Baileys Blog

Plus 6 and sunny when driving in. Not a cloud in the sky.

Yesterday it was very different.

Lunch with Mark and Marion Hudson, Charles Dale and Eloise Rix at Royal Ascot was certainly a good invitation as we lunched in Bucks tent and frankly never moved.

Every time we thought about branching out the weather stopped us.. It poured with rain, but the comfort of a warm dry tent was a good call.. It is not often that I watch every race at a race meeting while having lunch….

Leigh Pollard, my travelling head girl, had the pleasure of driving Charles Dale and I to the races.. Charles stayed after I left.. Clare informed me, when I made it home, that if she had put a match to my breath we would not have needed a BBQ firelighter..?

It was though great racing and today it all starts again.

Gold Cup Day and can superstar Stradivarius join the all-time greats in stellar Gold Cup..

There will be huge crowds and Clare and I head there again..

Today we are will be with Kevin and Dermot Clancy and their family in their box high in the grandstand.. there will be much talk of the coming jumps season about their progressive Two For Gold going chasing and the sort of races he will be running in…

The answer to yesterdays question..If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are in second place!

Todays question.. If you overtake the last person, then you are...?

Plus 13 and damp when driving in.

It was certainly damp at Royal Ascot yesterday. In fact it rained hard for most of the afternoon. Sad as it rather ruined a special days racing for many folk.

We had a most enjoyable lunch with Johnny Weatherby and Francis Brooke; in fact very spoiling.

Fellow guests included owners Dominic and Valda Burke (Inca Rose), past owners Christopher and Lavinia Rathcreedan, trainers Ed Dunlop, Sir Mark Prescott and Australia training legend Gai Waterhouse. It was good to chat to Gai as my son Harry worked for her a couple of years ago.

David and Julie Martin were hosting their chalet on the winning line. A great place to watch the racing and handy to have a roof over your head when it was raining.

David and Julie’s Rhosneiger arrived here while we were at Ascot.

Rhosneiger, who was formerly with Charlie Hills on the flat, has been in pre training and jumping with Simon Lawrance after having a back operation.

Aiden and Anabel Murphy's car boot after racing was becoming empty.. Helped by Russell and Leslie Fields...Owner and breeer of Bandon Roc here.

Peter Kerr kindly drove home .. late..

David Bass was in this morning.

Younevercall’s run on Saturday at RA is very much in the balance as he has been unkindly allotted the number one ballot mark.

Far from helpful as it means YNC will be the first horse to be balloted out.. there are 28 entries and only 20 can run…. 10am tomorrow we will know.

I am back at RA today and meeting up for lunch with Mark and Marion Hudson, who are involved in Bandon Roc, Espoir de Romay and YNC;  they too need to know what is happening as Saturday needs planning.

Not sure this is a good question after a long day at RA..

If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?

Plus 11 and dry when driving in.

28 entries in Saturdays Queen Alexandra Stakes which include Younevercall..

Only 20 can run and now we wait to see how the ballot falls  to see if we get in now, or have to wait until Thursdays declarations..6 of those entered on Saturday run today....James Doyle has been booked to ride.. YNC is currently priced at 14/1.

With no runners last week there will be no movers or shakers in the weekly BHA handicap charts.

The first day of Royal Ascot. Tuesday is always recognised as the best days racing of the 5 day meeting.

We will be there today as guests of Johnny Weatherby and Francis Brooke. Francis owns El Presente here.

We will be seeing David and Julie Martin and an after races 'picnic' with Aiden Murphy. A long day in store.. Peter Kerr helping!

Plus 12 and dry when driving in.

Lets talk about the weather. We had loads of rain again over the weekend.. Yesterday it was torrential at times.. Thoughts of a BBQ very much off..But I still had a wonderful fathers day with my daughter.

The rain meant that I was able to watch the India v Pakistan game at Old Trafford. 800,000 applications for 32000 tickets and over a billion watching. India hugely dominate and a great mornings cricket to watch.

Saturday York races featured their annual Macmillan charity race and although Lauren Stanley (who rode out here for a few days ) failed to win, the race itself raised over £640,000.00.. a record..

Monday morning and the start of a new week.. Lissycasey is the first of my horses to return to training.

Royal Ascot starts tomorrow and we hope the have a runner there on Saturday. Younevercall has an entry and we are going tomorrow.. the bad news is that rain is forecasted tomorrow..  up to 50mm! That was according to Countryfile weather last night..

Mark and Marion Hudson called in to see their KBRP horses Bandon Roc, Younevercall and Espoir de Romay.

