Declarations & entries w/c 19 May 2008

On Monday 19 May Savile's Delight runs at Windsor in the 7.10 Claiming Stakes.

On Tuesday 20 May Gross Prophet runs at Leicester in the 6.50 Handicap Stakes.

On Wednesday 21st May Zaskar runs in the 8.40 Fillies' Handicap Stakes at Sandown Park and on Thursday 22nd Doctor Robert in the 8.40 at Salisbury.

I would also like to say 'thank you' to everyone who kindly sponsored me for the bungee jump (which fortunately never took place) at the Lambourn Open Day. The total amount came to £320 and was very gratefully received by the organisers on behalf of the charities that they were supporting.

I have updated the Horses For Sale page on the website for a very nice colt by Refuse To Bend that I have available for sale. He did a very good breeze at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up and I purchased him for only 32,000 guineas.

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.

Declarations and entries w/c 14 April 2008

Savile's Delight runs this afternoon at Windsor at 5.00pm.

On Thursday Firth of Fifth is entered in a maiden at Kempton Park at 7.50 pm.

On Friday Clifton Dancer is entered at Newbury in the 2.10 pm over 7 furlongs but needs seven horses to come out to get a run. True And Fair is entered in the 4.25 pm on the same card also over 7 furlongs. She needs just three to come out.

There is a God

Having always suffered from vertigo (including feeling funny when standing on a chair to change a light bulb)I became hugely nervous as Friday afternoon approached. As I said to Rodney Masters on Good Friday afternoon, I was overwhelmed by relief when the organiser apologised to me that (bungee) jumping was cancelled due to high winds. I am sure nobody will ask for their sponsorship monies to be returned, will they?

Thank you to everyone who pledged their support.

The Lambourn Open Day was very successful for us, despite the weather, and we had a steady stream of visitors all morning. It was amazing how relaxed the horses were despite the attention they were receiving.

In the All-Weather Trainers Championship which ran from the end of the turf season in November 2007 to 20 March 2008 I had 10 winners from 34 runners a strike rate of 29%. This strike rate was bettered by only one other trainer, in the top 50, E.J O'Neill whose rate was 31%, with 11 winners out of 35 runners.

With the Open Day out of the way it is now down to the serious business of tackling my third turf season. It was disappointing that Old Father Zieten didn't make the Brocklesby at Doncaster today but there will be other races for him. I have my first turf runner on Monday at Yarmouth, Rowan River.

On Wednesday Savile's Delight is entered yet again at Southwell in a 5 furlong claimer having just failed to prevail on Thursday. On Friday Desert Dreamer is entered in a 7 furlong claimer at Lingfield.

Runners, declarations and entries W/C 6 March 2008

A mixed week so far with Desert Dreamer winning on Monday and Savile's Delight being beaten a nose (about two inches!) on Tuesday. Savile's Delight was in front half a stride from the line and again half a stride after but sadly not where it counts. Richard Kingscote gave both horses great rides.

Naughty Thoughts has been declared for Saturday at Wolverhampton in the 7.30 pm. It is an Apprentice Handicap and Ross Atkinson rides. The race is restricted to apprentices who have won less than five races and Ross won his fifth race yesterday. Timing is everything! He is only 16 years old and is apprenticed to Gary Moore and already has earned a reputation for the way he rides.

Our hopes next week are pinned on Hope Road.

It does not look terribly hopeful though. On Monday he is entered in two races at Stratford, the 2.10 a juvenile hurdle and 4.40 a handicap hurdle. In both he has ballot marks requiring 16 horses to come out of the first and eight out of the second. It is even worse on Tuesday, the first day of the Festival. He is entered in the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Handicap Hurdle at 5.20 but requires 23 horses above him in the list to come out before he gets a run. As they used to say 'There's Bob Hope and No Hope' and we have the latter. If he doesn't get a run either day I will just have to find something else for him.

Declarations and entries w/c 3 March 2008

Desert Dreamer runs today at Lingfield at 3.40 in a class 5 handicap over 7 furlongs and Richard Kingscote rides. We claimed the horse the last time he ran at Lingfield when he was a close second over the same distance.

Tomorrow Savile's Delight runs at Southwell at 2.10 in a class 5 handicap over 5 furlongs and Richard will be in the plate.

On Saturday Naughty Thoughts is entered at Wolverhampton's evening meeting at 7.10 in an apprentice handicap over 1 mile and an extended furlong. You will recall that the horse was entered last week but was not declared as her handicap rating did not go up after her win in the seller and she would have had to run under a 6lb penalty.

Run For Sarah

Thanks to those of you who asked for sponsorship forms. I still have some left if you need them.

Lambourn Open Day

Remember to put Good Friday, 21 March in your diaries.

Sam Paton

Sam joins us today as our new Racing Secretary. She will be working mornings only from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm.

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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Runners today

Hope Road ran a far far better race today at Plumpton than he had on his debut for us at Warwick. Under a fine waiting ride from Timmy Murphy Hope Road got up in the final stages of the two mile trip to come a very respectable second. Timmy felt he would have won had he held him up a little longer although it wouldn't have done my blood pressure any good had he done so.

