22 October -out of the doldrums

After 66 winless days with 38 runners Gross Prophet a stable stalwart did the business at Kempton Park on Wednesday evening 22 October. This was the longest winless period that the yard has had to endure and Tom was mightily relieved when Gross Prophet got up and won quite convincingly in the end. As Tom said 'That horse is an absolute legend'. It was his 16th run of the year and his second win and he is totally genuine and always runs his heart out.

Last night at Wolverhampton it looked as though Campbeltown Trader would add to the score but he met an enormous amount of trouble in running and had he managed to extricate himself a little earlier would surely have broken his maiden. He has now run five times and come second on three occasions. This is often the sign of an un-genuine horse but it certainly is not the case with Campbeltown Trader. He has just been unlucky.

This week we are sending a number of horses to Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale at Newmarket with four going through the ring on Tuesday including both our 2yo Group 2 winners Classic Blade and Firth of Fifth as well as our 3yo listed winner Clifton Dancer. On Thursday five more are entered to be sold.

Declarations & entries w/c 28 July 2008

Shiva Adiva runs at Yarmouth this afternoon at 2.30 pm. Michaela also has a ride in the 5.00 pm.

On Wednesday Firth of Fifth runs at Goodwood at 2.50 pm in the Vintage Stakes, another Group 2. Unfortunately he has the worst draw. Sayif who Classic Blade beat at Newmarket also runs.

Also on Wednesday Blitzen has been declared to run at Kempton at 6.30 pm and Eyes Like A Hawk in the maiden fillies race at Leicester at 8.15pm.

There are a number of entries on Friday 1 August. The Game is entered at Thirsk at 4.25 pm, Clifton Dancer in a Group 3 at Goodwood at 5.15 pm, Belated Silver at Bath at 6.05 pm and The Game at 8.45 pm, Naughty Thoughts at Newmarket at 6.25 pm and The Game at 7.30 pm and The Game is also entered at Haydock at 7.50 pm.

On Saturday 2 August Noverre To Go (named by Aimee Barnes) is entered in a maiden at Doncaster at 2.50 pm and Gross Prophet is entered at Newmarket at 4.40 pm and Lingfield at 7.20 pm.

On Sunday 3 August Marine Boy is entered at Newbury at 2.10 pm (although the race is likely to divide) and The Game is in the 3.50 pm.

Listed Winner

Clifton Dancer surprised us all be leading from pillar to post in a listed race for 3yo fillies over 7 furlongs at Warwick on Thursday 26 July. She was badly drawn but broke really well under a masterful ride from Richard Kingscote and managed to grab the rail very early on. She came under pressure when threatened at the top of the straight but found plenty under a drive in the closing stages to hold out for her first black-type success.

Cyril Pritchard her enthusiastic part-owner was absolutely delighted and with his fellow owner Geoff Neville threw a party for the stable staff at The Malt Shovel in Lambourn on Friday night.

Winner at Newbury on Saturday

Clifton Dancer, owned by Cyril Pritchard, Geoff Neville and Stuart McPhee, won her handicap at Newbury on Saturday (making it 13 winners for ONEWAY so far this year) under a fine ride from young Ross Atkinson who joins me on Monday as my apprentice. He claims 7lbs and is only 17 years old but has now ridden for me four times scoring three times and coming second once.

Clifton Dancer was hardly headed in the race and won by a comfortable length. This was her second win in eight races and I'd like to find a listed race for her to get some black type. She has grown and strengthened up hugely over the winter as she matured into a 3yo. I was delighted that Cyril Pritchard was so ecstatic after her win. It is this which makes my often stressful job so rewarding.

1000 Guineas and this week's runners and entries

1000 Guineas

I'd like to thank everyone who sent me messages of support and 'good luck' for Max One Two Three's run in the 1000 Guineas yesterday. It was a huge thrill to have a classic runner in only my third season and although it was naturally disappointing not to have been in the prize money it was a fantastic experience from which lessons have been learned. We could not have had better publicity and I am very grateful for the coverage that I and the ONEWAY team received. None of this would have been possible without the support of some fantastic owners and, in the case of Max, from Bert Black and his family and friends. Thank you.

Runners and entries w/c 5 May 2008

Gross Prophet runs this afternoon at 3.45 pm at Warwick.

On Thursday I have entered Savile's Delight at Goodwood at 3.00 pm and both Clifton Dancer and Zaskar at 4.10 pm.

Saturday could be a busy day. At Lingfield I have entered Max One Two Three in a Group 3 for fillies and mares over 7 furlongs (3.40 pm) and both Desert Dreamer and Savile's Delight in a ladies amateur rider's race at 5.15 pm. I have also entered Old Father Zieten at Haydock in a 6 furlong maiden at 3.45 pm and Prince Desire in a 6 furlong handicap at 4.20 pm. Wing Home is entered in a maiden at Warwick at 6.25 pm.

Nervous anticipation

As I'm posting on here as much as anyone I just wanted to make sure that everyone understands that my views are my own and may not necessarily be the views of the other posters, especially Tom.

When Tom was riding I was very keen on National Hunt and enjoyed going to the largest meetings such as Cheltenham, the Welsh National and the 'Sandown' Gold Cup but now-a-days I'm finding it difficult to get that excited about it!

This year I've been invited by a supplier to go to World Hurdle Day at the Cheltenham Festival. I'm pleased to be going but I guess that unlike in the past, when I've been studying the horses and making sure that I know exactly what's going on, this year will probably start and finish in the bar.

