Anginola had an early start to her day yesterday when setting off just after first light to make the long journey south to Fakenham.
Arriving in good time despite (or because of?) a Danny Brooke special detour to avoid a traffic jam down what could only be described as an “almost off road” single lane track & passing very close to what looked suspiciously like Sandringham…..Angi got settled in to her stable while the rest of the team went to look at the track.
The ground was in superb condition and it was lovely to be greeted by David Hunter (CEO & Clerk of the Course) who appreciated how far we had travelled and made us feel very welcome. It was a shame that Anginola’s connections, Guy & Lynne Cattell of the Brough Farm Racing Partnership, were unable to join the road trip but we felt their support from Yorkshire!
Running over 2 miles, a trip shorter than ideal and also from well out of the handicap, Angi did well to keep with the pace for the first section of the race but then got found out for toe when the leaders upped the tempo. Nevertheless she battled hard to stay in touch, hurdled superbly under conditional Mitchell Bastyan, and showed a real depth of character to keep running on for a deserved 4th place.
It was frustrating to have to travel so far to run in a race that was still not ideal, simply due to the lack of suitable options closer to home. Hopefully next time she can revert to her preferred trip and the diesel bill may not be quite so large! BHA Fixtures Team take note……
21/10/17
More Madness delivered one of his best runs for the yard on Saturday at Hexham in the 3m, 0-115 handicap chase under Brian Hughes, and was unlucky not to post his first win for owners Robert Bennett & The Brough Farm Racing Partnership.
Running on heavy ground, he was comfortably up with the pace until another horse jumped into him at a fence causing him to lose a shoe and subsequently a lot of ground. But as the leaders tired in the testing conditions Madness battled back and was closing fast on the front horse when the line came, leaving him just 3 lengths behind in 2nd place.
It was an exceptionally brave performance and one that delighted everyone connected with the horse.
16/10/17
Although we have had a few runners over the summer and our Owners have had some lovely days out, at Cartmel in particular, it’s been a fairly quiet time for the stable on the racecourse. So it was good to welcome in what feels like the start of the National Hunt Season with three runners on Tuesday of this week.
One In A Row joined us over the summer after a long lay off of some two and a half years through injury. Running for a new partnership of Billy & Philip Platts and Liz Garner in a 2m4f handicap hurdle, he understandably found the pace tough but tried so hard and finished a game 10th of 13. It was a brave performance from this lovely 10 year old on his reappearance and we look forward to planning his next outing.
Anginola also ran in the second division of the same 2m4f handicap hurdle with something to prove after one or two indifferent runs both at Cartmel and on the flat. Despite being extremely laid back in all the preliminaries, she ran a fantastic race to finish 4th under our Conditional, Ross Turner, proving in the process that she retains her appetite for racing. She was extremely pleased with herself post-race but it showed how much effort she had put in….when turned out in the field the following day she picked at the grass for all of 10 minutes before she was flat out fast asleep for the rest of the day! We were pleased for Angi but also particularly delighted for her connections, the Cattell family, who are members of the Brough Farm Racing Partnership in whose name Anginola runs.
Finally Carnaross went to Southwell in a 2m handicap chase and was desperately unfortunate to have a nasty looking fall at the first fence in the back straight on the final circuit. Fortunately both horse and jockey John Kington were ok, if a little sore, and we will look for another race for Carnaross soon. His connections have been very patient with the horse and deserve a good run.
In the meantime, all the horses who have been away on summer holidays at various locations are now back in and starting work so we are all looking forward to the season ahead.
Anginola post-race at Sedgefield Racecourse
06/10/17