Tuesday 2nd June 2009 - Thorndale Farm in Focus (Issue 19)

Dear All

Summer is here and for all those horses who have been busy during the winter months it is holiday time; six weeks at grass gives them all an opportunity to chill, relax and prepare for another winter; perhaps it is something we should all do? We do though have half a dozen horses to race through the summer months which will keep the yard ticking over and Lucky Luk kicked our season off with a win at Towcester last Friday night, shattering the course record in the process.

June is always a quiet month for us, firstly because the horses are out on holiday and then of course all my staff go away for a few weeks as well. The boxes have to be steam cleaned and disinfected after the winter use and we try if possible to give every box at least 3 weeks without an occupant, this is supposed to help kill any germs and then of course it is repairing and tiding up after a winters use.

I hope you all have a great summer, there is certainly a great deal to look forward to to. Wimbledon. Murray mania and Royal Ascot are just a couple of the highlights.

All in the Name

Lucky Luk provided us with our first winner of the season at Towcester last Friday night. Lucky is a very special horse to all at Thorndale as he has provided us with our first winner of the season for last two seasons and he was also our first winner from Thorndale. 

Lucky Luk has now given his incredibly loyal owners Paul and Elizabeth Kellar four successes. Lucky seems to just love Towcester's stiff uphill finish as three of his four wins have been there. 

Lucky Luk could now have about three weeks out at grass as there are no races suitable for him over the summer months and then he will return and be aimed at a possible tilt at the Pardubice in October. We last had a runner in the Pardubice with Supreme Charm  in 2001 and all I can say is that if any of you fancy a tremendous weeks racing away it is a trip well worth doing.

New Grass Gallop

We have a new four furlong grass gallop here at Thorndale, this will be of huge benefit for the youngsters as it will give them a chance to stretch out and gallop on the level.

The older horses love it because it offers them a change of scenery and also gives them a good stretch out as well. 

 

Lucky Luk in the winners enclosure at Towcester

Horses out on their holiday

 

Horses on the Grass Gallop

Ffos Las

Ffos Las will bring top class racing back to West Wales for the first time since 1937.  You can find it in the heart of Carmarthenshire between the towns Llanelli and Carmarthen. 

From the opening meeting on Thursday June 18th 2009 Ffos Las will stage both National Hunt and Flat fixtures.

 

 

 

View of the Course

 

View of Ffos Las

I do hope you have enjoyed catching up on our news; don't forget we would love to have you involved in the yard if you are not already; we are just a phone call away.

All the best                                

The Month Ahead:

Royal Ascot 16th - 20th June  The Royal Ascot meeting is the biggest flat racing meeting of the year. Held annually at Ascot racecourse in Berkshire, the Royal Ascot meeting features 6 of the 31 Group One races run in England every year.

The Royal Ascot meeting has widespread appeal beyond the racing fraternity, and attracts an international audience. The highest attendance figures for any race meeting in Europe are boasted by the Royal Ascot meeting, with over 300,000 spectators attending the event annually.

 

Runners at Royal Ascot

Wimbledon 22nd June - 5th July Since the first Championships in 1877, Wimbledon has grown from its roots as a garden-party tournament to a Grand Slam tournament with a following of millions around the world.

This year with Centre Court having completed it's face lift and now having a roof there will hopefully not be too many rain delays!

Can Andy Murray win the Championship this year??

Players testing out conditions with the new roof