Stellar Start to New Season

It has been a flying start to the new season of jumps racing for the yard.  After a few days with no national hunt racing, following the traditional end of season meeting at Sandown, it did not take long for our first winner to be recorded when on Wednesday 5^th May, Sainte Doctor owned by JP McManus celebrated her return from eighteen months off the track with a win at Newton Abbot ridden by Aidan Coleman.

We only had to wait a couple of hours for winner number two when Rookie Trainer passed the post in front at Fontwell.  This horse is owned by Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates and it is great to see the man who has ridden so many winners for the yard in the past, still having plenty of success out of the saddle.  Liam Harrison was on board for this victory.

Three days later, it was win double number two of the young season as Sam Twiston-Davies rode Excelerator Express to a ten length win up at Haydock and his win was followed up by Sandymount Rose who won at Warwick by fifteen lengths, ridden by Harry Reed.

With most of the horses running to form and getting competitive in their races, the yard recorded a number of placed efforts before another winner was delivered by Lord Accord on Saturday, on whom Brendan Powell just edged out the favourite by a head in a photo at Uttoxeter.

No double on the day this time, but it was a double on the weekend as Mike Burbidge’s The Wicket Chicken relished her return to hurdles winning at Stratford on Sunday with Sam Twiston-Davies breaking the run of a different jockey riding each winner!

Whilst it will always be difficult to keep up with the yards that have far more expensive horses once the big valuable races come around, at this early stage in the season, the stable sits in 2^nd in the trainers’ championship table with the six winners and twenty-six placed runners securing over £45,000 in prize money for our owners.  Here’s hoping the results keep rolling in as we head into summer.