George Baker’s Blog

"55"

A nice round number. The name of my favourite restaurant in the South of France. Fantastic Steak Tartare. Which is not normally what I eat on the beach. Actually, cannot remember the last beach I ate on. We did venture south to Swanage at some point on a gloomy Sunday last "Summer". Not quite St Tropez. And no Steak Tartare.........

"55" the number of winners we have trained in 2011. After Final Delivery shed his maiden tag at Downtown Dunstall last night. Good old Downtown Dunstall. Despite it's distance from here, still featuring on our radar.......

Candida at Lingfield with Scarlet Rocks and Encore Un Fois. Both 4th. Which is reasonable. But not very exciting. Scarlet Rocks on her way back to David Evans having been claimed off the Khans. And Encore Un Fois off to jump a hurdle with Mr Henderson in Lambourn....

A brilliantly witty and incisive "Brickbats and Bouquets" article in yesterday's Racing Post by that doyen of the Press Room, Rodney Masters. My old mate Kim Bailey's blog, quite rightly, coming in for high praise. And Kim prompted to refer to me yesterday on said blog as LHH (Lord Haw-Haw). Because I attempt to use this forum to promote our business ??!! Surely not..........

Kim's other nickname for me is TNDGB ("The name dropping George Baker"). I am working hard on his. It will need to be very good.......!!

Four runners today. Irons On Fire heading to Lingfield. And Not So Sure Dick, Muchmordash and Tish Bay to Warwick. The latter two making their debut in the bumper, and both will learn plenty from the experience. NSSD in a competitive little 0-105 Handicap Chase. Which has somewhat bizarrely found it's way onto Channel 4's schedule......

A Happy New Year to you all. And may 2012 bring great happiness and success. And a Happy Birthday to all Racehorses for tomorrow, 1st January...

 

As a "papering over the cracks"....

Exercise. The BHA's 12 "Tweets Of Christmas" has to be right up there at the very top. Tantamount to George Osborne coming up with 12 "Positive tweets about the economy in 2011".......

Bizarre PR. That has been greeted with bemused bafflement on Twitter and other media outlets. Not quite the response that whoever came up with this can have expected. Surely it would have been better to go quietly. And to polarise thoughts on the year ahead, rather than highlight some very dubious positives from a year of ignominy.....

One depressing GB Racing Tweet from 2011, highlighting the parlous state of our sport -

"In 2011, George Baker the racehorse won 4 races. And finished second twice. He won prize money of £11257. If George Baker had won one claimer in France or America, he would have won more. And lets not even dream of Hong Kong, Japan, Australia etc......"

No more "papering over the cracks". Please, dear BHA. Time for very radical reform. Enough PR spin. PLEASE......!!!

Thundering Home....

Is exactly what Thundering Home did at Downtown Dunstall last night. Winning by half a length. But possibly value for a little more as he had anything but a clear run up the straight. At the furlong pole, as David Kenny angled for a run between horses, I thought we would be an unlucky loser. But to his credit, TH put his head down and battled all the way to the line. Another canny ride from David who continues to impress.........

TH has been a bit of a "project". A long standing maiden before appearing with us, he has now won two. And hopefully there is a little juice still to be squeezed out of the lemon...

And Downtown Dunstall being good to us again. I personally have not sampled her "delights" for what seems an age. A long way from Whitsbury. As are most places.....

Zamina, our other DD runner, heading to pastures new now. To Tim Vaughan, a good friend and ally. Who will for sure eke hurdles success out of her......

The disappointment of the day being Belle de Fontenay's odds-on defeat at Leicester. As the price of 4/7 suggests, this was a very winnable race. But she has had some hard races, primarily because she tries her heart out, and maybe this was one step beyond......

We will see. She will tell us what the next step is......

No runners today. Bring on the paperwork mountain......

"Disaster" written all over it.....

The moment when Barney's new remote controlled helicopter (for "inside use" - we discovered subsequently...) headed skywards. Before alighting high on the roof of my mother's house.....

"It will get blown off by the wind". "We can get it tomorrow in the light". "You don't really want to play with it anymore today, do you....??" All these very rational sentences were, quite rightly, rebutted by Barney Baker.....

And so in the black dusk of Christmas Day, I found myself atop a rickety old ladder with a long stick in one hand. Prodding and poking into the gloom. With BB issuing instructions from the flowerbed below. "Disaster" written all over it.....

