Bailey's Blog

Plus 14 and dry when driving in.

Tom Bellamy and Ciaran Gethings were in this morning to ride out.

Charlotte Boyce and her mate Ceri were here second lot to see the string in action. Charlotte used to work for us about 12 years ago and Ceri works for the JC at Carlisle, Aintree and Haydock and sometimes at Cheltenham

John and Laura Garrett were over mid morning to see their horses.

Chelmsford Racecourse which went into administration has been saved by ARC racing..

A big weekend of racing lies ahead, with King George Day at Ascot taking centre stage today. The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is now the richest race in England, worth £2 million, and remains our premier all-aged middle-distance championship, bringing together the best three-year-olds and older horses from France, Japan, land and the UK.

Jump racing takes place tomorrow at Uttoxeter, after which everybody heads off on holiday, or at least the jockeys get the opportunity to spend some valuable time away with their families. Jump racing closes down for two weeks, and it is a much-needed break for all of them. They work incredibly hard throughout the year, so the chance to switch off and recharge is hugely important… Those doing light might hope it stays warm.

Greyhound racing, as we know it today, started in England on 24 July 1926.

The first meeting was held at Belle Vue Stadium on 24 July 1926, introducing the American-style mechanical hare to British spectators. Around 1,700 people attended that first evening, and the sport's popularity grew at an astonishing rate.

100 years later the sport is under threat..

The above makes the naming of New Zealand’s latest ferry between the islands..’Captain Cook’.

This snipped appeared in the papers..

'Good news for fans of one of history's greatest explorers. New Zealand has named a new ferry between its main islands after Captain Cook, and told the snivelling ‘wokesters’ criticising it to get stuffed.

Winston Peters, the country's foreign minister, suggested those who condemned the explorer and Royal Navy officer as a harbinger of colonisation to be more aware of New Zealand's past, since a mature country does not run from its history or vandalise its memory to satisfy the latest fashion in whinging politics.'

Whatever one's view of Captain Cook, there is no denying his extraordinary achievements as an explorer and navigator.

Remembering such figures need not mean celebrating every aspect of the era in which they lived; it can simply reflect an acceptance that history, with all its triumphs and failings, helped shape the country we know today.

Interestingly Winston Peters is also the PM who has shut down greyhound racing in NZ!

Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday..

Plus 13 and dry when driving in.

Black Friday??

I woke this morning and, as I drove into the Thorndale listening to the radio, the BBC told me we were due to get rain on Sunday and that gardeners would be relieved to see it. Well, when I made to the office, I checked four or five different weather apps, and only one of them was showing as much as 0.4mm of rain. So, I'm afraid I'm not getting my hopes up.

If it does arrive, I'll be absolutely delighted, as I'm sure Mrs B will be too, because she's becoming increasingly worried about her garden especially as we are now have a hosepipe ban here

It wasn't a particularly uplifting day for news yesterday. Oil prices have climbed again to over $100 a barrel and then a letter from our excellent haylage suppler warning us of  a 5% increase and finally came the very worrying reports surrounding Deva Racing and the handling of prize money that should have been distributed to its shareholders. Syndication has become a hugely popular part of racing, giving so many more people the opportunity to enjoy ownership, so stories like this are deeply disappointing

We run several syndicates ourselves, all managed by Peter Kerr, and we are acutely aware of the importance of transparency. Everything has to be done properly, openly, and correctly. It's cases like these that undermine confidence, damage the reputation of the industry and, ultimately, make life harder for everyone who is trying to do things the right way.

Anyway, enough of that. Our vet is here for his regular Friday visit.

The Commonwealth Games are just starting and already top names are crying off through injury and other commitments.

Tonight the famous Guiting Music Festival opens its tent flaps..a must visit.

Talking of must visits.. Mat is taking his daughter Sylvie to watch and admire the wonderful Giffords Circus.. 

A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door.

The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.

"Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!"

He slams the door and returns to bed.

"Who was that?" asked his wife.

"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers.

"Did you help him?" she asks. "No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!"

"Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!

The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pouring rain. He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?"

"Yes," comes back the answer.

"Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband. "Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark.

"Where are you?" asks the husband. "Over here on the swing set," replied the drunk. 

Plus 13 and dry when driving in

It was certainly warm at Worcester yesterday. Not exactly ideal jump racing weather. But the racecourse staff did a good job on the ground, and everybody seemed happy with it.

