All Change
Last week was extremely hectic, a sharp contrast to this coming week which will hopefully be a little quieter!
It all started on Monday when 7 of us headed off to Chantilly with dinner/drinks on arrival with Tim Donworth and his partner Lavinia. The following morning, we visited Tim’s yard to watch a couple of lots on the stunning gallops, including the yearlings with Surrey Etoile looking fantastic, the biggest and most forward of the lot. The yearlings do two short gallops behind a lead horse who controls the pace as they slowly build their core physicality and increase bone density. Marc–Antoine who helped buy Etoile joined us at the visit and remarked how much he has changed (for the better) even in this short space of time. We look forward to seeing how much he changes with every visit but it’s great to see he’s moving in the right direction even at this early stage.
In the afternoon it was off racing to cheer on Surrey Noir with the perfect spot in the restaurant overlooking the Chateau. Unfortunately, Surrey Noir missed the break and then was pushed through to the lead, going too fast too soon, and so he faded to finish 8 lengths behind the winner. Noir was fine after his run, but we did expect better. The handicapper has dropped him another 1.5kgs to a rating of 27.5 (UK equivalent 60.5) which should make him very competitive next time, but we have said to Tim that he has one more chance as it’s not worth the training fees if there is no prize money. Tim will tweak a few things in training/on race day and he’s looking at a handicap again in Chantilly on Tuesday December 10th. We will probably make the trip over again for that and again welcome owners to join us.
Our other runner this week was the long-awaited debut of Surrey Lord on Friday in a bumper at Uttoxeter. He has been working well but does like to do things his own way so the excitement was mixed with apprehension that hopefully he would behave, however, we needn’t have worried, he was impeccable and given a super ride from Kevin Brogan. He was the last horse off the bridle and probably ran short of puff in the final 2 furlongs but finishing 3rd on his very first outing gives us hope for an exciting few years ahead. The owners celebrated with champagne, it’s been a very patient journey to get to this stage so to see him finally on the racetrack and being competitive was great to see. He was fine yesterday and will be back in a bumper in 4-6 weeks’ time, maybe Chepstow on Dec 7th but there are other options that Toby will look at.
The other big news of the week was the Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale where we put three horses through the ring with mixed results. Surrey Belle sold for 70 000 gns, which wasn’t a bad result but the poor performance at York last time out probably cost the owners 10k. She was bought to join Adrian Keatley, a dual-purpose racehorse based in Malton, North Yorkshire. The next day Surrey Force sold for 34 000 gns to Thomas Gibney, two times Irish Grand National winner, based in Downpatrick. For a maiden rated 59 that’s probably about the best we could have hoped for. We wish both well with their new trainers, names can’t be changed, so into the tracker they go!
A fair few buyers had gone home by the time the last two days of the sale arrived and Surrey Charm’s turn in the ring. Unfortunately, she didn’t make the £5k reserve and headed back to East Ilsley. Some of the owners didn’t want to sell her so we have offered them the chance to take over the ownership, and if that doesn’t materialise, we’ll find her a home which may or may not be in racing, but we will make sure wherever she goes she’ll get the love and care she deserves.
It was a strong sale where the right horses were in demand. The sale saw a record 33 lots realise 200,000 guineas or more whilst turnover just short of 36,000,000 guineas was the second highest in the sale’s history. Versus 2023, the median price rose 7% and the average was up 13%.
Elsewhere, we hope to bring you news of the latest NH horse in the coming days as the final checks and admin are completed. Surrey Quest is very well and still on course for Cheltenham on November 17th. The day before we have a breakfast arranged and a visit to see Surrey King, if you wish to come along then please shout.
We have the annual syndicate stand at Ascot racecourse on Friday 22nd, if anyone wants to come along and see us and other syndicates there, tickets for racing are only £1 which is fantastic for a card that features one class 4 race, all the others are better! Get your badge here - https://www.ascot.com/racedays/november-weekend?date=2024-11-22
5 horses (potentially 6 by year end) who started the year with us will no longer be racing in Surrey Racing colours, so it really does feel that we have changed the guard. Surrey Quest will be leading the winter charge again but ably backed by two inexperienced horses who we hope will be at least as good as Quest. Next year two very promising 4-year-olds will lead the Royal Ascot dream, with 3 well-bred two years all expected to run in the summer. Only 8 horses which is our lowest number for a while but there’s no doubt that it’s quality over quantity and such an exciting time ahead.
Enjoy the week ahead
Possible races and events.
November
Saturday 16th - Breakfast and visit to see Surrey King
Sunday 17th – Surrey Quest – Cheltenham
Friday 22nd – Syndicate Stands @ Ascot racing.
December
Tuesday 10th – Surrey Noir - Chantilly
Saturday 28th – Surrey Quest - Newbury