Crushing's G2 Level Weight success on Friday afternoon saw an explosion of unbridled delight in my computer room. The prizemoney of €10.86 was not the main reason for such an outburst. Crushing had become my 50th Stakes winner of the current season. Achieving it with a month to spare, gave me an added sense of satisfaction. At the beginning of the week I needed 6 winners and it was appropriate that Lottoman should get the ball rolling on Sunday(I realise that it must seem strange to have a week begin on Sunday, that's me!). I suffered a drought on Monday and Tuesday. May For You's(thanks Chyp) win on Wednesday did not prepare me for the hat trick in the space of 32 minutes on Thursday from NY Giants, Galbally Star and Tanks A Tousand and as they say the rest is history. At the start of the season, reaching the 50 was not a realistic target and as a result of frequent prodding from Chyp I began to take it seriously. I cheated a little by contriving a few stable only races. I also had enormous help from the aforementioned Chyp, who not only offered endless advice, but also provided me with 6 horses between 24th May and 9th June. They swelled my winner total by 7 and finished 2nd on 10 occasions and even gave me an RR success. I fully expect to have further glory with that little squad. Thanks Chyp.
Rockavon, purchased in the auction last weekend had his first run yesterday and finished 1.24L behind Aherlow Boy, clearly he is no world beater. This outcome, coupled with previous experience of buying unraced horses will temper my enthusiasm at future auctions. Staying In Front also made his racecourse debut this week and finished 2nd in a Rated race. He had his first sandbag run today and he pleasingly finished last. He has 3 more such races lined up for this week.
The stable action will be scaled down dramatically for the remainder of the season, when only a few older horses and a few RR runners will be on view. I can't wait for next season and the chance to attack that target once more.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Inching Closer
The stable is slowly inching towards the 50 stakes win in a season, this week saw a further 4 victories in that sphere, which leaves 5 weeks to accumulate the remaining 6 successes. Ironically, as I drift away from Rated racing, 4 wins, mainly in small fields were also collected this week.
My resolve to stay away from the Sales Ring did not last the full week, as I succumbed to the lure yesterday and purchased 2 donkeys, neither is likely to ever see a racetrack. I was keen on 3 G2's in this morning's auction, all of whom sold for figures far in excess of my valuation, at this stage of the season. Paying such exhorbitant sums for 2yolds, with only 5 weeks remaining in the season is a gamble that I could not afford. When my fate was sealed shortly before the bidding deadline, I noticed a message in the Forum from Paul of Herny's Stable, to the effect that a 'Private Sale' had fallen through for one of his unraced G2 2yo colts. Consequently, he had reduced the price from £35 to £20, in the hope of making a sale. After a hurried review of the TT's I made a £20(€22.81) bid and acquired Rockavon. He appears above average over 1200 and has almost finished his second cylce of training.
I did resist the temptation to put Staying In Front in the auction, principally because once he was gelded and shod, his progress was not in line with my expectations. Unfortunately he did not take kindly to the fitting of blinkers either. He may be good enough to win a minimum value Maiden and a Rated race this season.
NY Giants took 2nd place in a Special Allowance on Tuesday and filled 3rd in an Allowance yesterday. Her next attempt at fulfilling my intention should take place on Thursday. Recent purchases, Perigine and May For You were both winners on their stable debuts, while Grey 1's Progress success on Friday came as a surprise, given his 17/2 quote from Ladbrokes. Needless to say, he ran without any added burden from me, in the way of a wager.
My resolve to stay away from the Sales Ring did not last the full week, as I succumbed to the lure yesterday and purchased 2 donkeys, neither is likely to ever see a racetrack. I was keen on 3 G2's in this morning's auction, all of whom sold for figures far in excess of my valuation, at this stage of the season. Paying such exhorbitant sums for 2yolds, with only 5 weeks remaining in the season is a gamble that I could not afford. When my fate was sealed shortly before the bidding deadline, I noticed a message in the Forum from Paul of Herny's Stable, to the effect that a 'Private Sale' had fallen through for one of his unraced G2 2yo colts. Consequently, he had reduced the price from £35 to £20, in the hope of making a sale. After a hurried review of the TT's I made a £20(€22.81) bid and acquired Rockavon. He appears above average over 1200 and has almost finished his second cylce of training.
