Bailey's Blog

Minus 4 and dry when driving in.

Where do I start..

Wine tasting last night with HHandC where we met up with John Perriss and Diana Henderson. Bumped into John Boulter who was also tasting..

The Old Butchers for supper on the way home.. thanks Craig and Beverely Granger..

Bed.. Alarm off at 2.20 watched the first over of the first test and oh no wicket down in first over.. Crawley..and then the game just kept me awake as it was full on with disasters! I fell back asleep when Brook was out for 52..

Not a great example of English cricket in front of a record crowd…. England all out for 172.. But there is hope..our bowlers firing it down.. Archer took a wicket with his 3rd ball..Listen here.. You must as it has certainly changing..speed..

Another bitterly cold day yesterday, and I have to say that looking around the farm there’s still plenty of white stuff tucked underneath the tree line and clinging to the banks. I sincerely hope it’s not sitting there waiting for its friends to arrive. We really don’t like snow hanging around. Still, that’s what the weather throws at us at this time of year, and there’s not a great deal we can do about it. We shall see.  Warmer tomorrow?

We move on to today, where Mat heads to Chepstow (his favourite racecourse) to saddle our one runner: High Tea.  There is a 9am inspection..PASSED For our thoughts on their chances please click here.

To have some idea what it’s like facing a fast bowler, stand in the outside lane of the motorway, get your mate to drive his car at you at 94mph and wait until he's twelve yards away, before you decide which way to jump.. Geoffrey Boycott..

Minus 4 and dry when driving in.

A Winner..

I have to admit, yesterday was a really bizarre day. We had quite a bit of snow here, it was sodding cold, and then, just as quickly as it arrived it all disappeared. 

The drive to Warwick  was uneventful and it was remarkable to see that the racecourse, which was under water four days ago was  producing such decent ground yesterday..extraordinary..

Our first runner was a winner.. Sogna In Grande..

A lovely horse that Aidan Murphy and I bought at the Cheltenham Sales in May after he’d won a three-runner English point-to-point.

Stunning as he is, but to be honest for a while I wondered if we’d made a mistake as I really could not believe the form.. But he has always such a gorgeous horse, a fantastic looker who has since worked nicely at home. Even so, I was slightly surprised he went and won yesterday..but absolutely thrilled for John and Laura Garrett, who believed in him enough to buy him.

SIG is a horse with a very big future. Whatever he does over hurdles is a bonus; he’s built to make a smashing chaser in time.

We then moved on to Thuthelookinglass, who jumped for fun on his first start over fences and ran a very reasonable, pleasing race to finish third. He’ll be happier over further, but where we find that next suitable trip is the question. Still, it was a great start, and I’m delighted with him.

Sadly, his owner breeders Keith and Liz Ellis were unable to be there to see him run.. Racing TV was the substitute..And I was joined by some old mates in the paddock to represent..

All in all, a good day’s racing at Warwick. It was cold, bitterly so at times, but, as always, they went out of their way to make sure everyone had an enjoyable day.

Really sad news this week with the death of Simon Langdale, a master at my school and the man who taught me a great deal on how to play cricket. He was 88. We all knew Simon at school as Smoothie..After Radley Simon went on to be headmaster at Eastbourne and Shrewsbury Colleges.. Simon was the most charming, fair and generous man you could hope to meet.

I hadn’t seen him for a while, but he was always a huge supporter of mine. He loved going to Towcester races whenever I had a runner, and he never failed to wish me the very best and latterly was a great supporter of Archie and his cricketing career.

Simon was one of those rare people in life you truly appreciated having known. A great man who will be hugely missed.

Thoughts to his widow Diana, their daughter Philippa and sons Andrew and Mark. 

And then there’s Geoff Lane, who also died late in the summer.

Geoff  was one of the finest wind surgeons and vets in the country, an outstanding professional, but more than that, someone whose company I genuinely enjoyed. He did so much work for us over the years, and I always held him in the highest regard.

Life really is too short. Two very good men gone..

Talking too short.. I could be short tempered after an early start tomorrow morning.. up early watching the first Ashes Test tomorrow morning,.. I hope England start well..!!

Thanks to Neil Duggan for the photos from Warwick

Plus 2 and raining/sleeting when driving in. History repeating itself weather wise?  4mm of water so far. Snowing now at 7.30!

