Last week of the year 2009

Having reached 62 winners for the year there are just a few opportunities left before 31 December to increase the score.

Quaker Parrott, Plush, Midnight Strider and Look Officer are just a few of those capable of passing the post first and increasing Tom's best season to date.

The target for the year was 52 winners and this was after 42 in 2008, so anything like 62 or better is quite an achievement in Tom's fourth year as a trainer.

The new Manor House Stables website is in its final stages of preparation and should be ready to go live in early January. On 4 January Tom's new secretary Lizzie Lea, recruited from the Racecourse Association, starts her new job and we expect communication with owners and others will improve considerably. It has been difficult for the last two months trying to fire on only two cylinders but from January there should be no more excuses.

60 winners for the year to date

King Red won nicely at Wolverhampton on Friday after a seven month absence from the track. He won a bumper at the beginning of the year but then sustained an injury when coming 4th on his flat debut on the turf at Kempton in April. The Racing Post reported that Tom said "John (Reed) has been very patient with him since and the horse is still a big baby, so we won't be doing much with him on the all-weather over the winter. I see him as a nice turf stayer for next season and can visualise him winning races over two and a quarter miles at Pontefract when he strengthens up. He's one of two horses John has in training with me; the other is Plush, who has won several races for us and returns from a break to run here next Friday"

King Red's win was the 60th winner of the year. That total comprises 30 winners on the all-weather, 25 on turf, three in France and two under NH rules.

It is especially pleasing that the horses are running so well now that they are all based in Cheshire. In the last seven days there have been seven runners, with one winner, three seconds, one third and one fourth.

Plush makes it 40

Ross Atkinson rode a fine race on Plush at Wolverhampton on Friday night to make it 40 winners for ONEWAY in 2008. I am delighted to put a winner on the board for John Reed who sent me several horses a month or so ago. It has been an amazing year for the whole team and we can't wait for 2009 which, with the ammunition at our disposal, could be even better.