“Good things often come in pairs"
Traditional Chinese saying

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Follow the Star: Solstice Star gives members of Foxtrot Racing who made the trip to Catterick plenty to cheer about.

Double delight

Dear Friends,

With the recent warm weather it's easy to have a sense of optimism, and we've plenty of good news to share this month.

At this time of year often we find out more about the newer horses as they make their first few starts under rules, and we were delighted for Reve and connections when he struck at Catterick on 22nd Feb.

It also proved to be a memorable day for Foxtrot Racing as Solstice Star continued to mine a rich vein of form, giving them their third win in four starts.

We have reports and replays of both these wins to enjoy below.

Closer to home we've got some videos and details for you of recent schooling and work, and we've also been hard at work ourselves with our schedule of yard improvements including groundworks for our new stable block and completing the new washdown area.

It's also a busy time with plenty of visitors to the yard and we were especially pleased to welcome members of Cheltenham and Three Counties Race Club to Condicote last weekend.

And, as ever, give us a call if you'd like to attend a sale, discuss any aspect of ownership, or arrange a visit to view any of the horses or foals for sale.

Dates for your diary

10 March - Quiz Night at The Volunteer, Chipping Camden in aid of Macmillan
12-15 March - The Festival, Cheltenham
14 March - Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale, Cheltenham
19 March - Foxtrot Racing Yard Visit

If you are interested in attending any of the above events please get in touch

Spot the owners: Connections savour Reve's vistory at Catterick. Picture: Racing TV

Race Report: 15.05 Catterick 22nd February

It was the first of three wins that day at Catterick for jockey Richard Johnson.

The duo made most of the early running, with Reve looking very comfortable before being joined 3 out. Reve was ridden clear between the last 2 hurdles keeping on to show a superior turn of foot and winning by 10 lengths.

An encouraging run and we're absolutely delighted for Oliver and Irene Ryan who had made the trip north.

Watch the replay

Master at work: Richard Johnson on Solstice Star. Picture: Racing TV

Race Report: 15.35 Catterick 22nd February

Richard Johnson showed just why he's champion jockey in a well-contested race at Catterick in the Like Racing TV on Facebook Handicap Chase. The pair stayed in touch in the early stages, before pushing on hard after 2 fences out, going from 3 lengths down at the second last to deliver an extremely hard-fought win by half-a-length, much to everyone's delight.

This is the third win in four starts for Foxtrot Racing and it's interesting to note this is Martin's eighth win with Solstice Star and the first time he's achieved 8 wins with a horse.

Watch the replay

It Takes Two

It often doesn't take a huge amount of post-race analysis to reinforce the importance of having the right jockey on board.

We're fortunate to have the services of three-times Champion Jockey Richard Johnson OBE (pictured above) who proves time and again his well deserved reputation for getting the very best from his rides.

Martin's policy with jockeys is straightforward - to use the very best that are available. He has excellent relationships with Richard, Aidan Coleman, Leighton Aspell and on the flat Tom Queally - not to mention our excellent Conditional Jockey Harry Stock.

are proud yard sponsors of Martin Keighley
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Owner Focus - Sole Owners and Syndicates

The recent double at Catterick provides the ideal opportunity to spotlight the two fantastic sets of owners and also gives us to look into how we as a yard is committed to meet the needs of different owner types.

Martin spends a lot of time with his sole and joint owners - Martin and Belinda recognise the shared passion and pleasure from sole owners who it can be argued often are more closely involved with the the day-to-day aspects of racehorse ownership. Often a sole owner is closely involved in planning - both in terms of races and race campaigns. On the horse purchasing side they may need sales and budget advice and expertise, often working with agents such as Gerry Hogan. We recognise that individual needs and ambitions may vary from owner to owner and we’re committed to meeting those.

It’s worth mentioning that Oliver Ryan (Pictured above at Cheltenham), owner of Reve, supplied the kitchen, fittings, fixtures and white goods literally including the kitchen sink for the owner's room and cloakroom and we're extremely grateful for all he's contributed to life at Condicote. We're fortunate to have owners like Oliver & Irene at the yard.

Syndicates such as Foxtrot Racing (pictured above at Chepstow) who lease Solstice Star are the fastest growing ownership group in UK Racing, and it's vital for an ambitious yard to understand this, and particularly that their needs often differ slightly to those of sole or joint owners.

Three of the top 10 syndicate organisers in the UK have a horse or horses at the yard - Foxtrot Racing, Hot To Trot Racing and Owners for Owners. With syndicate members we aim to be extremely flexible and friendly, for example hosting visits even when Cheltenham is on. A syndicate member may not be involved day-to-day, but often needs good levels of communication, videos, and updates from their social media groups. A good syndicate should provide enjoyable days out within the constraints of having greater numbers of members involved with the horse.

Training News & Yard Improvements

Out for a Breather

At Condicote we're exceptionally fortunate to have a huge amount of tracks available locally to keep the horses A1 both physically and mentally. We recently went out for a long cross-country session on the land of our fantastic neighbours, Christopher & Annie Cox followed by faster work up the grass gallop to finish. This was very well received by all as the above video shows.

