Category: Updates from the yard

Pixie’s Blue runs tomorrow at Clairefontaine, an 1,800-meter handicap with a new jockey, Erwan Bureller, up so that we can get the apprentice weight allowance. He claims a kilo and a half, which is important because otherwise we would have been top weight of 60 kilos in this race. Pixie has been working well, but I’m not really sure where we are with her – she ran pretty lackluster last time out and is hard to peg at home. The finishing post tomorrow will answer the question.

Hard Way and Turfani are on deck for next week, and both are doing well. Klutzy Tyke had his first canter back this morning, and worked well despite having knocked his leg and loosened a shoe the day before yesterday in his box. This horse is starting to make me afraid to open the stall door for fear of what I might find – and always with his same big dopey head saying “What? Don’t look at me. I don’t know what happened.” At least he’s pretty zen about it all.

I just got word last night that Pip Payne, a longtime friend of mine – and many, many others in the racing world – was found dead, apparently a suicide. Pip was one of the most optimistic, helpful and supportive people on the planet, and I can’t believe he’s not around any more. Not only was he indispensible for all of my horse-buying trips to Newmarket, but he was always available for a quick call for advice on any horsey subject. Of all the people I know, I can’t think of one least likcly to take his life. When I made the decision to switch careers and take up training full time, Pip was one of the few who said he had no doubt I could be a success. I bought one of my first horses from him when he was still training, and we kept in touch ever since. I just saw him four weeks ago at the July sales, when we had drinks with him, his wife and one of his three sons.  I stood next to him in the sales ring as I bid on Derringbay, a three-year-old gelding who, thanks to Pip, I paid way too much money for! We were laughing about it later, and now he won’t be around to see who gets the last laugh when – and if – this horse ever makes it back to the track.

I can’t imagine a trip back to Newmarket without seeing Pip, who was always ready with a joke, a beer and did things like have me paged over the public-address sytem at Tattersalls just to improve my name recognition. The town, and racing, will not ever be quite the same. I can’t imagine what personal demons he was fighting that pushed him to do this, but I hope he is now at peace.

Skid Solo finished 9th of 16 runners in the Tierce handicap at Clairefontaine today, but was only five lengths behind the winner. If he had been a length closer up, we would have gotten some very good place money, but that’s racing. He was closing well until about a furlong out but then couldn’t find more, so I think he was a little surprised by the added distance. He had been running 1,200-meter straight sprints, and this was his first shot at 1,400 meters with a turn. The turn didn’t seem to bother him, but the extra distance on Clairefontaine’s slight downhill stretch got the better of him. Nadege rode him well and he was the most relaxed he’s been so far before the start, going down calmly and not lathering up behind the gates like he usually does. He recovered quickly after the race and came back home in good spirits, so I’m hoping he can run a 1,300-meter race on the fibersand at Deauville before the end of the month.

Next up is Pixie’s Blue on Friday, in an 1,800-meter handicap, also on the grass at Clairefontaine. She will carry the top weight of 60 kilos, so I’m going to try to put an apprentice up this time because I really need the weight allowance. In any case, Nadege has Hard Way and Turfani to look forward to next week; they have entries next Tuesday and Wednesday and both are doing very well.

Cape Tycoon, meanwhile, is working toward his comeback, which I hope will be in the annual Trainers’ Race at the end of August. I will ride him myself, which should be…interesting to say the least, and certainly entertaining for the numerous people who say they’re marking their calendars just for the spectacle. Tyke is in a race against time to be ready; he’s the most accident-prone horse I’ve ever trained, and this week stumbled in the street and skinned both knees pretty well. This after he was just coming back from his battle against the starting gate at St. Cloud, which has already cost us two months with a banged-up back leg. This is the same horse that also gashed his head open on god knows what in his box one day.  But he’s a great guy, and if he can manage to keep his four legs underneath him in Deauville, we could have some fun in the trainers’ race. Oh, and win 10,000 euros, too. A suivre…

Turfani was eliminated from her handicap Wednesday, which is a shame because she’s really ready for a run. She was 16th on the list, which would have just given her the last spot in the 2,400-meter race on the fibersand in Deauville, but there were 27 start declared and two had priority because they had been eliminated in previous races. So we wait. The next best chance for her is Aug. 19 in Deauville, this time on the turf, so it has to rain.