I can’t quite believe what an easy journey to and from Lingfield I had yesterday. M25 behaving for once..

Good old leafy Lingfield.. it’s always been a lucky course for us, and Gatineau Park kindly added himself to the long list of winners we’ve enjoyed there over the years.

It was a fantastic performance. There might have been six runners but in truth it was a three-horse race: three of them jumping the last upsides, all in with a shout, and ours simply stuck it out best to win by ¾-length victory.

Gatineau Park is the most gorgeous, gorgeous grey horse.. Don’t we all just love a grey?  I’m absolutely thrilled for him and for his owners, even if, sadly, none of them were able to be there yesterday to support him..

Tom Bellamy gave GP a very, very good ride. 

GP is a horse Aidan Murphy and I bought at the January Tatersalls Cheltenham Sales with a view to running in a bumper in the spring, but with ground conditions as they were, that never materialised.

GP improved dramatically from his debut at Ffos Las,  and that was a very good run in its own right,  but yesterday he really showed what he’s capable of… He toughed it out..

The three who finished in a heap look to have bright futures, ours included. All in all, a very good day at the office.

Huge thank you to GP's owners the Park Life Syndicate who are..Anthony and Lynn Archer, Andrew Cox, Hannah Craven, Mark Edney, Alan James, Mark and Melinda Laws, John and Pat Lee, David Shuttle, Chris Trigg and Peter and Fiona Woodhall... Yes, another successful Peter Kerr run/managed KBRS..

Alwena who looks after Gatineau Park rides him out most days and has really done an extraordinary job on him teaching him to settle.. GP has always been exuberance at home, but she has ridden him at the back of the string and relaxed him  and as a result he is far more settled.. not only that but she won best turned out again with her boy yesterday.. 

I watched the last 20 minutes of the Scotland game last night.. Extroadinary..

Wednesday morning brings in Ciaran Gethings to ride out... Tom is on his way to Hexham where there is a 8am inspection for snow!

Hexham is now off and Tom re routes to ride at Warwick..

David Carey was here at 8.15 to see Brendas Asking.

Andrew Hemmings was here with 7 students from the RAU for a tour and a chat from Mat..

We have two runners today at Warwick.. Songa In Grande and Thruthelookinglass head there and for our thoughts please click here.

BBC West Lunch Time News.. Aamilah's interview is 6min 21 seconds in..

To finish.. Happy birthday to Rosie Vestey..

Plus 1 and dry when driving in.

What can anybody say? It was one of those frustrating days. Oh dear, dear, dear.

At Exeter, Reallynthruthfully showed absolutely no life whatsoever and ran a very disappointing race. It happens. He’s not the most robust of horses, and perhaps that long drive to Bangor the other day when we took him out because of the very soft ground just took the edge off him.

Meanwhile, at Leicester, it was equally frustrating to get beaten as an odds-on favourite, and we all know how much we hate odds-on favourites. We might simply have been beaten by a better horse on the day, but in truth Island Bridge ran perfectly well. Plenty of positives there: he’s a nice horse, whatever he does now he’ll only improve, and he’ll make a lovely chaser next season.

The day ended on an even more exasperating note when, yet again, we tried our hand at the sales, the Arqana, Deauville sales in France this time and, yet again, we finished up as under-bidder, but this time to Willie Mullins on lot 379 Mes Chers Freses. Very frustrating.  Huge prices again..

Tuesday brings a new day.

We have our usual vet visit and this week’s movers and shakers in the BHA handicap charts were..Guchen down 1 to 108, I Spy A Diva down2 to 119, Phantom Getaway down 2 to 107, Seatoit up 3 to 111 and White Noise up 10 to 119.

BBC here to film and talk to Aamilah..

Mirella takes her transport exams here at Thorndale.. Mirella is number 2 travelling behind Leigh.

We have a runner at Lingfield.. Gatineau Park heads there and for our thoughts please click here.

Plus 3 and dry when driving in..frozen windscreen .2mm of rain over the weekend.. Colder weather ahead this week...

Well, Cheltenham just about survived its three-day battering. Saturday produced a cracking crowd and some top-class racing, while Friday, as we all know, resembled a sponsored swim rather than a race meeting. Still, the action was worth watching through the sheets of rain, and yesterday kept the quality right up there too.