A man met a beautiful blonde lady and decided he wanted to marry her right away.

She said, 'But we don't know anything about each other.'

He said, 'That's all right, we'll learn about each other as we go along.'

So she consented, they were married, and off they went on a honeymoon at a very nice resort.

One morning they were lying by the pool, when he got up off of his towel, climbed up to the 10 metre board and did a two and a half tuck, followed by three rotations in the pike position, at which point he straightened out and cut the water like a knife.

After a few more demonstrations, he came back and lay down on the towel.

She said, 'That was incredible!'

He said, 'I used to be an Olympic diving champion. You see, I told you we'd learn more about each other as we went along.'

So she got up, jumped in the pool and started doing lengths. After seventy-five lengths she climbed out of the pool, lay down on her towel and was hardly out of breath.

He said, 'That was incredible! Were you an Olympic endurance swimmer?'

'No,' she said, 'I was a prostitute in Liverpool but I worked both sides of the Mersey'

Plus 10 and dry when driving in. A first for this week.

David Bass was in for one lot this morning. With todays meeting at Worcester washed away Disco Dave needs to keep his fitness levels up, so rather than lie in bed he was here for one lot!

Joking of course because David really does work hard. We jumped Mergeela and Thibault.

What a week it has been and I just hope we have had the rain needed to keep us away from a hosepipe ban later in the summer.

Archie was meant to have been playing cricket for his county tomorrow, but his pitch was under water yesterday. Cancelled.

It felt odd watching England thrash the West Indies yesterday. Not because they were so much better, but because the sun looked like it was shining down there in Southampton while we had biblical rain here.

Vodafone is certainly not top of the customer care lists.

Yesterday they threw a shocker at me.. My monthly bill arrived and it had doubled..

I rang to check why and after spending the best part of 30 minutes waiting to speak to a customer advisor I was finally was able to talk to somebody whose time zone was certainly not the same as ours and was difficult to understand.

The long and short of my conversation was that Vodafone apologised for the mistake and my bill was wrong..Apparently their system of billing has changed this month so my complaint was a common one..

Now I know only too well that if I had not spent that hour on the phone my bill would have been paid and Vodafone would have happily said nothing… I would suggest you too have a close look at your latest bill, if you happen to be on the dreaded Vodafone network.

We have no runners this weekend and being Fathers Day tomorrow my daughter Pandora and her husband James are coming over for lunch..

My recent 4 purchases from the Goffs Landrover Sales arrived early yesterday morning wioth Martin Jones.. Martin will now start breaking them in ..

A friend went to Beijing recently and was given this brochure by the hotel. It is precious.
She is keeping it and reading it whenever she feels depressed.
Obviously, it has been translated directly, word for word from Mandarin to English.

Getting There:
Our representative will make you wait at the airport. The bus to the hotel runs along the lake shore. Soon you will feel pleasure in passing water. You will know that you are getting near the hotel, because you will go round the bend. The manager will await you in the entrance hall. He always tries to have intercourse with all new guests.
 
The Hotel:
This is a family hotel, so children are very welcome. We of course are always pleased to accept adultery. Highly skilled nurses are available in the evenings to put down your children.  Guests are invited to conjugate in the bar and expose themselves to others.   But please note that ladies are not allowed to have babies in the bar. We organize social games, so no guest is ever left alone to play with them self.
 
The Restaurant:
Our menus have been carefully chosen to be ordinary and unexciting. At dinner, our quartet will circulate from table to table, and fiddle with you.
 
Your Room:
Every room has excellent facilities for your private parts. In winter, every room is on heat. Each room has a balcony offering views of outstanding obscenity ! ....  You will not be disturbed by traffic noise, since the road between the hotel and the lake is used only by pederasts.
 
Bed:
Your bed has been made in accordance with local tradition. If you have any other ideas please ring for the chambermaid.   Please take advantage of her. She will be very pleased to squash your shirts, blouses and underwear. If asked, she will also squeeze your trousers.
 
Above All:
When you leave us at the end of your holiday, you will have no hope. You will struggle to forget it.

Have a good weekend and see you on Monday.

Plus 11 and raining when driving in.

June and it feels like October.

It is hardly light when getting up at the moment and it feels like I should be putting a thick ‘woolly’ on to drive in.

Gordon Fairbain was moving his sheep early this morning. I am not into sheep but there is always good reason why Gordon moves his flock about, but this morning I thought it was to keep them warm..