Skid, meanwhile, is entered for the bit Tierce handicap on Monday at Clairefontaine, Deauville’s second track. He seems very ready to run, and this would be a good time for him to step up and do well. Nadege will ride, which is a bit of a risk because it’s her first try at the big handicap, but I know she is very motivated to do well and will keep her head together. I am getting quite a bit of pressure to change to one of the big-race jockeys, but I think she deserves her shot, and I’m going to give it to her. Doing well here would help her career a lot, she knows the horse well and she wants to win. Skid will go without the earplugs this time and is stepping up to 1,400 meters in distance, but I think he can stay that and I think the turn might help him.

Pixie has a race the following Friday, also at Clairefonetaine, in an 1,800-meter handicap. She has been lowered to a sensible 29 rating, so she should be in more suitable company now.

Tarruji debuted for me yesterday in a claimer in Deauville, finishing 5th of 16 and closing very well. While he wasn’t claimed, a trainer from Senonnes-Pouance was interested in him for slightly below the claiming price and we sold him on. Tarruji was originally bought with a partner with another client in mind, but this seemed a good deal; we paid just under 5,000 euros for him and he was sold for 10,500, which seemed a bit too good to refuse. He will go on to win, I’m sure, probably at a slightly longer distance.

Meanwhile, we’re looking forward to running Turfani in a 2,400-meter handicap on the fibersand on Wednesday. It’s a bit touch-and-go whether we’ll get in, because the field is limited to 16 and she’s currently sitting in the last spot, with two horses who have priority below her. We’ll know the final list tomorrow so I’m hoping she gets in. If she runs, she will carry the colors of her new owner, Alan Kennedy, for the first time.

The rest of the yard is doing well, and Skid Solo has an entry in the big Tierce handicap at Clairefontaine next week. He’ll be stretching out to 1,400 meters for the first time, but I think he’ll stay the distance. It will also be his first run with a turn, so it will be interesting to see how he handles it. He’s working well, and we know he has all the ability. These big handicaps are tough, but I still like our chances.

Tarruji, one of the three new horses we bought in Newmarket at the July sales, will run in Deauville on Saturday, trying out a 1,500-meter claimer on the fibersand. He seems to have settled in well and certainly likes French cooking. His manger is always licked clean and he’s working well, so now he’ll get a chance to stretch out and show us what he can do.

Turfani, meanwhile, has an entry on Deauville’s fibersand next Wednesday; she works tomorrow and I’ll make a decision on whether or not to run after that.

The two other English newcomers, Blessing Belle and Derringbay, are following divergent paths. Belle is doing very well, and hopefully will be ready to race by mid-August. She had some back stiffness to work out, but seems on the right track now. Derringbay has soundness problems, unfortunately, and I’m not sure when – or if – he will be ready to try something. He may be looking for new employment, but I’ll wait until the end of August to decide. He got loose today and seemed sound as a bell when sprinting for home, but I think there are still issues to resolve. Meanwhile, all eyes on Tarruji…

Pixie’s Blue had a disappointing run in Chantilly yesterday, but Hard Way finished a courageous third in his handicap, so Champagne all around anyway. Hard Way fought well down the stretch and should have been second; he was thrown into the rail by the horse that did eventually finish second, ridden dangerously and nastily by Anthony Caramanolis. There was an inquiry, but the placings weren’t changed, unfortunately. Despite being slammed, Hard Way kept his wits about him and fought on, and we’re very pleased with him. He’s still learning (unfortunately a bad lesson in how NOT to be afraid of other horses) and he will improve from this. Still, picking up 3,600 in purse money, plus the 1,700-euro premium for his being a French-bred horse, is not bad at all.