All told, it’s been a very good three days. Let’s hope, when we look back on it, we remember Cheltenham for what it is at its best: good racing, good crowds, and who cares about the weather!

Molly Sherring our PA performed on her horse Not A Present at Cheltenham on Saturday.. This is her story.. view here

Sporting weekend away from Racing..

Into your boxing..Conor Benn achieved something his father was unable to do by beating a Eubank in a dominate rematch..

England beat the All Blacks in a cracking game at Twickenham on Saturday

South Africa secured their first Test victory in India since 2010 as they triumphed in a low-scoring thriller inside three days in Kolkata.

Ashes Test nerves..Mitchell Johnson says "alarm bells" are ringing for Australia's ageing team after Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out of the first Ashes Test.

Good news on Mark Wood

Tennis.. Jannick Sinner beat his old rival Carlos  Alcaraz the ATP World Tour Final in what a cracking match.

Englands football team has been transformed under their German manager .. Top of the class now..

We have two runners today. Island Bridge heads to Leicester while Reallynthruthfully goes to Exeter and for our thoughts please click here.

A man at a funeral interrupts the priest and says, "Excuse me, do you have the WiFi password?" 

The priest stares at him and says, "Good God man, have some decency. This is your mother's funeral!" 

And the man says, "Is that all lower case?" 

Plus 11 and dry when driving.. What a shocking day yesterday.. 40mm in the last 24 hours

I can safely say that was probably the wettest I’ve ever been on a racecourse, and I only stood outside for one race. 

Standing in the paddock to watch I Spy A Diva run was like standing under a power shower. It was torrential. She ran a perfectly respectable race to finish ninth. At least, I think she finished ninth, by the end she was so caked in mud you couldn’t tell whether she was wearing a sheepskin noseband or a snorkel.

But according to the jockey Isabelle Ryder, she ran an absolute smashing race. She didn’t really enjoy the ground, but she showed all her old enthusiasm, which is brilliant to see.

What can I tell you? It was a shocking day’s racing, and I really felt for Cheltenham Racecourse. What should have been a cracking card was completely spoiled by the weather. How many times have we seen that in this country?

We salvaged the day with a very good  owners and trainers lunch with John and Penny Perriss, Mat, Mrs B, Cornelius Lysaght (already an owner) and Kerry Millership (about to be new owner)..we stayed in the dry for the rest of the afternoon. 

The service in the owners’ and trainers’ yesterday was something else.. just enough to make you laugh, anyway. It was so extraordinary it became entertaining in its own right.

John had bought a couple of bottles of champagne to celebrate White Noise’s Market Rasen win the previous day, and then ordered some red wine to go with our food. A few minutes later, the waitress appeared carrying an ice bucket with a bottle of Moët & Chandon in the ice bucket.

John looked at her and said, “I haven’t ordered that.”

“Oh no,” she replied. “This is your red wine.”  ...You couldn’t make it up.

And then, having poured the first glass, she hovered over us with, “Have you had enough, you lot? Do you want any more? 
The whole thing was absolutely hysterical.  

The whole thing was absolutely hysterical. And to round it all off, when the bill finally arrived, John quite rightly queried it.. half the wine we had consumed was missing which only added to the comedy of the afternoon.

On to the sales..

Frustratingly, we didn’t come away with the horse we wanted.. we were the underbidder on Lot 3, which was the one I had my heart set on. But we did manage to come away with one horse, Lot 25 Double Ten..who will hopefully go to Peter to get sorted. So there was at least a sliver of good news.

It was an unbelievably strong trade. I think people are working on the theory that the upcoming budget is going to be so shocking that they might as well spend their money beforehand.

Anyway, today’s a new day. We’ve no runners this weekend.. RACING AT CHELTENHAM GOES AHEAD.

Good to see Stokes and Pope get runs..this times next week.. the Ashes Series will have started!

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

We jumped.. Moon Rocket, Lully Du Houx, Marsiac, Destroytheevidence, Mr Grey Sky, thrughthelookinglass, High Tea, Court In A Storm, Gatineau Park, Amazing Clen and That''ll Be Oxo.

Tom Bellamy's mother Sue was here for a couple of lots with Charlie Henson.

