Earlier this month we waved goodbye to Carlo after what has been an admirable racing career. Normally it is known to be bad luck to change the name of a race horse but this certainly didn’t apply to him. When the imposing son of Creachadoir arrived at Woodway in the Autumn of 2012 he then answered to the name of Boccadoir, but this did not last for long as his new owner Anthony Pye Jeary decided to name his after his great friend and racecourse maitre d' Carlo Paganini. What About Carlo, as he was now known, didn’t take long to open his account as he gained an impressive success as a 2yo at Goodwood, little did we know this would be the start of a memorable career to come! A win in the Esher Cup and an emotional victory Investec stakes on Derby Day as a 3yo cemented his status as a firm favourite amongst us all here at Woodway. Over the next few season’s Carlo became a regular at Newbury races, making his way to the Winners’ enclosure 3 times – the highlight being his Listed win in the Steventon Stakes in 2017. A Switch in codes was in store for Carlo in the Winter of 2016 resulting in two runs at Cheltenham and Newbury, by no means disgraced at all but once it was clear he could not compete at the highest level over obstacles, with great relief his aim was focused back to the Flat. Carlo won 7 races in total and amassed over £200,000 in prize money. He was a sight to behold up on the gallops and real a character in his stable. Woodway isn’t the same without him, but all good things must come to an end and we all wish him well in his much deserved retirement as a Riding Horse/Hunter!
We must also mention Miss Inga Sock who has also headed off to pastures new. A homebred by Eve, and leased by 20,000 school kids who are The Ascot colts and fillies Club. An absolute christian to deal with, Inga would regularly stand and pose for photos on visits from Club members and is best remembered for her four wins in her 2017 campaign. Easy to spot at the races, the bright chesnut with three white socks has now gone to begin her new life as a riding horse locally so we will look forward to hear how she gets on.
A familiar face to our Owners at the races, Vanda (our travelling Head Girl) become a winning Owner in her own right when transporting, saddling and leading up (phew!) her African Showgirl at Jersey’s picturesque racecourse Les Landes on Monday 26th August. This was a great result all round as it was Eve’s debut runner at the track and African Showgirl was visiting the Winners’ Enclosure for the first time in three years. This was the final race meeting at Jersey in 2019, so we will have to wait until next year to see if she can follow up again at the track! Vanda and African Showgirl are pictured below out on the gallops.
Wednesday 28th August we had the pleasure of welcoming the IJF Supporters Club headed by Chicky Oaksey to our yard. The weather was kind to us and everyone gathered is the main house for tea/coffee and a history lesson about Woodway from Gaie Johnson Houghton which everyone thoroughly enjoyed! We then headed off up the gallops for 3rd lot in a convoy of jeeps to see the horses canter. Followed by a look around the yards and a demonstration of the equine spa featuring Bealach who was very well behaved.