MORNING SPORTSFANS!!!
It has been a tough week for the team. Saying goodbye to one of our much loved syndicate horses is never easy and decisions regarding this are never taken lightly.
The weather and a few nicks ruled out a few runners over the weekend but Jasmine Bliss & Delta Blues Bella provided some great excitement at Huntingdon.
Myself & Noel spent 3 days looking at unraced 4yr Olds all over Ireland.
Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to👇👇👇
In loving memory of METKAYINA
It’s been a very tough week, losing one of our Syndicate Horses is never easy and is undoubtedly one of the hardest parts of what we do.
Noel and I purchased Metkayina at the Newbury GOFFS Coral Gold Sale after she won impressively in a bumper at Ludlow. From the outset we felt she was a mare with real potential and she certainly proved us right going on to run in some very competitive races.
She gave her owners some wonderful memories, especially when finishing fifth in the £100,000 Grade 2 Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. She was a very talented mare who always ran honestly for us, gaining a win for her owners at Lingfield and placing on most of her starts. We truly believe the best was still to come.
Sadly, things don’t always go the way we had hoped. Unfortunately, at the beginning of November, Metkayina fractured her pelvis during a piece of work at Noel Williams. She was due to run just a few days later so the news was devastating.
What followed was a very rocky journey. As can happen with pelvic injuries there were internal complications and she experienced some bleeding in the days after the fracture. However, she initially seemed to be recovering well. We were waiting for her to become stable enough to travel back to Hagg Hill which would have meant at least three months of box rest at Noel Williams yard.
Everything appeared to be going in the right direction. She was tied up in her stable for a period before being allowed to stand loose. In January, Noel Williams began hand-walking her which we felt was a positive step forward. She had lost a significant amount of strength and muscle while healing — all of her energy had gone into repairing the fracture — so the hand-walking was vital to help rebuild her strength up enough to travel.
She returned to Hagg Hill ten days later. Given how physically weak she was Noel sought another veterinary opinion. Despite her bravery, she began to deteriorate and Noel’s vet advised that the kindest thing to do would be to let her go.
This was not a decision taken lightly. Noel spoke with all of the owners and together we agreed that the most responsible and compassionate thing to do for Metkayina was to stop prolonging matters and make her comfortable. It’s never an easy call.
Please play the video to look back on Metkayina’s time with us. She will never be forgotten. 💔 RIP
Play Video
Play video to recap Metkayina's time with us
QUEENOFTHEJUKEBOX AT KEMPTON
On Monday, Amelia headed to Kempton as Queenofthejukebox was running. This mare has had ulcers as bad as we’ve seen and although she’s improving and very much heading in the right direction, she’s still not 100%. We felt it was important to get her out to obtain a handicap mark but the main aim was simply for her to go out and enjoy herself again. She clearly hasn’t been able to do that in her recent runs.
Gavin Sheehan rode her and we were keen to hear his feedback as he rode her several times last season. She travelled nicely through the race and after jumping the last down the back she looked as though she was beginning to get into it. Coming down the home straight she lacked the pace of the principals and took a blow, but to her credit she put her head down and kept on galloping through the line. Gavin reported that she felt good and will definitely improve physically but also over further.
She finished 7th which was just one place out of the qualifiering position for a 100K finial at Kelso. She is though, already qualified for a two-and-a-half-mile race at Newbury which will suit her much better if we decide to go there.
We know she will come on for this run physically and we also think it will benefit her mentally. It was a small step in the right direction and we know there is still plenty of improvement to come. We’ll see what the handicapper does next Tuesday and plan from there.
QUEENOFTHEJUKEBOX's Owners
Niamh & Casper: A Fearless Partnership 🏇
What a special partnership Niamh Fehily and Casper have built together! 🧡
The confidence, trust and teamwork between them really shines through — it’s wonderful to see how much Casper has helped Niamh grow as a rider. Their practice together is clearly paying off as they came home with a clear round recently.
They truly are a brilliant team and we can’t wait to see where their next adventure takes them! 🏇✨
Play Video
Play video to see Niamh jumping Casper
NO FLIES ON HER AT LUDLOW
On Wednesday, Mark Ball headed to Ludlow where No Flies On Her was running. Last time out she took a fall 2 out when looking like she would have finished 4th. Johnny Burke was on board again and wanted to give her a bit of space as last time she didn’t enjoy being crowded. Johnny felt he was a bit flat out most of the way and in the end finished 5th. No Flies has run consistently in all her runs this season but more will be required in order for her to win. A step up again in trip will be the next step.
NO FLIES ON HER's Owners
🇮🇪FUTURE PROSPECTS TRIP TO IRELAND🇮🇪
Crossey and his Nephews
Last Sunday, myself and Noel took an early flight over to Ireland. Noel headed South to Cork to spend the afternoon with his family, while I went up to Tipperary after being collected from the airport by my parents. My sister down from Galway with my 3 nephews and we ended up playing football for most of the afternoon — a lovely way to start the trip.
Play Video
Play video to hear how to ride a racehorse the right way!
Noel had an early start on Monday morning, driving from Cork to Tipperary to pick me up just before 8 and then a short trip to Sam Curling’s yard. We saw some lovely unraced four-year-olds who will be hitting the track over the coming months and are certainly horses for us to keep a close eye on as future prospects. From there, we headed to to Pat Doyle’s well-known yard near Holycross for a good catch-up with Pat and to see what horses he had.
Noel and Pat Doyle
We then travelled on to Tom Keating’s in South Tipperary before making our way to Wexford to visit Gareth Murphy, where we purchased Queenofthejukebox a couple of years ago. After that, we called in to Harley Dunne’s yard, where we bought Jasmine Bliss.