Savile's Delight had absolutely no luck in running from his number 12 draw at Wolverhampton over 7 furlongs and got pushed wider and wider by the other runners coming off the bend and up the straight. It was a disappointing performance but statistically it is almost impossible to win from such a high draw on that course over the trip.

A cross the card double makes it 5 winners from 9 runners

Yesterday was a mixed day but arguably our most successful on the racecourse with Savile's Delight and What's for Tea winning at Southwell and Lingfield respectively.


What's For Tea landed the seller for Tom Dascombe (Image link from Racingpost.co.uk)

After last week's 'adventures' to and from Doncaster and Wolverhampton two winners is fantastic!

Bruce Jackson wrote in his report from Lingfield for the Racing Post "Tom Dascombe is a new kid on the block in comparison but has the same
winning habit, improving his already impressive stats in 2008 with an
across-the-card double, initiated with the selling win of What's For Tea, whom he promptly lost at the auction.

After the success of Savile's Delight at Southwell, Dascombe, who
had his multiple winner Sawwaah claimed last week, restored stable numbers in claiming Desert Dreamer after he finished second to Ninth House in the 7f claimer."

What's for Tea was bought for 6,200gns which was 200gns more than we claimed her for out of a seller in August. Since August she has won twice and been placed seven times, she is a model of consistency. However, Tom is looking for a few more quality horses so even though she may well win one or two small races he felt it was important to look for another star, so let her go.

The horse box wasn't empty on the way home as Tom claimed the Gerard Butler trained Desert Dreamer who came second in the Claimer on the Lingfield card. The horse is rated quite highly in the mid 70's but has previously been rated in the 90's, the form is solid and the time of the race very quick.

Savile's Delight ran a great race at Southwell and seems to enjoy the surface at the track. It can be argued that he hasn't beaten anything of much quality in his two wins at that venue but he's done it well on both occasions. Let's hope his passion for racing has been rekindled.

Tom has got very few horses to run at present. There are very few fit and able horses in the yard for the AW season but what he has got will run whenever conditions suit. This time of year is mainly about bringing along the 2-year-olds. The mild weather has its good and bad points but the wind can be a real pain as it gets under their tails and makes them all a handful. The yard has definitely seen a few hairy moments with 'fresh and wild' 2-year-olds bucking, rearing and cause merry hell. Let's just hope one or two of them turn out to be superstars!

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The return of the Messiah

'Box Driver Bill' returns from a long vacation next week so the yard better be looking spick and span!

Savile's Delight runs in 38 mins and I know that we all wish the connections the best of luck. The last couple of runs have seen him just beaten out of it but today the form looks slighly easier and Richard should have a good draw on the inside.

It would be great to get Februray off to a winning start and hopefully we can get a couple of others under our belt before the beginning of March.

I'm going to save some longer blogs for the next few weeks so I'll sign-off now and here's to a 2/1 winner of the 16.50

Great way to start the New Year

3 runners 2 winners....what a great way to start 2008.

It is fantastic that you can have a short break and return to the horses in good form, well done staff.

Sawwaah ran as we had hoped on Saturday under a fine ride from Richard Kingscote. It wasn't the strongest contest that's why he started even money favourite but even so he ran like a favourite should, not dropping himself to far out the back and staying-on on the bridle.

Gross Prophet ran another solid race in the Conditions event and may now have a break as there aren't many opportunities for 3-year-olds over 6/7 furlongs between now and the start of the turf season. He has done brilliantly up until now.

Savile's Delight has just won the 12.40 at Southwell under a good ride from Michaela. That's her second winner for the yard in just six starts. The horse is entered again on Friday at Kempton so we will have to wait and see how he is before making any decisions.

Hope Road is entered for a Juvenile hurdle on Wednesday. The ground is likely to be very soft at Newbury so we will see what happens with the weather.

Happy New Year and here's to our first runners of 2008

Thank you all for our Christmas cards and gifts. Michaela and I had a fantastic break in Thailand and are recharged for the coming year.

We ended 2007 on a high with wins for both Gross Prophet and Parisian Gift. Those wins enabled us to post a total of 26 winners for 2007. Now to beat it in 2008.

We are going to start of with the ever young Sawwaah and the osmium tough Gross Prophet. Both are running at Lingfield this Saturday, January 12th, in the 12.45 and 2.55 respectively. At the weights Sawwaah has a great chance whilst Gross Prophet would possibly be the first 3-y-o to beat his elders this year on the flat if winning the Conditions event.

We also have a couple of entries for next Monday, January 14th with Savile's Delight (12.40) and What's for Tea (2.10) at Southwell. I will post an update on these two runners on Saturday. We need one or two to come out of the respective races.

Next week I should also have a runner over hurdles at Newbury. Hope Road, is entered in the Juvenile Novices' Hurdle (12.50) which potentially looks a hot race if Quenta Des Bordes and Mamlook stand their ground.

Entries w/c 19 November 2007

Savile's Delight is entered in a classified stakes at Wolverhampton over 7 furlongs on Thursday evening at 9.20 pm. He was entered in several races this week but was balloted out so I'm hoping we have better luck on Thursday.

Davidia is entered at Wolverhampton on Saturday in the 7.55 pm, a seller, over an extended mile and the 8.55 pm, a handicap over 12 furlongs.