Flat season under starters orders:
Mariah’s Legend was sent to Southwell after a very disappointing run at Doncaster the time before. She ran a great race, having to give away a penalty to a subsequent Listed winner in the shape of Brillare Momento. Our mare was then sent to Cheltenham for the Listed handicap hurdle, off what looked a good enough mark. Despite travelling strongly throughout the race, she failed to get up the hill and has deserved her summer break. She will return in the autumn and could be one that we start back over the minimum trip.
Just a few days after Mariah ran at Southwell, we unleashed Kalashnikov. The full-brother to Kalane, who is certainly enjoying her retirement she is safely 42 days in foal. Kalashnikov put in a very taking performance at Wetherby and looks an extremely exciting prospect for the future. He too is now on his summer holiday meanwhile we are left to dream over the summer months about what he could be.
(Mercian Prince & Mercian King)
We have had a great first National Hunt season and I couldn't be more proud of my whole team, we have had seven winners, a Listed winner (Kalane) and a big Saturday Handicap winner (Mercian Prince) among numerous placed horses from only eight individual horses to run. Most of our jumpers are now on holiday all but a couple of bumper fillies who will be having an outing in the next couple of weeks.
The flat season is now in full swing and with the guineas already upon us there is a great buzz going around Newmarket at the moment. The first breeze-up sales took place at Ascot in early April and I was delighted to secure a Kodiac filly from Tally Ho Stud, she made her debut at Salisbury on Sunday, for Phillipa Cooper. Her purchase was full circle for Phillipa, who bred, raised, raced and sold the fillies dam. It wasn’t the intention to make the running but she was so fast out of the starting stalls that it was hard for her jockey to do anything else. She ran a race of promise and all being well will turn out again over 5f in the not to distant future.
(Esther in the parade ring at Salisbury)
Last week we sent Carnival King up to Catterick for his first run this season and we were very pleased. He hated the track and I will look for a more conventional track next time out with him. Ghalib also started out over seven furlongs and he made a very pleasing first appearance for the yard at Chelmsford. Let’s Sway ran at Yarmouth, it's very much a patience game with her, we are trying to teach her to settle and relax which will in future enable her to see out the the middle distances she is bred for.
(Ghalib & Carnival King Galloping on the Cambridge road courtesy of Jason Bax)
Thaqaffa made his turf debut for the yard at Pontefract on 11th April and ran a cracker of a race despite having absolutely no luck in running. He travels to Nottingham today and I really hope he gets better luck this time round and runs a solid race.
In April White Diamond Racing purchased our Holy Roman Emperor two year old filly and after a Twitter competition she has been named Blessed To Empress. She makes her debut at Chelmsford this evening. In April we took her to one of the barrier trial days at Lingfield Park that is organised by Gary Witheford. I cannot stress how much of an advocate of these trials I am. Obviously down in Australia when working for Gai Waterhouse they are the norm and in Ireland they have schooling bumpers, so why should Britain not have trials. They educate the horses, especially youngsters, so much. I firmly believe it's something trainers in Britain need to get behind and support in order to make sure they become as much of an asset to us as they are to trainers in many other parts of the world.
(We start them young here at Hamilton Stables)
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