Monday 29th Of December

Firstly, apologies for not posting a blog sooner. We’ve had a busy 6 weeks for all the right reasons…

This is our first blog from our new base in Sutton Veny, Wiltshire. This move had been on the cards for a while and i’d delighted so far so good. Horses have been running exceptionally well and the team are in great spirits here. It’s a lovely part of the world and exciting to see what the future holds. Moving anywhere is daunting, whether its moving house, yard etc but this move went exceptionally well and I must give a big mention to the staff who worked extremely hard for a week to make sure the horses and kit got moved as smoothly as possible.

Hardy Buck wsas our first runner from the new base at Exeter at the start of December. Luke Scott dropped him out and delivered him perfectly to win cosily. A great result for Hoof And Hustle’s first runner as owners. Well done Zach and team.

Only One Blue headed to Aintree in the listed Juvenile Hurdle under Tom Broughton. She finished 3rd picking up that all important black type ready for her future career as a broodmare once her racing days are over (hopefully in many years to come!)

One Dimensional finished a fast finishing 5th at Huntingdon in a red hot listed race under David Bass. A exciting horse for the future.

Cloaks Of Gold is a new recruit to the yard for owner Tom Slater. She made her yard/hurdle debut at Warwick under David. She travelled and jumped nicely and won very well beating some fancied rivals. A first winner over jumps for Tom as an owner.

A Great Excuse took a big step forward to win at Lingfield. David had to ride at Cheltenham so Jamie Brace stepped in and took the 5lbs off his back. He won readily and i’m delighted for his owners Lynn, Lucy, Elaine and Alan. A brilliant day.

The following day we headed to Southwell with This Sway and Just Her Type.

This Sway ran a career best finishing a close 4th under David. A great run and hopefully he can keep improving for owner Kendal Tyre.

Just Her Type took a huge step forward and won impressively under Tom Broughton. She travelled, jumped and dug deep to win well. She’s a lovely mare who has a bright future. A exciting horse for owners Charlie Noell and Helen Byrd.

Manganese remains unbeaten winning the 3rd race of her career on only her 3rd start. It’s the Cliche remark but on this occasion she was never in doubt. A very exciting prospect and expertly ridden by David Bass for owners Richard, John and Quinten.

French Diablo has had a couple of runs over hurdles. He’s a smart horse and looked like winning at Musselburgh before getting his tongue over the bit and hanging off the course. Newbury probably came too soon for him after the trip to Scotland. He will have a little break now before a summer campaign.

A couple of runners this week:

This Sway makes his handicap debut at Windsor on Thursday. Tom Broughton rides.

One Dimensional might head up to Newcastle on Saturday weather depending.

A Great Excuse will run at Lingfield on Monday.

A cold week forecast…

We welcome a couple of new faces to the team…

Aimee Jones is a familiar face but she now rides out every day and will hopefully pick up plenty of rides as a Amateur.

Chloe Upshall is our new full time travelling head girl. Her first 3 trips racing have been with winners so hopefully shes a lucky charm!

Young Oliver Byrd has started his level 2 apprenticeship here and has settled into the team very nicely.

And a couple of new horses:

Monark Wood and Adday Dancing have arrived for Hoof And Hustle Racing syndicates. 2 lovely horses which shares will be available in due course.

Land Girl’s Luck and Lunar Morning have come back in after their winter break

Roger and Yvonne Allsop have sent us a home bred 4yo by Frontiersman.

And finally we purchased a new horse called Burds Of A Feather from Tattersalls Cheltenham which has since been sold into the yard. A very nice mare thats been on my radar for a long time.

And unfortunately some sad news from just before Christmas… We unfortunately lost the brave Bebside Banter due to a nasty infection in his hind leg. We gave him surgery which went smoothly but after a long week in the vets, sadly the infection came back, got worse and we had to say a heartbreaking goodbye. I can’t give enough credit to Donnington vets who were absolutely incredible in difficult circumstances and so sad for his owners in The B-Sides Syndicate; Louis, Keith, Martyn, Neil, Jeff, Shane, Otis and Alison.

On to a more positive note, we had a very enjoyable festive period at the yard. Christmas was in full swing with a owners Christmas afternoon with Mulled Wine, Mince pies and plenty to get merry about. We opened up the gates to the locals of our new village, Sutton Veny, to introduce ourselves and let them see what goes on behind the scenes. All positive feedback. The staff Christmas party was good fun too. Ice Skating in Bath followed by drinks in a Irish bar. Bambi on ice comes to mind! With no runners on Boxing Day, Christmas day itself wss quick and easy for the team and they were able to shoot off to their families all around the country. A brilliant team and it really shines through during the festive period.

Happy New Year!

Max