11th January Update
After last week’s comprehensive round-up I thought this week would be quiet and the newsletter would just be a brief update. How racing has the ability to kick you in the teeth is uncanny. We had an early morning phone call from Tim in Chantilly on Tuesday and your heart sinks because you know at that time of the morning it’s not a social call. Unfortunately, Surrey Etoile suffered a serious fracture off his right front pastern doing a routine gallop. It was touch and go whether he would survive the injury, but Tim and his staff were attentive, and their prompt care almost certainly save Etoile. He had surgery on Wednesday at Grosbois, one of the best facilities in France https://www.cliniqueveterinairegrosbois.fr/fr/ where he had pins inserted and so far he’s been a good patient. Tomorrow he will move to a small stud farm in Normandy called Haras de la Mercerie where he will undergo 8 weeks of box rest. We don’t really have a prognosis past that date; the surgery was successful so now we hope the healing process goes well.
We may have a runner next weekend as Surrey Lord is working well and there are a host of options for him over the next month, starting with Ascot on Saturday and Windsor on Sunday. However, he’s had 5 runs already this season so there’s no rush to get him back out if the race conditions don’t suit. We thought he didn’t quite handle the ground at Wincanton so ideally good to soft would suit him best, and now he’s at a higher rating the races are going to be a lot more competitive, so we are prepared to wait for the right race. Stablemate Surrey Quest is working as well as he ever has, the big test for him will be how he handles the racecourse, but signs are that the wind op and the ulcer treatment have helped. Lingfield on the 19th in the Surrey National remains the next target,
We are looking forward to visiting Tom’s in Newmarket on the 24th, Tom has asked that we are at his yard for a 09.15 start . Surrey Moon has had a hard few weeks so he’s having an easy month so he probably won’t be on the gallops although we will get to see how much he has grown. Tom wishes to avoid the all-weather so he’s looking for him to make his debut on the turf in April. Surrey Bolt will be on the gallops, he’s taking everything in his stride so far, he’s one of Tom’s forward 2-year-olds, he’s compact and athletic and doesn’t have too much growing to do.
Surrey King has had a quiet few weeks, his work will be stepped up at the end of the month. Hughie sees no reason why he shouldn’t stay in the German Derby entries next stage which is tomorrow. We will organise an owners visit to Hughies before the flat season begins.
In other news, the ROA have just announced an associate membership which looks very competitive at £118 with access to 7 race meetings a year, and other stuff, see more on this link https://www.roa.co.uk/roa/associate-membership.html
Normal membership costs £286 (or joint at £480 if living at the same address) and gives access capped to 50 meetings (normally 2 badges a meeting). https://www.roa.co.uk/roa/membership.html
If you are a regular racegoer, then these memberships are very good value options.
Finally – a provisional date for your diary, The Surrey Racing Golf Day (venue tbc) will be on May 20th – further details in the Spring,
Enjoy the week and good luck to Surrey Lord and connections if he runs at the weekend.
Possible races and events.
January
Saturday 17th – Surrey Lord – Ascot
Sunday 18th – Surrey Lord - Windsor
Monday 19th – Surrey Quest – Lingfield
Saturday 24th – Owners visit to see Surrey Moon and Surrey Bolt – 9.15am
May
Wednesday 20th – Surrey Racing Golf Day (tbc)
July
Sunday 5th – Surrey King - Hamburg