George Baker’s Blog

Snow....

Not a lot. Not exactly "whiteout Whitsbury". But the first we have seen down here for a while. A bleak and chilly forecast for the week ahead. The betting shop fodder of the allweather likely to be to the fore. How exciting....??!!

The Baker family away to Shropshire for a couple of days over the weekend. A beautiful and stunning part of the country. To stay with David and Angie Loder. To make a plan or two for the summer ahead.....

A walk yesterday morning atop the "Long Mynd" (not sure of the spelling). A little hazy, and bitterly cold, but some inspiring countryside looking east to the Welsh mountains. Clean air. And a remarkable drive down off the top dropping into Church Stretton. This island of ours has some incredible and diverse landscapes. And, mercifully, many of them still very unspoilt, as yet untouched by the wind turbine or the planner's notepad......

An excellent lunch in the Village Pub at Barnsley on the way home. Near Cirencester. The rare roast beef hitting the spot.....

Some weekend of sport. First the ugly. England belittled and humiliated by Pakistan. The bowlers creating a match winning situation. Good to see Monty to the fore. But then the batsmen looking more "village" than Test standard, prodding and poking their way to ignominy. Strauss and Cook prompting the collective attitude by failing to attack the target from the outset. Still the Number One team in the world. But vulnerable, very vulnerable, in the sub-continent .....

QPR losing by a single, soft goal to Chelsea in the FA Cup. "Soft" because the penalty that split the teams should not have been awarded. That may sound like a blinkered and jingoistic remark from a QPR supporter, but this was one call that the referee got badly wrong.....

Manchester United succumbing to a late Dirk Kuyt strike at Anfield. Crawley and Stevenage keeping a little of the "romance" of the Cup alive.......

Melbourne. Some tennis match. One of the greatest ever ?? Just shy of 6 hours. A cliche, I know, but neither Nadal nor Djokovic deserving to leave the court a loser. Sport of the highest intensity and skill.....

And in Abu Dhabi, Robert Rock defying the likes of Tiger and Rory to secure his second European Tour title. Robert, like us, sponsored by BBT Financial services. And great to see the logo carried aboard our horses in a prominent place on "Rocky's" shirt as he received his trophy. Robert admitted to huge nerves early on. But then realised that he could "do this". And do it he did !!!!!

Hurricane Fly looking the real deal. Again. Furious with myself for not availing myself of an antepost price before yesterday, as the Champion Hurdle looks like a "penalty kick" now.....

Still quiet on the runners front. But very busy around the yards. The work being cranked up. The turf season on the horizon. Time flying. As ever......

Valerie back to Dubai. Missing out on this morning's snow. I bet she is gutted.....

No Cigar.....

Belgian Bill running a little flat. Ted Durcan not sure that he handled his first run on the "dirt"......

We will freshen him up. And he will bounce back......

Off to the airport. A long way to come to finish 7th. But racing does not give up it's favours easily...

An early start....

To get out to Meydan to see Humidor work under Shane Foley before the sun rose. Some sight, this vast Grandstand lit by the floodlights as a red sun appears on the horizon. Several horses working in the half light, but nothing near as busy as an American track at the same hour......

This is the appointed time for the International horses. Joe riding Humidor down the dirt track from the stables, and then through the subway that leads out onto the dirt track. Where Shane was waiting to be legged aboard. Before breezing Humidor, quickening off the home bend and up the straight.....

A fine sight. I took some photos. A couple of which I "tweeted" onto Twitter. It will not be long before I am putting photographs on this blog on a daily basis, which I hope will add a little colour to my turgid prose.....

Clive Cox here to see his horses work. And Brian Meehan. And a few other familiar faces from further afield. Some wise old work riders. Some weather beaten faces. A similar scene played out every day on a number of global racecourses. Very different to back home, but a certain allure to it. I remember from my time on the "backstretch" with Clancy in Saratoga that there is a particular camaraderie that comes with this "job". The shared experience of working at dawn. The opportunity to see how others go about their jobs. The reverential silence as work watchers peer into the gloom to pick out the tell-tale markings of a particular superstar. Selling platers working at the same time as global champions......