Thankfully, I did not fall. I did not squash my son as I tumbled out of the murk. I did not end up in "A and E". And thankfully a remote controlled helicopter toppled gently off the roof and into a soft hedge below. A result. On all fronts......

But I should imagine that all around the land there were fathers embarking on similarly foolish escapades on Christmas Day. And I should imagine some of them are still in "A and E" as I write....

Dangerous old time, Christmas Day........

An old chestnut, I know, but how annoying is it for children's toys to be "battery free" ?? When they need batteries. And does anyone ever have the right screwdriver to unscrew those incredibly fiddly screws. And does everyone else risk life and limb by using inappropriate kitchen knives for the job......??

Back to the real world. Of our world of horseracing. If that can indeed be described as a "real world"....

Kauto Star imperious. Some sight as he headed into the home straight, Ruby taking a look behind to see the toiling pursuers, letting out an inch of rein and putting the race to bed. Nobody likes an "aftertimer". But I did back Kauto for the King George on the morning of The Betfair Chase. Not a life changing bet. But 16/1 looked too big.......

Enough "aftertiming". "Nobody likes an aftertimer". Especially as I would not have mentioned the bet had Kauto not won.....

Back to the racecourse for us today. Not exactly heady stuff. But good to have the lorries heading out of the yard after a couple of quiet days. Leicester and Wolverhampton. And then some more of that exciting allweather stuff through the rest of the week.....

And the news from Dubai is excellent. Valerie, Belgian Bill and Humidor all settled in well. None of them fazed by the heat. Especially Valerie......

A day late.....

To be talking about "The Sports Personality Of The Year". But In Mark Cavendish we have a truly worthy winner. And the show itself went a very long way to dispelling many peoples' assertions that this is a programme on the wane.....

The great and the good from every sport turned out, as was evidenced by several close up camera angles. Notably of a battered and bruised AP. There must have been some amongst the viewing public who assumed that AP was a featherweight boxer......

This programme, in my youth, was always excitedly anticipated. Clips of sporting success would battle for space alongside "features". Geoff Capes pulling an articulated lorry. With his teeth. I may have made the "teeth" bit up. Boxer John Conteh always seemed to be doing something a little strange, often with golf balls. Henry Cooper would be wheeled out as the token "Royal" for the night. Eddie The Eagle. Trevor Francis, the first million pound footballer. A dodgy and flickering video link to some far flung outpost of empire, from where Mike Brearley would speak to the nation, Botham at his shoulder "taking the piss".....

And who could possibly forget Red Rum walking out onto the stage ? Well, millions can probably forget Red Rum walking out onto the stage. But not us racing folk. Ginger McCain loving every minute of it. An injured Tommy Stack on a big (black and white, I am sure...) screen. Tommy chatting away as the great horse appeared. Red Rum's ears flicking to attention. "He's thinking 'Not that old bugger again'...."says Tommy. Priceless.....

The BBC have given up on sport. A very minor part of their mandate these days. Perhaps the reason SPOTY was such a big occasion was the fact that we were in the pre-Sky era. There was very limited sport on TV. Grandstand. Match Of The Day. A bit more racing than nowadays. Test Match Cricket. But we are now in different times. Every kick, hit or stoke of a ball from around the globe available to watch "live". And, whatever we think of the "moguls" who run the Sky empire, these are gilded times for sports fans. I, for one, love it......

Christmas Eve. Happy Christmas Eve. Happy Christmas Eve Johnson Houghton. Happy Christmas to you all. All three of you who wade through my inane witterings on a daily basis. Two excited urchins upstairs. Still asleep at 7.15. They will not be asleep at this time tomorrow.......

 

At dead of night, they slipped quietly away......

A long journey. An exciting journey. Belgian Bill and Humidor en route to Dubai. Where the possibility of acquiring great riches awaits.....

Valerie ahead of the horses on the Emirates overnight flight. In the heat of Dubai already. The horses due in early evening. Our first runners out there. A massive learning curve. But all good experience. And whilst we will learn plenty from these early sorties abroad, they will hold us in good stead for future trips......

Valerie out there until the end of January. By which time we will know whether Patrick can head east to take over. The excellent Joe heading out in the middle of January anyway for a while. I have no idea whether C or I will make it out there at any time. We shall see. Good luck boys.......!!!!