The clippers or shears have been out and you can see the old girls shivering in the cold now that they have lost their woolly coats.. They too look miserable..

When talking to Gordon he too was complaining about the cold and admitted that he has lost a few of his flock to the hypothermia..

We were slightly luckier last night to miss rain, well at least for a hour or so .

Barry and Pippa Green held a drinks party for friends and family before their daughter Alice's big wedding on Saturday.

Marquees are helpful things when cold and wet and last night we packed into one to keep warm.

Good to see so many local faces..including.. John Kottler (Sea Story), Michael and Mary Dulverton (Newtide, Happygolucky and Talk Of Fame) Robert and Jackie Chugg ( I recently bought a Schiaparelli gelding off them), Robert and Gilly Baines (Docklands Express), David and Julia Harland (also Docklands Express), Robert and Angela Cookson (Parents of jockey Ed and In laws to Nico de Boinville and past owners of The Rainbow Hunter), Rosie F-D (Another Venture)..

Lee Oliver is calling in late morning to see his KBRP horses Mergeela and Masteen.

England hope to play the West Indies today in their World Cup qualifier.. what a miserable series it has been so far.. Ruined by the English weather.

Talking weather...Oh not again I hear you say....

Tomorrows meeting at Worcester has been abandoned.... Newton Abbot today and Uttoxeter yesterday.. Summer jumping?

Golf the US Open ..

Chris Straghalis sent this one over. In honour of the US Open here is one;

Woman comes off the golf course shortly after teeing off.

Pro: Is everything OK?

Woman: No, I got stung by a bee.

Pro: Where did you get stung?

Woman: Between the first and second holes.

Pro: You might want to narrow your stance.

Plus 9 and pouring with rain when driving in.

Rain in biblical terms. Not for over a year have I seen as much water lying around the farm and paddocks.

God I feel sorry for the poor horses on holiday.

We might go to Spain to enjoy the sun and the change, but you don’t expect to be sat out in rain. That is what is happening to my poor horses.

For the first time ever I have put rugs on some of the horses out in the fields, but the lucky ones are those who have sore feet and have had to be be brought back into the yard to have a poultice put on their feet.. they must be very thankful for the need of a blacksmith!

Another first.. we delayed riding out this morning because of the rain..

Tim Richardson is here mid morning to see his KBRP horse Pond Road.

Pond Road like most is out at grass and I just hope Tim has brought his wellies..Tim will be hoping that the old saying of ‘rain before 7 then it should be fine by 11’ is true..

The Goffs Landrover sale finished yesterday. A record sale, which is staggering.

One bloodstock agent described the sale as like watching a buying frenzy .. You might have been the last chance to buy a horse, which it was not.. The Tattersalls Derby Sale starts in two weeks time..

If Uttoxeter goes ahead tonight.. then we have one runner. Masteen runs there and for my thoughts please click here.

There is an 8 am inspection, but if they have had what we have then they have no chance..Racing off after 100mm of rain over the last few days..

Please to see Mikey Hamill rode his first winner in Ireland yesterday. Mikey is based there.. well done Mikey.

A woman's 40th birthday..

A man asked his wife what she'd like for her 40th birthday. "I'd love to be six again," she replied.

On the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and off they went to a local theme park.

What a day! He put her on every ride in the park: the Death Slide, the Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear, everything there was! Wow!

Five hours later she staggered out of the theme park, her head reeling and her stomach upside down. Right to a McDonald's they went, where her husband ordered her a Happy Meal along with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake.

Then, it was off to a movie - the latest Disney and what a fabulous adventure!

Finally, she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed.

He leaned over and lovingly asked, "Well, dear, what was it like being six again?" One eye opened.

She replied, "You idiot, I meant my dress size."

Moral of the story : Even if the man pays full attention to what a woman says, he would still get it wrong.

On that happy note..Happy birthday to my sister Moo..

Plus 8 and raining when driving in.

My there has been a great deal of rain here while I have been in Ireland. 58mm fell on Ascot racecourse and we would not have been that short of the same numbers here by the look of it.

I arrived home late last night to a warm house.. the heating had clicked in… or on!

There was plenty of heat in the bidding for horses yesterday at the annual Goffs Landrover sale. Very very strong trade.

I came away with 4 horses.

Aiden Murphy and I trawled through the catalogue and although we failed on several horses we did buy 4 crackers.. and all at great value.. well we thought so.. we will know in a years time!?

Lot 25 Gerard Mentor and fine athletic son of Policy Maker.

Lot 33 Guerlain Bellevue an imposing son of Diamond Boy.

