Another month of lockdown is almost behind us in England. It seems that there will be some spectators back at the racecourses in the coming days, in what was a surprise change in policy. It will of course depend on the local restrictions in the area where the course is located and is subject to change, but with an increase in the number of people allowed on course, hopefully there will also be more owners badges available for allocation as well.
It was strange this month watching Fr Humphrey run for BG Racing on TV. I would normally make very effort to be at the racecourse, but with only two owners permitted, and only allowed to be on the course for an hour or so, it seemed difficult to justify eight hours in the car to get to Market Rasen and back! Thankfully, Humphrey ran a much better race to cheer-up his TV watching shareholders by finishing 3rd behind two horses who have won subsequently, making that form look even better.
A Day At The Sales
Having said last month that the price of horses at recent sales had been good at the top end. of the market, but a bit weaker at the bottom, I disproved that last Monday when I went to the Newmarket Tattersalls Yearling Sale to try to buy a horse for BG Racing for next season!
Having spent hours studying options, it was very disheartening to see possible target after possible target, crashing through my upper budget limit. There were two at the end of the sale that I was sure I could get for less than ÂŁ10,000, so I consoled myself with that for most of the day only to watch both sell for well over ÂŁ20,000 as it started to get dark late in the afternoon.
There were more people than I expected at the sale and bidding was strong all day. There were 170 lots on offer, so it does take a long time to narrow these down to horses that you might be interested in, and that might be within your budget. We spent most of the day shuttling between the paddock outside the sale building to look at the upcoming horses, and then back inside to watch a few of them go through the ring. I only managed to bid on two horses all day, as most of the time they were more than I wanted to spend before the auctioneer even drew breath!
If you have never had a day at the sales before, it is an interesting experience and one I would recommend once we get back to some kind of normality, but having had no success with an auction purchase, it was back to the drawing board for me. I have since been talking to a couple of breeders about leasing a filly instead.
On Track This Month
We took the decision to move Silver Imperial on after what was a poor season for her. This was disappointing; she really didn’t live up to expectations, but there was no point in carrying on if she was not going to be capable of getting competitive.
Dynamic Kate has not run again as we have been schooling her over hurdles, but she will be ready to go soon, and I am looking forward to what she can do over the winter.
Fr Humphrey is due to race in a few days and, win, lose or draw this will probably be his last race for us. He enjoys decent ground and is unlikely to get that again before the Spring, by then, he will be 13 years young. He will return to his owner for his retirement, and hopefully he will go out on a high in his next race.
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.
