RIP QE II 1926-2022
A strange week – whatever your views are on the monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II was a truly remarkable woman whose unfailing duty to the UK and the Commonwealth was extraordinary – the one constant in a world of change over the past 70 years, most of us have never known anything different. Her Majesty will be mourned across all parts of the globe, not least by those who have shared her love of racing, the sport for which she was a figurehead throughout a seven decade reign. Remarkably, the Queen last year enjoyed more success on British racecourses than at any point since comprehensive record-keeping was introduced in 1988. Her colours were carried to victory in 36 races, with the £584,399 earned by her horses placing her into the top 20 of leading racehorse owners. Only four British entities finished ahead of her. She will be missed by many.
As you know, Surrey Noir has been troubled by a foot injury. We did debate whether to just rest Surrey Noir for a few weeks or pay for an MRI and chose the latter. Although it was the more expensive option, we now have a diagnosis and although it’s not great news it could have been a lot worse. As you can see from the scan, Surrey Noir has a hairline fracture at the top of his pastern where it meets the fetlock joint. He will need 3 months off cantering but hairline fractures are a common injury in young horses as they start to build up their work and the good news is that it’s an injury that normally heals well, without any long lasting impact.
While it’s extremely frustrating to all of the syndicate owners it could have been so much worse and now at least we know where we stand. He’ll resume work in December with a debut on the all weather early in the New Year to get used to racing. All being well he will have a short break again so he’s fully ready for a full on turf season as a three year old.
Surrey Charm is very well in herself but obviously needs time to get over her niggling issues and to fully grow so she will stay at Langshot Stud for the next 8-10 weeks. It could be longer, but when she is ready, she will go into training with Hughie Morrison which is great news, Hughie will certainly get the best out of her and Charm will love his big open gallop.
Surrey Belle is also in good shape and showing plenty of ability but she continues to be a work in progress. Hughie said she looks like a bumper horse and is already bigger than most of his three year olds! She is 50-50 on whether she runs this year but if she does it will be on the all weather towards the end of the year so my hunch about Newbury on the 22nd has been ruled out. We have arranged for the Charm and Belle owners to a morning at Hughie’s in October.
Surrey Gold is unlikely to be there then as we are planning to move him to Cornwall in the coming weeks. He’s on a walker and has restricted paddock access so he keeps his joints moving but without sharp movements which would do further damage, that will continue for the next 6 months before we find him a suitable home.
Surrey Quest is now on the gallops twice a day as he continues to build up for the season ahead but with no forecast rain again for a while we won’t see him on the track this month. We may possibly see Surrey Mist on the racecourse though as he’s settled in well and worked over 7f with a good handicapper (rated 101) on the Limekilns this week, Kevin feels Mist will need another piece of work before reaching full fitness but he’s looking at races towards the end of the month, possibly Newmarket on the 22nd.
We are trying to plan for dates to see the horses at Nicky H, a joint visit to see Surrey Knight and Surrey Fortune, and a Newmarket visit to see Noir and Mist, please bear with us. However we are looking forward to catching up with some of the Surrey Lord owners at Toby’s open day on Friday and seeing how much he has grown over the summer.
September
Friday 16th – Toby Lawes Open Day
Thursday 22nd – Surrey Mist – Newmarket
Wednesday 28th – Surrey Mist - Kempton
October
Monday 10th – 15th - Tatts Book 2,3,4
Saturday 15th – Surrey Belle/Surrey Charm owners visit to Hughie Morrison
Monday 17th – 21st - Arqana Yearling sale
Friday 21st – Cheltenham - Discover Ownership Day
Saturday 22nd Cheltenham - Discover Ownership Day
November
Friday 18th – Ascot - Discover Ownership Day
Saturday 19th Ascot - Discover Ownership Day
December
2023
March
Saturday 25th – Surrey Lord – Newbury – Goffs Bumper