We’re in the process of getting everything moved down from our current base at Spittal-on-Rule in the Scottish Borders and hope to have our first runners from Hazelrigg in the middle of July.
That means our three runners over the next few days will be our last from Spittal-on-Rule. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to the place, as will my wife Steph and our boys. But this is the right time to move on to what we all hope will be bigger and better things. I have big ambitions for my training career which I’m convinced, with the right support and horse power, we can achieve.
Certainly, we won’t lack for top-class facilities at Hazelrigg, which is one of the most impressive and state-of-the-art training centres you’ll find anywhere in Britain. More on that once we get up and running at the new place…
We are posting this on Instagram and Facebook at the moment, but we’ve got a new website under construction and once that’s fully operational we’ll be providing updates on all our runners there throughout the season.
The horseboxes are heading far and wide on Friday, with Arctic Ambition bound for Cartmel and Haveyougotmymoney making the long haul to Bangor-on-Dee. For his sins, he’ll have me for company on the nine-hour round trip to North Wales!
The return to Cartmel should be a good fit for ARCTIC AMBITION (3.40), as he ran well to be second there over this 2m5f trip for his previous trainer Gordon Elliott last summer. His form figures don’t look overly inspiring in four runs for us, but we’ve slowly been getting to know him, and I thought his most recent run at Bangor three weeks ago was better than it looks on paper.
He got a wide trip, covering plenty of additional ground in the process, and I don’t think he really stayed the 3m either. The handicapper has dropped him 4lb, meaning he’s able to run in a 0-100 for the first time, while his best form for Gordon was all on better ground. Craig Nichol will probably ride him a bit more positively and, as long as conditions remain the same, I’d like to think he’ll run a big race back on familiar terrain.
HAVEYOUGOTMYMONEY (9.00) stays every yard – and more – of the 2m7f he tackles at Bangor. Crucially, I think he’ll find this left-handed galloping track much more to his liking than right-handed Perth, which was also a bit on the sharp side for him last time.
He’s still 3lb above his last winning mark, despite the handicapper easing him 3lb for that last run. However, he was beaten only half-a-length off this mark at Musselburgh in November under Dylan Johnston, who seems to get on better with him than any of the other jockeys who’ve ridden him for us. He’s another I expect to run well at an each-way price.
Finally, BREIZH RIVER is unbeaten in two starts over fences this summer. He really looked the business last time out at Bangor and has earned a crack at a valuable handicap chase Uttoxeter on Sunday. I’ll be back on Saturday with an update once I’ve had a chance to analyse the race and the opposition in more detail.
Racing Club Members
5 August 2024 