Caught In A Storm ran okay, but they didn't go very quick. He pulled hard and was rather unsettled, although he jumped well.

The race turned into a sprint when they rounded the last bend into the straight, and CIAS just wasn't quick enough. But anyway, he's run respectably, and he was a little distressed afterwards too. His excretions in the heat rather got to him.

It was very sad to read in the racecard that Jane Broad was retiring from being the Owners' Liaison at Worcester. Yesterday was her last day on the racecourse in that role.

Jane, who is married to ex trainer/jockey's agent Chris Broad, is one of those special people we see on the racecourse. Always smiling, always happy, and always going out of her way to make every owner feel welcome and looked after when they come racing at Worcester and of course at other local ARC racecourses..

We shall all miss her, although, thankfully, we'll no doubt keep bumping into her from time to time as she doesn't live very far away.

Thursday is our easy day during the winter, but not today..

More expense! Gallops, fencing, tack repairs, servicing tractor, horseboxes and steam cleaner after its busy summer and today it is the turn of the Claydon horse walker to be serviced.... Invaluable bits of kit!

More of the above.. Molly, our PA, took delivery of her new lap top yesterday.. I think she had punched holes in the old ones keyboard, so today she is taking the day off to set herself up with her new toy??

Away from the racecourse and what is happening here... on Tuesday evening the TBA National Hunt Breeders' Awards took place. It's an annual event and always a very enjoyable evening, celebrating the achievements of our National Hunt breeders and the vital role they play in the sport.

I'm delighted to say that Simon Sweeting of Overbury Stud won the main award, which was thoroughly deserved. Congratulations to Simon, and to all the other award winners on the night.

Without our breeders, we wouldn't have the horses to race, so it's only right that they have an evening to recognise everything they contribute to the sport. 

Who would want to be a clerk of the course during a summer like the one we are currently having?

Finally.. The Commonwealth Games start today in Glasgow..

Plus 13 degrees  and dry when driving in. 

Tom Bellamy and Ciaran Gethings were in to ride out which is always very welcome on a Wednesday, especially at this time of year when we've got plenty of fresh horses to exercise. An extra pair of experienced hands are worth their weight in gold. Mind you, I'm told Ciaran did manage to fall off on Saturday while trotting around the fields, but thankfully no harm was done.

Mat enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon yesterday at the cricket at Eastnor Castle. He was looked after by Terry Court and Andrew Elliott and then trainer and author Matt Shepperd appeared.. Matt took Mat off around the farm and his yard...

One of the more unusual highlights was a visit to a workshop where costumes are made for productions such as Star Wars and many other films and television shows. As you'll see from the photograph, Mat appears to have his eyes firmly shut while inspecting one rather strange character, which I think might be Darth Vader!

It looks like racing has a new BHA Chairman..Simon Cox

We have a runner this afternoon at Worcester.. Court In Storm heads there and for our thoughts please click here.

Ian Reid..

A sailor and a pirate are in a bar recounting their many adventures at sea. Seeing the pirate’s peg-leg, hook, and eye patch the sailor asks: “So, how did you end up with the peg-leg?”

The pirate replies: “We were caught in a huge storm and a giant wave swept me overboard. Just as me crew were pullin’ me out a school of sharks appeared and one of ’em bit me leg off.”

“Blimey!” said the sailor . “And how’d you get the hook?”

“Arrrr…”, mused the old salt, “I got into a fight over a woman in a bar, and me hand got chopped off.”

“Blimey!” remarked the sailor. “And how about the eye patch?”

“Oh that,” said the pirate, looking embarrassed. A seagull droppin’ fell into me eye.”

“You lost your eye to a seagull dropping?” the questioner asked incredulously.

“Well…” said the old sea dog, “It was me first day with the hook."

To finish .. Happy birthday to Johnny Greenall.

Plus 13 and dry when driving in.

The horses that were summering with John and Penny Perriss returned to the yard yesterday looking magnificent..  Home Made Hero, Island Bridge, Hillberry Hill, Milo Of Croton, White Noise, Coolanna, I Spy Diva and Brendas Asking.

We have our usual Tuesday vet visit and this weeks mover and shaker in the BHA handicap charts was Faerie Cutlass down 1 to 84..

Peter Smith was here to see his KBRS horses Matty's Getaway, Hidden Mountain and Double Ten.

Mat is off to represent Thorndale at Eastnor Cricket Club ..He is not playing but having Lunch on top table?

