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The Harraton Herald www.juliafeildenracing.com
Spring 2018
Still here…just! We Brits are well-known for talking about the weather and recently it has given us plenty to talk about as snow, gales
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New youtube page launched – p2
and ice have given us all a good battering. We are extremely lucky to have a fantastic team of staff who never missed a day at work during the ‘Beast from the East’ as well as a phenomenal group of Heathmen who kept all the gallops in great condition so we didn’t lose any fitness with the horses and it showed as just a few days later as we had a double at Southwell! As you may have realised, this newsletter will now be
n.e.t. news – p4
released quarterly for the foreseeable future due to time constraints but I’m sure you’ll agree that it means we can pack plenty into it and still keep you informed and entertained. I’m delighted to launch the extremely popular ‘Four to Follow’ competition for another season and I hope we can make this year’s edition bigger and better than ever!
Ross
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Get closer to the action We are always looking for ways to keep owners and the public informed and entertained about what the horses are doing and we added another string to that bow recently with the creation of a Julia Feilden Racing YouTube channel. You may have seen us add these videos to our weekly blog at: https://www.juliafeildenracing.com/blog You can also go back and catch up on previous videos via our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCFgTXTGaziNskZpM4fJsHQ Here you can also subscribe and get notified as soon as we upload a new video.
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Apprentices Czech us out! Riders from other countries wanting to experience Newmarket’s unique facilities are always welcome to Harraton Stud and in January we had two apprentices from the Czech Republic join us for a fortnight. Lucie and Merka had been at the British Racing School in town for two weeks to improve their style and fitness and we saw the benefits of this when they subsequently joined us. Both girls were very capable riders and they got along great with the rest of the team – Gemma and Chloe both know rude words in another language now!
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The Biscuit keeps rising Our resident rider Adam Beschizza’s American dream still goes on as he added yet more winners to his tally since switching to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in November. In such a short space of time, it is incredible to think that he has already ridden 52 winners – more than he has ever ridden in a whole year her in the UK. He has also smashed through the $1.3m in earning barrier, partly thanks to a surprise second-place finish on a longshot in a Grade 2 race at Fairgrounds Racecourse. A massive help to his success is his main boss Joe Sharp who himself is trying to win the local trainers’ championship so is keen to win as many races as possible. That’s not to say that Adam has been a one-trick pony – he is also picking up loads of rides for other handlers, most notably well-known names like Mark Casse and Steve Asmussen. Fittingly he also picked up a spare ride for Michael Stidham who he first went over to America to work for nearly ten years ago. He has been making plenty of headlines here with the Racing Post keen to track his progress and they recently ran a feature on him to find out more about his life out there: How does a typical day unfold? The track opens at 5.45am and I generally ride five to seven horses through the morning before sorting out any weight that needs to be lost for the rides in the afternoon. I'm pretty much on the go all day, so by the time racing is over recuperation is needed at home. How do you spend your downtime? We race four to five days a week, so there are a couple of days a week to relax but, being here only three months, I find there's always something that needs sorting. What do you eat? I'm a jockey, so not a lot, but the food is sensational, mostly fried. When the oysters are in season they are definitely a must. What do you drive? I bought a scooter the other month. I live only five minutes from the track and it's the one place I race, so it's pretty convenient. What do you miss most from home? The racing in England. It can get a bit onedimensional riding the same track every day. I'll always be a home boy at heart. What do like most about where you are? The prize-money. Page | 3
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N.E.T. Racing Club Update MAAZEL has kept N.E.T. Racing Club members busy this winter with regular runs on the all-weather and he always gives you a run for your money. Slow starts are often his downfall but the application of cheekpieces recently have seen him fare much better and that has shown at the end of his races with a third place at Southwell and a fourth last time at Chelmsford. He is a super tough horse who enjoys his racing so will be giving members plenty of opportunities to go racing. He also has winning form on the turf so the summer will see him have plenty of opportunities too and a win doesn’t look too far away for the four-year old gelding. Fellow Club horses GAS MONKEY and CASEY BANTER are gradually upping their workloads after returning from a winter holiday. Gas Monkey seems to be a lot more forward in his work and has already started doing light gallops so will hopefully only be a month away from returning to the track. He showed some good form in maiden races last year and he should be able to build upon this promise now that he is a year older and stronger. He will probably start his campaign in one mile races and we will see whether he needs to go further or even drop down in trip. Casey Banter has just had some minor issues which have held her back a bit so she is only just doing two canters a day now. She did well last year with two third places to her name and she should give members lots of fun in 2018 as she is a tough and hardy filly. There has been a bit of a swap among the two-year olds on the roster and now DELL’S BOY will be racing in the Club’s red and yellow silks. By Australian Group 1 winner Epaulette and out of Bushy Dell who won loads of races for us, he was only born in June 2016 so has needed a bit of time to mature and is currently doing so in the paddocks. We have given him some ridden exercise and he will come back into work in the summer.
