Harry's Stable Whispers

HORSES can really make fools of you sometimes!

At Musselburgh last Monday jockey John Carroll had advised two trainers not to run their horses in the maiden auction race on the evidence of a gallop on Captain Harry the previous week.

But once again he got very much on his toes and played up at the start, foaming white with sweat.

The first words John Carroll said in the unsaddling enclosure were get him 'cut'.

So we took him to the vets the following day and from now on Captain Harry will be known as a gelding on the race card.

I hope you have been following Richard Fahey's horses.

He had a 16-1 winner and a 16-1 second last week and I believe there is lots more to come from Richard.

Swan at Whalley has had a couple of visits in the past week from Ernest Wilde the spiritual healer and is looking in great shape.

I'm hoping for a big run from him at Chester a week on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Ernest is to appear on the Esther Rantzen show next Tuesday, June 2.

Ribble Princess has started to shine in her work.

She is a Selkirk filly and is over 17 hands, which is very tall for a three year old, but she has class breeding.

Her mother is a Shadeed mare so we are hoping she will be very useful.

Mark Birch, the ex-top northern jockey, rode her for the first fast piece of work at Hambleton lodge gallop on Saturday morning and was very impressed with her. She has a lovely action and will make her first race appearance in about three weeks.

Top of the Form has come back to great fettle and showed blistering speed on the gallops.

We will be looking for a big handicap for her shortly.

Ribble Assembly will have a rest for a week or so after his exploits at Musselburgh last Monday.

He got left at the start again and Robert Winston tried to make up the ground too quickly and paid the penalty.

John Carroll played hell with me for not giving him the ride. John is in great form at the moment and is going to ride our horses at Hamilton Lodge on the gallops every Wednesday morning.

Last week we lost 12.5 points, but hopefully we will make up for that this week, we are still 24 points up.

In the 7.15 at Sandown tonight I am looking for an easy win with Speedy James.

My friend Jack Berry still says he can make me a lot of money with this horse, as he is half brother to our Top of the Form.

He told me if Speedy James wins at Ascot in the Coventry Stakes group three race, I'll have all the big studs phoning me with offers.

Have a good week.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.