Mrs B and I are back after just over a week away in Scotland. We spent the first part of the trip on the Isle of Lewis, staying at Uig, with Barry and Pippa Green... hoping to do a bit of fishing.

The only problem was the weather. It was a heatwave..probably some of the hottest conditions experienced up there. Lewis was absolutely stunning, and if you've never been, I can't recommend it highly enough. It is an incredibly beautiful Island and sitting out in the evening sunshine admiring the view was an absolute joy. Sadly, if you were hoping to catch fish, it was a complete and utter waste of time!

That said, there are far more important things in life. There were about 14 of us staying together, and we had enormous fun. Plenty of laughter, endless banter, and wonderful company – exactly what a holiday should be.

From there, we headed down to Oban and spent a couple of nights aboard Michael and Podge Wills' boat, Utterly Mustard.

Once again, the weather was magnificent, but the real highlight was witnessing the start of the final leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Ten yachts set sail on the last stage of their incredible circumnavigation, and to watch them head out was a truly spectacular sight. It was a real privilege to be there.

Gylen Castle was well worth a visit..

So, all in all, it was a wonderful break. As you might expect, not a single fish was caught, but a great deal of fun was had by everyone. And in the end, that's what really matters.

The highlight of the week was not falling overboard while climbing down ladders in to a dingy!

Again thanks Molly for keeping the blog going.. She is rather good at it and obviously enjoys writting it.

To finish Kevin Keegan one of the all time greats.. RIP..

Plus 15 and dry when driving in. 

A lovely sunny Sunday at Stratford for the It's Only Money syndicate yesterday to watch their horse Campaign Trail. He ran well for a long way... he's the type that needs to dominate, he's a bit of an enigma but his day will come. Stratford were extremely accommodation and looked after everyone very well. 

Very busy weekend for sport, starting with Joseph O'Brien sending out Johanna Walsh to win the Irish Oaks cozily.. his 18th winner in 11 days, operating at a 34% strike rate. He's on target to break his father's record for winners in a season (152), he's currently on 77....

England vs France was just about as chaotic as it gets... 6-4 to England, 3rd place finish the best position England has finished since the 1966 triumph.... Three Lions led 4-0 before the break through Rice, Konsa and Saka on a double. France came back dominating with Mbappe scoring two and Barcola the one...Saka completed his hatrick in the 87th minute before Dembele cut the deficit to 5-4 six minutes into stoppage time. Bellingham then sealed the deal for England in the 98th minute. 

A brilliant game of football.. Mbappe is now the World Cup's all time leading scorer with 22 goals, overtaking Messi. 

Lots of questioning Tuchel why didn't Saka come on in the semi... his performance Saturday begs the question.

In cricket England have beat India by 27 runs at Lord's, hitting the highest ODI total and winning the three match series 2-1. Ben Duckett made the biggest men's ODI score striking 141 off 135 balls...another day for record setting. 

The T20 blast was won by Northampton beating Hampshire by 14 runs at Edgbaston on Saturday. 

New Zealander Ryan Fox won The Open at Royal Birkdale finishing 10 under, his first major title. 

Spain are the World Cup champions.... it took until added time for a team to score but Torres finally did in the 106th minute against a 10-man Argentinian side. A very scrappy game, Argentinian Paredes took to the pitch after the final whistle, having received a red card, and put his hand on Spain's Garcia's throat, throwing him to the ground... a very strange Super Bowl style half-time show which dragged on for 27 minutes has received a lot of criticism, and I have to agree with Wayne Rooney... it was "crap"!! Trump booed as he came on for the prize giving and Messi in floods of tears as this was most likely his final World Cup, it really was all going on!

In my own little sporting world, both of my horses won their dressage competitions on Saturday. Not At Presents first test in 14 months and he scored a fabulous 73% adding to our qualifying scores for Blenheim... not to be outdone by Sea Of Fortune who won his first test ever!! Never having seen white boards or even practised a dressage test, he behaved impeccably and we have a lot to look forward too. 

It only feels right to mention the lows of sport as well as the highs, and eventing offered a stark reminder of the dangers of equine sport when two event riders were fatally injured in cross country falls on Saturday, at separate events. A tragic day in horse sport, but some solace must be taken that they were both doing the sport they loved... extremely difficult for those they leave behind and my thoughts are with them.     

Plus 15 and dry this morning. Forecast is cooling down over the next 10 days but still no rain, it's got to be up there somewhere??

Tom and Ciaran in to ride out this morning.

