Bailey's Blog

0 degrees and dry when driving in. Frost on my windscren and 3mm of rain yesterday.

Constitution Hill packed in the crowds at Kempton last night.. He is so good for racing and although not as impressive as last time he still was very good when winning under Ryan Moore.. The jockeys post race interviews almost shows the difference between the two sides of racing.. Flat/Fumps

Listening to Ryan Moore after winning on CH and it’s all very neat: “Travelled well… picked up… did it nicely.”

Then you recall Nico de Boinville saying after riding Constitution Hill, and it’s pure enthusiasm. You can almost feel the buzz through the screen. 'You won't believe what he felt like underneath me'

Yesterday here was slightly more lively with a visit from Frankie Foster. He was here to interview Mat and I, but also arrived armed with a selection of ties he’s currently selling. There’s now talk of a Kim Bailey/Mat Nicholls Racing tie… which could be dangerous.. suggestions on colours and perhaps logo?

Thursday is our easy day, as regular readers will know. The horses get a quieter time of it, wandering round the farm and generally enjoying themselves, which is no bad thing at this stage of the season.

Karen Masters, Mary Rolfe and Vanessa Dawkins called in to see their KBRS youngster by Pether’s Moon out of Gales Present gelding.. who is currently with Martin Jones.

After this horrific tale I felt it only appropriate to pass on a few of..

Bob Monkhouse Stand Up Jokes

"They laughed when I said I was going to be a comedian ... They're not laughing now."

"Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional."

"The last time I was in Spain I got through six Jeffrey Archer novels. I must remember to take enough toilet paper next time."

"Personally, I don't think there's intelligent life on other planets. Why should other planets be any different from this one?"

"I can still enjoy sex at 74 - I live at 75, so it's no distance."

"People always say: 'You're a comedian, tell us a joke.' They don't say: 'You're an MP, tell us a lie.'

"What's a geriatric? A German footballer scoring three goals." 

Plus 4 and drizzling when driving in. 5mm of rain overnight

Hillberry Hill won at Southwell..

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.. Southwell is one of those smaller tracks that really does things properly. They look after you, and it’s always a good day’s racing.

It wasn’t quite Constitution Hill levels of chaos yesterday, but you wouldn’t have known it from the car park or the owners’ and trainers’.. both absolutely rammed.

Thankfully, we had a winner to make the trip worthwhile. Hillberry Hill made a very impressive debut for us in the novice hurdle, in truth, he never came off the bridle. He’d had a couple of runs in Ireland winning one and was bought through the Thoroughbid online sale by John Perriss and Ed Bailey.. Thoroughbid were understandably delighted and their representative Cornelius Lysaght was on hand to video winning owner and trainer..

The rest didn’t go quite to script. Sea Of Fortune parted company with Ciaran Gethings at the first, which was tough on Deborah Sellars, who’d come all the way from Mobberley in Cheshire  These things happen apparently. I’m not blaming Ciaran.......

Tom wasn’t overly happy that the ground would suit Kylenoe Dancer so we stuck to the golden rule of 'when in doubt, pull out'.

Not ideal for Ed Hawkings and Mark Harris after a long journey, but better that than wishing we hadn’t.

That’s racing..brilliant one minute, infuriating the next.

Wednesday morning.

Tom Bellamy and Ciaran Gethings were in to ride out.

We jumped Sea Of Fortune, Destroythevidence, Driving Miss D'Azy and Guchen

Alan James as here second lot to see his KBRS horses.

We have no runners today..Annoyingly one or two horses have had dirty scopes so we are being very careful of what we run.

All eyes will be on Kempton tonight.. Constitution Hill runs again on the flat at 7.30..

Nicky Henderson will be hoping for another fine display from CH.. Nicky has not had good news this week with death of Sir Gino

To finish. Happy birthday to 'Bert'.. Bert is suffering with a bone fracture and on box rest..Not ideal as lurchers are not good at resting and being quiet!

Norman Carter sent over a AI joke.

A trainer calls his vet out to look at a horse who hasn’t been running well.

The vet scopes him, trots him up, checks his legs, takes bloods, and after an hour says, “I can’t find anything wrong with him.”

The trainer says, “Neither can the handicapper — he’s still on 145.”

Plus 10 and dry when driving in.

