Ed De Gas shows his class at Catterick

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Richard Pegum's Ed De Gas made it two wins from two runs in his colours at Catterick on Wednesday.  To be honest there is little to report about a winner like this.  It was all very straightforward.  The horse has learned to race now, he settled, got a nice lead, took it up when asked and went clear.  He won by 12 lengths (yes, 12 lengths!).  Chris Catlin is not prone to making too many mistakes and even if he had been, he would have had to have tried hard to get this one beat.  So, happily, we can report ytd 12 winners from 25 runners 48% strike rate. It also appears that of the 8 rides Chris has had for Rae ytd, 7 of them have won.  Amazing.

Mirza wins in good style at Newbury

Friday, 20 April 2012

Chris and Lesley Mills' five year old gelding Mirza turned on the style in the mud at Newbury today, scooping a first prize over over £11,000, rather soberingly more than twice as much as either Kickingthelilly or Miss Cato (with three wins on the all weather apiece).  Although being out of the handicap and running over too short a trip would be enough to stop most horses, the fact is that extreme rain softened ground brings out the best in this bonny little chap.  He has been incredibly well lately too, typically his only injury happening when standing on himself when loose in the paddock.  It is great to see Chris and Lesley Mills have a winner as they have been Rae's longest standing patrons and this one is a son of Rae's own favourite horse ever, Millyant.  Well done to Chris and Lesley, travelling head lad Andrew Bubb who has been his most recent pilot and Chris and Lesley's son Robbie who has done a good job pre-training him from Jo Fenton's yard in Exning.

Miss Cato takes yard to ten winners

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

Even before the start of the five to follow, the yard has now posted 10 winners.  Seriously, this has never happened before!  Miss Cato joined Kickingthelilly in posting her third win of the year at Yarmouth yesterday under a trailblazing Chris Catlin ride.  She pretty much led from start to finish and stayed on well off a strong pace.  She has been working with Ed de Gas and their respective good racecourse form was also confirmed by the fourth yesterday also having finished behind him.  Considering Miss Cato could have been picked up for £6,000 after her initial win first time out at Southwell on New Year's Day, she really has come on in leaps and bounds.  Well done to owner Bert Bennett, agent Jill Lamb, Julie Belton who looks after her, Farman who took her racing and me (!) pictured on her, right.

Turf runners begin to trickle through

Sunday, 08 April 2012

This week is the first when our horses have been seen in racecourse action on the turf, starting with Kickingthelilly's most creditable effort at Musselburgh yesterday.  From a poor draw, she got a moderate run through the race, getting behind and having to run wide throughout, then being pushed five horses wide down the straight.  She ran on purposefully at the end to finish fourth but the winner had run round on the rail and found the gaps when he needed them.

Sushi makes her racecourse debut tomorrow at Warwick and Miss Cato returns to the track at Yarmouth on Tuesday.  Others who may run later in the week are Flynn's Boy and Shamakat at Leicester.

Enter the five to follow

Sunday, 08 April 2012

• The deadline for this year's five to follow is 5pm on 17 April 2012.  The basics are: from the horses trained by Rae Guest pick 5 horses. At least two of your selections must be two year olds. Enclose £5 per entry and return to Georgia in the office with a completed form to register your entry.
• Points will be awarded as follows: 5 for a winner; 3 for a second; 1 for a third. Double points will be awarded for Group or Listed class races.  The stake will be divided between the top 3 point scorers: 70% first prize, 20% second, 10% third.
• The competition will run from the start of the Craven meeting on the 18^th April 2012 until 1^st December 2012, including all turf, all-weather and foreign races. Georgia will confirm your selections via e-mail so you can follow them throughout the year.  You have to be in it to win it, so please email Georgia on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a form.