a Class 3 Handicap Hurdle at Sedgefield.
Although the jumping season is always with us, this part of the year is always particularly exciting as it is the time when 2 year olds are making their first appearance on a racecourse. At Manor House Stables we have high hopes that this years youngsters will be able to emulate, if not better, the excellent performances put up by some of our 2 year olds last year. Patrick has already introduced a number of this years 2 year olds this month and particular mention should be made of Rioja Ruby, 3rd at Beverley, Faraway Sound, who made a very satisfactory debut running well for a long way when 3rd at Ripon, Asian Tale, also 3rd at Pontefract who despite running green made good headway in the in the later stages of the race and will have gone into many a notebook as likely to come on for the experience, and Tito Gobbi, 4th, also at Pontefract, who was up with the leaders in the early stages but then was very unfortunate to be carried wide round the bend by another runner. He is another who should come on for the experience and it will be fascinating watching these, and plenty of our other 2 year olds, develop over the coming months.
March 2008
March
starts with John Dillon taking 2nd
place in a 2 mile Handicap Hurdle at
Etoile Russe travels down to
Just 7
days after his second place at
Hot on
the heels of his February success over course and distance, Riguez Dancer puts in another fine performance
taking 2nd place in a 2 mile Novices' Hurdle at
Three
days into the new season, on Easter Monday, Bedouin
Blue becomes our first Flat turf winner of 2008 when winning a selling
race at
No Easter break for Riguez Dancer! His comfortable win at Towcester on Easter Sunday took so little out of him that he was able to line up for a 1 mile 4 furlong Flat race at Pontefract just 2 days later. Again he equips himself well but unfortunately is just caught on the line and has to settle for 2nd place this time. This is Riguez Dancer's 5th race of 2008, and he has finished in the frame on each occasion, winning twice. The manner in which he is taking his races demonstrates great credit to the horse, and also Patrick's handling of Middleham Park Racing's 4 year old.
Finally in March John Dillon makes the journey to Newbury for their big meeting on the final Saturday of the month to contest a Class 3 Juvenile Novices' Hurdle. Despite carrying joint top weight he is quite fancied by his rider, A P McCoy, but unfortunately falls 4 out when still in touch.
One person in particular who is looking forward to the new Turf season more than most is jockey Lee Enstone, now fully recovered from the broken ankle he suffered last November. Lets hope Lee has much better luck in 2008!
Visitors
to our website may well have noticed from the "Engagements" page that Choose Your Moment has been entered for the 2000
Many thanks to everyone who attended the Good Friday Open Day. Despite the bitterly cold weather all our visitors seemed to have a very enjoyable time, seeing our horses at close quarters.
Perhaps this is a good time to mention that we do have shares available in a number of horses -- 2 year olds who have not yet run, and also experienced older horses. Anyone who attended the Open Day and enjoyed seeing our horses and, of course, anyone who was not able to attend the Open Day, are welcome to contact Manor House Stables for details of shares (from as little as 5% upwards) available in our horses. Please contact the office on 01969 624351.
February 2008
Not
many runners from Manor House Stables in February although there is a very pleasing winner
towards the end of the month in Riguez Dancer.
Middleham Park Racing's 4 year old defeats a strong field, one or two of whom
may be Cheltenham bound, in a Novices' Hurdle at
One of the reasons for February being a quiet month for the stable is that Patrick and Ben have been devoting much of their time to concentrating on our Flat horses ready for the start of the new Turf season which opens on Easter Saturday. Patrick and Ben have been particularly involving themselves in this year’s 2 year olds. Last season we had an especially good year with our 2 year olds and Patrick is delighted with the manner in which this year’s youngsters have been performing on the gallops. Many of them have already shown great promise and hopefully there will be a few early season types amongst them.
Mention of the new Flat season starting at Easter leads us on to one of the highlights of Middleham's Racing year -- the annual Good Friday Open Day on March 21st. Manor House Stables will be open from 9 30 am and we hope for a bumper attendance and fine weather. Car parking around the town is, as always, free.
One of the attractions at our stable this year will be the opportunity to purchase shares in two of our 2 years olds. Shares from 5% upwards will be available, at a cost from just £500, in Inca Slew, a chesnut colt by City On A Hill, and Ron's Princess, a bay filly out of Fantastic Light. Both these horses have already pleased Patrick and Ben on the Middleham gallops and it is hoped they will be making their first racecourse appearance very soon indeed following the start of the season. We hope you will enjoy seeing Inca Slew and Ron's Princess and, whether you have experienced the thrill of owning a racehorse before or not, we are sure many of our visitors will be interested in taking advantage of the opportunity to buy a share, large or small, in one of these very promising 2 year olds, and become a racehorse owner right from the start of the 2008 Season! Everyone will be very welcome at the Open Day.
For
more details of these horses, plus photo's, please see our " Horses for
January 2008
Although we do not have too many runners, the first few weeks of the year show we are already in fine form. Following a 4th place at Wolverhampton two days earlier Middleham Park Racing's Alto Vertigo has the honour of being Manor House Stables first winner of 2008 when scoring, again at Wolverhampton, in a 7 furlong handicap just 4 days into the New Year. Alto Vertigo has shown great consistency on the all-weather of late and is winning for the second time this winter, both races under stable apprentice Patrick Donaghy. 2 days later Park's Prodigy puts in another good performance finishing second in a 1 mile 6 furlong handicap at Southwell.