As I said, a definite "allure" to the half light of dawn. In a place like this. Great to be involved. A privilege to be involved. To have horses good enough to be here. I just hope that Belgian Bill and Humidor continue to do us proud......

From everybody I meet out here, nothing but the highest praise for the manner in which Valerie has overseen our horses' preparations. No surprise there......

Dinner last night with Kim Smith-Bingham (www.niagaraequissage.com) and Julia Delves Broughton (Christie's International UK). Which sounds a bit like the start of a Bertie Wooster tale. But was great fun. After a drink with several of TLNCK's owners. Who are still your owners, I promise Kim.....

Most of them headed to Meydan tonight. Belgian Bill runs in the 4th. The nerves beginning to kick in. I do get very nervous, whenever we have runners. Be it downtown Dunstall or downtown Dubai. It would be dull if our runners became "just another horserace". Important to be nervous, because I believe that nerves polarise the mind, and ensure that one concentrates on the job in hand. I very rarely watch a horserace with our owners, preferring instead to head to my favoured spot alone (I have one on most courses - a place from where I have shouted home winners...).

Not sure where I will be watching from tonight. Not quite in the Henrietta Knight "Ladies Loo" bracket. But not far off it......

Good luck Bill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dubai....

The overnight flight in, a quick stop at my hotel, and then out to "The International Stables" to see Belgian Bill and Humidor. And of course Joe. Who is here for 10 days whilst Valerie reacquaints herself with the English weather......

My taxi driver struggling with the route. Which, I am lead to believe, is par for the course. For a while, I thought we were going to be stranded forever in the vast underground car park at Meydan Racecourse. A car park that is quite easy to disappear down into. Less easy to extricate ourselves from....

When my taxi driver (his English was very limited, and so sign language took over - I think he thinks I am Frankie Dettori....) eventually re-emerged into the light of day, we parked to ask a security guard for directions. A security guard who suddenly turned into a demented chicken, rushing up and down the area where we had parked with arms flailing in all directions......

It transpired that we had parked in a spot where only "His Highness" is allowed to park. It was just a shade of odds against that HRH would want to park outside a deserted racecourse on a Wednesday morning, but our security "friend" was taking no chances. I half expect to be on the front page of tomorrow's local paper......

Eventually, we pulled up outside the International Stables. Which was a relief. And great to see the two horses in such exalted surroundings, and both clearly in rude health....

England playing cricket down the road in Abu Dhabi. But nothing on TV. A lot of local football, quite a lot of channels devoted to "chanting", Robert Redford taking on the Viet Cong, and MTV. The only cricket being shown, bizarrely, is a repeat of last summer's Lords Test between England and Sri Lanka. Which seems a little strange. England are 61 for 1 in their 2nd innings, leading by 68. I have no idea what is going on down the road, but I can tell you that Trott and Cook are looking pretty secure last summer.....

4 to Trott. Lead by 72. Quite fun being half a year behind the rest of the world......

 

Back to our old stamping ground....

To Warwick yesterday. For lunch with Andy Luckhurst of BBT Financial Services, our yard sponsor. Andy and BBT have been massive supporters of ours from the outset. BBT also sponsor PGA Golf Professionals Robert Rock and Paul Broadhurst......

A fun and eclectic gathering. A 2-year-old sold to new owners, and another couple of horses leased to a new syndicate. The Saxon Mill, a favoured haunt in the Moreton Morrell days, providing a fine lunch. As ever.....

No runners here for a day or two. But Belgian Bill an intended runner in Dubai on Thursday. The Emirates Racing website "off piste" first thing this morning, so I have yet to have sight of the opposition or, importantly, the draw. More later. I hope.....

Still undecided as to whether I will head out there tonight. We will see how today goes. But I guess it may be a decent opportunity as we will get busier and busier over the next few weeks.....