Horses do not take into account the vagaries of the calendar. Bank Holidays mean very little to them. In fact, Bank Holidays mean absoutely nothing to them. Obviously....

Half my exceptional team working on Christmas Day. The others opting for New Year's day. With runners between Christmas and New Year, some will be ridden on Christmas morning. C and I and the kids planning to head to Sussex for lunch on Christmas Day. But those whose livelihoods revolve around animals will be making compromises to their Christmas schedules. Nothing 9 to 5 about this "job"......

Marcus Locock with us yesterday morning with several family members to inspect his Bahamian Bounty yearling. Like most of the babies, now being ridden. Steady away. But not far from hitting the gallops. Some of the yearlings have been cantering for some time. Progress happens apace at this stage of their careers. A busy few weeks ahead with these youngsters. But "busy" is definitely good.....

The most yearlings we have ever had. And much the best in terms of quality. He says. Hopefully.....

"Wes Brown ruined my night".

Which is not quite on a par with "Harry Findlay kidnapped my daughter". But not far off it.....

The evening starting well. At Kempton. Which is not usually where evenings start well. Encore Un Fois under a cool and canny ride from David Kenny (who is nearly up to 40 followers on his Twitter account - only half of which are family......).....

Another (and welcome) winner in the famous purple and gold of the Khan brothers. Murt on hand. And nearly not shivering in the unseasonably warm conditions. Nearly.....

And providing us with our "December winner". My annorakky (a lovely word...) stat of training at least a winner every month rolls on. 25 consecutive winning months. Harder at this time of year, with the ammunition a little thin on the ground. I am sure that there are several trainers out there who can beat this particular "stat" by a country mile (as opposed to a City Mile....??), but it remains an important, if largely irrelevant, one to me...........

Barney Clifford, Clerk of the Course at Kempton, on the cusp of the track's big day. Boxing Day. The King George a race to savour. As ever. And Barney in buoyant mood, the weather forecast giving him little cause for sleepless nights unlike a year ago......

From Kempton to Loftus Road. QPR at home to Sunderland. In the Director's Box with Adrian Coleman, Toby Wand (both "Good Old Paul" owners) and their friend Stewart. The finest seats in the house. QPR 2-0 down at the start of the second half. Clawing their way back to 2-2.......

And then "Wes Brown ruined my night". The mighty Rangers slipping closer to the danger zone. Tough times ahead. At the other end of the table, the Manchester Clubs engaged in a dogfight which has the potential to be an epic.......

Valerie to Dubai this evening. Belgian Bill and Humidor following her in the wee small hours of tomorrow morning. Travel well, the three of you !!!

Gutted. I checked my position in the "Kim Bailey 5 To Follow" competition. My early podium position was clearly a false dawn. Slipping back through the pack. In danger of becoming tailed off......

Gutted. My chance of a free dinner off Kim at The Wheatsheaf is becoming a distant mirage. My only hope may well be to hack into his website and alter a result. Or two. I am on the case.......

It is on occasions like this.....

That I feel a little sorry for the bus driver. The outward journey filled with good natured banter. The return trip usually a good deal livelier......

The Christmas party last night. In the finest Chinese restaurant this side of Shanghai. Nick Oii's City Bay View restaurant in Poole. Nick the breeder of Harbinger. And others. Delicious food. Each and every time....

I drove. Thus avoiding the vagaries of the bus journey. We had ordered a "minibus". The beast that turned up did not quite fit with that description, it's usual duties being the transfer of most of the Stretford End from the Home Counties to Old Trafford. Time will tell (shortly) whether the bus made it home. Or whether the driver was kidnapped and forced to park alongside the nightspots of downtown Bournemouth........

We are still struggling to make anything other than short term plans for our horses. The latest edition of The Racing Calendar taking us up until 15th January. Which is not much more than 3 weeks hence. Which in our sport is not very far ahead at all. Not a good state of affairs. Another lack of resources at the top.....

One runner today. Encore Un Fois to Kempton. Where the atmosphere will be a little different than it will in a few day's time. Boxing Day. The only day of the year that provides compelling sport at this least alluring of venues. A couple of hundred people there later. Maximum.......

Two little monsters in this house getting progressively excited. Not long to wait. I may have told this one before, but here goes anyway.......

Tallulah (aged 7) drew herself up to her full height recently. And exclaimed, "Mummy and Daddy, I know the truth about Father Christmas....."

