The Harraton Herald www.juliafeildenracing.com
30th November 2016
Not a Newcastle fan It has been a quiet November for the yard with just a handful of
Edition 9
Star Performer
runners as suitable opportunities prove hard to find for the horses.
VEERAYA
I personally think the opening of an all-weather track at Newcastle
(Rail Link x Follow Flanders)
has a lot to do with this as the northern venue has pinched a lot of meetings from the likes of Lingfield and Wolverhampton. The majority of our owners love to see their horses run and the idea of a trek up to Newcastle for a late-night race just does not appeal to them so why should we go there? December looks to be full of opportunities for us closer to home
Initially trained by
and it’ll be great to be busy again with, hopefully, plenty of
William Haggas, Veeraya
winners to come. The winter is usually the time of year we do
won second time out and
really well and the horses all seem very healthy at home so let’s
big things looked likely for
hope they can show their wellbeing on the track and end the year
the 18,000gns yearling. He
on a high.
failed to build on this
Ross
though and was switched to Harraton Stud as a three-year old where he took a while to find a level he can be competitive at. Now at that level, he finally got his head back in front four years after the 1st time and dug deep to score at Kempton earlier this month. After this confidence boost, hopefully he won’t have to wait another four years!
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Yearlings learning plenty Our two yearlings have now been back with us for a month after pre-training and both have settled into their new routines very well and seem to be improving every day.
Gas Monkey (left) is a homebred colt by Group 1 miler Cityscape out of our star mare Bavarica and he has been a pleasure to deal with in every sense. He enjoys his work on The Heath and certainly isn’t as excitable as his mother used to be.
The other yearling we currently have at the yard is a gorgeous bay colt (right) by top sire Arakan. We bought him in Ireland and he was by far the best looking horse on offer at the sales that day. He too is a dream to manage and looks a sharp type for his two-year old season. He will soon be available for syndication so keep an eye out if you would like to get involved in an exciting prospect.
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Watch out! Team member Chloe Peacock celebrated her 18th birthday in style by passing her driving test at the second attempt. Now equipped with a shiny Fiat, it remains to be seen how long it will stay in this condition!
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Catching up with three familiar faces At Julia Feilden Racing we always try to find the best possible home for our horses when they are retired and cannot race on. AUTOMOTIVE was a fine servant to the yard, winning five races and, after he lost his enthusiasm for the game this spring, he was found the perfect home with Donna Winward as a riding horse in the nearby village of Tuddenham. Despite some early issues with his feet, he has settled in very well and now enjoys his life out in the paddock with some ridden work at the weekends. It’s alright for some!
Another recent retiree was HARRY BOSCH (pictured right before his last race) and he headed off to owner Steve Brown’s yard to be used by his son Mason as a riding horse. The early reports are good with Harry popping some schooling fences already and he has the build to do well in a second career in another discipline. We look forward to seeing what he can achieve.
One horse that stayed closer to home was HANDHELD. A former workmate of the legendary Frankel, he had a fruitful career for us before injury forced him into retirement. He was still sound enough to be put to use in the yard though and he now goes out every morning with the yearlings, teaching them how to be racehorses. Let’s hope they can be as fast as he was!
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THUMBS UP Although it looks as though the weather has now and truly turned, you have to look back and think we had a fantastic summer weather-wise. It’s rare for us in England to have some proper sunny weather for a prolonged period but we well and truly enjoyed plenty of rays this year. I can’t remember getting wet very often riding out and the frosts seemed to hold off for as long as they could. These things usually balance out though so prepare yourself for a big freeze this winter!
THUMBS DOWN Injuries to the horses are always the hardest part of the game as all the hard work and attention that has been put into a horse cannot be rewarded with good results on the racetrack in the near future, as well as the disappointment you feel for the owners. This month we had a couple of horses suffer minor injuries which means they won’t be running for a few months but, on the plus side, neither were serious and both horses should make a full recovery and be hitting the racecourse in 2017.
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SALES CORNER If you’ve always dreamed of being an owner at the likes of Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and York then now is your opportunity to buy into the 100-rated MAJESTIC MOON.
With seven wins and over £120,000 career earnings already on his CV, the son of ace sprinter Majestic Missile is tailor made for all the major 7f-1m handicaps, often with huge amounts of prizemoney on offer.
Given a full check by our vet before purchase, he was given a clean bill of health on his lungs, heart and legs and his work at home since we bought him has suggested he retains plenty of ability. He will be raced through the winter with the aim of qualifying him for the £1,000,000 Good Friday All-Weather Championship Finals day at Lingfield before heading to Doncaster for the first major handicap of the new flat season – the Lincoln.