As for Pixie, I’m not sure what to make of her race yet. Her character has drastically changed from last year, when you couldn’t hang onto her in a race. Now, she lobs along like she doesn’t have a care in the world, which is usually not such a bad thing but in her case is slightly worrying. She did put in a slight effort toward the finish, but too late, finishing only 7th. I will have to find the solution. At the moment, I don’t see many excuses. The ground was slightly softer than Maisons-Laffitte and Chantilly is a right-handed track, while Maisons-Laffitte ran left-handed that day. But I don’t think these factors had much to do with it, frankly. In any case, she seems to have come back well, as did Hard Way. Both horses ate up everything overnight. And so we cracked some Champagne last night. It turned into quite a party, actually, so stay tuned. The party is sure to get bigger…

As most of our friends know, Champagne is a major food group around our house. When you deal with horses, you develop a thirst that only properly chilled Champagne can quench. This can clash with supersition, of course. I have two horses running Monday in Chantilly, and frankly, they both have good chances (Hard Way probably a slightly better chance than Pixie). Then again, I expected to win two races last week and came home with a fourth and a seventh. So, stock the fridge and risk jinxing your chances or make sure you’re prepared with the best happens? We’ve sort of solved the problem by reserving the bottom shelf for bubbly, but sometimes when you’re not paying attention, the stock runs down. I’ve got a good, fun bunch of owners so this can happen pretty quickly.

Hard Way has only 11 runners in his handicap, which is unheard of here – usually the second half of a Tierce would be a full field of 18 or 20. Pixie has slightly tougher company in her claimer, but I think she’s in with a good chance, too. Check this space Tuesday for the excuses if the two of them don’t win…but meanwhile, I’m off to the cellar to pop in a few bottles, just in case.

Pixie and Hard Way galloped this morning in preparation for races Monday in Chantilly. Hard Way will run the 2,400-meter handicap that is the second half of the big “Tierce” race, and Pixie will run an 1,800-meter claimer. Pixie’s trip is a furlong longer than in Maisons-Laffitte, and the company will be tougher because the price is higher, but I think she should progress from her last effort. She came out of that race well and worked well this morning. Hard Way hasn’t run since his handicap in Compiegne on the 30th of June, so I’m anxious to get him back out.

Turfani also worked this morning, but I’m waiting for softer ground before I can risk running her. She is very well but will have to wait until Aug. 5 on the fibersand in Deauville. The new horses, meanwhile, are settling in. Belle got her back put back into place by the osteopath and can now start doing slightly more work. Derringbay is just a big lazy growing boy, who is more interested in eating and sleeping than anything else. I will work with him for a few weeks and then decide whether to go ahead with training him here or send him up to Normandy to grow for a bit. He is still backwards and I’m not sure he’s up for racing just yet. Tarruji is doing well and will have an entry for Aug. 1.

Skid ran a handicap in Chantilly today, the same course and distance as when he was second about 10 days ago, but only managed to finish 7th in a field of 11.  He missed the break and never really got into the fray, and when Nadege asked him for speed, he didn’t have the same fluid acceleration as he showed last time out. I don’t see any immediate reasons for the subpar performance, but this was his fourth race in rather quick succession, so I think we just need to give him a bit of time. Normally I like to keep at least three weeks between races, but Skid seemed to take his racing well, so we went ahead. Now I’ll give him at least three weeks before we ask him again, depending, of course, on how he recovers. He seems to have come back well, so we’ll see. So far in his career, he has never managed to string together two good performances. But I’m sure he’ll be back strong next time out – hang in their Mark and Pippa, we’ll get you some black type yet! He’s a good, solid horse and we haven’t seen the best of him yet.

We can’t forget that he was gelded relatively late, in February, and he’s still adjusting. Also, this time out he was really calm, so maybe we overdid it a bit on relaxing him. I ran him with earplugs last time and again this time, but I’m pretty sure we’ll go without them next time out.