July has rushed by for me – so much so, that the deadline for writing this article almost passed me by! The Derby & Oaks, the Irish Classics, the Newmarket July meeting, the York July meeting, Goodwood, the restart of jumps racing, there is no let up in the top-class action!
Owners Back on Track
The big change in July, from an ownership perspective, was the return of owners to the racecourse. This was a pretty surreal experience though. Only two owners per horse, only admitted to the course immediately before racing, and asked to leave soon after the race was over. It was often a lot of travel for a brief ownership experience, but the courses did the best they could within the constraints, and provided complimentary sandwiches and soft drinks. At the end of the month it was announced that courses can now offer more owners badges, provide hot food and open bars, and that owners would be allowed to stay on the track for longer. This will hopefully improve the experience. More is still needed, but at least things are going the right way. Racing was chosen as a test event for some spectators to be admitted, with a trial attendance of 5000 on the last day of Goodwood. It is tough when people need to still be kept apart, but there seems to be a drive to do what can be done, to get as many people back to the races as possible.
BG Races
Our Anjaal flat filly, Silver Imperial, finally made her debut at Lingfield in July, where she was awkward at the start, and pulled too hard early, before staying on well at the end of the race when she got the hang of things. We sent her to Windsor ten days later, where she was reined back to wait for a gap two furlongs out, and then tired by the time it appeared. It was a quick turnaround and she missed a gallop, so probably was not at her best. She needs to run once more to get a handicap mark, and we want her to go a bit better to ensure she gets a mark that will get her into races. She has had a bang at home, so will be back for her third run early in August.
Fr Humphrey returned to action in July at Uttoxeter. We pitted his good record when fresh, against Neil Mulholland’s record, all his horses looked in need of a run! Neil’s record “won”, as Humphrey jumped great and travelled with enthusiasm to the home turn, when he tired and coasted home in his own time. Ironically, about five days later, all the horses started to go better and Neil had seven winners in seven days, so we are looking forward to seeing how Humphrey goes with the benefit of that run. He is due to go to Southwell on 10th August.
The Other BG Racing Horses
My Brother is going really well at Neil’s, and seems full of enthusiasm. We hope to have him back racing in August. Dynamic Kate will not be far behind him, and should be ready in September.
As both renew on 31st October, I have set a 15 month pricing for each of them, to take them through to October 2021, for new shareholders.
Future Plans
I have shares available in all the horses, and there is more information on all the horses on my website: www.bgracingsyndicates.co.uk, where I also post a weekly update under Latest News. If you have any specific questions about racehorse ownership, I would also be happy to respond
