This is rather bad because I've gone nine days between chapters, which isn't very impressive. Emma and I were away for three days, but three days off pretty much becomes nine days off blogging: if one takes a weekend off, one pays for it when one gets home. But I'm feeling less disorganised now that I've caught up on much of what I've needed to do this week, so I'll just throw a few thoughts together just so that it doesn't look as if I've deserted my post altogether.We went to France, where once again we were lucky enough to enjoy Alix Choppin's outstanding hospitality in Normandy. Alix now lives in Honfleur, a beautiful town near Deauville, and from it the three of us spent Saturday and Sunday touring various stud farms 
(well, on the Saturday the four of us did the tour because Alix's very nice father came too) during the area's open weekend. For Emma this was work because, in her new role as bloodstock editor for 'Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder', she was reporting on the weekend; for Alix it was work-related too as she has a public relations role with Arqana, the French sales company. And I just went along for the ride, which was great. We visited seven studs, including Haras de la Cauviniere, home of my mare Minnie's Mystery (seen at the top of this chapter) and her yearling colt by Gold Away (seen here). It is now also home of last year's Prix du Jockey-Club hero Le Havre, a lovely horse (pictured below) who is the stud's first stallion. I hope that he will be a big success there, which would be great as the proprietors 
Sylvain and Elisabeth Vidal are hard-working and conscientious professionals who deserve to do well. As the photograph of the mare shows, there was some snow around, which was rather nice. It snowed during the three nights we were there, but it wasn't unpleasantly cold - unlike England, which was hit by another very hard frost while we were away. Having driven through quite a lot of snow in the Normandy countryside on the way home on Monday morning, it was rather a shock to find that very hard frosts had been the issue here, and even more of a shock on Wednesday to find, after the frost had completely disappeared on Tuesday, that it was back for one day, and one day only, on Wednesday when we had planned to run both Kadouchski and Douchkette at Leicester. Both horses looked to have decent chances - Kadouchski was Spotlight's selection in the Racing Post, while Douchkette had been put in around the 6/1 mark - but the second inspection at 10.45 am saw the track still frost-bound, and therefore racing was called off. C'est la vie.
(well, on the Saturday the four of us did the tour because Alix's very nice father came too) during the area's open weekend. For Emma this was work because, in her new role as bloodstock editor for 'Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder', she was reporting on the weekend; for Alix it was work-related too as she has a public relations role with Arqana, the French sales company. And I just went along for the ride, which was great. We visited seven studs, including Haras de la Cauviniere, home of my mare Minnie's Mystery (seen at the top of this chapter) and her yearling colt by Gold Away (seen here). It is now also home of last year's Prix du Jockey-Club hero Le Havre, a lovely horse (pictured below) who is the stud's first stallion. I hope that he will be a big success there, which would be great as the proprietors 
Sylvain and Elisabeth Vidal are hard-working and conscientious professionals who deserve to do well. As the photograph of the mare shows, there was some snow around, which was rather nice. It snowed during the three nights we were there, but it wasn't unpleasantly cold - unlike England, which was hit by another very hard frost while we were away. Having driven through quite a lot of snow in the Normandy countryside on the way home on Monday morning, it was rather a shock to find that very hard frosts had been the issue here, and even more of a shock on Wednesday to find, after the frost had completely disappeared on Tuesday, that it was back for one day, and one day only, on Wednesday when we had planned to run both Kadouchski and Douchkette at Leicester. Both horses looked to have decent chances - Kadouchski was Spotlight's selection in the Racing Post, while Douchkette had been put in around the 6/1 mark - but the second inspection at 10.45 am saw the track still frost-bound, and therefore racing was called off. C'est la vie.
I am sure that I will bore you with more details from the studs and about the horses which we saw anon; suffice to say that we saw some wonderful animals at properties such as Haras du Quesnay, Haras d'Etreham, Haras de Bonneval and Haras du Mezeray, with the line-up of wonderful sires being headed by two winners of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (the magnificent 13-year-old Sinndar, whose photograph appears below, and 26-years-young Trempolino, whose looks really do bely his advancing years, as this adjacent photograph of him shows) and, of course, the great Gold Away, sire of the Minnie's Mystery's yearling. But that can wait, as can my belly-aching about going down with food-poisoning on the final evening (which had nothing whatsoever to do with Alix's cooking, and which forced me to miss out on a lovely dinner which she was cooking for us). 
But what can't wait is a very short tribute to dear old Fred Rickaby, who died while we were away. Fred had a great life and a long one too, being a month short of his 94th birthday when it ended. A very good rider on the Flat and over jumps and a great trainer, he was the horseman par excellence, but was much more than that too: he was just an all-round great character and great man. It was my privilege to have known him in the latter stages of his life and, while he was already slowing down by the time I made his acquaintance (with his deafness sadly further assisting the aging process) I count him as one of the finest men I have ever been lucky enough to meet. His death marks the end of an era because they don't make men like Fred any more. More is the pity.
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