The temperature dropped to -14 here on Christmas night which meant that all the 'mains water ' froze up to both yards and endless carrying of water buckets add to the lad's work on Boxing Day.  Apart from a few burst pipes thankfully we started returning to normal this morning and the horses were able to get out and do 2 canters on the wood chip 7 furlong canter.  Although there is a forecast of a thaw during the week it could be proceeded by more snow  tonight, let's hope they are wrong... It's at times like this when a lot of people are on holiday that all stable staff across the country should be applauded for their hard work.

 

A very Happy Christmas to you all, not much news still freezing this morning but we were able to use the wood chip canter again so all the horses have had a good exercise this morning....2 days off and then back to normal on Monday.  We are all waiting for a thaw with a hurdle entry on Wednesday at Newbury and a bumper entry at Cheltenham on Saturday hopefully. 

SOME PHOTO'S TAKEN OF THE HORSES OUT AT EXERCISE ON THE SNOWY WILTSHIRE DOWNS.

 

 

Great to have our first winner for Richard Pegum yesterday, who is a terrific suporter of English racing although he recently returned home to Australia.  I am hoping that Corsican Boy will continue to make progress for him next year, as he is a slow learner and his pedigree is full of stamina.  For example his dam won over 12 furlongs in November 1990 for Luca Cumani and Frankie Dettori and she was by the staying influence Darshaan.  Close relations include Burn The Breeze (Beat Hollow) who won 79k and stayed 13 furlongs, Miracle Seeker (Rainbow Quest) won the Lingfield Oaks Trial and stayed 14 furlongs and Katchit is out of his half sister Miracle and won the Champion Hurdle. Corsican Boy is by Tobougg who was beaten less than 4 lengths by Galileo in the 2001 Derby having come with a long sweeping run down the Epsom straight.

 

Corsican Boy runs in the 4.55 at Kempton today and is our first runner for a month.  It has been tough conditions in most training yards across the country but he has been out on the downs every day and cantering where ever the ground/snow has been suitable.  It has not been easy to do much fast work but I hope that he will be fit enough to go close this afternoon.  He will need to be a 75+ horse to win today and he should have enough scope to continue to improve next year when he moves up in trip.

 

Bitterly cold yesterday morning and with 3'' of fresh snow but we were able to reach the downs and all the horses did 2 canters on the snow without incidence, they seemed to have become used the snow and they're enjoying themselves.  I should have more festive photos available during the week.

The (Irish) Juddmonte yearlings arrived spot on time at 6am on Saturday morning, which was surprising as they had to come through pretty tough conditions from South Wales on the M4.

 

The only news seems to be about the weather and quite boring....small amount of snow overnight and - 5 during first lot but all the horses were able to do 2 steady canters.  Tomorrow looks more dodgy with up to 12 hours of snow predicted and 3 yearlings due to arrive from Ferrans (Juddmonte Ire) at 5am.

 

Messrs Tree, Murless, Sam and Fred Darling might have been surprised and even a touch cross, if they had looked down on Beckhampton this morning to see Keys and his lead horse working around the mile and a half  Derby Gallop in fairly thick fog.  Certainly in my 32 years here The Derby Gallop has only been used  in the Spring,  it stretches and undulates round a beautiful Wiltshire valley and has most of Epsom's contours.  It is nearly sacred ground having aided the training of 10 Derby winners, Galtee More 1897,  Ard Patrick 1902,  Capt. Cuttle 1922,  Manna 1925,  Coronach 1926,  Cameronian 1931,  Bois Roussel 1938,  Pt. L'Eveque 1940,  Owen Tudor 1941 and  Quest For Fame 1990.    

Although we have managed to canter the horses everyday, I was keen to get some more serious work into Keys as I don't like the look of the forecast.  Some cheery soul on the radio thought that it was the 'start ' of the worst winner for 50 years, I thought that it had all ready started ! Sadly we don't have a Derby horse this year so the gallop was put to good use and I hope the weather will allow us to run Keys at Cheltenham in a Listed bumper on 1st January.

 

Four Juddmonte yearlings, 2 colts and 2 fillies arrived from Lexington on Sunday afternoon having travelled well, it's a long and confusing journey for young horses that have never left the farm before.  They all looked well but have long woolly coats as the weather has been very cold in Kentucky recently.  Although they have been ridden for nearly 3 months they have never had a rug on before or spent a night in a stable since they were young foals.  They all had a quiet exercise in the paddock this morning and behaved well but they were perhaps still a little jet lagged !

I feel a bit like Oliver Twist at this time of the year, just hoping and praying for some more (nice horses), while my owner breeders do the allocations of their yearlings.  I am extremely lucky and privileged to be able to train for so many good breeders,  HM The Queen,  Lady Rothschild,  Anthony Oppenheimer,  Bjorn Nielsen,  Barry Hurley, John Deer and several others.

I visited Lady Rothschild's beautiful Waddesdon Stud twice during the summer to look at some mouth watering yearlings which are now being broken-in, before making their way to their trainers.  I was particularly taken by Mince (Medicean) who is a very strong and powerful filly out of Strut (Danehill Dancer) who was very speedy and won the St Hugh's Stakes L at Newbury for us in 2003.  Dog Star (Nayef) was another eye catching filly out of a young mare Dolma, who was extremely tough and won 6 races (3 listed) and  placed 3rd in the Prix Maurice de Gheest, Gr.1 in Deauville beaten half a lengths by Somnus and Whipper.  

At last there is a bit of a thaw this morning, which will help melt the last few inches of ice and snow on the poly track.  The horses have been going out every day during the week and doing two steady canters on our 7 furlong wood chip gallop which is riding well.  Rob our gallop man, spent several hours on his tractor on Sunday getting it ready for the week, after the freezing rain and ice at the weekend.

It's an exciting time of the year with new horses arriving each week and I am looking forward to Juddmonte Farm's USA bred yearlings coming here via Stansted on Sunday.    Definightly was delivered back to his proud owner breeders Mr and Mrs Simon Emmet yesterday and they were thrilled to see him.   Weather permitting he will be turned during the day with a warm rug on for a few hours, the mental break will do him a lot of good,