George Baker’s Blog

Thirsk.....

Is quite a long way from Whitsbury.....

As I am about to discover. Jollification, Julian and Ali Pittam's Acclamation 2-year-old filly, making her debut at the Yorkshire track. We head north in search of decent ground. Jollification travelled up yesterday, and took the journey like a seasoned old handicapper....

The draw (drawn 2) has not been kind, and there are certainly a couple of likely sorts in opposition. But we go there in the hope that this speedy filly has a progressive debut experience.....

Salisbury Racecourse early yesterday morning. We worked eight horses in three lots on beautiful ground. Several of the 2-year-olds doing their first racecourse gallop, and acquitting themselves pleasingly. Petite Georgia, George Baker's full sister, ready to make her debut shortly. And Boomshackerlacker progressing well, as is the Singspiel 2-year-old Red Four. A good morning. And an exercise to be repeated through the summer the morning after race meetings....

A good effort from some of the lads who own Petite Georgia to be with us so early. I hope they found somewhere decent for breakfast on the way home....

Back home for a couple of meetings through the morning. Before heading back to Lords for the afternoon and evening sessions. An imperious century from Andrew Strauss who, apparently, has been under pressure to score some big runs. To my mind, he has not appeared hopelessly out of touch. But yesterday's innings must have come as a huge relief, and his celebrations as he cut the ball for four to bring up his ton were heartfelt and meant. The crowd responding to the moment.....

A century as England Captain in front of a packed house at Lords. It cannot get much better than that.....

The only surprise from Lords has been the absence of TLNCK. Apparently, he has switched into "hunter gatherer" mode of late. If he is not lobbing hand grenades into Scottish rivers to fill the boot of his car with dead salmon, he is jumping aboard private planes to truffle hunt in the French Provinces. It cannot be long before TLNCK has his own TV show......




 

Dry again......!!

I could get used to this.....

We are about to head off to Salisbury Racecourse to work nine horses. Always a good exercise, especially for the unraced two-year-olds. Who hopefully will not be not be in such awe of the raceday experience if they have been on a couple of these trips. Opportunities to gallop on the racecourse are limited to the morning after racedays. This is the first time we have done it. And I have no idea whether several other trainers will be there.....

I managed to make it to a chilly Lords yesterday. An "attritional" day, the West Indies digging in. But with nine wickets down, England definitely emerged on top. Chanderpaul dogged and determined as ever. Not the most elegant of cricketers, and a stance to make the purists cry, but he "gets the job done".....

Several friends and owners (luckily, most of the latter are the former as well...) in attendance. Doing our best to stay out of the chilly wind. A few more shares sold in Eton Rambler. Matt Fleming, once of Kent and England and now with a badge around his neck that accesses all areas of Lords, stepping up to the plate. Taking us to 111. 120 needed. David Shepherd would have enjoyed the fact that it is Matt who has taken us to "Nelson". And would be hopping around on one leg with a beaming smile across his jovial face.....

The forecast less good for later today. But when it stops raining, they play cricket at Lords. Since the advent of the new state of the art drainage system....

Dry, grey, chilly.....

"Dry". What a relief to wake up to the sound of birdsong rather than horizontal sleet lashing against the windows. A few more days of this, and we might actually have some runners on a regular basis. Plenty of entries for next week in the Racing Calendar. How many of them will actually set foot on a racecourse, I wonder....

Three to Kempton yesterday. I had planned to head that way to watch work, but then the "delights" of admin took over. A morning with my head buried in my laptop, fighting a fire or two. Frustratingly, having to pass on some distinctly average news about their horses to some owners. The hardest part of this job....

But the news filtering back from Kempton was good. Kempton becoming our new "downtown Dunstall". There is no substitute for a proper racecourse gallop. The vagaries of the M3 at rush hour do not make this trip as easy as the one to DD, but still a very worthwhile exercise....

Salisbury Racecourse tomorrow morning to work a few. That is an altogether easier journey.....

Barney Baker playing his first game of cricket of the summer term. The lack of runners allowing us the chance to head to Sandroyd to watch him. In the sun !! I had no idea that watching one's son bat would be so exhausting. From the boundary's edge, I played every ball with him. I put my hands to my head in despair as an agricultural swipe across the line missed off stump by a coat of paint. I beamed with pride as a cultured off drive raced over the ropes.....

The forward defence not a massive part of his repertoire at the moment. Much to his father's frustration. But much more fun to smash it to all corners. He is only 9, and playing cricket must be fun at this age. The restrictions of building an innings can wait for a year or two. He had moved to 30 before a horrible cross batted smear resulted in middle stump being knocked out....

But it was a very proud father who drove away from Sandroyd, headed for Amesbury and the first 20/20 of the season for Rockbourne Cricket Club. We did not come second. We did not emulate the darts team. We won. On a beautiful, sunny evening. That made the Recreation Ground at Amesbury look a reasonably alluring venue. Under ashen grey skies, this would not be a venue of choice.......