You can join the N.E.T RACING CLUB for just £200 per year. More details are at the bottom of our OWNERSHIP page: http://www.juliafeildenracing.com/ownership.html Page | 4
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Shelley on the telly Our apprentice jockey Shelley Birkett recently took part in the inaugural media traineeship for jockeys placement, run by the Jockeys’ Education and Training Scheme (JETS). She was lucky enough to spend ten weeks with the team at the television channel Racing UK. Here she reflects on her experience:
“I have always been interested in the meida side of things since becoming a jockey and the traineeship was the perfect stepping stone for me to begin to think about a career in the media. I enjoy giving interviews and was really keen to develop my skills in front of the camera. Every aspect of the placement has been interesting and I have learnt plenty in every department I have been spending time in. Going into the traineeship, I was looking forward to learning more about the punditry roles so I enjoyed that week, especially going to Ascot when I shadowed Tom Stanley and Steve Mellish. Going out on shoots with the Assistant Producers to several stables and then back into the editing suites to put the shows together was also fascinating. I was surprised to discover to what extent social media plays a role in marketing companies. The time, expense and thinking that goes into what will be posted online and where was quite astonishing and I am much more aware of what I am being shown on social media as a result. My colleagues in the weighing room have liked the sound of what I have done which is great to hear, especially as the course is new and unique. I think JETS have done a fantastic job at getting jockeys to think about life out of the saddle.”
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The squad is ready for action (or breakfast!) (Julia Feilden)
Our Cilla and Chloe loving the snow! (Sarah Macdonald) Page | 6
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Ross sizes up the base of a fallen tree in the paddocks (Ross Birkett)
Team Feilden brave the ‘beast from the east’ (Julia Feilden)
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AT THE Races No matter how good the previous 12 months have been, a new year always means that the winners tally goes back to zero so it is always a relief when the first one is on the board and MAJESTIC MOON was the one landing the honours when earning a well-deserved success at Southwell on January 25th. Having been third and second on his last two runs at the same course he had gone very close to winning and this time found the right race to get his head in front, rewarding the patience of his enthusiastic owners. The switch to hold-up tactics have seen him improve dramatically and the fast pace of the races at the track have helped him show his stamina over a mile. Moon was turned out quickly under a penalty the following week and ran a gallant second behind a resurgent winner. He will bid to land some more prize money for the remainder of the all-weather season at the track before rolling into a turf campaign. Battling it out with Majestic Moon for bragging rights as the highest rated horse in the yard is OUD METHA BRIDGE and he boosted his chances by winning at Kempton on February 19th on just his second run for us. Bought in October for 10,000gns from Ed Dunlop’s stable, he ran a blinder when second on his debut for us and looked unlucky not to win after getting a bump at a crucial stage and having to overcome a wide draw. Drawn in an inside stall this time, he bounced out and made the running with no one even getting close enough to get a sniff of him as he quickened at the top of the straight to win by half a length. The runner-up was the same horse who had beat him the time before so our horse had clearly improved from his first run and winning jockey Shelley Birkett felt that he had more to offer. He will be heading back to Kempton on March 23rd.
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It was a fantastic evening for the chestnut gelding’s syndicate of owners who are a mix of old and new faces to the yard. The syndicate runs in the name and colours of Silver Alliance who won 10 races for us before retiring last year and it is great that many of his owners have joined this new syndicate. As well as the win prize money, there was also a £2,000 bonus for this race as part of the Racehorse Owners Association fund which now means that the horse has won £10,500 from just two runs. Hopefully there will be more to come this year. Spring kicked off in the best possible way as early March saw us land a memorable double at Southwell with GO ON GAL and LIMERICK LORD. After some below-par efforts since the turn of the year, Go On Gal was sent off as an unfancied 16/1 shot but she bounced right back to her best to notch the second win of her career under a very intelligent ride from Shelley Birkett. Having tracked the leaders throughout, she switched to the inside turning for home and saved a number of lengths which made all the difference as the winning margin was only a head in the end. There were euphoric scenes in the winner’s enclosure afterwards as her syndicate of owners are the most enthusiastic and loyal bunch you could meet so they were naturally delighted with the success of their five-year old having owned her since she was a yearling.
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Not to be out-done, Limerick Lord rolled back the years (two and a half to be precise) when getting his head in front where it mattered once again. Being hampered at the start is usually enough to scupper his chance but not on this occasion as he soon recovered to chase the leaders on the outside before creeping into contention. Battling isn’t something he’s renowned for but he did on this occasion as he got the better of the long-time leaders and pulled away towards the line. It was rich reward for his owner Steve Clarke who has never lost faith in his horse and he got the best payback possible. Hopefully he won’t have to wait as long for the next win! A video round-up of the memorable day can be found on our YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/PqGJy76Npxk Others to perform with credit recently include CHAMPAGNE REEF. She made her debut in a bumper at Huntingdon on 8th February when finding the soft ground too much and finishing a disappointing last. We knew she was better than this and she showed it a month later at Kempton when catching the eye in fifth place after being held up to help her see out the trip. She will revert to the flat for her next run and she is one to watch when qualifying for handicap races. Another to look out for in the future will be SIR FRED and he improved bundles from his debut too when filling third place at Southwell on 8th March. He is from a family well-known for improving with age so it will be no surprise if he is a different horse when running in handicaps over a longer trip later in the year. OCEANUS is a horse who is giving his syndicate of owners plenty of fun and he has put together a series of good efforts since having a short break over Christmas, including a third at Southwell last time. This was his second go at the course and he showed that he could handle it fine with a fast-finishing effort in a highly competitive handicap. He is an extremely versatile horse who can run on the turf, all-weather and over hurdles so there should be many more days out for his owners.
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