We finished the day at the Riverside Park Hotel in Enniscorthy with a late dinner and a glass of wine before hitting the pillow & ready to do it all again the next day.
Tuesday was an even earlier start. We began at Denis Murphy’s yard at 7:30am, viewing a number of horses, before heading on to Mick Goff, Mattie Flynn and Colin Bowe. In the afternoon, we visited Rob James’ yard for over an hour before finishing the day with a trip to Rob Tector’s which was our first time visiting his yard. Then it was back to our hotel.
Wednesday brought yet another early start. We first visited the Monbeg team of Sean Doyle, Cormac Doyle, Eamon Doyle and Donnaca Doyle. (They also have another 5 brothers, The reason being no TV back in the day). This family are renowned for producing quality point-to-pointers. We also called in to Jim O’Neill’s where we bought El Cairos, who is one of the favourites for the Supreme Novices. From there, it was an hour’s drive to Aidan (Scobie) Fitzgerald’s, from whom we’ve purchased several horses over the years, before making our way to Dublin for the evening flight back to Heathrow.
All in all, it was a very productive trip, you can’t call it a successful one until the end of May when we see how these horses have performed, we viewed just over 260 horses, made plenty of notes and gathered valuable insight from their trainers. We now have a clearer picture of which horses we like, what the trainers think of them and how they measure up against each other on the battlefield in their point-to-points over the coming months.
Over the coming months, the hard work begins as we look to build the team for the future. To do that, we rely on the continued support of our owners. We hope that the results we are delivering on the track will encourage you to stay on this journey with the syndicate — because without you, none of this is possible and your support is hugely appreciated as we push to succeed at the top.🔝
MALFOY MANOR’S LAST HURRAH
On Thursday I headed to Huntingdon with three runners across three different races. First up was Malfoy Manor. After another disappointment on his last run Dan Skelton found he had ulsurs so it was agreed that we would treat him and see if that would make a difference to him on track.
Harry Skelton decided we would try to ride him with “kid gloves” this time rather than force him. He looked from flag fall in all honesty that his mind was never quite on the job. He travelled ok for the majority of the race but once the pace started to quicken down the back straight, Malfoy chipped in at a couple of fence and soon found himself tailing off before Harry pulled him up 2 fences from home.
Another disappointing run from him. His mind is clearly not on racing so myself, Noel & all his owners have decided to retire him from racing.
One of his owners Chris Awdry has kindly agreed to have him and give him a home for life as a riding horse. Sadly we couldn’t get this lad to win but that is the way it goes sometimes.
MALFOY MANOR's Owners
JASMINE BLISS BAGS ⚫️ TYPE
Next up was Jasmine Bliss in the £40,000 Listed Mares’ Chase. She had finished 3rd on her chasing debut at Kempton when taking on the boys but this time she was back against the girls in what looked a very strong race with some highly rated mares. The aim was to finish in the top three to secure black type.
Paul O’Brien gave her a brilliant ride at the head of affairs. She jumped beautifully and travelled strongly throughout the race. Once entering the straight Paul kicked at the right time and despite the runner up looking like he was cantering, a good jump at the last sealed it and Jazz galloped strong through the line.
It was a serious performance from both horse and jockey. Jasmine is GBB registered so netted a 20K bonus to go along with 23K in prizemoney and more importantly Black Type.
To say I was buzzing was an understatement along with all of her owners. 🏆
Play Video
JAMINE BLISS' winners video
DELTA BLIUES BELLE AT HUNTINGDON
Last but certainly not least, we had Delta Blues Belle. We felt the step up in trip would really suit her and it was something we had been waiting to do. With the soft ground and her running off a nice mark, everything looked to be in her favour. We were confident the conditions would play to her strengths.
With just the 6 runners, Harry settled her at the back and bided his time throughout the race. On the home turn you could see Harry was confident and it was only a matter of time. He produced her upsides at the last and she won by a snug 1/2 length.
All the owners have been very patient with Delta so it was great to be able celebrate with a well-earned glass of champagne in the winners room 🍾
What we do next with her will depend on what the handicapper says on Tuesday. If he is a “bad man” we have two races penciled in at Chepstow on Friday.
Play Video
DELTA BLUES BELLE's winners video
Next week…
Diary Dates
Just a few upcoming dates for you to note:
⛳ Golf Trip to Vilamoura | 14th–18th March
🍀 Punchestown Festival Owners’ Trip – 27th April–1st May
⛳ Owners Golf Day at Newbury | 8th June
🏇 Owners Day at Hagg Hill | 1st August
GOLF TRIP DETAILs
Hotel
Hotel Vila Gale Ampalius (Bed & Breakfast)
Transfers
Airport and Golf transfers included
Golf
Sunday 15th March – Old Course – 1324.
Monday 16th March – Vale Do Lobo Royal – 1200
Tuesday 17th March – Quinta South – 0832 (tee time subject to change to later in the morning)
Wednesday 18th March – Quinta Laranjal – 0944
Cost
£979 – Standard Twin Sharing
£1099 – Standard Single
Extra nights:
£60pp – Standard Twin Sharing
£110 – Standard Single
If interested, please whats app Gian on 07977015987 by 14th Jan. He will take your requirements and add you to a group.
PUNCHESTOWN FESTIVAL TRIP DETAILS
Tues 28th – Thursday for 2 night package
Tues 28th – Friday for 3 night package
Price from £775 (*includes flight which is a change from previous years*)
PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO BOOK
NOEL FEHILY RACING BRANDED CLOTHING
https://www.michaelhope.co.uk/products/club-shops/noel-fehily/noel-fehily
https://www.michaelhope.co.uk/products/club-shops/noel-fehily/noel-fehily
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For all your printing, packaging and graphic design enquiries please contact www.olivepg.co.uk
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Have a great week.
David/Noel
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