"The Independent Bookmakers Stand" at one end of the ground. Beside the football pitch. A pavilion / clubhouse that can only be described as "basic" at best. Not one that an architect pored over for more than a nanosecond. A low lying outfield saturated in recent weeks. The ball stopping where it landed. Splat !!

A little sore in the shoulder this morning. A first bowl for very many months. Coming on when the game was all but won. At a time when it was very definitely "hit or miss" from the Amesbury middle order. Some missed. It would be remiss of me to boast about my figures, suffice to say I took less than five wickets. And more than three.....

I am hoping to make it to Lords later today. To meet up with several of our owners. After my display last night, I will be leaving my cricket bag in the car in case Jimmy Anderson tweaks an ankle in the warm-up.....?!


 

Dry and bright !!

And not as gusty as yesterday......

Standing on the gallops yesterday morning was a chilly experience. A bracing wind.....

Not as bracing, though, as the wind I encountered on the coast later in the afternoon. I took the dogs for a walk near Corfe Castle. Bracing.....

A beautiful coastline. With the slightly surreal sound of machine gun fire from the clifftops to the west. The Army Ranges at Lulworth. The occasional "boom" of a heavy gun. Not a good sound to be on the wrong end of, for sure......

Off to Kempton now. To work a few. Cannot get enough of the place...?!

Lunch en route to Lulworth....!!

I misjudged the temperature.....

Just now. Often much warmer down here on the "bottom" yard. Where we live. A couple of degrees colder on the top "Manor" yard. And then colder again out on the gallops....

Blue skies as I climbed aboard the quad bike to watch first lot just now. I should not have "climbed aboard the quad bike". A Land Rover morning. As I discovered out on the gallops....

A February morning. A biting, chill wind. Almost coastal. The type of "bracing" (another way of saying "effing freezing"..) wind that one expects along the shoreline. But at least we are dry at the moment. And dry is good....

The dust settling on that remarkable afternoon of football on Sunday. Sport will always defy logic. Sport will always captivate us. Watching a few of the post-match interviews, it was clear that several of the protagonists were "shell shocked" by what had gone on.....

Where does the Premier League take us from here ?? A blue moon rising over Manchester. But you can bet your last dollar that over the road at Carrington, plans are already being made. Usually, I am pleased when the Football season comes to an end. And Cricket gets a chance on the back pages. But I am already looking forward to next Football season.....

And so often when sport throws up the utterly remarkable, it follows up with more of the same. It would not surprise me at all if we are in a similar, last day scenario in 12 months time....

No runners until the end of the week. And so an admin day yesterday. Quite a lot of the "admin day" revolving around the new Eton Rambler syndicate. The Eton Ramblers being the Eton old boys cricket team, and celebrating their 150th Anniversary this year. We have put together a syndicate of Club members and have raised £60,000 to buy a breeze-up 2-year-old. The horse will be called Eton Rambler. Will run in the club colours. And is by Hard Spun.....

It has been noted that not many Rambler cricketers have "hard spun" a cricket ball. With the possible exception of England cricketer Alex Loudon. Even club stalwart Johnny Barclay, the former Sussex captain, by his own admission never "hard spun" the cricket ball....

 

Weekend photos

Sport. Bloody Hell......

I cannot remember an afternoon of such intense drama. Right up there with Botham's Ashes, Red Rum, Desert Orchid, that last afternoon at The Oval in 2005 as England regained the Urn, Sjolskaer's European Cup winning strike, England's rugby team winning the World Cup.....

Seminal sporting moments that are forever seared into the memory.....

When the dust settles, the bare facts are that Manchester City are crowned Champions. And QPR are safe......

But those two short statements of fact bear no relation to the intense drama of the final few minutes of what has been an utterly compelling season......

And to add a personal angle to the day, we trained a winner for Sir Alex. I'm Fraam Govan cruising home on a tight rein at the exact moment that Manchester City scored their late, late decisive goal....

It will be of scant consolation to Sir Alex, but he does own a very nice horse. I cannot recall training such an easy winner in the four years that we have been doing this job. A hack canter would best describe how much this exciting prospect needed to exert himself......

I did not expect to talk with the owner last night. But he called to hear all about it. "Scant consolation", I know, but a ray of light on an otherwise supremely difficult day......

A busy work morning on Saturday. Giles and Felicity Irwin, and Nadine Cobham here to watch their two 2-year-olds (Sakhees Secret and Singspiel). Jules and Ali Pittam, and Jules' aunt and uncle Nick and Hilary to see Jollification (Acclamation 2-year-old) do her final piece before debut. Justine Wallis and Robbie Streatfield (Bountybeamadam). And Charlotte and Zara Sims to watch "Bertie" (Kings Ciel). I managed not to burn the sausages.......

All good on the work front. And a dry weekend giving us a bit of hope on the ground front. Although the forecast for the rest of this week is pretty average....

Plus ca change......

Candida and Valerie in Paris for the Arqana Breeze Up Sale at Saint Cloud. And securing a daughter of Hat Trick for a new owner. 80,000 euros. Home already having travelled through yesterday. An exciting prospect.....           