The
following week we achieve our first double of the New Year as Esquillon and Virtue both contest hurdle races at Huntingdon
and both come away with comfortable victories.Esquillon
is first off the mark as she takes the selling race by 17 lengths under our conditional
jockey Warren Cafferty. Blue Lion Racing's 6 year old mare appears detached in the early
stages of the race but shows great resolution in the prevailing soft conditions and stays
on well in the later stages of the race to eventually allow
Later
in the afternoon another 6 year old mare, this time J P McManus' Virtue, takes the Novices' Handicap Hurdle by 5
lengths under champion jockey Tony McCoy. This is Virtue's
first win since joining Manor House Stables last year and again her rider is able to ease
her down on the run in. This was, in fact, A P's final winner before his nasty fall at
The stables next runner is Sheer Fantastic in a mile and a quarter handicap at Lingfield. Middleham Park Racing's 3 year old maintains our incredible run by getting up in a driving finish under a fine ride from John-Pierre Guillambert. This win, already our 4th of 2008, takes Patrick to the top of the Racing Post Hot Trainers list with a sensational 80% strike rate -- 4 wins and a second place from our last 5 runners !!
Not too many runners in the latter part of the month but Riguez Dancer runs another sound race taking third place in a Novices' Hurdle at Kelso.
Nice to report that Patxaran, twice a winner both on the Flat and over hurdles, has returned to the stable following injury, having been nursed back to fitness by Marilyn and Michael Robson. We look forward to the 6 year old resuming her career successfully in the coming months.
December 2007
Alto Vertigo starts the ball rolling by turning a competitive looking 7 furlong handicap into something of a procession. Our 7lb claiming apprentice Patrick Donaghy is in the saddle and makes all, and is then able to ease Middleham Park Racing's 4 year old down towards the finish, yet still win by a comfortable 6 lengths. This is 21 year old Patrick's first winner for Manor House Stables.
Next up is Strabinios King who achieves his second win of the season by taking the 6 furlong claimer, also for Middleham Park Racing. Nice to see our former apprentice Paul Mulrennan ride a winner for the stable again. After the race Strabinios King is claimed for £5000.
The
third win of the week at
Our jumpers then take centre stage as three runners from the stable head for Sedgefield on the 11 Dec and all three make the frame. Esquillon takes 2nd place in a Handicap Hurdle, whilst Bluto and Strathaird fill both second and third places in the Juvenile Selling Hurdle. On the same day, but on the Flat at Southwell, Alto Vertigo also runs second in a 7 furlong handicap. This is another decent performance from Alto Vertigo as he was raised 10lb for his win 10 days earlier.
Back
over at
Later in the month Bedouin Blue goes down by just a neck when second at Southwell and Virtue is also runner-up in a Novices' Handicap Hurdle at Uttoxeter. Finally, Riguez Dancer makes a pleasing start to his hurdling career with a 4th place in a Juvenile Hurdle at Wetherby under Tony Dobbin. The 3 year old is prominent for most of the race and should come on nicely for the experience.
2007 has been a good year for Manor House Stables with a total of 35 winners, 20 on the Flat and 15 over the jumps, and over £200,000 in win and place prize money. Particularly pleasing has been the very promising runs of many of this season's two year olds, who have been responsible for 12 of our Flat winners, from just 16 two year old's to have run. Our yearlings are presently looking very good on the gallops and many of these should make up into useful two year old's next year, giving everyone at Manor House Stables plenty of cause for optimism that 2008 can be a very successful year.
November 2007
Park's Prodigy gets November off to an
excellent start by registering a comfortable success under Barry Keniry in the Juvenile
Novices' Hurdle at
The Mighty One, previously advertised on our " Horses For Sale " webpage, begins his racing career when finishing 3rd, beaten less than a length, in a Maiden race at Catterick. The 2 year old leads after the first furlong and is not headed until inside the final furlong and should surely come on for the experience. On the same card the consistent Lady Benjamin, running for the 10th time this season, reaches the frame again with a 4th place in the 6 furlongs Nursery.
3 horses make the journey up to the Scottish Borders to contest races at Kelso and whilst Scutch Mill, starting favourite, is unplaced, his fellow travellers both make the frame, Dreamaker 2nd in the 3 miles 1 furlong Novices' Handicap Chase, and Hi Dancer 4th in a Class 3 Handicap Hurdle.
2 horses from Manor House Stables then make the shorter trip to Sedgefield and reward the stable with a first and a second place. Firstly John Dillon, second on each of his first 2 runs over hurdles, opens his account in good style scoring decisively by 3 lengths under Tom O'Brien in a Juvenile Novice Hurdle.The 3 year old chesnut gelding owned by Michael Ryan and John Maguire has plenty of scope and is viewed as a very promising chasing prospect. Just half an hour later Esquillon finishes 2nd in a Selling Hurdle after leading until 2 out.
