Latest News

Amid the hoo-ha that surrounds Ascot week, one piece of Jumping news has escaped almost unseen, which will be viewed with sadness by a majority of the professional training community. Simon Claisse, Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham since 1999, is leaving the home of Jump racing.  With a background as a farm manager, and a pretty good record between the flags with some 60 winners to his name...

Read more...

Arnold Palmer once said,"The harder I practice, the luckier I get". It's an adage all too familiar to racehorse trainers, but sometimes when your luck is out, you just have to trade through it. Sometimes, luck is playing against you; sometimes, your horses are performing below their best; sometimes, they're just plain not good enough.  Two of the hardest-working people I know are Martin and ...

Read more...

Britain has a long history with horse racing dating back beyond Charles II's dalliances with Nell Gwyn on Newmarket Heath. The grandeur and elegance of some of the famous events capture the imagination of the public evenamong those that are not enthusiasts. The social aspect of a day at the races as you cheer on the horses that you’ve bet on is unique, and has been broadly welcomed...

Read more...

There were no fairy tale season endings at the last grand hurrah of the Hunter chase season at Stratford on Friday evening. The racing was highly competitive with some close finishes, none of which sadly included runners from Gloucestershire stables.  The closest we came to success was in the Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunter, where the Fergal O'Brien-trained Captain Cattistock reached a ...

Read more...

Everyone yearns to be a big fish in a small pond, and for the most ambitious, a big fish in a big pond. Today was one of the former for hero of the Cotswolds, Fergal O'Brien, securing a treble at lowly Southwell with three well-backed horses.  Even the Reuben brothers would acknowledge Southwell is not a racecourse that graces your arrival with an "I've arrived at a big event" ambiance. Neve...

Read more...

Albi Tufnell is enjoying a memorable novice season, courtesy of his mother Jane's Captain Cattistock, winner of a race at Cheltenham's Hunters' evening three weeks ago, and he must have thought another was on the cards this afternoon when he took up the running to assert himself on the Crudwell Cup at Warwick a full seven fences from home.  A forceful ride had the pairing still in the lead a...

Read more...

It was a busy weekend for handlers from Gloucestershire with success in the Point-to-Point field and abroad. Matt and Sally Burford have been long-time supporters of Pointing, and on Saturday, it was Sally Randell's time to shine as Barney Dwan got his head in front for the first time since Cocklebarrow in January 2020, when winning the Mixed Open. It was a close-run thing though; a short-head vi...

Read more...

Jason Warner is enjoying a purple patch as an owner presently, and his Thumb Stone Blues, trained by leading rider James King, put him further ahead in pursuit of a first Leading Owner title after a win at Cothelstone on Wednesday.  Jason, who trains a few himself just outside Gloucester, opted for James to train this 1 1/2l winner of the Men's Open, and a tilt at Stratford must surely now b...

Read more...

David Maxwell is rising high presently after his last gasp victory at Punchestown last week. But when your confidence is high, winners come more readily. So he won't have minded a long flog up to Kelso for one of the least competitive hunter chases of the season, where just three runners lined up to face the starter in the Racing Together Community Raceday Novices' Hunter Chase.  Races like ...

Read more...

Friday last was a big day for those that follow the amateur branch of the sport, with Punchestown hosting a strong challenge for the Champion Hunters Chase, and seven races comprising the Hunters' Evening at Cheltenham, an aspiration for any aspiring amateur.  And there was plenty to cheer about for folk representing the county on both sides of the Irish Sea. In Punchestown, the best of the ...

Read more...