A busy morning here. Lady Cobham and Giles and Felicity Irwin here to see their Sakhees Secret filly canter. Jeremy Gompertz to see his Notnowcato filly. And Marcus Locock here with some of the syndicate he has put together for the Bahamian Bounty 2-year-old, Bountybeamadam. Well named.....

Happy Christmas !!!

Yesterday, we sat down to Christmas lunch. Turkey. With all the "trimmings".......

I cannot stand the word "trimmings". I am not quite sure why I am so anti this inconsequential little word, but it is right up there on my hate list, alongside "moist" and "choice". We all have our little foibles.....

Christmas lunch because Valerie is home from Dubai. Not for long. For ten days or so, before she heads back east to mastermind the campaigns of Humidor and Belgian Bill......

Dan, Adam, John and Keith (a fellow QPR man) with us through the morning yesterday. To see George Baker canter with his 2-year-old full sister. Who is to be named Petite Georgia......

Candida to Wincanton on Saturday. Peter and Jo Earl in attendance to watch Not So Sure Dick run a fantastic race in the 0-130 Badger Ales Handicap Chase. NSSD rated 105, and this had been no more than a tentative entry earlier in the week. But as declaration time on Friday morning approached, it was clear that we would sneak into the bottom of the handicap. A competitive contest, for sure, but no "handicap blots" lurking. And with Trevor Whelan's 7 pound claim, Dick attractively weighted......

A fine effort to chase up the progressive Hunt Ball, the rest of the field floundering in our wake. NSSD's jumping immaculate, which has not always been the case, but, as if with Oscar Close, his confidence is improving with each outing........

The handicapper will have his say tomorrow. I hope he is not too unkind......

A remarkable afternoon on the football pitch yesterday. Between the Turkey and the Christmas pudding, I caught the odd glimpse of some pretty extraordinary action. Defoe's miss consigning Tottenham to being "also ran's" this season, the title now firmly embedded in Manchester soil. Which way will it go ?? City in the driving seat. But United, as ever, refusing to go away. It just could be an epic.........

A quiet week on the runners front. February the lull before the storm of the Flat season kicks into gear. The 2-year-olds continuing their progress. The older horses all back in work. Numerically, our strongest team yet. Which guarantees nothing. But much hope abounds around the place that there might be one or two good enough to follow in the hoofprints of Humidor and Belgian Bill......

Bill a possible runner on Thursday at Meydan. On the allweather. Which we know from his run in Turkey that he will handle. I am half thinking of heading out there. We will at some point. Maybe half-term with Barney and Tallulah in tow as "work riders".........

And finally.........

Kim Bailey. TLNCK...............??????

A couple of guesses. A nose or two mentioned.......

THE LONG NOSED COMEBACK KID..........

A lot of water (in fact, a tsunami or two....) has passed under several bridges (for both of us...) since we sat together, in company with Candida, long into a dark Huntingdon evening. A bottle of whisky to hand.......

If we had all had the chance to see 5 or 6 years ahead to the present, I reckon we would both more than have settled for where we find ourselves today......

Kim away from his depressing Preston Capes base, to a renaissance at Andoversford. Us to Whitsbury. That would have been a pretty long priced double, that gloomy night at Huntingdon....

TLNCK. Far too polite............!!

Ludlow....

Is a very long way from here. Another day in the car, but actually a much easier drive than many of the journeys we undertake. And once you drive off the M5, one heads through some stunning country. Some great views away to Wales and beyond.........

And always a warm welcome (and a plate of stunning rare beef) when you get there. The Chairman of the course, Willie Jenks, a good friend. And epitomising what the role of Chairman should entail. Free of all petty pomposities, Willie is a welcoming and congenial host. Far removed from several Racecourse Board Directors who, upon appointment, evolve into arrogance personified.......