The following day a further 2
horses head to
Patrick has a strong hand in the Juvenile Novices' Selling Hurdle at Wetherby providing no less than three of the runners and the stable dominate the finish although perhaps not in the manner expected. The well fancied Strabinios King having his first run over hurdles unseats his rider 3 out, but our other 2 runners are still able to provide a thrilling finish, Strathaird, having been held up in the early stages of the race by Warren Cafferty, makes steady headway to lead 2 out. In a driving finish he is almost joined on the line by Bluto, who may also have won with a little further to travel. Nevertheless this is a very nice 1 - 2 for the stable and after the race Strathaird's owners, Middleham Park Racing, are able to retain the 3 year old without a bid. Later on the same card the consistent Dreamaker reaches the frame for the 8th consecutive race ( including all 7 races he has contested for Manor House Stables ) finishing 3rd in the two and a half miles Novices' Handicap Chase.
2 days later the stable records an across the card double. Sheer Fantastic tries his hoof on the Polytrack again, this time at Kempton, and runs on well in the final furlong to register his first victory by half a length under Jean-Pierre Guillambert. For the third time this month Middleham Park Racing are the winning owners and since this was only Sheer Fantastic's third racecourse appearance he would appear to have considerable scope. On the same day Blue Line Racing's Mujamead achieves his first success when scoring by a length and a quarter under A P McCoy in the Selling Hurdle. As well as being the stables 4th winner in the last 7 days, Mujamead also provides Patrick with his third consecutive victory in this race. Mujamead is later sold for 6500 guineas.
Park's Prodigy attempts to close the month as he had opened it but is eventually beaten into second place in a decent Class 4 Juvenile Hurdle at Sedgefield, attempting to give the winner 10 lbs following his earlier success at Newcastle.
Best wishes go to Lee Enstone who
is recovering from a hairline fracture following a fall at
October 2007
The month starts in good style as Freedom Flying is successful for the first time when scoring under Barry Keniry in a selling hurdle at Sedgefield. Middleham Park Racing's 4 year old is subsequently sold after the race.
Kevin Darley almost records a double for the stable at Ayr but instead has to settle for 2 second places as Lady Benjamin is runner-up again in the 6 furlongs Nursery and Strabinios King fills the same spot in the 6 furlongs Handicap.
A similar scenario occurs the next day as the stable this time achieves 2 third places at Wolverhampton. Our new apprentice, Patrick Donaghy, is on board Fire In Cairo in the 1 mile 6 furlongs Handicap whilst Alto Vertigo reaches the frame for the third time in only 4 races on the Flat.
Our jumpers then take centre stage for the remainder of the month. John Dillon runs a fine race on his hurdles debut to finish second, beaten a neck, in a Juvenile Novices' Hurdle at Kelso. The following week, at Hexham, Dreamaker takes 4th place in a Maiden Hurdle, but Alurie O'Sullivans' Lord On The Run achieves the third success of his career after making most of the running and keeping on in game fashion under Andrew Thornton in the two and a half miles Handicap Chase.
Towards the end of the month there are 3 further placings, Etoile Russe runs second in a Class 3 Novices' Chase at Fakenham, another good second place for John Dillon in a Class 2 Juvenile Novices' Hurdle at Aintree whilst Lord On The Run takes third place in a 2 miles 6 furlongs chase at Towcester.
Please see our " Horses For Sale " webpage for details of shares available in yearlings purchased by Ben at the Newmarket Tattersalls October Yearlings Sales. 10% shares are available in 2 fillies, by Bahamian Bounty and Compton Place, from as little as £1000 ( or £5000 for a 50% share ).
September 2007
2 horses make the journey to
On to Haydock, and Riguez Dancer again looks to have a promising future taking 3rd place in a Class 4 Handicap, whilst the following day the 2 year old Shot Through makes the frame for the first time with a 4th place at Thirsk.
Choose Your Moment contests a good 7 furlong
Nursery at
After recording 3 consecutive second places earlier in the season Prigsnov Dancer deservedly gets his head in front for the first time for Middleham Park Racing when narrowly holding on in a close finish at Beverley under Lee Enstone.
Another
of our consistent 2 year olds, Lady Benjamin,
makes a bold bid to record her third victory this season at
On the final day of the month Manor House Stables take 2 horses to Market Rasen. Scutch Mill rewards followers by taking a Handicap Hurdle under a fine ride from Barry Keniry who gets a nice run up the inside -- this is the second course and distance victory for the Kary-On Racing Partnership's 5 year old. In the following race Lord On The Run goes close to making it a stable double as he runs well under Andrew Thornton to finish 3rd in a Handicap Chase, and but for a mistake at the third last would surely have given the winner plenty to think about.
Away from the racecourse, many thanks to everyone who supported the Middleham Trainers Association Dinner Dance at Jervaulx Abbey on September 1st. The evening was a great success and raised approximately £12,000 for the Wensleydale Branch of the British Heart Foundation.