Robert and Nicola Baillie where her to see their KBRS horses Isle Of Gold and Marsiac

Stuart Ballantyne plus 8 friends called in for a walk up the gallops..

The Jockey Club were here to film Aamilah..

That's it today.. Please lets hope the weather gets back on an even keel.

Have a great weekend and see you on Monday.

PS of the day.. 

Charlie Swan arrived and parked next door to me yesterday morning. He got out of his car, only to realise he’d left his cap/hat behind in Ireland. It was absolutely pouring with rain, and he didn’t much fancy traipsing around getting drenched.

Fortunately for him, I had a spare cap in the boot, so I lent it to him  and off he went, proudly wearing it around the racecourse all day long and well into the evening at the sales.

By the time I left.. in a rather bad temper, having failed to buy the horse I wanted, I failed to reclaim it..Charlie finally handed the cap to Tom Lacey. And as we all know, Tom is not the most reliable man alive (in jest)when it comes to such things. I’ve no doubt he’s already shoved it onto Vinted this morning to flog it, determined to make a bit of money out of me at long last.

Plus 11 and raining when driving in. 15mm overnight... Storm Claudia is due to drop over 35mm today on top of what we have already had!

The joy of racehorse ownership was perfectly summed up by John Perriss yesterday. He was absolutely over the moon with his mare, White Noise, who bolted up at Market Rasen in her first handicap hurdle.

Bought for John by Ed Bailey after she has finished second in her Irish point. White Noise has now had three runs for us: third first time out at Ffos Las, and then two lovely wins.. one at Worcester and now this one.

For John, who didn’t have a winner at all last year, it was a moment to savour. He was beaming from ear to ear, and quite right too.

Cheltenham yesterday.. So many Irish pointers.. and on that note spare a thought for Turlough O Connor Amateur Jockey, trainer who had a shocking fall at the second last at Dromahane Point to Point last Sunday.  Fractured ribs, punctured lung.. Tough life for these chaps..

Too many horses at the Tattersalls Cheltenham sales!.. 50 lots head to the sale ring after the last race tonight..

We will be there all afternoon as we have one runner in the first. I Spy A Diva runs in the first and for our thoughts please click here.

They only had 7mm of rain at Cheltenham overnight and the ground is unchanged from yesterday.. Racing goes ahead..  bring a brolly!

Cricket/Ashes woes.. Stokes takes six wickets but Wood injured! Todays score card with England batting.

Two friends set up a sign writing business, going round putting signs on buildings.

One day they're signing a company called Studdley and Pollock Limited.

The guy up the ladder shouts down to to his mate “I’ve finished the Studdley and I’m going to start the Pollock. pass me a P”.

His mate is rummaging in the van, and says “we haven't got a P. We’ve only got a B left”.

The bloke up the ladder replies “then we’ve made a right mess of the London Brick Company”.

Plus 12 and dry when driving in. A further 6mm fell here yesterday making a total of 32 in the last 48 hours.

Mat arrived at Bangor yesterday, and it didn’t take him long to realise the ground had gone soft enough to take out Reallynthruthfully..

Very disappointing for his owners, who’d made the effort to get there, but in truth, although the horse does go on soft ground, it would have taken him an awfully lot out of him and probably a long time to get over it. So, it simply wasn’t worth it. There’ll be other days for him and he has a long season ahead..

Carrying top weight in very soft conditions was never going to be ideal. He’s not the most robust of horses. Disappointing, yes—but if you’re going to have a disappointing day, there are few places better racecourses than Bangor to have it. They look after you wonderfully well there.

I was a guest of Kevin Clancy and Matt Cannon on a farm walk near Leighton Buzzard..

Thursday morning and we have Oliver Harvey (brother of Luke)here to chat Axe The Racing Tax with me for The Sun..

Mat heads to Market Rasen to saddle White Noise and for our thoughts on her chances please click here.. I am heading to Cheltenham to view the horses that sell after racing tomorrow night.. Tattersalls Cheltenham sales start again.

Tattersalls Ireland NH foal sales in Ireland have been breaking records all this week..

The 2026 Champion Hurdle lost one of its biggest names on Wednesday when State Man, winner of the race two seasons ago and set to retain his crown when falling at the last in March,was ruled out for the season. 

