Land of Winter gets off the mark

Tuesday, 24 August 2021

Land of Winter improved on his third place finish at Beverley last month by winning the 2 mile handicap at Ripon last night.

This five year old son of Epsom Derby winner Camelot is out of the winning mare Gaselee, who Rae also trained. She was also placed in Listed company and is from the Niarchos family of Group 1 winners Hernando and Johann Quatz.

It was a struggle to find Land of Winter's favoured soft ground at this time of year and so he headed off to Ripon where the ground was at least good. Ridden by David Allan he was drawn widest of the seven runners and was ridden strongly from the gates to get across to the rail. He led throughout and was headed by Nakeeta a furlong out but battled back and finished strongly to win by half a length.

Congratulations to Paul Smith and Rae who share joint ownership of him and thank you to David Allan for a great ride. Not forgetting a well done to David Brooks who looks after him at home. Land of Winter also holds an entry in the Cesarewitch Handicap at Newmarket in October so Rae has his eyes on a bigger prize further down the line !

Another win for Jewel In My Crown

Wednesday, 04 August 2021

Eamonn Duggan's homebred filly Jewel In My Crown notched up her third win of the season last night in this extended mile and a quarter fillies handicap at Nottingham.

This consistent three year old obviously likes the track as her last win was here back in June. Under top weight she went off the even money favourite and made easy work of her rivals. Rossa Ryan stepped in to ride her at the eleventh hour as Adam Kirby had to give up his rides due to illness. She was held up at the rear of the field for most of the race and from two furlongs out she made steady progress on the outside. A furlong out she hit the front and saw off the challenge of Golden Dove to win by half a length.

This progressive filly is giving her owner a lot of enjoyment and out of her five runs this year she has racked up three wins and been placed second and fourth. Let's hope she can keep improving and pick up a few more races along the way. Congratulations to Eamonn and well done to Anna who looks after her at home.

Lycetts Leadership and Team Champion Awards 2021

Friday, 30 July 2021

We are proud to announce that this week we have been awarded Gold Accreditation for our entry in this years Lycetts Leadership and Team Champions Awards for the second year running.

The awards celebrate racehorse training yards which cultivate the best team ethos and management qualities. Our Gold Accreditation this year was gained for our entry in the Inclusive Recruitment and Effective Induction Category which is part of the Lycetts Leadership Award for which Rae was nominated. This category is looking for trainers who have lawful and inclusive recruitment practices to encourage job applicants from a diverse pool of people. The trainer must provide good induction training for new staff members to make them feel welcome and part of the team. The induction process must also include pre-employment checks to ensure the safety of staff and horses before staff ride or operate machinery. Finally, they should provide an induction process which ensures existing staff are clear on the roles and responsibilities of each new starter.

The Gold Accreditation is only awarded to those trainers who submit very strong/excellent entries so well done to Rae and the team !

Busy times

Wednesday, 21 July 2021

It has been a busy few weeks here at Chestnut Tree Stables. We are now in the middle of the season and as well as racing we have had plenty going on.

We welcomed two visitor groups to the yard on two consecutive weekends. The first of these were City Saddles, a networking group of London professionals with an interest in all things equine. The following weekend we hosted Discover Newmarket for a tour of the yard. These tours provide members of the public with a real insight into a working racing yard and to see the horses up close. With Covid restrictions starting to ease it was lovely to see them again after a lengthy abscence.

Last week saw the July Horses in Training Sale take place at Tattersalls here in Newmarket. Rae attended every day and now we have two new horses in the yard. Our longstanding owner Mr Derek Willis purchased Electrifying, a winner of two races in France. She is a pretty three year old grey filly by Dark Angel and he is delighted with her. The Good Reason Partners bought Evening Song, a bay three year old daughter of Twilight Son who is also a winner. She is fit and ready to run so will hopefully be out in about a fortnight's time.

In other news, the Top Hat and Tails syndicate have leased the two year old filly Glittering Grace from Rae and Rachel. This daughter of the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf winner Outstrip made her debut this week and we wish them the best of luck with her.

Visit to Pantile Stud

Friday, 25 June 2021

Earlier this week Rae went to visit some of the other ladies in his life, luckily Rachel went along too ! 

They visited Colin Murfitt's Pantile Stud in Soham where some of the fillies Rae trained are now broodmares. Fen Breeze was there and Good Reason who is currently in foal to Kameko. They were pleased to see Minalisa who was a Listed winner for us and who is owned by Chris and Lesley Mills. We also have Minalisa's three year old daughter in training at the moment, Mikasa, who is also owned by the Mills'.

BB Bloodstock's Bahia Breeze (pictured) is also part of the broodmare band. She was a dual Listed winner for Rae and has already bred a Group 2 winner in Beshaayir so there are high hopes for the foal she is carrying now by Frankel ! BB Bloodstock have two fillies in training with us at present, Bahia Star who has already won this season and the unraced two year old Luna Breeze. Both of these fillies are out of Bahia Breeze.