It would be a great shame to lose Kempton. We had a fun day there yesterday. It was not especially busy, admittedly, but both sets of owners were there, and we had a really enjoyable afternoon.

Marion Hudson who owns Wild Goose and Phil Andrews and his wife Gill were there, along with Phil’s parents Ken and Mavis to watch Step Ahead.. Stuart Ballantyne was there to support  

We were very pleased with Step Ahead who finished 3rd..I think the winner is probably quite useful, but it was just good to see him put up a solid performance again after what was a disappointing run last time. He is a big, likeable horse and, in truth, it is all about next season for him. Chasing is very much the plan and that is exciting. We may well find another novice hurdle for him before the end of this season, but the future for him lies over fences.

Marion Hudson’s horse Wild Goose ran another very good race to finish second, which is always frustrating, but frankly he is paying the price a little for winning too well at Ludlow earlier in the season, and the handicapper has certainly got hold of him. That said, Aamilah did absolutely nothing wrong on him.

Tuesday morning brings in our usual vet visit and this weeks movers and shakers in the BHA handicap charts were..Name Me Nicely up 3 to 116 and Washington Parks enters at 104, although he was 100 in Ireland.

Our PA Molly is moving house so we are rudderless for a few days!! What do they say.. Death, divorce or moving house .. one is worse than the other.... 

We have three runners in two races at Southwell.. Hillberry Hill, Sea Of Fortune and Kylenoe Dancer and for our thoughts please click here.

I enjoy podcasts when driving to the races.. this one was certainly interesting..  Iran...The latest

You spend weeks packing things you didn’t even know you owned, carefully labelling every box…“Kitchen.” “Bedroom.”“Important.”

Then you arrive at your new home and realise every single one of them should have been labelled…“Why on earth did I keep this?”

Plus 3 and dry when driving in.

Exeter yesterday didn’t quite go to plan might be the understatement of the week.

Mat set off in the company Tesla full of hope, only for it to develop a puncture three-quarters of the way there.

So instead of arriving at the races, he found himself parked up on the side of the road contemplating life, waiting to be rescued and was eventually low loaded and deposited at a tyre centre somewhere beyond Exeter. Not quite the glamorous build-up he had in mind.

The irony being that while he watched Court In A Storm on his phone, south of the racecourse

Thankfully, Peter drove John and Laura Garrett down, so they at least had a proper day out without relying on either of us.

Their horse, on the other hand, did them proud. Court In The Storm ran an absolute blinder to finish fourth on his first run back. He’ll improve plenty for it and looks every inch a chaser.. That will be his game, and there’s plenty to look forward.

Watching it all on television did highlight one thing..the ground has dried up, and the speed of the races has lifted enormously. After a winter of slogging through mud, they suddenly look like proper racehorses again.

Sad news. Miriam Francome died on Saturday at 72..I remember her well from my Lambourn days.. Miriam was such kind person, hugely attractive and always great company. She’ll be much missed.

And Monty Court has died at 97..what an innings. A hugely influential figure in the early days of the Racing Post.

Three Golds in 28 minutes..World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Monday and we have two runners at Kempton.. Step Ahead and Wild Goose.. For our thoughts on their chances please click here.

David Carey has come to the rescue on the joke side..

A Consultant Doctor and a Barrister meet at a bar in a well known London members club.

Doctor: Is it true that barrister’s charge £3,000 to answer just 3 questions?

Barrister: Yes.

Doctor: That’s rather a lot of money for just 3 questions isn’t it?

Barrister: Yes, I suppose it is. Anyway what’s your third question?

Happy birthday to my old Essex mate Oliver (Olly) Sherwood..

To finish.. Please please watch this..it will brighten up your day.

0 degrees and dry when driving in. Frost overnight again.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at Newbury yesterday. The sun was out, there was a proper crowd in, and the racing was good

My ever-cheerful band of our KBRS 'Nicely Does It' Syndicate had a great time, and were well looked after by Newbury, and then their horse Name Me Nicely ran a cracker to finish second!

They were rightly thrilled, but I, on the other hand, remain completely allergic to second place. Tom wasn’t exactly over the moon either, which usually means we were close enough to win, but the bigger picture is that this horse is improving all the time and turning into a very nice prospect. In fairness, it was a cracking run

The slight irritation is the handicapper. As I said to Matt Chapman when interviewed on ATR.. unseating upsides at the last at Doncaster 3 runs ago was a costly business. You get treated as if you might have won, get lumbered with a rating to match, and suddenly life becomes that bit harder.