Patrick and Ben will be at the
August 2007
Lady Benjamin opens the month by continuing
her good recent form by finishing 2nd, beaten only a neck, in a
Riguez Dancer shows the benefit of being upped in trip to one and a half miles when comfortably landing a Ripon handicap under Lee Enstone. The 3 year old, owned by Middleham Park Racing, is always prominent and stays on strongly to record his first victory.
Two days later Mr and Mrs Duncan Davidson's Thompsons Walls follows suit by achieving a first success. The 2 year old, making only his second racecourse appearance, takes a 6 furlong Newcastle maiden under a confident ride from Lee Enstone. Ben remarks after the race that all 4 horses trained at Manor House Stables this season for Mr Davidson have been placed, and that Thompsons Walls now becomes the second to have won.
The following day at Haydock sees good performances from both John Dillon and, the back on the Flat, Neutrino, who finish 3rd and 4th in their respective races.
One day later, at Sedgefield, Green Day Packer becomes the third horse from Manor House Stables in just 5 days to achieve a first victory, the 3 year old, owned by Middleham Park Racing and C Denton, takes the Juvenile Hurdle decisively by 9 lengths under A P McCoy.
For the
remainder of the month it's a case of " so near " as a host of the stables
runners reach places only. Royal Master
puts in a fine performance at
On
Saturday 18th we record no less than three 3rd placings, plus a 4th place. Bedouin Blue makes a pleasing return when
finishing 3rd in a Bangor On Dee handicap hurdle. This is the first run since
February for Blue Lion Racing's 4 year old and he should certainly come on for the outing.
Park's Prodigy and Mujamead take 3rd and 4th places in the two
divisions of the Juvenile Hurdle at
Later in the month there are further good performances from Rock Diva 4th in a fillies handicap at Carlisle, Alto Vertigo who puts in an encouraging effort in his first run on the Flat with a 2nd place at Beverley, Thompsons Walls again runs well to also finish 2nd at Redcar, whilst Strathaird takes 3rd place in a Juvenile Hurdle at Cartmel on Bank Holiday Monday. On the same card Green Day Packer may well have hit the target again had he not fallen at the final hurdle when still in contention.
This season we have had had a very high
percentage of our 2 year olds run exceptionally well. Patrick and Ben will again be
attending the
July 2007
John Dillon opens the month in good style by recording
his first success in a one mile handicap at
The
next day, Elliott again rides for the yard, this time achieving a 2nd place on William
John at Catterick.
The
multiple hurdle winner, Hi Dancer,
runs another creditable race at
3 horses from Manor House Stables make the journey down to Market Rasen and reward us with a 4th place (Neutrino), a 3rd place (Lord On The Run at 33-1, under Paddy Merrigan) and a victory for the Kary-On Racing Partnership & John Gain’s Scutch Mill. The winner holds on well in a tight finish under Barry Keniry to register his first success over hurdles.
The
following week sees 2 good performances from the 2 year old Lady Benjamin, ridden each time by Andrew
Elliott. Firstly, the filly, owned by Geoffrey Lampard and Alistair Dinsmore, finishes a
one length second in a Pontefract nursery, running on well in the closing stages, but
betters this performance only 3 days later when winning a nursery at
Heavy rain for the Pontefract Friday evening meeting doesn't prevent the stable's 3 entrants in the 16 runner maiden race all equipping themselves well. Pride of place goes to the newcomer Thompsons Walls who makes a promising debut in 4th place, closely followed by Bourbon Highball (5th) and Miss Solo (7th). Later in the evening Fire In Cairo fares even better, finishing 2nd at 25-1. This is the filly's best run to date, showing improved form for the step up in distance to one and a quarter miles.
The following day, Jane's Delight relishes more heavy conditions making virtually all to run away with a Ripon selling race, the winning margin being 8 lengths. Andrew Elliott is again the successful rider, his 3rd win for the stable this month. After the race Jane's Delight is sold for 12,800 guineas.
The following week sees a number of placed horses. The unlucky Prigsnov Dancer finishes 2nd, for the third consecutive time, at Beverley, whilst Duke Of Touraine shows improved form with a 3rd place at Catterick, and Rock Diva shows herself to be an improving filly with a 2nd place at Thirsk.
The big
Skybet meeting at
4 wins in May and 5 wins in June then becomes 6 wins in July, as Sonic Anthem closes the month by taking a Uttoxeter selling hurdle by 8 lengths under A P McCoy. Middleham Park Racing's 5 year old is subsequently sold for 11,000 guineas.
A date for your diary is Saturday 1 September 2007 when the Middleham
Trainers Association host a Dinner Dance in aid of the British Heart Foundation. The event
takes place at Jervaulx Abbey (just a few miles outside Middleham),
The event is being organised this year by Manor House Stables and we look forward to your support. It should be a wonderful evening, and in aid of a very worthy charity. If you would like to book, or simply to ask for further information, please contact our office on 01969 624351 -- we look forward to hearing from you !
June 2007
A fine start to June as Mrs Renata Jacobs' Strabinios King opens his account under Kevin Darley with a 4 length victory at Catterick.
