I dreamt of owning a racehorse ever since those first vists to Taunton Races at the age of 11. Those dreams came true when my friends and I bought our first horse, a 4 year old mare called Tashlee Grove in training with our friend Brian Forsey when I was 18. She never got to the racecourse but a few horses later I had my first ever winner in my own colours on 14th May 1991, when Lady Primrose won a selling handicap hurdle at Newton Abbot under young jump jockey Carl Llewellyn (who went on to win the Grand National on Party Politics the following spring).

There followed one more winner in my colours (Aldahe at Lingfield Park over hurdles) before grown up things like work, mortgage, marriage and children took up more of my finances. I became a serial Syndicate member with Elite, Full Circle, Henry Ponsonby to name but a few before I took a share in Outset with Mark Kilner Racing. Outset was very successful on both the flat and over jumps and took me to some big racedays which gave me a taste of the life of the owner.

In Autumn 2005, I took the plunge and took a share in a 2 horse syndicate with Highclere Thoroughbred Racing. The 2 horses were Squadron trained by Amanda Perrett and Treat trained by Mick Channon. Treat surpassed all my wildest dreams by finishing 2nd in the Fillies Mile at Ascot as a 2 year old and then 4th in the 1000 Guineas before eventually being sold to Sheik Mohammed to stand at Darley Stud in Japan.

In Jan 2008, I bought into my first horse managed by Middleham Park Racing, Bonnie Prince Blue, quickly followed by my first 2 year old Victoire de Lyphar. I have become very impressed by the syndicate and Nick, Tim and Mike who run it and have got carried away to the extent of now owning shares (generally 5 percent) of 18 different horses in separate syndicates with MPR.

I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences with anyone who might be interested. If you have any interest in racing, I hope that my experiences may tempt you into the wonderful world of racehorse ownership.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog.

Saturday 7 January 2012

Out with the Old year

A really busy time over Christmas and the New Year with runners all over the place and the usual chaos, all over too quickly and back to work, but a free weekend to catch up and review 2011 and look forward to 2012 (more to follow later)

NOT BAD FOR A BOY has been really busy, a really consistent 2 year old, he finally got his head in front under a brilliant tactical ride at Lingfield under Kieran O'Neill, in a 7f Novice stakes beating Delf (78) and Colourful Notion (82) by a neck and a short head getting 3lb. Everyone could see that the favs had got caught out and that NBFAB had just scraped home because of the ride, but the handicapper decided it was worth raising him 8lb from 70 to 78, after a season of trying to get a winner. Is it any wonder that people try to cheat the handicap system??.
Our lad tried again on Boxing Day at Wolverhampton of his new mark and despite running a really good race, he found 3 too good to be beaten 3 lengths into 4th. Our attempt to dodge the handicap mark in a claimer 4 days later was just one run too many with Not Bad for a Boy finishing 3rd as a well backed 5/6 fav in a race he would normally have won.
At this stage it looks as though the handicapper hasn't dropped him a single pound for two losses, shame it doesn't work both ways!!

                                                        NOT BAD FOR A BOY

TRUE BLUE has been a disappointment so far for Tim Vaughan and he has run 2 very similar races at Towcester and Southwell, fading badly in the straight after travelling very well in front. He looks to have taken some time to find his form since coming over as a highly rated young horse in Ireland but at least now will get a handicap mark. Let's hope the handicapper gives him a mark from which he can be competitive off. I'm sure we will get a win out of him this season.

MY MOMENT finished down the field at Ffos Las on bottomless ground and will now have a rest before a Spring/Summer campaign.

Finally we had a very pleasant surprise when BENEFIT OF YOUTH made his comeback on Boxing Day on Ffos Las Heavy ground in a 2m Bumper. Running against Tornado in Milan (a £70,000 purchase from Ireland at the Brightwells Cheltenham sale in Oct), we hoped for a decent run. Our boy chased the 1/5 Fav all the way up to straight only going down by a neck at the line. I was delighted as not only do I own 12.5% of this horse, I was also lucky enough to name him. He is for sale and hopefully won't have done any harm to his value.

                                                          BENEFIT OF YOUTH

I hope to produce a list of the horses that I have in training for 2012 in the next few days, which I hope you will find of interest.
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