I did resist the temptation to put Staying In Front in the auction, principally because once he was gelded and shod, his progress was not in line with my expectations. Unfortunately he did not take kindly to the fitting of blinkers either. He may be good enough to win a minimum value Maiden and a Rated race this season.
NY Giants took 2nd place in a Special Allowance on Tuesday and filled 3rd in an Allowance yesterday. Her next attempt at fulfilling my intention should take place on Thursday. Recent purchases, Perigine and May For You were both winners on their stable debuts, while Grey 1's Progress success on Friday came as a surprise, given his 17/2 quote from Ladbrokes. Needless to say, he ran without any added burden from me, in the way of a wager.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
One Out, Six In
An interesting week for On The Bridle, as the 7 winners were all achieved in Stakes races. It is an indication of the direction of the stable, especially when 5 out of the 7 were in Grade 2 races. Another 10 winners will bring in the 50 win bonus. During the week the stable received the 500 run bonus in the amount of €189.16 and also the Promo bonus of €43.80. With so many BC's in my account I could not resist the lure of the sales ring, but restricted myself to 2 purchases today. One is a Grade 2 filly, who not going to set the world on fire, but may be up to winning a poor Maiden at some point. The other is a Grade 1 Class B staying colt. He has almost hit 11 at 2850 naked and has not finished his first cycle of training. In other words he could be useful, especially for Rated racing, a sphere that I am trying to extricate myself from. I may be tempted to put him in next weekend's auction.
Inspectorcleuseau left the stable this week, via a minimum Claimer. Moving in the opposite direction were the following Grade 2's: Perigine, Caesar Beware, May For You, Crushing, Turbo Engaged and NY Giants. CB and TE have already been successful in the stable colours. Crushing came 2nd on his debut run, while NY G will have her first and possibly last run on Tuesday. She was bought with the sole intention of winning an Allowance race and going straight into hibernation. Per and MFY should see the track in the coming week.
Inspectorcleuseau left the stable this week, via a minimum Claimer. Moving in the opposite direction were the following Grade 2's: Perigine, Caesar Beware, May For You, Crushing, Turbo Engaged and NY Giants. CB and TE have already been successful in the stable colours. Crushing came 2nd on his debut run, while NY G will have her first and possibly last run on Tuesday. She was bought with the sole intention of winning an Allowance race and going straight into hibernation. Per and MFY should see the track in the coming week.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Plodding Along
This week the stable had another 8 winners, the distribution being: 6 Stakes wins and 2 Rated wins, which brings me a good deal closer to the 50 win bonus. I must acknowledge the help that I've received from Chyp in this regard. The horses that he sold me cheaply via Claimers provided 3 wins this week and will hopefully produce a few more in the coming weeks.
Six races that I had entries in did not take place during the week, due to insufficient runners or not enough owners, which is really disappointing.
This morning's auction was a quiet one for me. I bid on 2 horses, the reserve on one, a Grade 2 2yo filly was a tad too high and my most recent request for TT info was ignored, so my bid did not get near the reserve. My other target was a Class A 3yo filly, but I was outbid on this one.
I did pick up 2 Grade 2 6yo fillies from a Claimer this morning and will be disappointed if they do not pay their way.
Six races that I had entries in did not take place during the week, due to insufficient runners or not enough owners, which is really disappointing.
This morning's auction was a quiet one for me. I bid on 2 horses, the reserve on one, a Grade 2 2yo filly was a tad too high and my most recent request for TT info was ignored, so my bid did not get near the reserve. My other target was a Class A 3yo filly, but I was outbid on this one.
I did pick up 2 Grade 2 6yo fillies from a Claimer this morning and will be disappointed if they do not pay their way.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
May Summary
May has been an interesting month, that has yielded a total of 34 winners, an increase of 12 on the April figure. The 20 Stakes wins means I've got a chance of achieving the magical 50 by the end of the season, 23 more are required during June and July, while 54 runs are needed to reach the 500 run bonus.
