From The End Of An Era To New Beginnings

29/10/21

Saturday was a day filled with emotion, especially for  David & Nicky Robinson. Early in the day saw their homebred Nells Son win on his hurdling debut, his form figures are now 2/11-1 so the dream is still very much alive and hopefully we can have some exciting days with him.

At the age of 13, Duke Of Navan was retired after finishing 4th in the handicap chase. He has been an incredible horse for The Robinson’s – having had his first race in 2012 and winning over £140,000 in prize money. “The Duke”, as he’s always been known by at home, was a favourite among many staff throughout the years; an absolute gentleman to ride and look after he will missed when the day comes for him to leave Greystoke. Below is a collection of some of his best bits.

 

 

 

Monday saw the first jump meeting at Ayr, however it has been unseasonably dry and after driving all the way up there, Nicky made the decision to withdraw our horses due to the ground being too firm. Since then, the lack of rain is not something we have had to worry about, in fact quite the opposite as it now hasn’t stopped for the last 48hrs. West and South Cumbria have been hit hardest, with some towns and villages yet again falling victim to flooding. Luckily Carlisle didn’t get hit quite as hard and hopefully the ground should be nice for racing on Sunday.

 

 

Today we’re at Wetherby with Oscar Clouds who just joined us this season. He is related to the superstar Many Clouds, although he hasn’t quite shown the same ability on the track yet. His new owner, Miss Joanne Thompson, bought him with the intention of re-training him, however she thought she’d give him another chance to see what he can do. You can read more about his breeding here. He runs in the opener at 12:55 and is ridden by Conor Rabbitt who has his first ride as a conditional.

 

We return once again to Carlisle for the third meeting of the season. We have a couple of nice horses in the 2m4f Novice Hurdle which has been divided. Release The Kraken showed plenty of promise in his bumpers last term and he will be a better horse now hurdling.

Famous Bridge has come to us from Ireland after finishing 3rd in a bumper at Punchestown in March. He has schooled nicely and there’s been lots of positive feedback from the jockeys so hopefully he will run a nice race.

 

Making his return in the 2m4f Gordon Richards Novices’ Handicap chase is Glenduff. He has previous course form having won over hurdles at the same distance on his only other run at the track – this too being his seasonal reappearance. Universal Folly still has a bit to prove but does have ability as he’s finished second on four occasions. Mayo Star is in good order at home and won two races last season after a break of 833 days. Hopefully he can put in another good performance on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chidswell, winner of the Grimthorpe back in 2019, runs in the Cumberland Handicap Chase over 3m. Now 12 he’s been another grand horse for his owners, David & Nicky Robinson.

The weather is set to brighten up after the weekend with some sunny, dry days forecast and we look forward to welcoming the MS Borders Racing Club for a long overdue stable visit next week.

 

Best Wishes

All at Greystoke