Magic Glade

Magic Glade did us proud yesterday winning the claimer at Kempton Park, under Richard Kingscote, and giving us a winner on Michaela's birthday which we celebrated at the Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket. Unfortunately I mislaid my wallet over the weekend and had to cancel all my cards leaving Michaela to pick up the tab!

This was our 23 winner of the year and consolidates our strike rate at 20%. It was also the 14th winner this year I have trained for Alan Solomon whose support for me in my second season has been thoroughly appreciated.

What's For Tea, also owned by Alan, runs today at Wolverhampton in another claimer and the Racing Post makes her its selection.

Declarations & entries w/c 29 October 2007

Magic Glade runs on Monday, 29 October at Kempton Park at 2.40 pm over 6f. ridden by Richard Kingscote in the claimer. He is drawn 10 of the 12 runners. Last time out, at Wolverhampton, from an impossible draw (13 out of 13) he just failed to get up under an outstanding ride from Richard.

Let's hope we have better luck at Kempton on Michaela's birthday. She was looking forward to a long weekend away somewhere romantic with not a thought for horses but the reality is we'll be inspecting lots at the Tattersalls Horses in Training Sales at Newmarket.

What's For Tea runs at Wolverhampton on Tuesday at 2.50 pm in a claimer over a mile. Hayley Turner rides and we are drawn 10 out of 12 which could have been better.

Davidia has two entries on Friday 2 November at Wolverhampton, a handicap over 1 mile 1 f. at 8.25 pm where we need five to drop out to get a run and a handicap over a mile at 9.20 pm where we will get a run. This will be his first run for me.

When you are up you are up and when you are down you are down

The ups and downs of racing were well illustrated at Yarmouth on Tuesday.

Zaskar, under another impressive ride from Richard Kingscote, won the nursery, her second win in only three races.

The Racing Post reported: 'Tom Dascombe continues to impress as a rising star of the training ranks and his Zaskar ran out a fast finishing winner in the 1m. nursery under Richard Kingscote.

The daughter of Anabaa, sixth to Ibn Khaldun in an Ascot nursery at the end of September on her last start, just got the better of Bavarian Nordic to give Dascombe, who started training only two years ago, his 22nd winner from just 111 runners on the Flat this year.

Dascombe said " She is just a little tricky, but has got ability, and that is the most important thing. She liked the ground and trip today." '

Zaskar needs settling, which Richard did very very well, and as soon as she was settled she was able to pick up and run her race.

In the second race Parisian Gift made his debut and showed his greenness by being slowly away from the stalls but made nice late progress and will benefit hugely from the experience. He will be offered for sale at Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale next Thursday, 1 November.

Poor old Sawwaah had a disaster. He hadn't run for four months and was in absolutely tip top form. In the stable yard he got very excited as he was being led towards the saddling boxes. He reared up and fell over backwards completely knocking himself out. He lay motionless on the ground for about 15 minutes and I thought he had had a heart attack. After a quarter of an hour he struggled to his feet and appeared to be fine.

The racecourse vet was fantastic giving him a lot of attention and eventually judged him to be well enough to travel home to Lambourn where he finally arrived at 11.30 pm. Today he seems fine and my vet, Caroline George, could find nothing wrong with him. I thought he was going to run really well and ended up thinking he had died. Fortunately he lives to run another day. At 10 years old he is still as enthusiastic about his racing as ever.

Declarations and entries w/c Monday 22 October 2007

On Tuesday we have three runners at Yarmouth all ridden by Richard Kingscote.

Parisian Gift, a 2yo gelding, makes his debut in the maiden at 2.30 pm.
He is owned by my good friend Struan Cochrane who has entered him for sale at the Horses in Training Sale at Tattersalls, Newmarket on Thursday 1 November. He was bought to ‘breeze’ earlier in the year but couldn't as he had a slight setback at the time and has come on a lot since. He should run well.

Zaskar, who won first time out at Wolverhampton, has her third run in the nursery at 3.00 pm.

Sawwaah returns to the racecourse after a break, having won three races for us in the middle of the season, and is in the claimer at 4.00 pm.

Parisian Gift also has an entry at Bath on Wednesday at 2.30 and Zaskar at Brighton in a nursery on Thursday at 3.05 pm.

Rainbow Flame returns with an entry in a flat handicap on at Brighton on Thursday at 2.00 pm. His last run was his debut run over hurdles when he ran well to finish second at Fontwell. He also goes to the Tattersalls Sale on 1 November. He has an entry at Wolverhampton Thursday evening at 8.50 pm.

What’s For Tea, who made it 20 winners for the yard for the year last time out, is entered in the claimer at Wolverhampton on Thursday at 6.50 pm. and in a nursery, at the same course, on Friday evening at 7.55 pm.