Mat thoroughly enjoyed himself on his day out to Newbury yesterday, luckily the Royal Box had chicken so he was pleased. He called in to see our friends from The Racing Club who also had a box.... shares are still availabe in Jukebox King who is set to make his chasing debut this autumn..just £70 from the season. Click here to get involved.

Rebels Romance has officially been retired by Godolphin following his win in the Group 2 Prince Of Walkes's Stakes on the July course last week. Winning 22 of his 32 races and ammassing over £12 million in prize money, the globe trotting superstar won nine Group 1's, winning in Germany, America, Qatar, the UAE and the UK... we wouldn't mind a few like him!

Andy Burnham officially elected as Labour leader today and is set to take over from Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister on Monday, promising to bring about the biggest politics change in 40 years... We shall see!

Big sporting weekend ahead... third place play off tonight at 10pm England vs France, the final round of The Open tomorrow afternoon before the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina kicking off at 8pm... oh and inbetween this we have Campaign Trail running at Stratford..for our thoughts click here.

Hope everyone enjoys the sporting weekend and see you Monday.

Plus 18 and dry when driving in.

Mat off for lovely days flat racing today at Newbury followed by lunch in the Royal Box... hopefully they have chicken nuggets!

Mark in for his usual vet visit. 

England won the second ODI versus India by four wickets levelling the series 1-1 ... Chasing 234 Joe Root anchored England's innings with an unbeaten 99, guiding England home in 44.1 overs... the decider is on Sunday.
The first round of The Open 2026 teed off yesterday.. Jackson Suber currently in the lead with 5 under.

The BHA revealed yesterday their new ideas to deal with the "farcical false starts" at Cheltenham which affected almost 40% of the races at The Festival this year. A comprehensive review was conducted with jockeys, trainers, officials, broadcasters and bettors...with some of the findings being implemented to Cheltenham specifically, but others to jump racing in general. 

Changing the layout of the Prestbury Park track at the starts for 2m and 2m4 races will aim to reduce congestion and acceleration, whilst introducing a live audio system which will record the instructions given by the Starter to the Jockeys directly into the stewards room.

The review proposes measures to introduce a physical and highly visible start zone in which the starter is allowed to start the race, aiming to reduce the race setting off miles before the tapes.

From the start of the jumps season proper in October, horses will no longer be allowed to approach the tapes from a jig-jog, only a walking pace. 

They also plan to introduce a tiered penalty structure similar to the that of the whip rules... planning to significantly increase the penalties for jockeys breaching the rules at the start before a Class One or Class Two race.

All very interesting thoughts and in theory seem like the new rules should definitely improve the experience for everyone at The Festival and jumps racing in general, but will be interesting to see how the new ideas work in practice. 

Plus 15 and dry this morning. 

Faerie Cutlass ran an absolute cracker at Uttoxeter yesterday, shame they didn't go a little bit quicker to suit her as it turned into a bit of a sprint but she ran really well and hopefully she'll win one before the end of the summer. A lovely afternoon at Uttoxeter and Mat made it home for the football... result!

Edge of the seat stuff yesterday in the T20 as Somerset completed a heroic comeback against a top Yorkshire side in the Vitality blast quarter final. With 5 and half overs left Somerset were on 82-8 but an inspired Craig Overton helped Somerset chase down the 181 set by Yorkshire to win the match by two wickets with a ball to spare... remarkable!

The pubs and sports bars started to get busy from lunchtime yesterday, some very sore heads across the country this morning I imagine! What a game of football... a real fight from England in the first half,  Anthony Gordon taking us 1-0 up ....until the 85th minute when Argentina equalised, followed by them scoring the winner in the 92nd minute.... Some might say England panicked when they were in front, made changes and sat back playing into Argentina's hands. Either way, it was fun whilst it lasted but England's World Cup dreams are over again for another four years. Argentina will face Spain on Sunday night in the final, whilst we battle with France for 3rd. 

Plus 17 and dry when driving in.

Tom and Ciarán in to ride out. 

Gallop maintenance was completed yesterday by Andrews Bowen and so we are now good to go for another season.

Alan James up third lot this morning to see his horses. 

Huge game last night in the first semi-final where Spain upset favourites France beating them 2-0, reaching their first World Cup final since 2010. 

One runner today , Faerie Cutlass heads to Uttoxeter in the 16:48.... let's all hope there's no traffic so Mat can get home in time for the football otherwise we'll all know about it on Wednesday!  For our thoughts click here.