The Harraton Herald www.juliafeildenracing.com
Winter 2018
Edition 21
Season’s Greetings! HRH Feilden’s New I hope you all had a great festive period and managed to
Year’s message – p4
come out of it relatively sober and not too heavy! Christmas Eve and the big Day itself are the only two days in the calendar with no race meetings on but that doesn’t mean we can sit at home doing nothing – the horses still need to be cared for and mucked out, although they all had a couple of days off riding over Christmas. The weather hasn’t helped things either recently as if it’s not raining, it’s freezing cold and it is a credit to the team that
2017 review – p7
they go about their job with little fuss. The ones probably less keen to go out onto the Heath in it are the horses! Thank you for all your support and kind words over the last couple of years since I launched this newsletter. It was created to provide a light-hearted look behind the scenes at the yard. Due to time constraints, for the foreseeable future it will be published every quarter from now on. This should mean you get to read a jam-packed copy and have plenty to smile about. Happy New Year!
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FOUR TO FOLLOW FINAL STANDINGS – P11
No crumbs for The Biscuit! Last month we filled you in on the great start our jockey Adam Beschizza made to his stint in the USA and we are delighted to report that his good run has continued as he continues to bang in the winners. Boxing Day saw him ride a double at Fair Grounds Racecourse, New Orleans, and he now has 17 wins on the board since his arrival in late November. Eleven of these wins have been for trainer Joe Sharp, who he is based with. He has also ridden in some famous colours including for Team Valor and those carried to Royal Ascot success by Tepin (left). “Joe said that he would help to put me on the map but he’s done more than that,” Adam said. “He’s really helped me out so I’m delighted. I’m taking things one step at a time and willing to accept a challenge. It’s not always easy as there are some great jockeys here but I couldn’t have asked for a better start to things.” He added: “I’m just trying to build up as many contacts as I can and hopefully ride a few nice horses. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catch up corner We always love to hear about how our former racehorses are getting on in their second careers so it was great to receive an email from the owner of SANCHO PANZA (far right) who won three races for us before injury cut his racing career short in 2013. He is now part of a yard of hunters and isn’t scared of anything he comes across out in the fields - he is always giving the others a lead over the ditches they encounter. We always endeavor to find every horse in our care the most suitable home after their racing days are over so it is lovely to know that people get so much enjoyment out of them. Page | 2
N.E.T. Racing Club Update 2018 is sure to be a busy year for N.E.T. Racing Club members with four horses now on their roster. Both three-year olds GAS MONKEY (left) and CASEY BANTER are now back in exercise after their winter holidays and look sure to be in the thick of the action when returning to the track in the spring.
Before that, new boy MAAZEL (right) will make his debut for the Club at Lingfield on 6th January. Purchased from Roger Varian’s stable in the autumn, he has settled into his new routine very well and will be fit for his first assignment. He is quite high in the handicap ratings at the moment but hopefully he can keep improving. He has great form on both the turf and all-weather so will be one to give members plenty of days out all year round. Completing the quartet is a two-year old filly by Group 1 winner CITYSCAPE, out of our 11-time winning mare Bavarica. She is a full sister to Gas Monkey and similarly looks one to improve with age. She is just in the early stages of her training at the minute but she should be hitting the track in the summer. We are also delighted to announce that all Club members will this year receive a metal membership badge as part of joining. This badge will not get you access to the racecourse but will be a great way for members to identify each other amongst the crowds. They are being made as we speak and we hope to have them with you by next month.
You can join the N.E.T RACING CLUB for just ÂŁ200 per year. More details are at the bottom of our OWNERSHIP page: http://www.juliafeildenracing.com/ownership.html
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Feilden’s New Year’s Message It’s fair to say that 2017 got off to a tough start – the horses suffered with a virsus in the spring which was very hard to get on top of. No horse had obvious symptoms – no mucus or coughing and they all looked well but when at the races, they would travel well until two furlongs from the finish when they would find very little. Only time could help them recover and it meant that we had a very slow first half of the year but thankfully things have picked up since the summer and we have ened the year with a bagful of winners. Although shy of the 21 winners we had in one of our best seasons last year, we still ammassed a respecatble tally. It has been a bit of transitional year as well with a number of reliable yardsticks going off for a well-earned retirement. The Ducking Stool, Silver Alliance and Handheld won 21 races between them so losing them obviously leaves a bit of work for the others to do. It does mean though that there is room for younger blood to come through and I’m delighted to say that we have a yard full of exciting prospects who could take their owners anywhere. The beginning of the year was made even harder with the deaths of some big supporters of the yard and good personal friends. Terry Rule ran a lot of the syndicates for me whilst Kevin Case was our number one fan on Twitter and had just dipped his toe into racehorse ownership. They will be sadly missed but their spirit will race on as they both have the honour of having horses in the yard named after them – Terri Rules and Casey Banter. We also said goodbye to Joan Mather and her cheerful prescence will be much missed at Southwell…she never missed a meeting. Looking forward though, I have a great team of staff who are extremely hard-working and love the horses as well as racing itself. I must also thank all my loyal owners who have been forever supportive and continue to enjoy going racing and sometimes winning! I wish you all the best of health in 2018 and let’s hope we can get back on track and make it a record-breaking year!
