Dressage Update

I might be a little disillusioned with my Irish campaign, but Louis and Sophie are making great progress with their dressage exploits. 'Bugatti' has come on in leaps and bounds of late, and the kids are making the most of his new-found ability. Having gone through the ranks (Chiba Test, A1, A2, A3, L1 and L2), Louis challenged the M1 test for the first time yesterday, and while I was disappointed that he made a silly miss on the route (extremely complicated though it may be), he still finished second with a more than reasonable 55.8 score - without the miss he would have won. Sophie has moved up to L1, used in the All-Japan Championship, and got a massive 58.1 points. Excellent! Let's see what they can do today...

PS. Another good result on the Sunday for both kids, and a dead heat win for Masterson in the week, making it six for the grey, and 72 wins in all for me. Mirzam was fourth on the following day, hampered by a loose horse for most of the race. Then, on the 11th, Sayesse was third, but damned close to winning. A couple of days later, Masterson was fifth, but you can't win them all - he's still a superb horse! Finally, Mick's faith in Mirzam was rewarded via a super win at Chepstow on the 16th. Great stuff.

Another Win

Masterson won again on Thursday, flying out of the gate and staying out the front all the way to the finishing post - it was a remarkable show of power and strength! Sayesse was out yesterday, starting the new LIR season off, and finished a handy fourth. It doesn't look much on paper, but we were giving away a lot of weight, and all those involved are pleased with the performance. A fun season ahead...

PS. Masterson had a crack over the jumps again on the 17th, but could only manage fourth. Still, what a fantastic month the grey has had so far, with two flat wins and a none too shabby hurdles race as well. 

PPS. Mirzam failed to shine at Newbury, but race-rust is a factor at this stage. Meanwhile, Sayesse ran a scorcher in a very fast sprint - despite giving away a lot of weight, had the start gone better, it was another win on the cards. As it is, I'll take the third place. No luck whatsoever with The Jazz Singer, with a poor run four months after its last outing - the Irish campaign is on notice.

Spring Has Sprung

The flat season has started again in England, and has started extremely well as far as I'm concerned after Masterson delivered a superb win over two miles yesterday (my 70th overall). Ironically, Raining Dollars won Down Under, too, which is typical now I've given up my share in him LOL. I'm happy for Jo, though, and looking forward to a steady stream of entries from West Ilsley now we have got things rolling again after the winter break.

By the way, the Lord Ilsley Racing colt has been christened Rockwell Lloyd, while the filly with the same equipe has officially taken on the name of Compton Grace. The hunt for Godiva's Spirit is still on, with my trust being placed in the Channon family on that front - people I have immense respect for, and people that I can understand when it comes to their policy on racing and life in general.

Things have been quiet in Ireland, and, if truth be told, too quiet for my liking. We will have to take a serious look at next year's campaign if we don't get some more bang for the buck. But at least I'm pleased to be out of the Japan game - if I look down my list when I gave up, I see Phosphorus has been injured ever since that comeback win; Pop Label and Trovao haven't earned a penny since November, with Trovao's run last week a very bad joke; Another Door and Vertice last earned their keep in December; Magic Key hasn't run since a mediocre February; Kealoha hasn't run since early January; Lotus Blossom is running but not doing much; Larresingle has run once since returning to JRA, coming eighth, and otherwise, it has been a series of disaster zone specials. Next will be a long summer break, of course. Well out of it!

On the domestic front, Louis and Sophie have been incredibly busy, with 'Bugatti' continuing to improve at a rate that resembles a rocket trajectory. He simply loves work and learning new things, and it's a real pleasure to be able to watch him grow and improve in line with the kids. Sophie is now competing in L1 in dressage, with Louis challenging M1 next time out - considering this is being done with a horse that thinks he's still winning races, this is no mean feat. I'm proud of the three of them...

Quiet Spell

All quiet on the western front, with the Japanese campaign over, the Aussie one on hold, poor ground in Ireland holding us up, and the flat season yet to start in England. Masterson should be out in the week via Box 41, but not much else happening, other than the re-registration of my UK colours. Happy to be out of the Japan farce anyway, with a string of bad results and holidays ever since I gave up - glad to be out of it. By the way, I will be thinking about a race at Kochi next month, as it would be nice to hold a spring and autumn version of the 'Friendship Race' rather than just one a year...

2017 Newcomers #3

Courtesy West Ilsley Stables

This is the new Box 41 colt that lines up alongside Masterson and Mirzam for the 2017 season. As yet, he's still unnamed, but he'll get registered soon. In the meantime, let's take a brief look at his bloodlines.

Born in April 2015, his father was Camacho, a solid performer bringing together Danehill and Zafonic DNA, while his mother, Fanciful Dancer, gives a dose of Blushing Groom via the successful Groom Dancer, and some classic blood in the dam line, such as Vaguely Noble, Ribot and Bold Ruler.

Looking forward to another great season with the Channon family, with Mirzam probably being the one to watch this year on the Box 41 side, and Sayesse should be a flyer in the Lord Ilsley Racing syndicate.

2017 Newcomers #2

Courtesy Lord Ilsley Racing

This is the Lord Ilsley Racing filly, who will line up alongside the new colt and Sayesse for the 2017 season. Born in the same month as the colt, she is carrying a little puppy fat at the moment, but she should give us some good entertainment over the next few months.

Her father is G1 winner Compton Place, who took up the gauntlet from Indian Ridge and Ahonoora. Her mother was Janet Girl by Polar Falcon, the latter being an interesting horse that flitted around Europe challenging one big race after another, and often winning. General Holme and Habitat are the key players in the mother's dam line. Again, we'll come back to this profile as soon as we have a name for the beast.

2017 Newcomers #1

Courtesy Lord Ilsley Racing

The first horse to introduce here in the Lord Ilsley Racing colt, which was born in April 2015. This beautiful looking animal has Fast Company as his father, who only raced three times, but won twice and came second in the remaining outing (a G1 race), so he was certainly no slouch. His DNA includes G1 winner Danehill Dancer by the legendary Danehill and Sharpen Up on the sire side, and Zafonic (bringing with him some lovely bloodlines) and Mill Reef on the dam side.

His mother was Lucy Liu (not the Lucy!), who didn't do much herself, but she has passed on some nice blood, including that of Secretariat and Northern Dancer via Grand Lodge, and legends like Sir Gaylord and Tudor Minstrel. We will update this as soon as he has been named, but he looks like an exciting prospect...