26th DECEMBER - MAGIC MILLION YEARLING SALES JUST AROUND THE CORNER
The first yearling sale of the season is at the Gold Coast starting on the 12th of January. This is our annual holiday that combines very nicely with our business. From this sale we will hope to get about 30 yearlings to break in for our trainers and owners which include Chris Waller, Gerald Ryan and the Hong Kong Jockey Club. This sale is followed by the Inglis Classic Sale a week later.
For a full catalogue with video links go to www.magicmillions.com.au.
24th DECEMBER - NATURE VET BLOG
It is amazing that Ceva Naturevet have kept me as part of their team this year with my appalling blogging skills, as this is my first blog since rejoining the team in June this year. Hopefully i can be forgiven a little as the size of the business at Limitless Lodge is all consuming with up to 200 horses spread over 4 farms. Of course it would be sensible to have a secretary, but being the control freak I am, I'm afraid she would be idle as I would like to do it all myself, in my own silly neurotic way. It is now Christmas Eve and hopefully we will have a few quiet days before the Yearling Sale season starts with the Gold Coast Magic Millions in early January. The eventers are all back in work now as we head towards an early start to the competition season with showjumping in late January and low level events in early February.
The end of the year is always a good time for reflecting, and planning for the coming season. My big plan is to be part of the team that leaves for the Olympic Games in early July with my top horse GV Billy Elliot. He has had a good year with several wins at CIC*** level and a very close 2nd at Sydney CCI***. I have conveniently already eradicated Adelaide from my memory. I plan to have Billy out early in the season to the SIEC double header in late February, then to Albury CIC***, with the medium term target and final selection trial at Sydney on the 27th - 29th of April. All Australian based horse/rider combinations are using this as their last chance to get a ticket to London.
I would be remiss in not telling you a few of my secrets for keeping Billy in tip top shape all year round. I reckon there are 4 products that really help Billy to be the best he can be. Firstly, Billy, like all of my horses is injected weekly with Pentosan Gold and Joint Guard is added to his feed to protect his joints. The evidence is irrefutable and while it is hard to measure, there would not be many top horses in Australia who are not using Pentosan at the very least to protect their joints. Billy is a very fussy eater and 6mls of Omoguard AM and PM keeps him eating, especially when he travels. He is also very feisty and is double dosed with tranquil prior to his dressage. Of course there are plenty of other products I use on Billy and my others but these are the main 4.
The rest of my team are virtually all 2 star horses with Umunga and Untouchable really ready to push on. I also have 2 new exciting horses imported from Europe to event this season. The first one to be seen out and about will be Lord Limmerick and later in the season, Gorsehill Star.
My next blog will be from the Magic Millions Carnival where i will share with you all the latest racing news and gossip. It is uncanny how many eventers that we see up there every year enjoying the carnival atmosphere.
Happy Christmas and a great Olympic 2012 to everyone....!
For more info about Ceva Nature Vet and their products go to www.naturevet.com.au.
22nd DECEMBER - HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL SALE
Preparations are in their final stages as our horses are about to go into quarantine in mid January to leave for Hong Kong on the 13th of February. We have an impressive team of up to 9 horses to take this year. So far our highlight lots look to be Flying Spur/Fumble, Encosta De Lago/Devil's Gold and Fastnet Rock/Verdict Declared of the 2 year olds and General Nediym/World Joy is a stand out amongst the 3 year olds. Our staff always look forward to this trip very much as it is a highlight of our year. This sale used to be held in conjunction with the Hong Kong International races in December but has now been transferred to coincide with the Hong Kong Derby on the 17th of March. Some of the stars that we have sold recently include Captain Sweet and Penglai Xanzi who are both Class 1 horses.
To find out more about the Hong Kong Jockey Club go to racing.hkjc.com/racing/english/
18th DECEMBER - LORD LIMMERICK ARRIVES AT LIMITLESS LODGE
After an extended stay in quarantine, as a result of a tick on an American horse, Lord Limmerick (aka Sprout) finally arrived at Limitless Lodge. He was in good shape with no problems to report at all. He was of course fat and hairy. I resisted the opportunity to ride him on the day he got off the truck and gave him several days in the paddock. After a week I started riding him and am straight away counting the days til I can compete him. He will probably kick off at Wallaby Hill at the end of January. I will post some photos of him shortly. His medium term goal will be the 2 star at Melbourne in June.
10th DECEMBER - EVENTING SEASON WRAP UP
This season has generally been really good. All of my horses have been in good form with some great successes. Sadly though, the season ended on a rough note with Equitana and Adelaide CCI****. These were the 2 events that we have been looking forward to for a long time as they both have a good public profile, TV coverage and great prize money. I rode Mercator Du Ry at Equitana and bit the dust at fence 4. As if that wasn't bad enough, when I fell off I took the bridle with me and it seemed to take half an hour to put it back on with the commentators and crowd having a good laugh at my expense! Anything to keep the crowd happy!To complete an otherwise great day, all Olympic listed riders were drug tested which took us well into the night. Normally this isn't such a big deal but we had to get home for a 4am departure to Adelaide. We eventually got to Adelaide and all in all it was a weekend I would prefer to forget in every way.
All the results can be found at www.australian3de.com.au and it will be broadcast at midday January 1st on Channel 7..
Billy, who was Horse Of The Year in 2010 finished 4th this year and I also finished 4th in Rider Of The Year. Billy won several CIC***s and was always placed in the top 3 and came 2nd at Sydney CCI***. Next year I will be focusing all of my attention on trying to get selected on the Australian team for the London Olympics.
Untouchable has had a quiet year of consolidation and will kick off at 2 star level in 2012 with is medium term goal being Melbourne CCI** and his end goal being Sydney CCI*** in November. He is still a 7 year old who I am always wary about pushing too hard too soon because I really fancy him as a proper 4 star horse of the future.
Umunga has been a very consistent horse this season and always reliable at 1 star level. In 2012 he will push on into 2 star at the begining of the season and head towards Melbourne 2 star in June.
Lord Limmerick will have a quiet start to the season as he acclimatises to the Australian climate and way of life. He is already qualified to go 2 star and he will probably head to Melbourne 3DE but I will have an open mind about where we take him in terms of a 3DE.
4th DECEMBER - WEEKEND WINNERS FROM LIMITLESS LODGE
Another big weekend of winners were produced from Limitless Lodge at Rosehill. Fundido galloped in to favouratism for the $2 million Magic Million 2yo Classic with a dominant win for Chris Waller and the Ingham family. Fundido was broken in and is always spelled and pre-trained at Limitless Lodge. He was a very obvious 2yo from the begining.
Rosie's Reward was a great advertisement for the water walker as she was prepared entirely on the aquacizer leading up to the run. Trainer Gerald Ryan felt she needed a little mental stimulation and 10 days on the aquacizer obviously did the trick. More and more trainers are seeing the benefits of using the aquacizer mid preparation to prolong the campaign. Dystopia was actually first over the line but Rosie's Reward won the race on protest. Dystopia, also owned by the Ingham family and trained by Chris Waller, always spells and pre-trains at Limitless Lodge.
Dynamic Honour won for trainer Chris Waller and has now won 3 in a row. He looks like he might be a Doncaster horse. Dynamic Honour was broken in at Limitless Lodge and often spells and pre-trains at the farm. Interestingly, he is the only horse to be sold in Australia by Dynaformer, who is the same sire as the 2010 Melbourne Cup winner Americain.
Miss Venus won for trainer Les Bridge at Kembla. Miss Venus in the second foal of the Group 1 winning Miss Zoe. Miss Venus was broken in, spelled and pre-trained at Limitless Lodge.
