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Some good results and Coops joins the team
01st April 2008
Following on from last week's news of Desert Quest's victory the horses continue to run well, with our last seven runners being placed 1st, 2nd 3rd, 4th, 4th and 6th. When I mentioned this to Jeremy yesterday he said "yeah, that's terrible isn't it". Typical Australian sporting mentality! The 3rd above was yesterday when Cheonmado (pictured below) ran on well in the final furlong over a mile at Southwell to get beaten into 3rd by a head. I can honestly say I've never been happier to see a horse run 3rd in my life. Che, as he is known to everyone here, is owned by one of the yard's greatest supporters, John Hawkins. John is mad about the horse who he bred and has always thought he'd win races. After seeing him finish strongly yesterday you can see him winning soon.
Chief Exec picked up 4th place over 7 furlongs at Wolverhampton last Saturday. Again there was not enough pace in the race to suit his hold-up style of running but he came home in great form and will be back out soon, possibly on turf. The same can be said for Danetime Lord who was forced to make the running when nothing else took it up in a 7 furlong race at Lingfield on Friday. The horse ran well but was always there to be shot at and just lost out to Desert Dreamer who is a course and distance winner. Danetime Lord will possibly be out again this Saturday in a competitive 7 furlong handicap back at Lingfield. Also running this week is Northern Seren (pictured in our schooling field) who is set to line up in a maiden hurdle at Taunton, hopefully picking up her handicap mark in the process.
We are still monitoring the ground at Aintree as regards to Desert Quest who is fine form. Check back on the site later this week for an update. He's also entered later this month in the Scottish Champion Hurdle and also at the Punchestown Festival, so we have a lot of options for him.
I'm absolutely delighted to introduce you to our new Assistant Trainer, Paul Cooper. 'Coops' (pictured below) joins the yard having previously been a highly regarded Head Lad to the David Hayes empire at Lindsay Park in South Australia. Lindsay Park was set up in the 60's by the Late Colin Hayes and instantly became a powerhouse of Australian and International Racing with hundreds of horses and a constant stream of Group 1 winners.
Coops has been lucky enough to throw his leg over some top class horseflesh including Japan Cup winner Better Loosen Up, Miss Finland (pictured below winning the Golden Slipper in 2006) and many other top class performers. His experience and feedback will be of great benefit to the yard as we bring on the young horses. His first day at the races in the UK with us brought some luck with the recent win of Desert Quest. Coops' riding expertise is extensive- in his first gallop here Jeremy asked him to ride 'even time' i.e. 15 seconds a furlong on the uphill gallop and he hit it spot on. That's a huge part of how horses are worked in Australia and it's something will be focusing on. In fact we are seeing our own homebred riders already getting very good at riding to exact times. It's great to add such an important member to the team here as we gear up for the coming season.
Finally, I'd like to indulge in a bit of nepotism and mention my brother's new website The Mural Company. As you will see he is a talented artist and surprisingly, given his pedigree, he's also pretty sound & reliable!
