Eve Johnson Houghton

Very cold and wet this morning and unfortunately I rode out 2 lots in it!  I definitely need to get more staff.  The horses all look great and we have nearly got all the old horses back in, so its noses to the grindstone in getting them ready for March.  I have had a few runners on the all weather but I have to admit that I prefer the turf.  Mainly because the horses are better and the weather is nicer!  Also I seem to be permanently on the cold list at this time of year which is never a comfortable place to be however few horses you have running.

I have continued with Eden Racing Club again this year and we have not only reduced the cost to £750 but have 2 horses to run for the club, so a better deal all round.  Please get in touch for more information, I can highly recommend joining.

The first frost of the year, and after what has been an incredibly mild winter (my geraniums are still alive and flowering in the garden!) it looks like we might get a cold snap.  So in anticipation of a freeze up in Frebruary all my horses had their first canter today, so we have some in the bank if we have to stop for a bit.

Its always my favourite day.  The horses are fresh and buzzing, the lads are feeling like they are sitting on unexploded bombs and the relief and joy when you get to the end of the exercise all in one piece.  Amazingly we had no loose ones today, I am sure that will change in the days to come, but all went well this morning.  All our geese are swans and I am liking what I am seeing.

Lovat Lane ran another game race on Wednesday, she is very limited but definitely has the ability to win a little race.  She is very useful at leading the 2yo fillies so for that reason we will probably have another go with her in the next  couple of weeks, but I feel sure she is going to be looking for a new job in the near future.

Barristers Brief is off to Newbury on Wednesday, he ran a nice race at Lingfield 1st time out and we think a lot of him.  My only reservation is the trip.  So fingers crossed he gets in and lets hope he can get me off the cold list!!

Happy New Year to all!  What a fantastic festive season it was, we were treated to some wonderful racing, give it up for Kauto Star! And now here we are in 2012, ready to take on another year.

What a day!  We woke up this morning to howling gales and so decided to only take 3 up to canter, leaving the rest in the indoor ride.  I have never been up the downs with such strong wind, luckily when we cantered it was behind us so easier for the horses.  We took up Judd Street, Barristers Brief, both of whom I am hoping to run shortly and Fontley who is due to go to Dubai on Sunday.  She is in great form and I am going to give her one more bit of work, probably at Kempton, on Friday and that should put her spot on.  I am aiming to run her on 20th January, there are a couple of options for her then.

After 1st lot the weather took a turn for the worse and the trouble with being in an old yard is that the drains all have their own quirks, so I am now somewhat bedraggled after digging ditches, putting up sandbags and clearing drains.  However, the yard is not flooded but we do have some very rapid water running past the door and into the woods below!

I am feeling just a little smug.  I have finally finished the Christmas cards and done the 5 to follow results and the Woodway Ramblings have gone out.  I am bound to have lost a sheet of addresses or missed someone off the list, but I have done my best.

This is a quick precis of what the newsletter had in it:

The end of another year and what a fantastic season we had. It was our best to date and we achieved the following:

27 winners

First Group winner

First treble

Over £200k in prize money

2 horses won Racing Post Bonus’

32 horses won or were placed from 41 individual runners

THE CHEKA flew the flag, he won a Group 3 at Haydock that not only was my first Group winner but was also the first Group winner for the owners. It was a fantastic day and I hardly needed my car to get me home! He was also placed in 7 other races and contributed over £65,000 to our prize money total. He is currently having a bit of well earned R&R at Hillwood Stud where he is being turned out and will come back into the yard at the beginning of next week.

Other highlights were having my first ever treble, also being top trainer at Brighton this year, managing to beat Richard Hannon into 2nd place; glad I could beat him at something! Another great day was when the old boy Phluke who went up to Redcar purely as a companion, popped up and won there. It was his 100th start and 14th win. As he was due to go to Stowe Fair to be sold as a 2yo, as his owner thought he was too small to win anything, this is a wonderful achievement.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff for their hard work through the year. As all trainers know we are nothing without our staff and mine are particularly good.

A lot has happened since my last update. Although no winners, which is boring but hopefully will be rectified by the old boy Judd Street at Lingfield this afternoon.  He is in good heart and dropping him back to his preferred trip of 6f should work, he has a good draw and is reunited with Dane O Neil who has a 50% strike rate on him.

We had the yearling show early last month which went really well.  All the yearlings showed themselves off well and looked fantastic and the weather was really kind.  A good time was had by all and we sold quite a few shares.  We still have shares available in several of the yearlings and also in the Club horses.

This year in Eden Racing Club we have 2 horses racing for you at just a one off cost of £750.  Please take a look at the horses for sale page for more details.  If anyone would like to come and have a private view of the yearlings please give me a call.

Very sadly Harriet has left us, although she is going to help out with website, which should mean that I keep it looking fresh!  It does mean that it has all change in the office and we now have Dawn Graham keeping us organised.  Dawn used to work for both Gerard Butler and Hen Knight, so is well able to keep order around here!

The season is very nearly over and we are running out of horses to run.  Trusting ran a good race yesterday to be 5th and showed that she is still weak but has promise for next year; Phluke did not manage to build on his fantastic win at Redcar last time, but this morning was found to have a corn in his off fore, so it may well be that he was uncomfortable.  Catchanova runs tonight, and it would be brilliant if he could round off a great season for both himself and me by winning.