Bespoke Boy runs a great race with Frankie Dettori at Epsom on Derby Day finishing 2nd in the listed Woodcote Stakes (later in the month Bespoke Boy and Frankie take a creditable 8th place in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot). Also on Derby Day, and on a day of second places, though both times at Musselburgh, the stable has 2 more seconds with Prigsnov Dancer and Cap St Jean.
At the Wednesday evening meeting at Ripon, Mission Impossible runs another sound race, reaching the frame for the third time in only 3 races with a 3rd place. On the same card Tiltili records a 4th placing and just 2 days later improves 2 places with a very close second at Catterick.
Our 2 year olds continue to do us proud though and Lady Benjamin gets off the mark at only her third attempt with victory under Lee Enstone at Hamilton. On the same day, but at Haydock, Prigsnov Dancer records another second place. Yet 2 more second places next week care of Attila's Peintre at Hamilton and Dreamaker in a Novice Chase at Uttoxeter.
Being upped to a Class 3 race, and with almost a further half mile to travel, can't stop the ultra consistant Hi Dancer as he defeats a competitive field under stable conditional Warren Cafferty at Market Rasen. This is Hi Dancer's third win under Warren over hurdles, in which sphere he has been such a revelation recently. One week later however Hi Dancer shows that the sight of a set of hurdles are not essential to his success story as he achieves yet another win, this time on the flat at Redcar, with Lee Enstone in the saddle. In just one day over 6 months, Hi Dancer has scored 5 wins, as well as a 2nd place, from only 7 runs -- a fine training achievement indeed !
In the final week of the month the stable introduces yet another very promising 2 year old as Mr and Mrs Duncan Davidson's Choose Your Moment makes his debut run a winning run when scoring at Carlisle, again Lee Enstone is the successful rider, (Alistair Dinsmore's Duke Of Touraine is a very creditable 5th in the same race). This is a most encouraging first run for Choose Your Moment who keeps on well in the closing stages for a clear cut victory. Equally pleasing is the fact that this is the first win for his owners at Manor House Stables, hopefully the first of many! Whilst this success is over 6 furlongs, the colt may well soon be suited by 7 furlongs and could head next for a race at Ascot over the extra furlong in a couple of weeks.
The month closes with another second place over fences for Dreamaker at Market Rasen (frustratingly the stables eighth 2nd place during June, to go with our 5 victories), but not before we introduce another promising debutant 2 year old, Miss Solo, who starts her career with a 4th place at Newcastle.
May 2007
May begins with Mr Mischief registering a 7 lengths win in a selling race at Southwell, following which he is sold for £16,000. Lady Benjamin opens her racing career with an extremely promising 2nd place at Catterick. Having been close up throughout the race she is only beaten in a nod of heads on the line. Amongst other placings during the early part of the month is a second by Dreamaker in a Novice Hurdle at Wetherby on his debut for the stable, and after having been absent from the racecourse for 12 months.
Hi Dancer emphasises his remarkably consistent hurdles form with a win at Wetherby, in the process giving Warren Cafferty his first win since returning from his broken wrist suffered at the end of 2006. In 10 outings over hurdles Hi Dancer has now won 4 races and only finished out of the first three on one occasion, earning his owners, Middleham Park Racing, over £18,000 in total prize money in hurdle races alone.
Dante Day at York sees the stable achieve two 4th placings with Maroussies Wings in the Group 3 Middleton Stakes and the 2 year old Mission Impossible, who confirms the good impression given on his debut race at Beverley in April, by finishing close behind two colts who may be bound for Royal Ascot.
Sunday 20th brings the stable 2 winners, Etoile Russe (A P McCoy) in his first outing over fences wins by 19 lengths at Fakenham, and the stable also records it's first 2 year old winner of 2007, Bespoke Boy. Our 2 year olds are continuing to run very promisingly indeed this season and so it is extremely pleasing to record our first 2 year old winner. This is an impressive debut by Bespoke Boy, confidently ridden by Lee Enstone (one of 3 winners for Lee this month). Very relaxed at home, Bespoke Boy looks a very professional horse, and Wendy Lucas' colt appears to have a very bright future, running next in the listed Woodcote Stakes at Epsom on Derby Day.
The final Saturday of the month sees Maroussies Wings achieve another 4th placing, this time in a listed race at Haydock, and on the same card there is yet another promising debut run by one of our 2 year olds, Mr and Mrs Duncan Davidson's filly, Threestoneburn.
For details of shares still available in our
2 years olds please see our " Horses For
April 2007
Pleasing news that former stable star Kinnaird, winner of the Group I Prix de l'Opera at Longchamp in 2005 and Doncaster's Group II May Hill Stakes in 2003 has had her first foal. Renata Jacobs' wonderfully game and consistent filly, who was also 4th to Attraction in the 2004 Irish 1000 Guineas and 5th to the same horse in Ascot's 2004 Coronation Stakes, has had a bay filly by Red Ransom. We look forward to her appearance on the racecourse, possibly in 2009!
A quiet
month on the course, although Neutrino
achieves two 3rd places at Hexham and Wetherby, and J P McManus' Focus Point, previously trained in Ireland,
shows improved form on his first outing for Manor House Stables with a 2nd place at
Sedgefield.
