As readers of last month's chapters will know, I've been desperately stalking Kevin (Peckham - one of William Haggas' assistants). Months of stealth have yielded only one terrible photograph of part of him. I'm now going from bad to worse as I haven't even laid eyes on him this year, never mind pointed a camera at him. However, I got the next best thing this morning because his son George rode past while I had my camera in my hand. Furthermore, George didn't just ride past on any old horse, but on the former top-class two-mile steeplechaser Travado, who is spending his retirement doing good deeds by supervising Ed Dunlop's string. I hadn't put two and two together until I was told the other day, because obviously it's possible to have the same surname as someone without being that person's son (or father), but I now know that George Peckham, Ed Dunlop's assistant,
is Kevin's son. So, knowing that, I just had to take aim and fire. Poor George is having a bit of a baptism of ice: he's been down under working for John O'Shea in Sydney (which I happened to find out fortuitously: I was watching the Australian racing on ATR one night earlier this year and John O'Shea had just trained a winner in Sydney, and to my surprise I saw George being interviewed - presumably by Richie Callander, but I've erased that detail from my mind - in O'Shea's stead afterwards). Anyway, poor George returned here towards the end of the autumn - so, if he'd forgotten what an English winter can be like, his memory has certainly been refreshed now. What was particularly nice was that, shortly after I'd taken the photograph at the top of the page of George leading Ed Dunlop's string on Travado, I was able to photograph another retired (from racing but not from active service) star: Nayyir, the former multiple Group-winning miler and Sussex Stakes runner-up who now performs the role of stable hack for his trainer Gerard Butler. He is pictured here leading some of Gerard's horses onto Warren Hill, ridden by Gerard's current pupil.
As these two photographs make clear, this morning, which started off very gloomy indeed, really brightened up mid-morning. I only rode two horses this morning and then went out on foot after that, so when I was standing watching Ed Dunlop's third lot being led by George onto the Heath the sky was only just beginning to clear, as the top photograph shows, but by the time they'd cantered and these horses of Gerard's had appeared, it had become very pleasantly bright and sunny - as the Nayyir photograph, plus this one of Ed's horses walking off Warren Hill with Travado still in the lead, show.
What is happening in this photograph (in case any eagle-eyed reader is confused) is that the far canter has been closed for cantering and is being used as a walking ground for horses descending the hill after their canter up on the near canter, the reason being that it is felt that the walking ground on the side of Warren Hill adjacent to the Moulton Road is too icy to be used safely. Hence this rather strange arrangement. Our three followed the same routine after cantering up, and that work - Silken Thoughts, First Pressing and Jenny Dawson all clearly going up there in a very composed manner - was a pleasure to watch.
I do love the occasional times when I can afford the luxury of accompanying the horses onto the Heath on foot and then standing around watching the world go by for a while. It tends to be both sociable and informative. Of course not all mornings are as picturesque as today's, but there's always plenty to enjoy seeing. Obviously I can see other strings while I'm riding with our own bunch, but one can see more of other people's horses if one stands still and has the time to see them come past at one's leisure. The sun had just come out when Luca's string filed off the Heath to head back up beside the Bury Road (above) and thus towards home, led by Luca who seemed both
pleased and taken aback when I saluted him on his winner at Wangaratta on Monday! (He and Sara have a share in a horse called Cool Customer who won on Monday in Nick Cave's hometown, Cool Customer being the horse loaned to them as a workmate for Basaltico and Cima De Triomphe in advance of last year's Melbourne Cup; they were so impressed by this supposedly ordinary horse's work that they took a share in him when they heard that he was going into training with Peter Moody - and now this former $1,000 yearling has won for them, which is a lovely story). It had still been overcast only a few minutes previously when another big string had passed me, Michael Bell's horses seen here trotting around a very bleak-look Severals.
Isn't it amazing the difference it makes to the whole outlook when the sun is out and when it isn't? This photograph, of course, was taken before I went onto the Heath and enjoyed the sunshine on Warren Hill as seen earlier in the chapter. The sun would have been beaming behind me at that point had it been out, which would have made everything look far brighter - as in this photograph of our neighbour Don Cantillon leading two of his horses towards the Long Hill canter, across whom I stumbled as I walked back from Warren Hill. With scenes like this, one would almost like winter to last forever!