Englands only warm up game before next weeks Ashes..against themselves! Score..

Mat talks Cheltenham and racing tonight at The Horse and Groom this evening..

Plus 11 and raining when driving in.. 26mm of rain overnight.. more?

Tom Bellamy was in this morning to ride out..

Thanks for all the emails and text re Aamilah.. what a following she has.. We are all very proud of her.. the tough part is where it leads.. upwards we all hope.....

Talking tough.. We have one runner at Bangor this afternoon and tough being the operative word for Reallynthruthfully off top weight.. For our thoughts, please click here.

Nail biting? 10 days to the first Ashes Test in Perth.. I was told on Sunday that the Aussies team is very old and if you added David Gower and Ian Botham to our side we would still be younger than` the current Aussie Team? No..wrong?

The average age of Englands squad is 28 while The Australian average age is 33..

We have all had one of these moments?

Speaking at a conference, I remarked how nice it was to have a large audience, because the last time I spoke was at a breakfast racing conference. As I looked out at the audience of one, I waited for more people to show up. After 10 minutes, there was still only one person.

I suggested since no one else was coming, we skip the presentations and just have coffee.

That one person responded, "Actually, I would like to hear your presentation."

So I gave my lecture over the next 45 minutes. When I finished, he began clapping long and hard, so much so it was almost embarrassing.

I gathered my slides and was preparing to leave when he said, "You can't leave now."

When I asked why, he responded, "Because I'm the next speaker."

Plus 9 and drizzling when driving in. 4mm of rain here yesterday

It was wet at Kempton and certainly very, very wet driving there..

The rain at Kempton was not something Aamilah would have noticed for a second as she was far too busy concentrating on her first ever ride, and what a lovely job she did.

Riding Guchen for the Friends of Ebony Horse Club, she gave their horse a really good ride. Guchen jumped well, travelled nicely, and finished fifth.. a very pleasing run all round.

Everyone was full of praise for Aamilah, and quite right too. It was a big day for her, and she took it all in her stride, enjoying every minute. 

A huge thank you to the Friends of Ebony Horse Club for giving her the opportunity, and of course there’s a nice link there too with St. James’s City Farm and Riding School Gloucester, and Riding Dream Academy who have all been involved in supporting her.

All in all, it was a wonderful first experience for her, and she did herself proud. A very good day, even if it was a rather welcome soggy one!

Tuesday morning.

Ciaran Gethings and Tom Bellamy were around to ride out.

We have our usual vet visit and this weeks movers and shakers in the BHA handicap charts were..Amazing Cleni down 3 to 86, Faerie Cutlass down 2 to 87, Gerard Mentor down 1 to 82, The Kemble Brewery down 2 to 127, Parc d'Amour down 3 to 116 and Driving Miss D'Azy enters at 88.

Thanks for all the emails regarding Jeremy Deedes's comments as posted yesterday..

Most agree with him..And all agree about the adverts and most commented that both channels have excellent web sites offering loads of interesting racing related matter and help maintain interest in the sport. And all agree that Racing as a whole is incredibly lucky to have so much coverage from ITV..

An intertesting story for Rememberance Day from Ian Reid

Many years ago a young soldier and I was in military hospital.

The Queen came round on a visit. She talked to nearly every one, including me.

She said ‘’What’s the matter with you, young man?’’

To which I replied ‘’Boil on me bollocks, Your Majesty.’’

‘’Quite’’ she said walking away.

I’m sure you can imagine what happened to me afterwards. The RSM (Regimental Sergeant Major aka ‘God’) shouted at me until I thought my eardrums would burst, and I was finally marched in front of the CO (Commanding Officer) who told me in no uncertain terms that one didn’t speak like that to a lady - least of all the Queen and that I must learn to be more diplomatic.

There was a clerical mix up at Buckingham Palace. No Royalty should have visited that hospital for at least three years, but due to some stupid civil servant getting things wrong the following week Princess Anne came round!

Once again I was spoken to, this time by HRH

‘’Whats the matter with you, soldier.’’ asked Princess Anne

Remembering the trouble I’d got into last time I replied ‘’Boil on me neck, Your Highness’’

‘’Splendid.’’ said Princess Anne ‘’The boil on your bollocks cleared up then?’’