Possibly
the most promising performance this month was, however, Mission Impossible's excellent 2nd at Beverley
on his racecourse debut. He was given a fine
ride by Lee Enstone and, having been hampered mid-race, ran on in the closing stages
failing by only the minimum distance of a short-head to catch the hot favourite who had
had the benefit of a previous race. As well as
delighting his owners, Patrick's son Ben was equally pleased as Mission Impossible was one of the yearlings he
had purchased at the Newmarket Sales in October 2006.
Mission Impossible
was only the second of the stables 2 year olds to run this season and his performance
hopefully augurs well for many of the others.
This seasons 2 year olds generally are already looking extremely promising and perhaps this is a good time to draw attention to our new webpage "Horses For Sale". Shares are still available in each of the 3 horses purchased by Patrick at the recent Doncaster Breeze-Up Sales (a grey colt by Linamix, a bay colt by Mujadil and a chesnut colt by Namid) from as little as £1,000 for a 5% share, whilst a substantial discount is offered to anyone wishing to purchase a 10% share in each of the 3 colts. Anyone interested in purchasing any of these shares is very welcome to contact the stable on telephone no. 01969 624351.
Finally, many thanks to everyone who attended the hugely successful Good Friday Open Day.
March 2007
A fine training performance as Mr Mischief, off the course for 13 months, finds just one too good for him when returning to action at Southwell. The following week sees the stable record 2 wins in 2 days as firstly Hi Dancer, a very rare runner indeed from Manor House Stables at Plumpton, enjoys a comfortable success under A P McCoy at long odds on, followed the next day by a narrow win at Southwell for Sonic Anthem, partnered by Silvestre De Sousa, having his first ride for the stable.
Hopes are high for a win at the Cheltenham Festival as King Revo is well fancied for the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase -- disappointment during the race however as he weakens after half-way and is pulled up. It is later found that he put out a vertabrae in his neck during the race which at least explains his disappointing run. However, King Revo is soon fine again and there are other big race days now to look forward to with him, possibly starting with the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.
March
ends on a promising note as Riguez Dancer
takes a creditable 4th place, behind 3 well-regarded colts, in a maiden race at
In other big race news stable favourite Fiori is back at Manor House after winning 2 point-to-points for Annabelle Armitage and is to be aimed at the Foxhunters Chase at Aintree's Grand National meeting.
On the riding front our young conditional jockey, Warren Cafferty, is now well on the road to recovery following 3 months out with a broken wrist, and should be back race-riding before very long.
On Good Friday, 6th April, all roads will lead to Middleham for the annual Stables Open Day. Manor House Stables will be open from 9.30am until 1.pm and we look forward to seeing as many visitors as possible at the stable for what is always one of the highlights of the year.
February 2007
February
continued the stable's steady run of placed horses. Bedouin Blue made a pleasing introduction to his
jumping career finishing 4th in a Juvenile Hurdle at Catterick, quickly followed the same
afternoon by a 2nd place for Monsieur
at the same course. The honour of the stable's first winner of 2007 fell to J.P.
McManus' King Revo with success in a Beginners' Chase
at Hexham under Tony McCoy. King Revo was previously a high class hurdler,
as well as Flat horse, and we hope this initial victory over the larger obstacles
will be a prelude to a successful chasing career. Bedouin Blue confirmed his earlier promise with
a good 2nd in a Class 3 Hurdle at Musselburgh, chasing an unbeaten winner all the way to
the line with the remainder 10 lengths and more adrift. Impeccable Guest and Lord On The Run achieve 3rd placings at
Musselburgh and Kelso respectively.
Whilst
the stables jumpers appeared to be taking centre stage it was good to see a couple of our
maiden 3 year olds, Fire In Cairo
and Cap St Jean, reach the frame
on the all-weather at Southwell.
As we
reach March, our attentions turn first to the Cheltenham Festival and then onto the start
of the Turf Flat season. With any luck we will
be doubly represented at Cheltenham with King Revo
in the Jewson Novices’ and Monsieur in the
Turning
attention to the Flat, Maroussies Wings has
wintered well and could make her seasonal debut at
We will
be attending all three Breeze-Up Sales shortly to add to our two year olds. The dates are Goffs at Kempton on 9th
March,
January 2007
A quiet
start to the year although a string of placed horses show that the
stables runners are performing well. Hi Dancer maintains his
remarkably consistent form over hurdles with a 2nd place at Ayr and Scutch Mill
makes a promising first appearance for the stable, and debut run over hurdles, with a 2nd
place at Musselburgh. King Revo continues his return
from injury with a good second in a Beginners Chase at
Review of 2006
The
second week of January sees the stable record it's first winner of 2006 courtesy of
Alfred The Great maintaining his unbeaten record over hurdles with a win at
Kelso, whilst later in the month Hi Dancer becomes the stables
first Flat winner of the year at Southwell. The stable is delighted to receive horses from
J P McManus for the first time and we wish him a long and successful association with
Manor House Stables. Fox Point becomes a first winner for the stable in J
P's well-known colours when he wins at
Model
Sun shows admirable consistency when, within the space of 7 weeks, he
achieves a 2nd place in the Class 1 Red Square Vodka Gold Cup at Haydock, a 4th
placing in the Class 1 William Hill Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival and another 4th
place in the betfair.com Handicap at Aintree.
