David Cosgrove, rest in peace

I feel it would be remiss of me to start this posting on anything other than a sad note, following the announcement that David Cosgrove passed away in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on Friday. While it would be stretching the description to say that he and I were friends, we have been friendly acquaintances for most of our adult lives: when I left school and started work for Andy Turnell, who was still then at his father's old yard (now re-developed) in Ogbourne Maisey, just north of Marlborough, David, who was three years my senior, was working for David Murray-Smith, who was training at the time in the small yard at the top of the hill. The two stables' strings, plus that of Peter Makin (who I think would be the only trainer in the village nowadays) used the same gallops, and David's and my paths have been crossing each other throughout the subsequent 22 years. He was a very talented horseman who became a very capable trainer, but his life was blighted initially by alcohol and subsequently by cancer, and sadly his final years were probably not happy ones. Since he ceased training around three years ago he has still been about the town, and spent some time in and around this stable initially when he stored his tack in one of the loose boxes here after the dissolution of his stable - and then more recently when, while his health was on a temporarily upward curve, he returned to Exeter Road for a while to help his previous employer and loyal friend Willie Musson. I hope that he died peacefully, and I would like to remember him as he was when his health was better, when the smile was always on his face and when he was a key member of the band of wild Irishmen - Neville Callaghan, his former sparring partner "Red" Eoghan O'Neill and the Quinlans spring instantly to mind - who have over the years ensured that there's never a dull moment in Hamilton Road.

On a much less significant note of regret, I feel I should answer the unspoken queries of anyone who happens to have noticed on the personnel section of this site that we have one fewer resident dog than formerly. Sadly, we have had to repatriate Sarah to the rescue home from whence she came in September. Fortunately Emma was away for three days when this all blew up, because it was a sad occasion; but made more bearable by the facts that it was the clearly the correct course of action and that Sarah was plainly not unhappy to be back at her former home. For reasons known only to the two dogs, Sarah and Alice had been growing increasingly antagonistic in recent weeks, and last weekend this came to a head. We had noticed that Alice had been picking up a few little cuts around her head and neck, but no alarm bells were yet ringing. Then last weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, Alice went walkabout - the difference from her normal wanderings being that night fell and she didn't return. Both times I only found her when driving around the town looking for her, and on the Sunday it dawned on me, as I realised the cause of her wounds, that she had run away to escape Sarah. She was really anxious and very loathe to re-enter the house, so I made a fuss of Alice and made sure that I kept them apart while I pondered what the hell to do about this awkward situation. The decision was made for me when by my mistake they found themselves in the same part of the house for a few seconds: Sarah attacked Alice and, if I hadn't been on the scene within seconds, I think would have killed her. Poor Alice was quite badly wounded around her head and neck, and was in shock. It was then quite clear that, if the two animals remained living same house, either Sarah would kill Alice at the first opportunity, or Alice would run away for good. So the only option was for Sarah to return to her former home - which was no problem as, when one gets a dog from a rescue home, one is always told that, if there is a problem, the dog is always welcome to return. So, after returning from Wolverhampton last Monday (Alice had come with me to keep her safe and feeling wanted), I took Sarah back to the kennels the other side of Ely. What made this task less hard was that it was clear, when she disembarked, that this was a place where she had been, and would now continue to be, happy. After chatting to the man who runs it, I turned to return to the car and Sarah followed me, which was a rather emotional moment, but when she was told that she couldn't come, it was clear that she was happy enough to stay. So now we just have Alice and Stan, who have been even more spoilt than usual this week and who look very happy with life. Alice has been on anti-biotics because the wounds on her neck became infected, but fortunately she has suffered no lasting damage from what could have been a fatal encounter. Dogs are so strange, because for the first two months of Sarah's stay here they got on fine, but who knows what goes on in an animal's head? After all, they're only human.

So that's the story in this household as we head towards Christmas. Smug though Alice is now, Sebastian, the feline head of the household, is even smugger, and I suspect these animals are going to enjoy the next couple of weeks. As regards the horses, we should end Advent with either a roar or a whimper, because we could have up to four runners at the end of this week. There are, amazingly, three flat meetings scheduled for Friday afternoon, and we have three entries at one of them (Kempton Park). Millyjean, fingers crossed, should be regarded as a definite runner, and I think it is likely that both Limit Down and Pantomime Prince will be declared. The latter is one of our new recruits from Chris Dwyer. His form is poor, but nobody is under any illusions about his prospects, which are probably limited. However, I was happy enough with his gallop yesterday to say that he can fulfill the appointed task, which is to have one or two more runs so that connections can say they have explored every avenue before, as is likely, he is re-routed to a new career which doesn't involve racing. He is a delight to ride and a thoroughly pleasant horse, if rather shy and diffident, so he will definitely have a future as somebody's horse. I have, though, known worse horses than he appears to be win races so, while it may be clutching at straws, I wouldn't totally write him off yet but, to use a good phrase, he 'needs to lift'. We'll see. Anyway, I'm particularly looking forward to Millyjean, who seems in great nick at present, having what will be only the second race of her life, and I'm at least as excited about running Mozie Cat back at Wolverhampton on Saturday. She is full of confidence and vitality since her win, so I hope she will put up another very bold show.

Oh, by the way, I'm delighted to see so many responses coming in on the blog. It's great to have so many contributions. The more people who get involved, the more fun this will be for everyone. Problemwalrus remains our star, but the more the merrier, so keep 'em coming.