Just 30% is left available to purchase in his syndicate of owners with 10% shares costing £4000 (inc. VAT) plus the usual £200 per month all-inclusive training fees with no extra bills to worry about.
Email juliafeilden@aol.com for more details or to arrange a stable visit. Page | 5
The team canter up the Farm Gallop on a beautifully crisp and clear morning Send your best snaps to rbirkett1989@hotmail.co.uk to feature here!
Champagne Reef enjoys a mouthful (Carol Bushnell) Maureen Case gets to know one of our foals (Kevin Case)
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Q&A – carol bushnell Weekend visitors to the yard are bound to have met enthusiastic owner Carol Bushnell (below with fellow owner Jonathan Kinge) on a Saturday morning. Her love for horses is evident and she has enjoyed a fruitful year in 2016 with Duke Of Diamonds who won twice. Can you remember the moment which sparked your interest in racing? There wasn’t one moment in particular, but having been an avid horse lover for as long as I can remember, I was always cutting out the racing pictures from the newspapers and sticking them in scrapbooks, not wishing to give my age away, but I’m remembering names like Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon over hurdles, and of course, Nijinsky and Mill Reef on the flat. How did you first get involved in racehorse ownership? I hadn’t been long into my job with a bloodstock agent in Newmarket back in 2001, when I was sent along to Harraton Stables in order to photograph two horses and write a bit of blurb for a new-fangled thing called a “web site”. My boss was quite forward-thinking, but I remember having enormous trouble trying to persuade the older, more established trainers to even consider such a thing. Julia, on the other hand, seemed quite keen to embrace the technology - which was quite lucky for me. I took the pictures, went back to the office with the details of the horses which were to be advertised for syndication, and, while I was typing up the adverts, I figured that even on my meagre wage, I could just about afford one twelfth share in the filly Miss Devious…. And I’ve been getting in the way ever since! What was your most memorable day as an owner with Julia? It has to be Sancho Panza’s (left) first win at Windsor in August 2010. He’d been showing some ability at home without reproducing it on the track and we had decided to give him one last chance before entering him in the October sales at Tattersalls. In the meantime, I had studied his previous race at Yarmouth and had a feeling he might not like being hit with the whip. I mentioned this to Julia and we decided it couldn’t hurt so would instruct the jockey not to hit him. It was a race for international amateur jockeys, with a random selection as to who we would be allocated, but luckily we had an amenable American lad by the name of Jacob Smith who could at least understand orders! Ross also had a ride in the race and, after the first few furlongs, his horse was fairly prominent Page | 7
while Sancho was out the back with the washing. Julia told me afterwards that she stopped watching our horse at that point and concentrated on Ross instead!! What nobody (not even the commentator) had noticed was that Sancho and Jacob were steadily moving up on the rail, forged clear at the furlong marker and went on to win by 2½ lengths, with Jacob twirling his whip as they crossed the line like he’d won the Derby! I think Julia, Shelley and I were the only people on the racecourse cheering, as at 33-1 he hadn’t been fancied. However, they say a win can instill confidence in a horse, and that was certainly the case with Sancho as he did not finish out of the first four for a whole year after that. I never did ask Ross how he felt about us beating him that day… (I never mind losing to a Feilden horse! – Ross) What sets Julia’s yard apart from others? The friendliness and approachability of everyone in the yard – and Dillys’ fabulous cakes for breakfast at 9am on a Saturday morning! Plus Julia will always listen to daft owners’ suggestions on how she should train their horses. She listens, anyway!
You like to pick your own horses at the sales - what are you looking for in particular? Firstly, contrary to popular belief, they don’t have to be grey – but it helps! Seriously, I always look at the pedigree first. I’ve always liked the staying races and never want to spend too much money so I look for stamina in the female side, coupled with an unfashionable stallion who, 9 times out of 10, will get horses that need a bit of time. Then I drag the Boss endlessly round Tattersalls inspecting yearlings until she’s completely fed up with me and crosses most of them off and, in the case of Sancho and Pepper’s Ghost, we buy something completely different that wasn’t even on the list in the first place! The one thing I did learn very quickly from my days in the bloodstock industry is how to identify what I can’t afford! Also, it is fundamentally important that a horse walks well as if he can’t walk, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to gallop. Which race would you love to win the most? That’s easy – The Feilden Stakes – ever since Julia has been brave enough to allow me to buy yearlings, I’ve told her I’ll find one for it….. Sir Fred (right) in 2018, anyone?