In
April the Blue Lion Racing Syndicate have their first winner of 2006 when Bedouin
Blue scores at
On the
Flat Maroussies Wings achieves a wonderful result for the stable with a
3rd place behind Short Skirt in the Group 3 Musidora Stakes at
In July
Patrick's son Ben joins the stable in a full-time capacity. Hi Dancer
becomes the stables first Juvenile Hurdle winner of the season when scoring at
August
sees a tremendous result for the stable when Mrs Renata Jacobs' filly, Maroussies
Wings, wins the Group 3 Prix Minerve-Shadwell at
Amongst
the September winners is Kerry's Blade who's success at Sedgefield is
particularly noteworthy for taking the stables win and place prize money for the year
beyond £200,000.
6
winners in November include another winner for J P McManus when Monsieur
wins the totescoop6 Handicap Hurdle at Wetherby by 15 lengths under a tremendous front
running ride from Barry Keniry. This is closely followed by 2 wins within a week by Ever
Special. Conditional jockey Warren Cafferty, 19, joins the stable from
December
opens with Heraldry returning to form with a comfortable success over
hurdles at Wetherby. The year ends unhappily for Warren Cafferty as he breaks a wrist in a
fall from Stellar Brilliant at Catterick, but not before he
has scored 2 more victories on Hi Dancer and Impeccable
Guest ( making it 2 out of 2 over hurdles for Middleham Park Racing's filly ),
and these victories take the stables total win and place prize money for 2006 through
a very creditable £250,000.
2005
2005 slightly got
away from us and hence our news page was not updated month by month as has happened in the
past. We will endeavour to do better in 2006!
Very briefly, 2005 was a year of mixed
fortunes. We finished up with 33 winners and
record prize money of £352,900. The
highlight of the year was undoubtedly Kinnaird’s win in the Prix de
l’Opera at Longchamp on Arc day. This
gave Patrick his first Group I winner and the whole yard a huge hangover! This turned things around for the flat runners,
after generally a very quiet summer, and one week later we had our first 2 year old winner
for the season when Maroussies Wings obliged at Ayr. King Revo also sent all hearts a
flutter a few days later when he narrowly missed out in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket.
Our National Hunt
season was again successful, once more achieving one of the highest training percentages
of winners to runners. Fiori
delighted all by jumping foot perfect all the Grand National fences and finishing second
in the Grand Sefton Chase at Aintree. Our
juvenile hurdlers again did well and many should go on to be fairly smart 4 year olds.
December 2004
And so to
2 hours after King
Revo's win, You're Special did the same by taking the IoD Conditional Jockeys'
Handicap Chase under Alan O'Keeffe. He always jumps superbly and this was no
exception, putting behind him a run of placings and getting his head in front once again.
The team were back at
November 2004
Yankeedoodledandy proves
the promise that Barry Keniry has in him when he took another Class B juvenile novices'
hurdle event at Huntingdon on Peterborough Chase Day. Not quite as easy as last
time, he won by a head and a head.
It was a race that
had Soleil d'Hiver's name all over it and she duly obliged in the 3 runner 0-90
juvenile novice handicap hurdle at Hexham.
Another victory for
Blue Lion Racing as Zando takes the mile nursery at Southwell on 9th November under
Joe Fanning. Circumspect very nearly follows up 4 days later for the same
owners, only being beaten a head at
We're well into the
winter season and the national hunt horses are starting back after their summer
break. One who's pretty much been on the go all year though is Yankeedooddledandy,
who went to Sandown for his first start over hurdles and duly obliged in the Class B
juvenile event. Barry Keniry schools him at home and is certain there are great
things to come from him. Sandown is another course that Patrick can strike off his
list. Only a
The Pen obviously
likes
October 2004
Two of Clubs landed
the seller at
Courant d'Air gave
Patrick his first winner at
September 2004
Kinnaird once
again traveled to
August 2004
Back to
The Pen takes a
6f seller at
Kinnaird didn't
disgrace herself in the Group III Prix de Psyche at
July 2004
Ben Haslam was
kicking himself as his mount, Yankeedoodledandy, was pipped at the post after
leading most of the way in a gentlemen amateur riders event at
A good day for the
Haslam yard with a double at
Patrick always does
well with juvenile hurdlers and was successful with Nocatee in the first juvenile
hurdle of the season under an enterprising ride from Barry Keniry. Another Haslam
runner, Middleham Rose, also ran well to take 3rd.
June 2004
Royal
Nocatee stepped
up in trip to 1 mile 6 furlongs and was successful by a head in a maiden handicap at
May 2004
No runners at Sandown
but that was where Ben Haslam traveled for their end of season awards. With a strike rate of 36% we were awarded the
National Hunt Stable of the Year for the 2003/2004 season.
Still with Ben, it’s congratulations to him.