During the month the number of inmates has shot up from 30 to 43, however 11 of those are in a Pending state and 3 more will join them shortly. The increase in numbers is mainly due to buying 8 in the current promotion.
On the financial front the cash balance has dropped slightly to €343.58 and BC's stand at €104.20. Overall it has been a satisfactory performance, considering the quality of horse in the stable and the fact that generally the older Class B's are not as competitive as they were before the last age change.
During the month the number of inmates has shot up from 30 to 43, however 11 of those are in a Pending state and 3 more will join them shortly. The increase in numbers is mainly due to buying 8 in the current promotion.
On the financial front the cash balance has dropped slightly to €343.58 and BC's stand at €104.20. Overall it has been a satisfactory performance, considering the quality of horse in the stable and the fact that generally the older Class B's are not as competitive as they were before the last age change.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Goodbye 3, Hello 8, Goodbye 6 Or 7
Lots more changes in the stable this week. Three horses left me via Claimers, namely Soft Side, Dawn Charger and Villamantilla. I may have underestimated Soft Side's ability as he seems to run much better than his TT's suggest that he should. At the same time I am easing myself out of keeping Class B's and he is one less in the stable.
The boxes did not remain empty for long as I was tempted by the mid season promotion to purchase 8 horses from the sales ring. My reward was 7 B's and a C. Six of the B's would not make top class C's and will have one race to qualify for the bonus. The other B could be just about raceable and the C would need abnormal improvement from the addition of blinkers to see a track more than one time.
The runners this week did not exactly shine, yet I ended up with 5 Rated race wins and 3 Stakes successes. One of the wins was a same stable race, which feels a little like cheating.
The 500 run bonus is 54 runs away, but the 50 win bonus is a more elusive 23 victories into the future. Whether they can be achieved by the end of July is questionable. At least it will keep me interested, while I await that monster from the sales ring.
The boxes did not remain empty for long as I was tempted by the mid season promotion to purchase 8 horses from the sales ring. My reward was 7 B's and a C. Six of the B's would not make top class C's and will have one race to qualify for the bonus. The other B could be just about raceable and the C would need abnormal improvement from the addition of blinkers to see a track more than one time.
The runners this week did not exactly shine, yet I ended up with 5 Rated race wins and 3 Stakes successes. One of the wins was a same stable race, which feels a little like cheating.
The 500 run bonus is 54 runs away, but the 50 win bonus is a more elusive 23 victories into the future. Whether they can be achieved by the end of July is questionable. At least it will keep me interested, while I await that monster from the sales ring.
Monday, May 25, 2009
All Change At On The Bridle
It's been a busy week for the stable. Cha Sa, who scuppered my intention of taking an allowance by winning the Claimer that I got her from was sent straight back into a Claimer. She had two claims and duly won, leaving me with a profit of €6.55. I wish her new owner, Mighty Reds lots of luck with her. In the same race I picked up two maidens from Chypmunk(prearranged). Number 17 Bus and Rapid G2 should help me towards my newly acquired target of 50 stakes wins this season, thanks to Chyp's generosity. I put Stay32 in a Claimer due to no other suitable races in the schedule and low and behold she attracted the attention of a couple of sharks. Thanks to the top random she won and left me €16.22 to the good. The lucky buyer was price racing, who put her in a claimer this morning and I was very pleased to have her back, having got the nod from eagle eye Chyp. I would not survive in this game without his invaluable mentoring.
The week (up to Saturday) provided me with a record total of 11 winners, 6 Stakes and 5 Rated. The most winning honours are shared by Puilaurens Castle, only claimed on Monday (2 Claimers) and Mrs Understood (2 RR's). At the week's end I had 24 towards the 50 wins bonus and needed another 102 runs for the 500 run bonus.
Yesterday's auction supplied me with 3 more inmates, G2 Classica, Take A Bullet and Never Any Joy, all Grade 2's which were bought from Chyp for the minimum €10.95 each. This means that the heretofore impossible charge for the 50 wins is now a possibility. It may take a week for me to become familiar with each one's ability, with a little help from my mentor and then it should be all guns blazing for glory.........................................................................maybe.