Lunch with Paul and Diane Hennessey, awaiting the arrival of Wayne from training at Molineux. Barney with me. Not well at school the previous day. A bit of bracing Shropshire air putting the colour back in his cheeks (a sentence which, when re-read, sounds a little Victorian......?!). Wayne arriving in the paddock for Oscar Close's race. A decent gathering to greet Trevor Whelan, bolstered by the presence of David and Angie Loder. David has been to four racecourses since he gave up training - Meydan, Ascot, Ludlow, and I forget the 4th (maybe Aintree...). Ludlow a little "off piste" for him.....!!

Oscar running a fine race, under a welter weight. The handicapper forced our hand, but Oscar in no way disgraced in 4th place. In fact, I am thrilled with the horse. His jumping was exemplary, and he attacked his fences with real zest. Hopefully, the mental stains of his Ffos Las fall now a distant memory. Unlucky not to be second yesterday, as he was squeezed up after the last, and his career firmly back on track after a blip or two. He will be freshened up now before we go to war off his new mark (115).

Wayne interviewed at every turn. Signing many an autograph. The walk from the unsaddling enclosure to the Director's Room taking an age. But once inside, Wayne "interviewed" again by Wolves supporters Willie Jenks and David Minton. Nicky Henderson producing the comment of the day, tongue firmly in cheek. "Blimey - you are tall enough to be a Goalkeeper....."

Down at Lingfield, Candida with Adrian Coleman and Toby Wand. The comeback of Good Old Paul. A comeback that did not exactly "pull up trees". But at least he is back on the course after a career threatening injury. He has the form in the book from his pointing days, and now we will get stuck into him on the gallops to ensure that there is a massive step forward from this "effort".....

Barney and I stopping off at Warwick School on the way home. For him to catch up with a few old classmates. Guy Canning, the Junior School Headmaster, is a keen racing man. When we first went to Warwick to meet Guy, it boded well that his office wall was covered not with dull diplomas but with photos of Arkle and other legends. A good start !!

Back to Ludlow. My good friend Kim Bailey in attendance. Candida and I do not have a huge number of friends within racing (always easier in all walks of life to keep business and pleasure apart, I have always found....), but Kim and Cookie Bailey are good mates. As mentioned previously, Kim refers to me as TNDGB. I have been struggling to come up with a suitable "moniker" for Kim. TLNCK will do. Any guesses............??????

Kim told me that he described me on RUK as "a good trainer". The old boy must be mellowing in his old age........

"Accident. Please slow down"......

A sign I saw far too many times yesterday. Motorway mayhem. Obviously much worse for those actually involved in the "Accident. Please Slow Down" scenario. Thankfully, none of yesterday's "Accident. Please Slow Down's" was anything more than a slight bump, or a puncture in the fast lane....

But the result was a motorway system in gridlock. A couple of times, I dived "off piste" in search of clear road. Only to bump into yet another "Accident, Please Slow Down".....

For reasons too trivial and mundane to be worthy of comment here, I had to be in Bromley at 10.00 O'Clock yesterday morning. I left Whitsbury at 6. Giving me ample time. Or so I thought. 3 hours and 55 minutes later, I reached my appointment. On time. Just.......

From Bromley to Lingfield. A pretty smooth and simple journey. "Test Match Special" keeping me sane. Aggers, Blowers, CMJ, Sir Geoffrey all helping to calm me against the vagaries of the dread M25.....

Lingfield providing the high spot of an otherwise pretty dire day. Final Delivery disappointing, but it transpires that he got a large chunk of kickback lodged in his throat. Which explains his run. The "high spot" being lunch with Danny Baker, and twins Adam and Dan Wain. The Lingfield Owners carvery putting several higher profile tracks to shame. And providing "safe haven" from the huge crowds that descend on "Leafy" (there must have been nearly 200 there yesterday) to watch the betting shop fodder on show......

