Brilliant Breden

Breden recorded a victory for the yard in a 1 mile 2 furlong handicap at Newbury this afternoon.  Robert Winston settled him in midfield before making his move two furlongs from home.  In an incredibly close 4 horse finish he just held on, winning by a short head, neck and a nose at odds of 16/1.

Stringing Along.

All the National Hunt horses are settling into training for the new campaign.  Tony Betteridge was lucky enough to see his entire string out at the same time.  They all looked good after their summer break.

Tony's string; Mab Dab, Hab Sab and Madam Anna.

Follow The Leader

Penny Harrison received her prize from Linda, for being joint winner of the 2016/7 Three To Follow competition, at the yard yesterday.  Evelyn Jones, the other winner, received hers money at the Open Day last Saturday.  Following their example entries are coming in now from our owners for the 2017/8 competition. 

Another Great Open Day

Once again the weather smiled on Southfield Stables with glorious sunshine all day.  There were plenty of owners viewing their horses and looking at potential new ones. Pat Jones, breeder, was there to answer questions about some of his youngsters and all the stable staff, beautifully turned out, were on hand to serve food and drinks, answer inquiries and make sure that their charges looked their best.  A parade of horses was followed by a delicious buffet.  Another great day, thank you Linda and team.

Preparing the yard...

preparing the horses...

ready for the owners.

Settling down for the parade.

The team.

Getting moving.

Now that they are back in from their holidays the National Hunt horses are walking and trotting.

Getting back into the swing.

After a quiet period during the summer, the first signs of the coming winter campaign were showing at the yard today, ironically on one of the warmest days that this August has had to offer.  The National Hunt horses are back in and are starting to do roadwork, and there was a good turnout for breakfast with their owners coming to see them. On top of all that Linda announced that the winter menu for breakfast would be starting next week!

Itoldyou, enjoying the sunshine, is back in for the new campaign.

A Great Experience.

Oliver (stable lad) had probably his greatest thrill in racing so far when he had his first race ride in public at Lingfield this evening.  He partnered Parisian Star in a special charity race open to stable staff.  Though they didn't make the frame in the mile and a half contest, they had a great time.  Oliver was supported at the course by his parents and other colleagues from the stable.

Getting ready to weigh out.

All the jockeys before the race.

Horse and rider safely back afterwards.