At one point I was in a bit of a scrap with Ruth Carr for leading lady trainer, but we were somewhat usurped by Mme C Barande-Barbe, who with one swipe, a win in the Champion Stakes from her only runner in the UK, blew us both out of the water!

We are frantically trying to get ready for the yearling show and yard party on Sunday.  I think that some invitations went astray, so please if you would like to come on Sunday to see some yearlings and look around the yard, get in touch by emailing harriet@johnsonhoughton.com.

This week is somewhat of a hiatus.  Last week was the hectic yearling sales and next the horses in training sales.  Out with the old and in with the new, except that it is the other way round, in with the new and then wait a week or 2 and out with the old.  Which means we are full to bursting at the moment.  We’ve got yearlings we are breaking in, horses that are still on the go and running and horses that are being kept going to get to the sales.

Last week I bought 4 colts, and although the trade was very strong, they each cost less than 20,000 gns.  Having got them home and seen them on the lunge I am even more pleased with what I have got.  They are well built, good movers and have different strengths.  They are all still for sale, so please go to the horses for sale page for more details.

I was at the sales in Newmarket this week and I know it was a select sale, and there were some lovely horses there, but the prices were extraordinary!  I had to come home on Thursday as I knew I was in the wrong game, usually there are a couple that slip through the net at Book 1, but it was so unbelievably strong that I just did not get a sniff.

There is fantastic racing at Newmarket today, I am just going to be a tv viewer, but it will be interesting, I think that Rebellious Guest has a good chance in the Middle Park.  My season is winding down quite dramatically now and we have a lot of horses going out, some on holiday to come back for next season, but some are going to a different life.  I am quite proud of the way that we look after our lesser lights here.  In the past couple of weeks I have found homes for several, Mujood is doing dressage, another has gone to be an eventer, one to polo and one to be a riding club horse.  It is easy to sell on the good horses, but just as important to find good homes for the not so talented. Or in Mujood’s case, those who no longer like racing .

Judd Street is trying out a mile at Goodwood tomorrow.  A step up in trip worked so well for Phluke last Saturday that I thought we would give it a go with another of our old boys.  On Monday I am back off to Newmarket to try again and we have got 3 at Salisbury, weather permitting.

Last Saturday The Cheka ran another fantastic race to be 3rd under a big weight in the 7f handicap at Ascot.  He has run consistently all year and does not know how to run a bad race.  I have sent him off to Hillwood Stud for a bit of rest and relaxation.  He hasn’t been off the place since he was a yearling and I think it is really important to give him a bit of down time, so he has been roughed off and is going to hopefully just completely chill out for a month or so.  There is a chance of taking him to Dubai, but we will have to see how he does on his break.

The time is rushing by and the end of the season is suddenly getting very close indeed.  I am very proud to say that I managed to find 2 of the worst maidens of the year and I won them.  Last week with Sleep Dance, a backward 3yo filly only having her 3rd run.  She won despite the too sharp trip and her lack of experience, I think she will improve for this and could make up into a lovely filly for next year.  And Choose the Moment at Ffos Las yesterday.  We had high hopes for Choosey for this season and she had started to disappoint, but a combination of soft ground and first time blinkers helped her to show what she is really capable of.

The yearling sales have started and I have already bought a couple.  A lovely Kheleyf filly that came from Doncaster and last week I returned to my happy hunting ground at Fairyhouse.  I was very taken with a Tagula colt and I kept going back to him.  I was delighted to buy him and later on today you will be able to see why.  There is a video going up on the website later on, check back later and check him out!  I highly recommend him, he is eligible for the Racing Post Bonus and should be well able to win one of those races which will nearly cover his purchase price!

On the racing front, we have nothing today but Kingarrick goes to Salisbury tomorrow where he has a great chance and if the ground is not too soft Judd Street will also make an appearance.  The Cheka is going to run in the valuable 7f handicap at Ascot on Saturday, the last time he ran there was first time out when he stormed up the straight to win in a very impressive fashion, we are hoping he can repeat the experience at the week-end!

Firstly many apologies for the lack of updates this week, and also lack of site at all.  For once not my fault, something about servers and hosts etc etc, I am afraid my mind goes blank when anyone tries to explain this techy thing to me, suffice to say, it didn’t work, but hopefully now it does.

Today was most frustrating.  Bling King ran a really good race at Chester under a big weight to finish 3rd and this should put him spot on for the big Redcar 2yo race at the beginning of next month.  Orientalist, just was not on a going day today.  I really fancied him to win, and he was never going forward from the moment the gates opened, I am not quite sure what it was all about, but we will get him home and  check him over and then have another go with him.

Poor Kingarrick got knocked over by nearly every horse in the field and still ran on gamely to be 5th, he would definitely have been 2nd with a clear run and it was very disappointing for his owner.

Tomorrow is a very exciting day, I am going up to Doncaster where The Cheka is running in the Park Stakes.  I am very excited as I am being picked up by helicopter (get me!!) and I am also thinking it looks a race he can get really serious in and I think he should go very close.  So that means not much sleep for me tonight!

Fingers crossed I report back with good news!!