He has been awarded one of only 12 places on the Darley Flying Start programme,
funded by Sheikh Mohammed. The scheme runs
for two years and spans
May 23rd
– Curragh – Irish 1,000
Indibraun made all
at
May 8th -
our second 2yo winner of the season and once again it’s Nova Tor making it two
wins from two starts and beating 4 previous winners in the race. She was claimed after the race for £15,000.
April 2004
King Revo went to
It’s a long way
down to
Ceasar once
again had cheek pieces fitted for his run in a seller at Pontefract on 19th
April and it did the trick again. Gavin
Faulkner never looked worried and he won by ¾ length.
He was sold in the auction after the race and moves on to pastures new.
Red Flyer gave his
rivals several lengths start in a banded race at Southwell on 16th April but
Gavin Faulkner never gave up on him and he passed the entire field to win by 1¾ lengths.
The first two year
old winner for both the yard and Blue Lion Racing III came on April 2nd at Southwell in a
maiden fillies race, when Nova Tor (Trans Island/Nordic Living) overcame
greenness to win. Well ridden by Rory Moore, he kept her straight to beat Karl Burke's
fancied favourite (ridden by G. Faulkner!). A strong filly, she did well and will surely
be winning again. Blue Lion partners were there to witness the first success and a
delighted Mr.Beardsall from
March 2004
Rory Moore followed
on from his success on Yankeedoodledandy and traveled to
Yankeedoodledandy once
again scored at Southwell on 3rd March when taking the 1mile 4furlong handicap under Rory
Moore.
Two of Clubs finally
breaks his duck at Southwell on 1st March for Blue Lion Racing.
February 2004
Gavin Faulkner is on
a roll for us at the moment and continued the trend with a win on Turks and Caicos
in the 1mile 3furlong handicap at Southwell on 17th February.
Valentines Day and
the love was all around, particularly after King Revo had won the Victor Ludorum
Juvenile Hurdle at Haydock. It was the shortest of margins and the camera angle made
everyone think he had just got beaten while the result of the photograph came through.
Ceasar wore cheek
pieces for the first time and stepped up in trip to land the second division of the 1mile
3furlong handicap at Southwell on 12th February.
Blue Empire gave Blue
Lion Racing another success when winning the claimer at
The amateur riders
race at Southwell on 3rd February is a great percentage strike rate when Patrick Haslam
and Carol Williams team up and this year was no exception with Bustling Rio taking
the race by 2½ lengths.
January 2004
Yankeedoodledandy took his
second race of the year when landing a 0-70 handicap at Southwell on 29th January.
King Revo made it 3
wins from 3 starts over hurdles at Wetherby on 26th January. He was ridden by Andrew
Thornton and won by 12 lengths and will now go for the Victor Ludorum at Haydock.
Four days after his
first success Rosti followed up, again at Southwell and under Rory Moore, to take
the mile banded stakes. It became a double on the day when Yankeedoodledandy won
impressively at
Our first winner of
the year came at Southwell on the 4th January. Rory Moore was the rider on board Rosti
in division one of the apprentices stakes to win by two lengths.
One our of
best years ever in terms of prize money and quality of races won. Our total prize
money for the year stands at £305,700 from 42 winners and 60 places. We have some
great prospects for 2004, with Kinnaird leading the way hopefully to another group
or even classic victory, and 31 very nice yearlings to start the process over again.
We wish everyone a very happy and hopefully successful new year.
December 2003
What a finish to the
year with our biggest ever National Hunt prize. King Revo made it two wins from two
runs over hurdles to take the Rocom Introductory Juvenile Novice Hurdle at Wetherby by 12
lengths. We think he'll improve further and the industry obviously agrees as he's
earned himself a quote of 33/1 for the Triumph Hurdle!
Blue
Empire made amends for being just touched off on the 13th December with a convincing win
under Lee Enstone on the 16th December at Southwell. He is obviously well suited
to the all weather track, this being his second win here.
A good start to the
month with an across the card double at Catterick and Southwell. King Revo won in
convincing style in his first Juvenile Hurdle. Mr Mischief also won easily at Southwell
under another good ride from Rory Moore.
November 2003
Ben Haslam rides his
5th winner of his career, in fine style aboard Mr Mischief. The horse is a real
A first winner for
one of our new apprentices, Rory Moore, who came with a well timed run on Maunby Raver to
take a competitive Nursery at
Two Hurdle wins in a
month for Positive Profile, at Kelso and
October 2003
Positive Profile puts
up a spectacular performance at
So Sure wins his 2nd
race this year with a win at
September 2003
Alpine Special
finally breaks his maiden tag with a win at Musselburgh. Always the bridesmaid with
three 2nds and a 3rd place behind him, this victory was long overdue. He battled
hard under a patient ride from Lee Enstone and obviously relished the test of stamina.
It's what dreams are
made of, as Kinnaird gives us our biggest ever win, in the Group ll May Hill Stakes at
Tony McCoy had to be
at his strongest to get the very game Maunby Rocker home a head over Classic Quartet. This
keeps our Jumps strike rate well up at around 65%!
Young Ben Haslam and King Revo