Lot 70 and stunning filly by Flemensfirth out of a mare who boasts and wonderful racing family and finally..

Lot 148 and cracking son of Yeats.. I bought this horse from the same people as I bought The Edgar Wallace off last year…

Yes we have added more French bred horses to the yard this year.. That’s all my buying done now. Over to Martin Jones to break them in and all are for sale…

Good to see many old mates at the sales including John Kidd who owns and bred Mergeela, Tessa Foreman who owns Espoir de Romay and Simon Keane who owns Cotteemcavennigoal

Contrasts. I could hardly see where I was going for rain driving to Birmingham on Monday and yesterday in Ireland the sun shone and it was a bright lovely day. Home last night to rain..

We were in Lambourn early this morning talking Younevercall for an away day and it was also a chance for him to have some stall practice.. Sunblazer was his mentor for the day..YNC heads to Royal Ascot to run in the last race of the meeting the Queen Alexandra Stakes. I hope it dries up by then!!

Plus 9, wet and blowing an absolute gale this morning!

Luckily for our staff, we do not have a full string of horses to be ridden out so they will not have to endure it for long this morning!

As Kim mentioned yesterday, he is away in Ireland today at the Goffs Landrover Sale, I do hope his plane journey was not too bad, but I am confident that he will get over the rocky journey with a few purchases.

This time next week will be the start of Royal Ascot, I have never been myself as I am not a huge follower of flat racing but, I have heard most of the National Hunt community turn out in force but only seem to make it as far as the car park, where the picnics and parties are.

I have to say how amazed I am at Kim producing read worthy content everyday in the blog. Sat here myself this morning I do struggle to know what to write. It's not as if you avid readers just want to read "The horses are out on their summer holidays", he seems to always find good content to entertain with. 

Yesterday we had a special birthday guest visiting the yard to see their horses. Birthday Girl Sue Stanley, John Stanley along with friends Brian and Lynda Cognet were here and Peter Kerr delivered the cake and candles, I was slightly slow off the mark and did not get the champers on ice, apologies Sue!

We have one mover in the Handicap charts and that's Blazon down 1 to 69 on the flat.

My joke for today.....

3 blonde girls are on an isalnd and they are much to far away from land to swim, they find a genie on the island who offers them each 1 wish the first girl says “I wish I was smart enough to get off this island” so the genie makes her a redheaded girl, she cuts down a tree, makes it into a boat, and proceeds to row off the island.

The next girl says “I wish I was even smarter then her so I don’t have to do so much manual labor” so she turns into a brunett and makes a sail boat and lets the wind take her off the island.

The finale girl says “I wish I was smarter then both of them!” So she turns into a man and takes the bridge

Plus 6 and dry when driving in.

It was dry and sunny at Perth all day yesterday. All around the racecourse it was wet and very wet too.

In fact the drive up was on a par with one of the worst I had all last winter weather-wise and the traffic was not great either. Home last night was good.

Cresswell Legend failed to read the script, sadly. He crashed through the fence going away from the stands and that as they say was ‘his race over’. That racing? Hardly;

CL has always been a good jumper but the race was run at break neck speed and jumping was of the essence and it failed when needed. He was fine after..

The Sam Morshead Perth Gold Cup was still a thriller and went to a photo. A good race to watch and a good race to support.

Sam was well remembered by all and his sons Charlie, Harry and Henry were all on the course and having dished out the best turned out prize (which they felt politically could not go our way) they then handed out the winning trophy.

I was interviewed after the race by Jim Delahunt over the loudspeaker system on a few Sam Morshead memories…

It was a lovely meeting and a good days racing.. The ground was good as they had missed all the rain that was forecasted.. all 25 mm of it!

Perth is a lovely racecourse and very friendly. It was Sam’s baby.. he has left behind a thriving and well supported course.. now they should add to it with a small statue of the great man in his memory..

Monday morning..

John and Sue Stanley (Bandon Roc) along with Brian and Linda Cognet (Bandon Roc, Red River, Commodore Barry and Adjourned) were here to see their horses holidaying and celebrate Sue’s birthday..

I am heading to Ireland later.. The Goffs Landover sale starts tomorrow.

Richard Barber died over the weekend. I last saw him when Mergeela won at Wincanton.. her did not look well then. A good man who will be much missed, especially in the West Country

Gigginstown and Michael O’Leary might be cutting back on their racing commitments but a local trainer was spotted starting up his own airline.. Charlie Longsdon tweeted a great family photo..