Danny Baker with a fun tale. Andrew Baker drives for a few jockeys. Two years ago he had a son. And named him George. Not after me (obviously) or the jockey (less obviously), but after the horse !! Like us, he had to endure watching this horse perform moderately at a moderate level for too long. Like us, he now has a better tale to tell. Young George must come down to Whitsbury.......

Away from Lingfield. And more meltdown. On the M25. Then the A3 around Guildford. Then around Portsmouth on the M27. 3 hours to get home from Lingfield. Which is far too long......

An hour with my Personal Trainer to release a little of the pent-up anger. Yes, I did just write "an hour with my Personal Trainer". I am running the Marathon for Racing Welfare. Or, more pertinently, hoping to complete the Marathon. My 8th London Marathon, but first for a while. And first since I swore that I would never hear the start gun at Blackheath again. A fantastic cause. The hard yards start now.....

Ludlow for me today. Oscar Close. The handicapper forcing our hand by putting him up 16 pounds (!!) for winning at Huntingdon last week. Today's race a "no brainer" in that respect, but still competitive enough.....

Candida to Lingfield with Toby Wand and Adrian Coleman, the owners of Good Old Paul. A fine, big horse. Who has been off forever. And who will benefit massively from seeing the racecourse again. I am looking forward very much to seeing him back on track....

Remarkably.....

It has taken until the middle of January for us to have a rock hard frost. A mild, mild winter. Our weather patterns becoming impossible to double guess. After the major disruption of living amidst the permafrost last year, the stark contrast of the calm of this winter. So far. A sting in the tail.......??

Perhaps. Maybe February will be brutal. Or even March. I will never forget the surreal Cheltenham Gold Cup run against the backdrop of deep snow on Cleeve Hill. The runners had headed to post in heavy snow. And then been sent back to the paddock as the snow was "balling" in their feet......

But as dusk approached, the snow relented. And The Thinker stormed past Cybrandian, who had lead at the last, to win for Willie Stephenson. And the card was completed, Half Free winning the Cathcart Chase in near darkness to bring the curtain down on a remarkable day. If there had not been so much snow on Cleeve Hill, producing an eerie "half light", they would not have run The Cathcart. For sure. And in this day and age of heightened and intense Health and Safety, I am sure racing would not have continued.......

Maybe we will get away without any snow this winter. And it's disruptive effect to our sport in particular. Maybe.....

Warneford running all right yesterday. Kieren Fallon telling us that the horse had given him a very proper feel. I am sure there is plenty more to come. Over a hurdle......??

A work morning ahead. Ned Sangster here to ride out. Ginny Clark here second lot to watch her Bahamian Bounty 2-year-old filly canter. Probably named "Bountybeamadam"......

No runners. A plan or two to be made for later in the week. Under both codes....

Meanwhile, England stuttering in Dubai. 39-2, Cook and Trott back in the hutch. An empty stadium. Which must be a little strange. Spinners bowling from the outset. A different type of cricket. Can England adapt ?? They should have the necessary nous.....

No runners....

Over the weekend. And just the one today. Warneford heading up to Downtown Dunstall. Having his first run for us, with Mr Fallon on board. This horse has his quirks, but appears in decent order at home. We will learn more about him today.....

Frustratingly, Final Delivery, our other intended runner, will not be making the trip. He got "cast" in his stable overnight on Saturday, and was just a little distressed and sore yesterday morning. Nothing dramatic, but enough to preclude him from running today. He may well head to Lingfield on Wednesday now, provided he is sound when ridden later today.....

Saturday afternoon was spent watching Barney Baker and his teammates eke out a 1-0 victory away at Hazelgrove School. Hockey. Never my favourite sport at school. And a sport that has never grasped my attention, except for the odd fleeting moment when the England team are battling for Olympic Gold. Effing cold on the touchline on saturday. And that strange school tea, infused with soap at source, to warm us up afterwards......

A busy saturday morning. Frosty. But bright and clear. A beautiful morning to watch the horses work. Up the "Long" allweather. And several of the two-year-olds now well into stride. Cantering every day. Progressing....