Yesterday, when NMN came there to win, he just found things happening a fraction too quickly under that burden.

That said, there’s a lot to like. NMN looks every inch a chaser for next season and I’ve no doubt he’ll be a smashing horse over fences.

Saturday morning

Tom Bellamy was in to ride out.. Ciaran Gethings was up at Kelso.

Derek Attride, Emma Pillow, Ashley and Louisa Smallbone, Stephen and Rosamund Robinson were here for a stable tour..ie..a morning on the gallops and breakfast

Jonathan Herbert was here to see his KBRS horse Pethers Angel  

Derek Eaton was here to see his KBRS horses Marsiac and Campaign Trail.

John and Meryl King were here too.

We have no runners today but we do have one tomorrow at Exeter.. Court In A Storm heads there and for our thoughts on his chances please click here.

No pressure tomorrow.. It is John Garrett's birthday.. he and Laura will be at Exeter to watch their horse CIAS.. 

Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.. And if any of you come across any good jokes please send them over.. I am getting complaints about the lack of them on here!

Plus 2 and dry when driving in. Another frost overnight.

Rosie Vestey and Hazel West were with us second lot.

John ad Laura Garrett were here third lot to see their horses.

We had our usual Friday vet visit which meant scoping the next batch of runners.

Mat is a happy man this morning after Nottingham Forest had a good night..

Enjoy this read.. I hope.. Bailey Nicholls make the Racing Post.

This chap enjoyed his day out at Cheltenham last week..He can still throw a dart!

We have one runner today at Newbury. Name Me Nicely heads there and for our thoughts please click here.

I have been waiting for it and finally it has arrived.. another CV..

Dear Ms Bailey,

Firstly, may I congratulate you on your recent success at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Do you write children's books, or is it mainly fairytales ?

I understand that you are looking for a tractor driver. I am experienced in this field, but better at going uphill than downhill. If I am successful with my application, please can I only do the uphill bits ?

I do have my own spanner which will be useful if anything goes wrong.

On your grammatically superb website, I notice that you have lots of horses. I would like to ride them, especially downhill when I won't be in the tractor.

I like breakfast and I'm very good at lunch. Please send menus.

I will not need accommodation. I have a lovely tent. It will look good on that sandy bit where the horses go.

I look forward to meeting you and your husband.

Kind regards

Humphrey Snagtooth-Crabtree. 

Plus 1 and dry when driving in.. Frost overnight

Yesterday felt like spring had finally decided to properly show up. Twenty degrees in the afternoon, not a cloud in the sky, and that rare, golden warmth that makes everything look just that little bit better. The yard seemed brighter, the horses glistened, and the staff were cheerful.

We thought we’d make the most of it and get a smart photograph of White Noise in our yard sponsor’s colours..Dodson & Horrell, but, as ever, horses have a habit of rewriting the script. You wouldn’t believe it, she was so fresh she simply refused to stand still. Every time we thought we had her, she had other ideas. In the end, we admitted defeat and called it a bad job. One for another day.

White Noise is back cantering now, and showing no ill effects from last week’s wonderful race at Cheltenham, she’s clearly feeling very pleased with herself. 

I am please to see the BHA have found no evidence to support the allegation that Nico de Boinville made a racist comment towards Declan Queally before the start of the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at last week’s Cheltenham Festival… The whole saga was blown out of proportions but as Mat rightly mentioned, the BHA had look and listen .. its called jumping through hoops.

We enjoyed our head girl Charly's boyfriend/partner's joke job application yesterday.. As I mentioned I usually have one similar from TNDGB .. He last applied for the PA vacancy over a year ago.. Thankfully Molly took on the position!

To finish.. Happy birthday to Simon Sherwood.. Rider of Desert Orchid, and now clerk of the course and Director of Ludlow Racecourse

Plus 2 and dry when driving in…stunning morning..

It could be the warmest day of 2026?

Tom Bellamy and Ciaran Gethings were in to ride out.

Carol Bailey and Sue Hughes were here to see their KBRS horse Pethers Moon.