Julia Page | 4
Team Feilden let their hair down at the Christmas Party (Michelle Partridge)
A lone robin signaled the start of Christmas in the yard (Julia Feilden)
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The team gets into the festive spirit on the gallops (Julia Feilden)
Nothing says Christmas like snow (Alayna Cullen)
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THE year in review SPRING It didn’t take long to get the year’s first winner on the board as SPIRIT OF SARWAN ran the race of his life to win a Class 3 handicap at Lingfield. Sent off the big-priced outsider of three runners, he was given a beautifully patient ride by Shelley Birkett to creep up the inside rail and just got his nose in front on the line (right). Although he didn’t have as much luck as this for the rest of the season, Sarwan still ran some mighty races and added a further three second places to his CV.
CRITICAL THINKING (right) gave N.E.T. Racing Club members plenty to cheer about with a profitable all-weather campaign. He was knocking on the door numerous times before finally finding a breakthrough win at Lingfield in February. He too was given a rail-running ride by jockey Finley Marsh and found his second wind after suffering interference inside the final furlong. After such an eye-catching win in a claiming race, it was no surprise that he was subsequently sold afterwards and is still seeing plenty of racecourse action for his new trainer, although a second success has not come yet. Another horse who gained a much deserved maiden success in the first part of the year was SECRET STRATEGY. After going close over the winter, things finally dropped right for him at Brighton and he upset the odds-on favourite for a cosy success under Adam Beschizza (left). Bought as an unraced two-year old from Godolphin, he has thrived since arriving at Harraton Stud and gave his enthusiastic owners a day to remember but more was to come…
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SUMMER In racing you get used to horses who you think will win not doing as well as you had hoped but it is not often that it happens the other way round. It is fair to say that after four career runs and some lacklustre gallops at home, OUR CILLA had not given us much confidence that she would win one race, never mind two! Cilla’s summer to remember kicked off at Lingfield in July when she ran out an easy winner at odds of 20/1 (left). Ridden by young apprentice Milly Naseb, the plan was to make the running but a knock upon leaving the stalls meant that the pair found themselves in a detached last from an early stage. Undeterred, Milly gradually guided Our Cilla through the field to cruise home by six lengths. Maybe it was the soft ground or maybe it was the blinkers she now wore but whatever it was, the daughter of Sixties Icon was now in the winning groove and doubled her career tally when scoring on Lingfield’s turf again in September, this time as a well-fancied 100/30 chance. The horse is a great reward for owner Carol Bushnell who goes against fashion by buying slow maturing horses and she has had remarkable success by doing this. Cilla has been given a winter holiday and will be back for more action in 2018.
Another horse that made hay while the sun was shining was APPEASE (left). Sent to us from Ireland, he hadn’t won in four years but he didn’t take long to get his head in front for us after winning at Yarmouth in August. The eight-year old gelding ran a promising race first time for the yard and the addition of cheekpieces three weeks later made all the difference as he ground out a gutsy win under Shelley Birkett. He again ran another brave race at Brighton the following month but sadly suffered an injury afterwards which proved fatal. It was a great shame to lose him as he had clearly found a new lease of life with us. I’m delighted to say though that his owner has found a lovely replacement (coincidentally by the same sire, Oasis Dream) in Lulu Star.
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There aren’t many owners who would still have much hair left on their heads after their horse went 21 races without winning a race and having finished second on seven of those occasions. Luckily there aren’t many owners as enthusiastic as GO ON GAL’s and their loyalty was paid off in the best way possible when their filly finally got her head in front at Southwell in August. She had run well at the track before and a jockey falling off halfway round wasn’t enough to out her off as she followed the loose horse up the straight to win by four and a half lengths under Shelley Birkett.
As mentioned earlier, SECRET STRATEGY had already lost his maiden tag at Brighton in the spring but he wasn’t finished yet as he grabbed a most unlikely victory at the same track in August. This time ridden by Hollie Doyle, the pair were completely outpaced early on and found themselves in last place. However, the steep uphill finish by the seaside can see fortunes change dramatically and so it proved as his rivals tired, Secret Strategy powered home to win by a length (right).