As readers of last month's chapters will know, I've been desperately stalking Kevin (Peckham - one of William Haggas' assistants). Months of stealth have yielded only one terrible photograph of part of him. I'm now going from bad to worse as I haven't even laid eyes on him this year, never mind pointed a camera at him. However, I got the next best thing this morning because his son George rode past while I had my camera in my hand. Furthermore, George didn't just ride past on any old horse, but on the former top-class two-mile steeplechaser Travado, who is spending his retirement doing good deeds by supervising Ed Dunlop's string. I hadn't put two and two together until I was told the other day, because obviously it's possible to have the same surname as someone without being that person's son (or father), but I now know that George Peckham, Ed Dunlop's assistant, 
is Kevin's son. So, knowing that, I just had to take aim and fire. Poor George is having a bit of a baptism of ice: he's been down under working for John O'Shea in Sydney (which I happened to find out fortuitously: I was watching the Australian racing on ATR one night earlier this year and John O'Shea had just trained a winner in Sydney, and to my surprise I saw George being interviewed - presumably by Richie Callander, but I've erased that detail from my mind - in O'Shea's stead afterwards). Anyway, poor George returned here towards the end of the autumn - so, if he'd forgotten what an English winter can be like, his memory has certainly been refreshed now. What was particularly nice was that, shortly after I'd taken the photograph at the top of the page of George leading Ed Dunlop's string on Travado, I was able to photograph another retired (from racing but not from active service) star: Nayyir, the former multiple Group-winning miler and Sussex Stakes runner-up who now performs the role of stable hack for his trainer Gerard Butler. He is pictured here leading some of Gerard's horses onto Warren Hill, ridden by Gerard's current pupil.
As these two photographs make clear, this morning, which started off very gloomy indeed, really brightened up mid-morning. I only rode two horses this morning and then went out on foot after that, so when I was standing watching Ed Dunlop's third lot being led by George onto the Heath the sky was only just beginning to clear, as the top photograph shows, but by the time they'd cantered and these horses of Gerard's had appeared, it had become very pleasantly bright and sunny - as the Nayyir photograph, plus this one of Ed's horses walking off Warren Hill with Travado still in the lead, show. 
What is happening in this photograph (in case any eagle-eyed reader is confused) is that the far canter has been closed for cantering and is being used as a walking ground for horses descending the hill after their canter up on the near canter, the reason being that it is felt that the walking ground on the side of Warren Hill adjacent to the Moulton Road is too icy to be used safely. Hence this rather strange arrangement. Our three followed the same routine after cantering up, and that work - Silken Thoughts, First Pressing and Jenny Dawson all clearly going up there in a very composed manner - was a pleasure to watch.
I do love the occasional times when I can afford the luxury of accompanying the horses onto the Heath on foot and then standing around watching the world go by for a while. It tends to be both sociable and informative. Of course not all mornings are as picturesque as today's, but there's always plenty to enjoy seeing. Obviously I can see other strings while I'm riding with our own bunch, but one can see more of other people's horses if one stands still and has the time to see them come past at one's leisure. The sun had just come out when Luca's string filed off the Heath to head back up beside the Bury Road (above) and thus towards home, led by Luca who seemed both 
pleased and taken aback when I saluted him on his winner at Wangaratta on Monday! (He and Sara have a share in a horse called Cool Customer who won on Monday in Nick Cave's hometown, Cool Customer being the horse loaned to them as a workmate for Basaltico and Cima De Triomphe in advance of last year's Melbourne Cup; they were so impressed by this supposedly ordinary horse's work that they took a share in him when they heard that he was going into training with Peter Moody - and now this former $1,000 yearling has won for them, which is a lovely story). It had still been overcast only a few minutes previously when another big string had passed me, Michael Bell's horses seen here trotting around a very bleak-look Severals. 
Isn't it amazing the difference it makes to the whole outlook when the sun is out and when it isn't? This photograph, of course, was taken before I went onto the Heath and enjoyed the sunshine on Warren Hill as seen earlier in the chapter. The sun would have been beaming behind me at that point had it been out, which would have made everything look far brighter - as in this photograph of our neighbour Don Cantillon leading two of his horses towards the Long Hill canter, across whom I stumbled as I walked back from Warren Hill. With scenes like this, one would almost like winter to last forever!
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No further troubles with the pipes thanks since that evening which brought an ominous "twang" noise followed by the sound of gushing water.
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