Diary Marcus Armytage

The following article appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday:

Tom's identity crisis at Newmarket sales

'Tom Dascombe is one of Lambourn's up-and-coming trainers and, on Saturday, he sent out his first listed winner when the progressive two-year-old filly Max One Two Three won the Rockingham Stakes at York. Things are going well.

Last week, he was at Tattersalls in Newmarket, trying to stock up with next year's two-year-olds.

Before he went, he was asked, because of the postal strike, to take some letters and deliver them to a chap he had never met - and he was happy to oblige. When he got to the sales complex, it was blowing a gale and pouring with rain. He put in a call to the potential recipient of the mail. " Ah, to be sure" replied the man, " I'll be there in half an hour. You'll know who I am because I'll be the fella in a jacket and cap".

Given the weather, the place and the unofficial uniform of the sales ring, it's a little like saying to someone they'll recognise you at Royal Ascot because you'll be the one wearing a top hat and tails'.

Max One Two Three

After Max One Two Three's win in the Rockingham I was quoted in the Racing Post:

"To get some black type for this filly has crowned a fantastic year for us. I was devastated at Newbury when she didn't win, but the race didn't pan out right for us. Today I told Richard to ride her with confidence and not to get to the front too soon".

She won a 'Gold Star' in the Post on Tuesday:

In a 15-runner sprint she came from last to first, detached in last for most of the race and detached in first at the line. The others tied up somewhat, but that is by no means the whole story as the second and fourth raced prominently. A striking performance.

Does life get any better?

On Saturday 13 October we won our first listed race, the Rockingham Stakes at York, when Max One Two Three came from last to first and won by a generous two lengths and in Paris England trounced the French.

Max One Two Three was our 21st winner of the year after What's For Tea won at Kempton on Wednesday and achieved my target for the year of 20 winners.

This week Drumhallagh runs tomorrow, Tuesday, at Leicester in a maiden for colts and geldings at 2.10 pm.

Magic Glade is entered in a claimer at Wolverhampton on Thursday at 6.50 pm.

First listed winner

Max One Two Three made it two out of three to win the Rockingham, a listed race, over 6f at York today Saturday. This is my biggest win to date and makes it 21 winners for the year so far. I bought this Princely Heir filly on spec at Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sales last year and she was the very last yearling I managed to sell in March this year, some six months after I bought her and she has turned out to be the best. With black type now in her pedigree she is worth considerably more than her purchase price of only 23,000 euros.

The 123 Racing Partnership which owns her comprises 11 people and is headed by Martin Stillwell who collected the prize in front of the Channel 4 cameras. This was also my very first televised winner.

Adding to the numbers - winners and yearlings!

This week I'm in Newmarket for the Tattersalls' October Yearling Sales. We have had one winning bid so far for hip 215, a nice looking son of Halling out of a Sadler's Wells Group 1 placed mare, Mystery Play. http://www.tattersalls.com/cat/october/2007/215.pdf.

As a half brother to Conceal a listed multiple winner in the Emirates and with a further 6 winning half siblings I had expected it to make a bit more than the 25,000 guineas that we paid.

We have also reached our target for the year in terms of winners....but we're not stopping there!

Last night Richard Kingscote gave What's For Tea a great ride from the front at Kempton to record our twentieth winner of the year. It was also the thirteenth winner of the year for Alan Solomon and I would like to thank him for all the support that he has given to ONEWAY this year.

Also a big thank you to all the staff for working so hard and making our success possible. Well done team!

We have a few entries this weekend including Gross Prophet who has been declared to run in a Conditions race at Ascot. It will be his 10th race this season and I am sure he will run well. Also Max One Two Three goes for a listed race at York. There are 15 runners declared and we have been drawn in the middle. She has already been put up 6 pounds by the handicapper without running as the two horses that came home first and second in her last race at Newbury performed well in a Group 3 at Newmarket.

On Sunday, October 14th, What's For Tea in entered at Lingfield, Clifton Dancer is in a Nursery at Goodwood and Ishi Adiva is entered at Bath where she won as a 2-year-old.

Declarations and entries W/C 5 October 2007

What's For Tea runs tomorrow night (Friday) at Wolverhampton in a 2yo maiden (8.55 pm) and Bold Diktator runs in the mile handicap at 9.20 pm.

Bold Diktator is declared for Saturday at Wolverhampton as well at 8.25 pm. Provided he runs well on Friday and eats up etc. he will run again on Saturday.

Back at Wolverhampton on Monday with both Treacle Noir and What's For Tea entered in the nursery at 3.20 pm.

Zaskar is entered at Catterick on Tuesday in a fillies nursery at 3.30 pm.

What's For Tea is entered in a claimer at Kempton at 7.50 pm on Wednesday.