"Dry and bright. But a little chilly...."

So says the man on the radio. The man on the radio appears to be correct. Certainly with the "chilly" bit. Nearly a frost. Not quite, but not the feel of a May morning......

Dry at Lingfield yesterday. And sunny. The turf track saturated, and the two day card transferred to the allweather.....

A very pleasing debut from Sutton Sid in the 5 furlong maiden. We had, as I said yesterday, wanted to start him off over 6 furlongs and a straight track. And so asking him to ping around the Lingfield bends over five furlongs had not quite been the plan....

Sid broke all right. But took a while to organise himself. He must have been a good 10 lengths off the leader (and eventual winner) after a furlong. And was posted widest of all down the false straight and into the home bend. But he ran on to great effect to be second, giving us and owner Paul Bowden much hope going forward.....

Paul with us for the afternoon, and admitting to his first ever pre-race nerves. The first horse to run in his sole ownership. Paul has never been on hand to witness a horse that he is involved in win a race. I hope that Sid can buck that trend.....

Saharan Air improving a little with racing. "A little" might not be enough....

And Stepturn running with the choke out in the last. Not helping his cause one jot, and setting the race up for those closing from behind. Disappointing. Bobby Lorenz, Danny Baker and Dan Wain with us. There will be other days....

Just the one runner this weekend. I'm Fraam Govan at Worcester, making his debut in the bumper. A decent horse who will improve with experience. His owner will not be at Worcester. He has some rather more pressing football matters to deal with this weekend.....   

'Daddy, how do you hotwire a car.....??'

An interesting question from Tallulah as she drifted off to sleep last night....

What are they teaching them at school these days ?? Slightly more interesting than Ancient Greek.....

We all got very wet yesterday. Very, very wet. I do not think that it stopped raining all day. All day long. Goodwood abandoned. Chester a bog. The form of the races there to be treated with great caution going forward. The form of all form around the land at present to be treated with great caution going forward. Kelso was "Good" yesterday morning. But "Abandoned" by early afternoon. Nobody spared.....

A couple of half decent days (relatively...) expected. And then reverting to type...

And so back to the allweather today. Three at Lingfield. Sutton Sid, a lovely son of Dutch Art, making his debut. "Sid" has been ready to go for a while now, and we were hoping to start off on a straight track on turf. Instead, we end up going around a bend on the allweather. "Sid" is a fine prospect, but he will benefit massively from the experience....

Saharan Air in the maiden. A beautifully bred horse. The penny taking plenty of time to drop....

And Step Turn in the last. Who ran well on his first run for us when third at Warwick. But who, to my mind at least, hardly justifies his position as market leader (or thereabouts) on the back of that effort. A good looking horse who will win races. It would be great if he could start today, but quotes at around the 3/1 mark are not going to have me reaching for the wallet. Double that, and add a few, and he would be of each way interest....

The Saint Cloud Breeze Ups over the weekend. An order or two to fill.... 

 

I am in grave danger of repeating myself.....

Utterly, utterly miserable out there this morning. A high wind whipping the rain across the yard. Huddled figures slipping to and fro, their bodies arched against the elements. Gloomy. Depressing.......

It cannot and will not go on forever. Heavy ground everywhere. Apart from at Kelso, I notice. But sadly they have failed to lay on any 2-year-old maidens. "Patience is a virtue". I am not sure how much longer I can cope with being virtuous.....

And so it was back to the allweather last night. Not "Plan A" with either horse. But needs must. Missus Mills travelling well for a long way on her debut, before tiring up the home straight. She will come on plenty for this first competitive action.....

And Relentless Harry in a competitive Classified contest. Not getting the breaks. Shuffled back through the field, before making up ground fast (but too late) through the final quarter mile. RH needed to go to the races. We wanted to see him back on turf where he is undoubtedly a better horse, but that was not to be. But plenty of encouragement to be taken from last nights action....

Chester looked a quagmire yesterday. What a star turn Overturn is, emerging as the hero of the Chester Cup despite being beaten into second place by his stablemate. A One-Two for Donald McCain. Which is a pretty impressive effort....

It is going to be pretty taxing on the Roodeye this afternoon. Not a day for the faint hearted, equine or human....

It will be interesting to hear how Chester's in house betting operation has gone. Speaking with the Racecourse MD Richard Thomas at Bobby's lunch on Sunday, he was excited by the prospect. If this is a raging success, how much will the Tote (I mean Betfred) be marginalised elsewhere...?? A fascinating test case scenario. I am not sure how much of the profits go directly into Chester Prize money, but this is a brave move, and one to be monitored by other tracks....

No runners today. The highlight will be the return home tonight of Barney and Tallulah. Barney spent last week on a PGL trip to the Isle Of Wight. I imagined that PGL was a technical term. It is not. "Parents Get Lost". Looking forward to hearing all about it. And to seeing their happy faces. Great people for putting petty concerns into perspective, as I have said before. Love 'em.......

 Right, time to brave the elements. And order in those sandbags. Another dreadful day forecast.....