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Which is your favourite and least favourite racecourse? Hard one – favourite is either Yarmouth, as there’s a great seafood restaurant down the road and Sancho won there twice, York looks after owners very well and the champagne is the cheapest anywhere! Least favourite – Huntingdon. What does your other half Gary make of it all? He’s just told me I’m not allowed to buy any more horses otherwise we’ll never get away on holiday again! In fairness, he’s happy to come along when we have a runner (and he does enjoy a win) but refuses to traipse round Newmarket with me every weekend through the summer! (Right - Our Cilla) If there is one horse (past or present) you could own, who would it be? This one is really hard – I have a new favourite horse every year, but if I’m allowed, it would have to be Mill Reef – even though I was only five when he won his Derby! Any words of wisdom for other owners? Believe in your horse, trust your trainer but don’t throw good money after bad. And watch out how much you have to drink before you bid at Tattersalls! And finally, give us a horse to follow. All of mine, of course!!!
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THE MONTH IN RUNNERS VEERAYA got the month off to a flying start by getting his head in front under the floodlights at Kempton on November 1st. The bay gelding sat in behind the leaders before quickening well two furlongs out and getting a break on the field. He held off the chasers inside the final furlong to score by half a length under Adam Beschizza (right). He will bid to double up at Wolverhampton on December 12th. That same evening, CANDESTA finished down the field after not enjoying making the running. He bounced back to form three weeks later when finishing second to an easy winner at Chelmsford City. Since being given time off over the summer to strengthen up, he has run five times with two wins and a second to his name. Hopefully he can continue his good run over the winter months. Also that day, DAKOTA CITY made his reappearance after a summer break. He travelled well but got tired towards the finish and he will strip fitter for the run. He will likely head to Lingfield on December 7th for a 1m4f handicap. We were happy to see our lucky track Southwell back in the fixture list after a summer break and we sent course regular LIMERICK LORD (left) there for the opening meeting. He proved his love affair for the place by finishing a game second, only losing out to an in-form rival. He was due for another date on the sand the following week along with VALLEY LODGE but the meeting was unfortunately abandoned due to waterlogging. The pair will return there on December 6th.
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FULL THREE TO FOLLOW STANDINGS Ross Birkett Jean Allen Annette Hall Jonathan Kinge Liam Doran Gary Wardle Michael Buckley Barbara Walton Maureen Case Anthea Telford Jason Coote Dominic Lisle Ged Turley Nick Feilden Phil Gunning Sophie Feilden Eileen Turner Matt Bisogno Trevor Fuller Chris Shirran Gay Chalklin David Haddrell Dee Clarke Margaret Buckley Tony Monk Steve Springford Elliot Lawson Liz Moore Julie Feilden Dudley Lever Pauline Kennedy Julia Feilden
71 69 68 68 63 63 62 58 57 57 55 52 49 49 47 47 47 47 47 46 46 46 45 45 45 44 44 43 41 41 41 40
Scott Aspland Ian Sparham Paul Matthews Adam Beschizza Zoe Fuller John Wardle John Tucker Anthony Wideson Clare Peacock Martin Godfrey Mason Brown Dom Tortice Carol Bushnell Pauline Hurst George Challoner Wayne Moore Annette Hall John Birkett Tony Birkett Kevin Case Heather Close Steve Moore Paul Sharpe Jane Shirran George Hall Dave Morris Linda Wright Dave Barnett Steve Clarke David Smyth John Chalklin Ros Taylor
40 40 40 39 38 37 36 36 36 35 35 35 35 34 33 33 33 33 33 32 32 32 31 30 30 30 30 30 29 29 29 27
Steve Brown Chris Shelley Bill Aspland Adi Tuddenham Sarah Macdonald Mark Jackson Paula Smith Sam Feilden Dillys Tucker Chloe Peacock Malcolm Roper Kelly O'Boyle Harry Hurst Tony Peacock Rita Aspland Mike The Mule Finley Lawson Mark Rimmer Gordon Hill Shelley Birkett Martyn Clark Eddie Partridge Geoff Walton Poppy Feilden Terry Rule Stephen Broadley Lee Cousens Caitlin Wells Sue Lever Rob Wright
THE YEAR SO FAR
20
45%
63
Winners
runners/placed
Placings
ÂŁ92,020 prize money
183 runners
23 x 2nds 19 x 3rds
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