AUTUMN OCEANUS had been a frustrating type for his previous trainer after showing very good two-year old form but failing to win a race. Luckily it only took him three attempts to win for us as he landed the odds at Brighton in September. He had looked very unlucky when nailed on the line at the course just two weeks before and a 2lb pull in the weights was enough for him to reverse the form with that same horse by another narrow margin. He followed this up with another placing at Yarmouth before finishing third at Fakenham (left, on far left) on his hurdling debut towards the end of the year. He will be a great, fun dualpurpose horse for his syndicate of owners in 2018.
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WINTER After a slow first half of the year, the winners flowed a lot more regularly in the latter half and PITCH HIGH was another to add his name to the list when making the long journey up to Newcastle a fruitful one in November. Having started his career by finishing fourth in a Sandown maiden, we didn’t expect it to take so long for him to eventually win but a few setbacks meant he couldn’t show his best until now. Another ridden by Milly Naseb, Pitch High bounced out of the stalls sharply and led the field all of the way. He dug deep inside the final furlong to repel all his rivals and land the money. 2017 ended in identical fashion to 2016 with CANDESTA signing off as our final winner of the year. Having won three races the previous season, the gelding had suffered with a high handicap mark and failed to get competitive since. However, a gradual drop in the weights throughout the year saw him on a handy rating and he made the most of it with an emphatic five-length success under Dan Muscutt. The handicapper had his say though by raising him 9lbs in the ratings and thus the eternal battle with the handicapper rolls on! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOUR TO FOLLOW FINAL STANDINGS A new format for the Four To Follow this year gave everyone plenty to cheer throughout the year and the expansion of the competition saw a record number of entries. John Chalklin took an early lead and looked uncatchable at one stage before Oceanus ended his season with a rattle and gave the boss Julia Feilden enough points to take the win. As she is in charge, you would hope she knows who the best horses are but this victory does come on the back of finishing last two years ago! Julia has kindly donated the £100 first prize to The Injured Jockeys Fund. In 2017, Julia saw the charity’s work at first hand after they helped her daughter’s boyfriend George Chaloner get back on his feet after a career-ending fall at Newcastle. Page | 10
Bragging rights amongst the horses went to Secret Strategy who was the top earner with 35 points, followed by Oceanus on 27 and Go On Gal with 25 points. The full and final standings are listed below. Thank you to everyone who took part and we look forward to renewing rivalries when the 2018 competition launches in March.
Julia Feilden John Chalklin Kevin Case Clare Peacock Christine Sparham Colleen Pyrke George Evans Martyn Clark Paula Smith John Tucker Trevor Mather Jean Allen Ged Turley Martin Godfrey Ken Campbell Ros Taylor Chloe Peacock Brain Pyrke Annette Hall Eileen Turner Geoff Walton John Birkett Chris Shelley Adrian Stearn J Rogers Brad Dines Dominic Lisle Paul Reis Phil Gunning Pauline Kennedy Sam Feilden Michael Buckley Don Merrick Tina Skinner Tessa Stone Dick Creese Dave Morris
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105 100 94 94 93 92 91 91 90 90 89 89 89 87 86 86 85 85 84 83 83 82 81 81 80 79 78 78 78 77 77 75 73 73 73 72 72
Rita Aspland Rod Gleed Alex Stearn Sophie Feilden Caitlin Wells Linda Wright Malcolm Roper Patrick Jarvis Wayne Moore Jim Stevens Bill Shirbon Dillys Tucker Eddie Jarman Bill Aspland Nick Feilden Gay Chalklin Paul Skinner Sue Morris Eleanor Monk Jen Wardle Tony Mcgovern Maureen Case Chris Shirran Tony Monk Sue Lever Todd Clarke Eddie Partridge Tony Peacock Margaret Mallett Gemma Whiffen Linda Grady Tony Wideson John Heywood Dee Clarke Mark Jackson Jane Shirran Joan Mather
72 71 69 69 69 68 68 67 67 66 66 65 65 65 64 64 63 63 62 61 61 60 60 60 59 58 57 56 54 54 54 53 53 52 52 51 50
Rob Weston John Wardle Carol Bushnell Heather Close Shelley Birkett Tony Birkett Steve Springford Julie Feilden Rory Doyle Sarah Macdonald Sharon Clarke Stephen Broadley Ian Sparham Poppy Fuller Albert Stevens Matthew Cottis Ross Birkett Rob Wright George Hall Paul Jarvis Alayna Cullen Angus Forshaw Jonathan Kinge Gary Wardle Terry Mortimer Adi Tuddenham Steve Clarke Margaret Buckley Dudley Lever Trevor Fuller Carol F Lee Cousens Barbara Walton
50 50 50 49 49 48 48 46 46 45 45 44 43 43 43 42 41 41 41 38 34 31 31 30 30 30 29 28 27 27 22 20 13
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