Well, we thought, we have done pretty well to spin it out this long.......

"Darling, what is the truth about Father Christmas ?", I asked. Resigned to the fact that the fairytale was over......

"Well Daddy, I have found out that Father Christmas is having an affair with the Tooth Fairy......."

Priceless. And so the fairytale lives on. Just. Barney playing the game. But Tallulah getting there.......

STOP PRESS - the yard radio system has just asked for somebody to be picked up from A and E in Salisbury. Sounds like there is a tale or two to hear from last night. Hope everybody is all right.....

The "picked up" bit at least sounds encouraging......

"Irons On Fire"....

And "nationwide gamble" were not words I was expecting to read in the same sentence. This horse has ability. But he also has his quirks. And he has also had his problems........

We have worked hard on his back, an area that had clearly been causing him some discomfort. And this chiropractic treatment has certainly helped. In the past few weeks, he has started to move much better out on the gallops.....

And so we headed to Lingfield last saturday hopeful of a better showing. I hoped that he would run into the frame, and imagined that he would be an each-way price. A couple of non-runners. Followed by market freefall......

6/4 he returned. Ludicrous. Although I suppose those who piled in were not too wide of the mark. 1.12 the lowest he traded on Betfair in running. Beaten three quarters of a length in the end. Returning to unsaddle with blood pouring from an injury on his near fore. That did not look great. But thankfully has turned out to be no more than a superficial wound. No stitches required in the end......

Irons declared again for Wolverhampton tomorrow. The "spotlight" sure to be on him. No superstar. But capable of picking up a race or two. And progressing perhaps to jump a hurdle......

The "lemming effect". A shortening of a price becoming freefall. Not unusual with horses in our care. Which is fine. Because often the market is correct. Because we run our horses where they can be competitive. And not for "a nice day out"....

Our other runner over the weekend, Scarlet Rocks, unlucky in running. Mounting a challenge when denied a clear run at the furlong pole. Dane O'Neill ludicrously cautioned for easing up. Which beggars belief. Dane had to snatch up when the horse on his inside veered dramatically off the rails. Game over. All chance gone........

These sprint handicaps take a lot of winning. Because so much luck is required off the home bend.....

Darker than ever out there today. And cold. But still no permafrost. Will we avoid the snow altogether this time around.......??

Climate change.....

Global warming. Shifting seasons......

Who would be a meterologist ?? No rhymne or reason (that would be a good name for a racehorse) to our weather patterns. Take this year. An unbelievably warm April. A "barbecue April" is not something that one expects. But that is what we got. Followed by a dry but mainly dull summer.....

This time last year, the country in the grip of the permafrost. Deep snow. Massive disruption. Nearly as much "disruption" as when the dreaded wrong leaves fall on the rail tracks. This year, we have barely had a frost. A couple of mornings the grass has been kissed with the white of a frost. But nothing that has turned the ground bone hard. I am sure it will come.....

But, as I said, no rhymne and reason to it all.........

Who would be a meterologist ?? A profession that has struggled ever since the mighty Michael Fish's wonderful "moment" before the Great Storm of 1987.....

A remarkable weekend that one. The storm on the Friday. I was working in the city at the time. My drive to work on that morning a surreal experience. Massive oak trees thrown around Battersea Park like so many matchsticks. A telephone box in the middle of the road. Telegraph wires hanging horribly in every direction. Street lights flickering on and off. And then off for good. Very few cars. Bewildered Londoners waking up to the carnage.....

The Stock Market closed early that day. By midday, if my recollections are right. Nobody, bar a very few of us, could get to work. London closed......

As Wall Street opened. And went into freefall. Nobody at their desks in the City to react.......

An extraordinary weekend. I made it to Sussex. Just. With a gang of friends. To my parent's house. Trees down everywhere. I remember vividly driving towards a favourite wood of my father's in our Landrover. From afar, all looked as normal. But upon closer inspection, it became obvious that a mighty whirlwind had torn the heart out of the wood. Previously named Round Copse, it became Flat Copse for many a year....

The newspapers. The Great Storm competing with the Great Crash on Wall Street. Sunday surreal. The calm before the storm. The city braced for a massive correction. Which came on that Monday. The end of the bull market. Markets in meltdown. Black Monday........

The weather, as ever, playing a massive part. For who knows what would have happened if we had been at our desks on that Friday to react (and adapt) to the Wall Street plunge........??