Feb 12th Update

No racing for us this week but it’s good to see that racing is starting to wake up to the lack of prize money issue. This past week Newbury Racecourse has announced a 16% increase in prize money to be distributed throughout the 2023 Flat and Jumps seasons following criticism from a number of owners and trainers, including Charlie Johnston, who last year ran just five horses at the Berkshire circuit, and who said Newbury was "holding Grade A racing for Grade D prize-money". 

Following that we had news that a program of over 60 high-value 2023 developmental races will have a significant prize money boost this year. Consisting of maidens and novices with purses between £30,000-£50,000, the races will be funded by the BHA, Darley, Juddmonte, and the hosting racecourses. The objective of the prize-money boost is two-fold, with the aims of supporting horses at the beginning of their careers combined with supporting the domestic breeding industry and ensuring more quality young horses are retained to race in the UK. This initiative is intended to be the first step on the path towards a substantial enhancement of the values of Flat maiden and novice races, with discussions ongoing about further improvements for 2024 and beyond. The races, run over a range of racecourses both large and small across Britain, are as follows: 

20 x £30,000 2yo restricted maiden and novice races: supported by Juddmonte

21 x £30,000 2yo open maiden and novice races: supported by the BHA Development Fund

22 x £30,000-£50,000 3yo/3yo+ open maiden and novice races: supported by Darley and the BHA Development Fund 

The highest-value races will be held over longer distances, in an effort to continue the production of quality stayers in Britain, while other races will have additional prize-money available for a range of horses, including less expensive horses and more affordable homebreds, also providing a boost for smaller owners and breeders. 

We visited Nicky Henderson last week, and as Seven Barrows didn’t have any runners, Nicky and Charlie were able to give us more time than has been the case on recent visits. Surrey Quest has bounced back from his last run and had a hack up the gallops. It was good to see him in the stables opposite Constitution Hill – let’s hope he learns from his neighbour! Nicky admitted that he is disappointed with Surrey Quest’s runs to date because he shows so much more at home. We had a very open and frank conversation with both Nicky and Charlie about the horse’s ability, what needs to be done to get him back winning, what level the horse can achieve and the immediate plans.  

Their overall assessment, which includes feedback from James Bowen, is that the issue with Quest is more mental than physical and that headgear (probably cheekpieces) will help him focus. With regard to his jumping, we will need to accept that there is always a chance of the occasional error because he has a tendency to jump flat and he is not the quickest away from his fences but overall the team were happy with the way he has jumped on his last two runs. Nicky is not in favour of a return to hurdles and having given the matter further thought, feels we should continue with races of around 3 miles. James felt the quick/slow/quick rhythm of the Chepstow race didn’t suit him and so in future he will be ridden more prominently and take up the pace if it lacking.  

With regard to Quest’s ability and what he may achieve, Charlie was quick to point out that it is very difficult to assess the ceiling of a horse’s ability at this stage as they have a habit of making you look stupid (Quest is still young and quite immature). However, the feeling at the moment is that he is well handicapped and if they can get him to finish his races and gain some confidence he will only improve. We probably have to accept that we are not looking at a “Cheltenham” horse but he has the ability to win races up to a mark of 130. This is not to say he cannot go higher than this but it is their realistic assessment at this stage. 

Looking at the potential next options, Exeter on Feb 24th, Doncaster on March 3rd or Newbury on March 4th look favourable.  

The other horses are making great progress with some good vibes coming from the trainers which is great. Surrey Noir has been working on the Al Bahathri gallop this week, it is the main all-weather work gallop Bury Side and was Newmarket’s first ‘waxed’ synthetic surface back in 1985. Now Polytrack, it was further refurbished in 2018 and is the gallop on which Frankel famously out-ran a passing train! He’ll work on that over the next few weeks so it’s looking likely that his debut will be early March now, so the dates to look for are March 1st or 3rd, and then 15th/16th.  

This week we are off to see Surrey Fortune and Surrey Knight, they are both making steady progress as they build up their fitness and strength. There’s still space if anyone wants to join us on Wednesday for coffee and bacon rolls at Billy’s, 10.00 meet there and then 5 miles away to catch up with Sophie at Culworth Grounds. We’ve been told that both look great and we’ll be surprised by the change in them since we last saw them. Those who are coming – we are looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday.   

Possible races and events

2023 
February
Wednesday 15th Surrey Fortune/Surrey Knight visit - 10.00/11.30
Tuesday 21st – Newmarket Owners Visit 09.15
March
Wednesday 1st Surrey Lord visit
Thursday 2nd – Surrey Racing Social - Surbiton
Saturday 18th – Surrey Mist – Prix Ebury – St Cloud
Saturday 25th – Surrey Lord – Newbury – Goffs Bumper
April
Friday 21st Surrey Belle – Newbury
Friday 28th Surrey Belle - Sandown
May
Tuesday 16th – Surrey Racing Golf Day