A very pleasing week

It's been a busy and pleasing week. Six out of seven ain't bad. That's not a wins: runs ratio, but an actual runs: intended runs ratio. From Thursday last week to Thursday this week we tried to run all seven horses in the stable who are fit, and six of them were allowed to face the starter: only Lady Suffragette was kept at home by the Eliminator. And, I'm pleased to say, four of the six who did run were in the money: Jill Dawson (4th), Imperial Decree (1st), Marvin Gardens (3rd) and Jack Dawson (3rd). Brief had one of his occasional no-go days at a very hot and fairly firm Windsor, but even Millyjean ran what was by her standards quite a good race to finish in the top half of the field at Yarmouth after leading at an impressive gallop for much of the race. So, all in all, we can say that collectively our representatives have done us proud.

Imperial Decree, of course, has done us proudest with her win (see news stories), and her 10/1 success, followed by the 20/1 third of Marvin, meant that EW supporters of the stable would have had a good evening. None of the Principes Formation were on hand to cheer her home, but we hope that she'll go to the Curragh in a couple of weeks, and they should be there in force. Whom we did have present, though, were representations of the ownership of Anis Etoile (Maggie Parker) and Lady Suffragette (Stewart Leadley-Brown) so it was a very jolly evening all round, with the added bonus of watching Empire Dancer, bred by our friends (and breeders of Lady Suffragette) John and Terre McNamara of Golden Vale Stud, complete a double for Franny Norton which had been initiated by Imperial Decree (who was, incidentally, the first two-year-old winner for this stable since Largesse won a five-furlong maiden auction at Pontefract in July 1996!). It was, too, particularly good to have Stewart with us for the trip: his visit was a very special occasion, not just because it was the first time we'd met up with someone who'd become a good friend via the telephone and the first time he'd seen Lady Suffragette, but also the first time he'd returned to Newmarket since working here for William Hastings-Bass in Marriott Stables in Hamilton Road prior to emigrating to the States in 1979. He and his friend John Hansson paid us an overnight visit, and we had a really magical morning on Thursday, taking a good tour of the Heath (pretty much unchanged since 1979 bar the addition of several AW gallops and miles of white railings, and the Rowley Mile Millenium Grandstand - in fact, pretty much unchanged since 1679 bar the additions of those things and of bitumen roads) which started with us watching Lady Suffragette and her buddy Aisling breeze up the Al Bahathri, and which included a visit to Marriott Stables (now Chestnut Tree Stables), where Rae Guest kindly let us snoop around Stewart's former work-place (and home, as he lived in the hostel). It was a lovely morning which I hugely enjoyed; and I think and hope that Stewart and John enjoyed it at least as much.

Today was another lovely morning, the highlight of which was Jack's first steeplechase school. Jack ran a typically bold race at Folkestone, shrugging off a bleeding eyelid (courtesy of a premature attempt to break out of the stalls a second before they were opened, the result of which was that he gave his rivals three lengths' start) to bullock his way through the field to be beaten two necks. Any normal horse would think that that would be excuse enough for a few days' R&R, but when I had an impulse to send him up this morning (prompted by the fact that the excellent Tom Greenway was on parade, having been on a conditional jockeys' refresher course at the Racing School) to the Links, he let us know that he had no wish to rest on his laurels. Age certainly doesn't seem to be wearying this wonderful horse, and the enthusiasm and athleticism - mixed with sensible restraint and respect for the task in hand - with which he approached the schooling session was a joy to behold. We'd been mulling over a tentative plan to include a novice chase on his agenda - as he's still rated 130 or so over hurdles, that would certainly be the easier option for him if and when he was to return to National Hunt rules - but it was obviously going to be on the proviso that his schooling showed us that he was what one could call a safe jumper of fences. It was a huge relief - no, make that a colossal relief - to see him jump fences with such complete aplomb and composure, while seeming to love doing it, that one can give the project the go-ahead without feeling that one is being reckless. If and when he does run in a steeplechase I will be almost sick with worry on his behalf, but I can say, objectively, that he will be (after a couple more schooling sessions, obviously, and assuming that they go as well as this morning's did) as well qualified to rise to and conquer the challenge as any first-time chaser can be.

Jack wasn't the only very experienced and skillful trouper on the Links this morning because, to our surprise, we stumbled upon another (human) one up there. Having gone up there not expecting to see another horse, we found that Willie Musson had about six horses having jumping lessons up there. Willie's two main riders for this educational work turned out to be Alan Fallon - aka Alan Rutter, who has ridden a few winners on the flat and who has the potential to ride a lot more over jumps, if this morning's display is anything to go by - and the recently-retired Leighton Aspell. The announcement of Leighton's retirement took everyone by surprise, but seeing his superb horsemanship on view this morning makes one suspect that perhaps we won't have to think of all that talent going to waste after all.

So that made a great morning for me, because earlier I had had the thrill of having my first sighting of Magnus. It sounds strange to say this as the horse has been here for over two months, but I hadn't laid eyes on him until today, so it was a special, and totally unexpected treat, to find myself riding past him today. Like all the Aussie sprinters we've had here, he looks really solid and really placid, and looked to be just wandering along happily. One of the many pleasures of riding around the Heath in the mornings is catching sights of some of the world's best horses going about their business. When Stewart, John and I had been on our tour on Wednesday we'd been fortunate enough to chance upon Sixties Icon and Notnowcato (not together, obviously) and last week was the first time that I'd knowingly seen Tariq, an unremarkable little chestnut who, as we know, has huge ability and who, as I now know, looks a real darling, a really lovely and kind horse. Let's hope we can get to the stage where people might say, "Look over there - that's Imperial Decree". Our little girl has a long, long way to go before that but, when a young horse has just won her maiden in good style, her connections can be forgiven for dreaming for a while. After all, dreams are what keep us going.