A grand tour

Having visitors can be a real pleasure. Michael Tidmarsh's stay earlier this year ranks as one of my year's highlights; and we're lucky enough to have Joff Dumas, the perfect guest, here once every few years, last year being the most recent. More recently, Clare Lindop has been an excellent house guest: in fact, one could almost say that having her here is a bit like having Joff, only with better table manners. (I haven't had to pick any crumbs out of the butter this summer!). Anyone who read Nick Godfrey's excellent profile of her in the Racing Post a couple of weeks ago will have worked out that she has really been enjoying her stay in the UK, and you can't beat having visitors who clearly enjoy the visit: what is so nice is that, while we are so lucky to live in a very special place, one can become over-familiar with one's surroundings, with the result that one can end up failing to appreciate their specialness. There was no chance of that, however, yesterday, when we went on a drive around the town to see all the different parts of the Heath and some of the more interesting parts of the town. During this drive, I had a real rush of blood to the head, which led to a very special treat indeed.

Clare had ridden out for James Fanshawe, and had thus learned about the history of Pegasus Stables, ie that it was built by Fred Archer. As we passed Heath House, therefore, I explained that, when Fred Archer had been champion jockey, that was the stable for which he rode; and that it was the leading stable in the country during the second half of the nineteenth century. I went on to say that it is basically the finest stable in the town, and additionally is the best-run stable, the one where one can best appreciate how a top-class stable looked and functioned in years gone by, in the era when things really were done very well indeed. At this point a thought came to me and, despite the fact that Clare and I were both dressed as if we'd just come from the sea-front at Margate, I felt emboldened to suggest that we stick our heads around the gate and ask if we could take a quick peek at the view, which anyone who knows Sir Mark Prescott's penchant for correct behaviour and formality will appreciate is not something one would do lightly. Anyway, how lucky were we?! The first person we saw was Sir Mark, midway through his evening stables tour of inspection. Far from being irritated by the intrusion, which he would have been entitled to be, he invited us to join him on his tour of inspection, and then to be given a tour of the stable afterwards. I've been lucky enough to see around many of the best stables in the world over the years, but this tour really was something very special indeed. It would have been very special if we'd just seen the horses, but as it was it was a real lifetime highlight, something which I will always remember. Sir Mark was on tremendous form, making us so welcome and hugely entertained, so the perfect post script to a very special afternoon was to find that his two runners at Southwell yesterday evening both won. That was the type of result which makes one think that karma really does exist: after his kindness way beyond the call of duty, it was only fitting that the fates should reward him.


That double for Heath House was not the only nice result in the evening, incidentally, because Halling, a stallion whom I very much admire and who seems to sire only nice, pleasant horses (of whom Stardust Memories is a perfect example), sired his first Group One winner after a succession of agonising near-misses (including Bauer's millimetre defeat in the Melbourne Cup) when Cavalryman won the Grand Prix de Paris. I'd enjoyed seeing Halling again at the Darley stallion parade last week (see photograph) so yesterday's victory was a very nice post script to that event - and one made even more pleasing from my point of view by the fact that Cavalryman's dam is by Highest Honor, the sire of my broodmare Minnie's Mystery.


After yesterday's happy day, today started early but enjoyably. James Fanshawe jokes when he sees Aisling and Gemma riding out with me in the mornings that they are my 'Angels' (as in the former TV series 'Charlie's Angels'), and Aisling informed me yesterday that I'd only have one angel today, as she wasn't going to be in. Little did she realise, though, that today's angel count would be three, as Clare was kind enough to ride out early before going in to Luca Cumani's stable, and Michelle Payne did likewise. This meant at 5.15 pull-out, but on a nice summer's morning that's no inconvenience. Michelle was at the time due to ride Douchkette at Newmarket on Friday, so she rode her (Friday's plan has subsequently been changed as Luca this morning asked her to ride his horse in the same race; and as he is her boss while she is in the UK, it's correct that that is the horse which she rides). Gemma was good enough to come in at that time too, so whatever else I might find to complain about, I certainly couldn't complain of lack of good company at daybreak.
Emma was going out to take some photographs of Luca's first lot of horses working, so she kindly preceded that by taking these lovely shots of Risky Cry, Douchkette and dear little Rhythm Stick (as the Whipper gelding is about to be named) doing their work. (Ethics Girl was the fourth member of the string, but as she only ran five days ago Gemma took her off for a canter elsewhere, rather than join this trio in faster work).