Recently I have become aware that my horses are not as competitive in rated races as in previous seasons. This means that many of my Class B's will become worthless in the near future. Luckily this has happened as I have become more involved in Grade 2 racing, which might leave me in a better position than I could have otherwise hoped.
I almost forgot to mention that I bought 4 horses in the Spring Promotion, all B's, but none of them are much good. They will all have one run to qualify for the bonus and probably go into hibernation thereafter.
I omitted to mention that Miss 3207 Yield also left the stable via a Claimer and is now in the capable hands of Silkstone(I like the name). Should she reappear in another Claimer I may be tempted to try and bring her back.
The week (up to Saturday) provided me with a record total of 11 winners, 6 Stakes and 5 Rated. The most winning honours are shared by Puilaurens Castle, only claimed on Monday (2 Claimers) and Mrs Understood (2 RR's). At the week's end I had 24 towards the 50 wins bonus and needed another 102 runs for the 500 run bonus.
Yesterday's auction supplied me with 3 more inmates, G2 Classica, Take A Bullet and Never Any Joy, all Grade 2's which were bought from Chyp for the minimum €10.95 each. This means that the heretofore impossible charge for the 50 wins is now a possibility. It may take a week for me to become familiar with each one's ability, with a little help from my mentor and then it should be all guns blazing for glory.........................................................................maybe.
Recently I have become aware that my horses are not as competitive in rated races as in previous seasons. This means that many of my Class B's will become worthless in the near future. Luckily this has happened as I have become more involved in Grade 2 racing, which might leave me in a better position than I could have otherwise hoped.
I almost forgot to mention that I bought 4 horses in the Spring Promotion, all B's, but none of them are much good. They will all have one run to qualify for the bonus and probably go into hibernation thereafter.
I omitted to mention that Miss 3207 Yield also left the stable via a Claimer and is now in the capable hands of Silkstone(I like the name). Should she reappear in another Claimer I may be tempted to try and bring her back.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Wake Up Sleepy Head
The outcome of last week's auction was a disappointment. Sunday morning as I lay in bed, my bids were being usurped by eager buyers and I got nowt for all my research. One of the 7 that I was interested in was sold for less than I was prepared to pay. Some of the others went for figures way over my limits. Either I haven't got a clue what the value of a 2yo G2 is or some other peeps don't.
The numbers in my stable have swelled by 4, due to successful claims. Belinda and Soft Side are two Class B 2yos, who should pick up a few rated races during the season. Miss Slip is a 5yo G2, who looks a bit better than a minimum claimer, while Cha Sa, a 3yo G2 filly was claimed with the intention of winning an Allowance. She duly won her claimer and sent my plan awry.
My horses picked up seven races this week, pride of place goes to Gowahaid, who won his EB maiden yesterday and carried his penalty to an EB novice victory today. It was especially pleasing that Gowahaid's win today and Mrs Understood's C Div win yesterday were at the expense of runners from Shotgun Mike's yard.
This week's victories comprised of six stakes successes and one RR win. The stable is now 33 short of the 50 win bonus and needs 149 more runners to reach the 500 run bonus.
The numbers in my stable have swelled by 4, due to successful claims. Belinda and Soft Side are two Class B 2yos, who should pick up a few rated races during the season. Miss Slip is a 5yo G2, who looks a bit better than a minimum claimer, while Cha Sa, a 3yo G2 filly was claimed with the intention of winning an Allowance. She duly won her claimer and sent my plan awry.
My horses picked up seven races this week, pride of place goes to Gowahaid, who won his EB maiden yesterday and carried his penalty to an EB novice victory today. It was especially pleasing that Gowahaid's win today and Mrs Understood's C Div win yesterday were at the expense of runners from Shotgun Mike's yard.
This week's victories comprised of six stakes successes and one RR win. The stable is now 33 short of the 50 win bonus and needs 149 more runners to reach the 500 run bonus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