Groundworks for our new stable block and wash down area are well underway. Thanks (again) must go to our landlord Robert Wharton for his continued support.

Jumping for Fun

In addition to keeping the horses fit, we also have the benefit of the facilities and wisdom of Jon Trice-Rolph to help their jumping and to ensure that our riders get regular coaching too. We were lucky enough to film this session which gives some behind-the-scenes insight into the work we put in to get the horses (and riders) jumping at their peak.

Ownership Opportunities & New Horses

The yearlings enjoying the new shelter in our foal area

JUST TWO SHARES LEFT

Now yearlings (as of Jan 1st) the trio were purchased by Paul Davis and Gerry Hogan at the Irish Foal Sale. We have a dedicated foal area at the yard which gives us all the pleasure of following them as they grow.

ONE SHARE LEFT - 'Basil' - Bay colt - Sans Frontieres ex Killoughey Babe
Purchase Price for 10% share = £1370 + VAT (£274) = Total £1644.
Contribution for keep = £75 per month per 10% share as from January

We think we got the steal of the sale here. We bought him first thing on the Monday morning before most people were at the sale and Gerry Hogan and Paul looked at each other in disbelief at the price we got him for. Sans Frontieres is a young sire whose stock are only hitting the tracks now (eldest are 4 years old) but he will have plenty of foals on the ground in the coming years. The dam has produced Senor Lombardy, who is a 137 rated 5 year old in Keith Dalgeish's yard and great things are expected of him. If Senor Lombardy goes on to be a very good racehorse (as we think he will) and if Sans Frontieres starts to become a stallion force to be reckoned with (as we think he will) then we've got a lovely youngster on our hands.

ONE SHARE LEFT - 'Herbie' - Brown colt - Califet ex Clondalee
Purchase Price for 10% share = £2370 + VAT (£474) = Total £2844.
Contribution for keep = £75 per month per 10% share as from January .

He was purchased late on the Wednesday after bidding on several foals in the previous two days, but where the prices were getting silly. High prices were being commanded for established stallions and so we needed to look for a different angle. Califet is quite a well known stallion from his days standing in France, producing the likes of Clarcam and Blue Dragon. However, he was moved to Boardsmill Stud about 4 years ago (who consigned our fellow) and so his first Irish bred stock are now 3 years old. He has large numbers on the ground and is a stallion we're going to be hearing a lot more of, and have almost certainly purchased his stock at the right time. Our fellow is a baby (May 20th foal) but is simply gorgeous and should grow to be a large chasing type. He is a half-brother to Kagney who is trained by Noel Meade and has won 2 of his 6 races being rated 127 in the process. He reminds Martin and Belinda very much of Champion Court and comes from the same stud as well. An exciting prospect.

Want to know more? C ontact Paul for details

FOR SALE

Mozzaro
3yo bay gelding by MOROZOV

ex Baraza by Kalanisi

£4,400 + VAT per 10^th share and £250 per month for all training fees and keep

This horse caught our eye from the minute the sales catalogue was published as it is a dam line that a number of our owners know well, containing the very promising young novice chaser Indian Hawk with Nicky Henderson and the very exciting dual-winning 4yo bumper, Melekhov, with Philip Hobbs.

He is a notably good-looking horse, an excellent mover with a really athletic swagger about him. Gerry Hogan absolutely loved him, and we snapped him up for somewhat less than we expected to have to pay, probably because the sire is not particularly well known. By contrast Simon Munir and Isaac Suede paid £110k for Indian Hawk.

Morozov is by Sadler’s Wells and has already sired three encouraging young horses in Eduard, Opening Batsman and Marshal Zhukov. Our lad is the third foal out of Baraza, and her first two foals have already won multiple times: Kinari has won four times to date over fences while Fletcher has won twice over hurdles. We are confident that our gelding will maintain Baraza’s 100% strike rate with winners to runners

Enquiries to Martin on 07767 472547 or Jon Hughes on 01451 850780.

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Reve'd Up: Reve (right) delivers the points this month. Pic: Racing TV

Five To Follow

Our annual Five to Follow competition is turning into a two horse race between two highly competitive types. In the Red Corner is Belinda Keighley whom some might say has the inside track. In the Blue Corner is Alan Stickley, who, judging by his shrewd selections, is a worthy adversary and has every chance of emerging the victor.

Prizes will be given to winners at the Champagne Breakfast at the end of the season. The scoring works by awarding 10 points if your selected horse wins, 5 points if your horse places 2nd, 3 points for a 3rd

The current standings are:

1st - Belinda Keighley - 63 points
2nd - Alan Stickley - 51 points
3rd - Irene Ryan - 48 points
4th - John Gent - 46 points
5th - Gordon Bendall - 43 points

Warmest Regards
Martin, Belinda, Freddie, Harry and all the team at Condicote Stables

#BePartOfIt