A Little Joy On A Sad Day

A sad day to be typing this having learned that jockey Stefano Cherchi passed away overnight in Australia.? Stefano suffered a head injury in a fall a couple of weeks ago and has been in an induced coma from which he has not recovered.? Stefano was only 23 and joined us as a guest on Inside The Rails last year.? I really enjoyed chatting with him, he was a bubbly character who wanted a successful career in the saddle and it is hard to believe that he is no longer with us.

This news followed on from our trainer, Neil Mulholland and his team suffering a horse fatality at the weekend when Mothill was injured in a fall which was very upsetting for everyone.? He was one of the better horses in the yard and had a lovely personality.

In amongst all this, it was nice to get some brighter news, when Richard Farleigh who leased us Far Too Beautiful when she was racing, contacted me to let me know that our former horse, had given birth to her first foal.

Bella Cavalla

I felt that Bella Cavalla was a little disappointing at Wincanton last week when finishing last of the 8 runners.? She was however fine after the race and our trainer, Neil Mulholland, did not share my disappointment.

He felt that the pace of the race on soft ground had just taken Bella off her feet right from the start, but that she had plugged on at her pace through the race and not stopped.? He thought that the race had?ticked a lot of boxes and would result in Bella Cavalla getting a workable handicap mark which she did when she was allocated a mark of 72 this week.

Neil has already picked out a race for Bella’s handicap debut, which is a?2m 5f hurdle at Ludlow on April?24th and is a 0-100 novice handicap?for mares only.??Neil is hopeful that this race will present the type of conditions that will allow Bella Cavalla to be much more competitive and to hopefully finish in the first five or six and much closer.? He thinks that if this goes to plan, then he would expect her to go forward from there and challenge to win races in May and June.

Obviously, there is much that can happen along the way, but the fact that Neil had already been race-planning and has positive expectations was?encouraging.

I am currently reworking share prices for both horses again as another month has passed since I last did so.? Get in touch if you would like details.

Stryder

So far so good with Stryder.? Michael Attwater has him back cantering and Stryder seems comfortable.? Michael also reported that he seems happier and in better spirits than he has been for a while.

He may do some faster work at the weekend and if he comes out of that with no ill effects then we can start looking for a race for his reappearance.

Far Too Beautiful

Good news in respect of our former horse, Far Too Beautiful who had her first foal last week.? Richard Farleigh, who owns her, sent her to Harry Angel a grade-one sprinter who has made a good start to his stallion career and?I think it is fair to say that this filly foal takes after her dad rather than her mum as she is a little chestnut and her mum is a much dark brown colour.

Syndicate Race Day

The syndicate showcase event at Wincanton last Wednesday was really good with plenty of interest and some good conversations with racegoers.

There is another one of these events at Huntingdon on 25th April and I have decided to do that one as well, so if you are at the races, please come and say hello.

Inside The Rails

The latest episode of Inside The Rails launched on 1st April and we chatted with Sophie Buckley from Culworth Grounds stud about the operation of a stuff farm.? It was really interesting and I think you will learn some stuff if you listen, I certainly did!

You can listen by searching for Inside The Rails on any podcast app or by clicking the link below and if?you know anyone who might like the podcast, please also tell them about it!

https://www.spreaker.com/show/inside-the-rails

Winners From Our?Stables

Neil had a winner on Tuesday 26th March when Tuscan Rose clearly relished a step up in trip and kept on all the way to the line to win her race.

Unfortunately, that proved to be the high point this week with a couple of 2nd placed finishers the best other results for our trainers.

Get Involved

If you are interested in finding out more about racehorse ownership, then please get in touch as I would be delighted to discuss things with you.

Standing order payments can be made to spread the cost of share purchases and shareholders get regular email updates along with the chance to come to the stables with me as well as to the races. There are also shareholder social events during the year.