35 members of the CTCRC were here for a morning and yard visit.. Mat talked to them last year so hence the visit.

We are currently looking for a new member of staff and a tractor driver..

We have a few people apply for the position and this is one that was sent to Molly....and it was not from TNDGB! for a change!

Hi mully, I would like the job please.

Previous experience

I rode a donkey when I was 8 at western super and the lady said I was a natural! I also really enjoyed watching Cheltenham feastival this week and thought It doesn’t look to difficult. Obviously I would need training over the hedges but Iv been told I’m a fast learner so would look to pick that up pretty quickly. 

I feel my real benefit would be more yard work and the gallop. My grandfather let me drive his ride on lawn mower on multiply occasions (yet to have the blades going) but Iv used the push mower so would think it’s pretty similar! I can also do very good sweeping. My girlfriend says I’m messy but I disagree. 

In all I’m a out going lad that loves to have fun and work hard, Iv been starting super early around 8 o’clock at my job now and never been late even though it does make me tired.  

Look forward to hearing back from you. many regards Kevin Thompson. BSc hons (Hartpury small animal care) 

Plus 9 and dry when driving in.

Tuesday morning brings our usual vet visit, along with the latest movers and shakers in the BHA handicap charts who were.. Jukebox King down 1 to 109, Lully Du Houx down 1 to 102, Marsiac down 1 to 127, Moon Rocket down 2 to 138, So You Know up 4 to 115, White Noise up 10 to 138 while Leo Wood enters at 113 and Home Made Hero enters 120

Third lot, Vince Birmingham called in with Lindsay and Jane to see his KBRS horses before heading off to Martin Jones’s to see his new horse, My Dad Don. 

Then late morning Peter Thomas and Edward Whitaker from the Racing Post were here. Edward will be taking photographs of Mat and I while Peter is putting together a piece on the yard.. All good PR..

This story amused me..Why training racehorses in the UK is so different from the USA

Gary Stevens was a brilliant American jockey who was riding out in Newmarket one day for Henry Cecil..

Cecil : "Ok Gary, I want you to jump off and go a nice breeze."

Stevens : "Ok, but how fast do you want me to go ? "

Cecil : "Like I said, go a nice breeze."

Stevens: "You don’t use timing ?"

Cecil: "No."

Stevens : "Well, how do you know if you have a good one (horse) ?"

Cecil: "Well , we jump three off together (Henry then points to the top of Warren Hill) and the first one to the top of that is best."

To finish.. Happy birthday to Patrick Bailey.. no relation!

Plus 4 and dry when driving in. 6mm of rain yesterday.

You have a Cheltenham winner and fancied runners to follow, and yet here we are on Monday morning staring at a rather desolate, winner-less few days!

Putting Doncaster to one side, we went to Kempton on Saturday with plenty of hope. Sadly it didn’t quite work out. Marsiac ran disappointingly and, as it turns out, he had a dirty scope afterwards, which explains plenty.

Home Made Hero was third but jumped a bit left-handed and didn’t appear to enjoy the ground much either, it was probably a shade quick for him. That said, considering he had a pretty nasty fall last time at Leicester, it was simply good to see him back on the track running a perfectly respectable race.

And as for Island Bridge at Chepstow yesterday… well, he ran to his mark to finish third, but never looked happy.. was it the ground? A weekend of excuses!

Mat thoroughly enjoyed his morning with Nick Luck on Sunday yesterday and, I have to say, he came across very well indeed.

What amused us slightly was that Nick, who I thought knew Mat quite well, suggested that he’d started life as a conditional jockey.

Now anyone who knows Mat will appreciate how entertaining that idea was. Mat is many things, but a man desperate to get on a horse is not one of them. In fact, he hates riding...Mind you, he’s very good at telling everyone else how they should ride, just not terribly keen on doing it himself!

All joking aside, it was a really good experience for him and good for the yard to have one of our own represented on the programme celebrating a big win. And of course publicity.. 

The Six Nations.. France beat England and frankly it was one of the most exciting games I have ever watched..Wales beat Italy

and Ireland beat Scotland.

Teenager Kimi Antonelli took his first Formula 1 victory as he led team-mate George Russell home in a Mercedes one-two at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Mat is back in London this morning .. National Trainers AGM..