It's now quite a few years since I worked with a bloodstock agent in Kentucky but it was probably that trip that made me much more interested in the flat.

Whenever I go to the States I always seem to cause controversy. As a teenager I remember staying with a family in Bay City, Michigan and upsetting the son by saying that I thought Bruce Springsteen was rubbish. I have since changed my mind. When working with Chad Schumer I probably repeated my conviction that National Hunt racing was much better than flat.

However, my appreciation for the flat started to develop the day I visited Nureyev at Stud. Just the fact that he 'sneezed' all over my jacket got instant respect for some bizarre reason. I was in awe of this magnificent beast. And it wasn't just because of his daily ritual!

Today I prefer to go straight to the AW form rather than a Kelso or Huntingdon. I do always stop to have a second look at Wincanton, Newton Abbot or Taunton but I think that this is just habit as I always used to turn to these cards to see if Tom was riding.

This year I'm really looking forward to that first Donny meeting. I can't say I have a horse in mind just yet for the Lincoln but I do like the look of a past winner.

ONEWAY has already saddled six winners from 12 flat runners during 2008. I know Tom is keen to beat last year’s total and he's had a great start to do just that. He's got a fair few 2-year-olds this year but nothing out of the top drawer on breeding. Of course he's been fishing in very different ponds from the big stables but hopefully there may be a star or two.

It was this time last year that Tom eventually sold Max One Two Three and look what happened with her. Let's just hope one or two of the new recruits can perform to the same level.

Max will be entered in many of the top 3-year-old fillies’ races this year. It's going to be exciting. But you never know what the season holds until that first outing.

It's funny but from my experience the really top horses cause more anxiety than excitement.

I guess it's because they will tend to do worse than anticipated.

The anticipation equation

Anticipation = 3-year-old will win the Guineas, the Derby or Oaks and a Breeders Cup or Arc.
So I’m looking forward
with excitement to Parisian Gift, Clifton Dancer, Zaskar.....

A busy week and another run for Savile's Delight

This week has been really busy at Oneway and my office. The first quarter of the year always generates new business opportunities and this year has been no different. Hopefully a few will come off and new business deals will be struck. This year might see a rapid deceleration in the marketing sector and, if it does, we need to be more protected against the credit crunch hangover. (Tom would also like to have a few more clients so please give him a call if you are interested in a horse or share).

The job at Oneway is not so different. 2006 was a great start with a handful of two-year-olds and older horses giving the stable a good start. 2007 was a brilliant continuation but with a slightly different profile of two-year-olds, a few older horses and only Ishi Adiva and Shawhill
in the three-year-old age group. This year Oneway has more two-year-olds, mostly bought by Tom at the sales last autumn, a few older horses and for the first time a handful of the classic generation.

Of course the most exciting of the three-year-olds, on paper, is Max One Two Three, the winner of the Rockingham Stakes at York. As Andrew Black (Bert) has hinted to on his blog we will be aiming her at the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. We might be trying to bite off more than we can chew but we will give it a go. Her form is good. A line through Rosa Grace her conqueror at Newbury (which Tom blames himself for!) would have seen her running in the first four in the Dubai 1000 Guineas run at Nad Al Sheba last week.

Apart from Max, Tom also has Clifton Dancer a nursery winner, Zaskar a dual winner last season, Parisian Gift a winner at Lingfield this winter and Gross Prophet a multiple winner and a seriously consistent type. There are also a couple of others that we will discuss over the next few weeks.

The reason I mention this is that the older horses are very well and seriously fresh at the moment! Tom is definitely getting his hands dirty both in and out of the saddle! Let's just say that Clifton Dancer one of the most passive horses of all-time has decided to 'drop' his rider on each visit to the gallops. This was previously unheard of I'm not even sure that she got this excited when she was being broken in!

Add the well being of the classic generation and older horses to the frisky two-year-olds and I'm sure that Alton Towers would be considered a breeze! Let's just hope that everyone and all the horses stay in one piece.

I'm guessing that it could also have a lot to do with the very mild temperatures that we are having this year. In our garden the daffodils are already out (my wife says that they aren't the winter type), the catkins are on the trees and the birds are in full song at 6.20 in the morning. I
imagine the horses also think it's spring, let's just hope we aren't surprised by a long cold snap. I remember when Sheikh Mohammed took some of his two-year-olds to Dubai to winter for the first we all thought that they would have a massive advantage on their return because they would be more forward in their coats etc. Well I think 'nature' may well be trying to even this out.....but that's definitely not a good thing!

Today Savile's Delight runs at Southwell. His last two visits to the track have produced wins over the minimum distance. I would hope for the same result today. His run at Wolverhampton on Monday was rather disappointing. There seems to have been lots of comments about the distance but I personally don't think 7 furlongs is out of his range. He has, of course, previously run and won over 7f even beating horses such as Fonthill Road. In the blog at the weekend Tom mentioned that he was concerned about coming round the home turn with a wall of horses in front, which was absolutely the case. As such the draw, losing a shoe and a bit of indecision probably cost him the race and so it's best to move on. Today would be a great opportunity to do just that.

Of course there are a couple of other beasts in the race and the most likely 'second' would be Spoof Master ridden by Tom’s good friend Jim Crowley. Jim is having a magnificent time of it on the flat and fully deserves to be 5th in the AW Jockey's Championship. Let's just hope he doesn't add another winner to his tally in the 3.50 at Southwell.

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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.