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Monday 8th January

With several race meetings called off and more than half our team on the easy list after their mid winter flu jabs we made a quiet start to January.

Joyou Allen made a highly pleasing debut for the yard with an impressive success in the bumper at Exeter on New Year’s Day. He’s a lovely prospect, a half brother to the Ryanair winner Envoi Allen, and showed bags of promise when second in his Point-to-Point in Ireland to a horse who has already made his mark in this country. We have taken our time with him, he’s been working nicely, made all the running at Exeter and kept on strongly in the closing stages. He will probably have one more run in the Spring before starting over hurdles next season.
Stage Star didn’t run his race under top weight on deep ground at Cheltenham and made a couple of mistakes before eventually being pulled up by Harry Cobden when his chance was gone. He was a bit sore afterwards and wasn’t quite right when we trotted him up a day later. But the good news is that he is A1 now after lots of physio and treatment and will be back cantering this week. We have plenty of time to freshen him up and get him spot on for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.
Torrential rain late on Thursday evening led to plenty of flooding in our part of Somerset with the result that we had to rescue half a dozen horses from their boxes at the yard beside my house at Highbridge. It was a short term drama after a nearby river burst its banks. The horses were almost floating with the water and shavings up to their knees.
My head lad Clifford Baker and assistant Charlie Davies were quickly on the spot along with other staff to help move them to drier quarters close by. The water had gone by the morning when everything was back to normal.
We will have some runners through the week before a busy Saturday at Kempton and Warwick.
Pic d’Orhy goes for the Grade 2 Silviniaco Conti Chase and Sonigino is on course for the Lanzarote Hurdle.
We also plan to introduce two interesting ex French four year olds who both won on their hurdling debuts Kabral Du Mathan and Kalif Du Berlais. One will run at Huntingdon on Friday, the other at Kempton 24 hours later. In addition Brave Kingdom is an intended runner in the Grade 2 Hampton Novice Chase at Warwick while Broken Halo goes for the £100,000 Classic Handicap Chase.
For all the latest news on my Saturday runners please turn to my Betfair column which goes live the previous day.

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Monday 1st January

Our horses ended the year in flying form with a four timer on Saturday with a treble at Taunton supplementing the determined victory of Captain Teague in the highly competitive Grade 1 Challow Hurdle at Newbury.

It was the fourth year running that we have landed the feature race at Newbury and the future looks very bright for this year’s winner who relishes testing going and is learning all the time. Although he idled in front he found plenty when challenged, will keep improving and we will see the best of him when he goes chasing next season. Johnny de La Hey and his wife Samantha are huge supporters of ours and it’s great to see them have another top prospect running in their colours.
Swift Hawk, Centara and Individualiste were all successful over hurdles at Taunton at the end of an eventful week for Team Ditcheat.
It’s good to start the New Year top of the trainers’ table with 68 winners and over £1.535 million in prize money at a strike rate of 24%.
On Boxing Day our yard managed the rare feat of providing the runner up in all six races at Kempton’s biggest meeting of the year.
It was hardly a cause for celebration but my daughter Megan managed to capture me on camera giving the thumbs up and smiling broadly in the enclosure for the second horse after Emailandy was beaten in the final race.
Most of them ran really well but it was frustrating that Bravemansgame was just foiled by a strange incident in his bid to win the King a George V1 for the second year running. He was getting a nice tow from Shiskin when that horse come down after the second last fence fence and stopped him dead in his tracks. That cost him any chance and he did well to rally on the flat to regain second place.
I felt Bravemansgame still ran a good race and was staying on at the finish. He will be much more effective on better ground and we will now freshen him up like last year and take him straight to Cheltenham for the Gold Cup.
On the same day Rubaud finished an honourable second behind Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle and Hermes Allen was also runner up to the French raider Il Est Francais who blew everyone away with the manner of his victory. My immediate reaction was that there’s another Kauto Star.
Elsewhere Tahmuras kept the scoreboard ticking over with a timely return to form at Aintree in first time cheek pieces and a day later Quel Destin relished deep ground as he landed a handicap Chase at Chepstow five years after he was successful in the Grade 1 Finale Juvenile Hurdle at the same course. What a trooper he has been for Sir Martin Broughton and friends.
The same day it was a bitter blow to lose Complete Unknown who severed a tendon in the Coral Welsh National. Talented and willing, he won the EBF Final at Sandown in 2022 and there was more to come from him over fences.
Weather permitting we are back in action on New Year’s Day at Musselburgh and Exeter while Stage Star heads to Cheltenham for the £100,000 Paddy Power Premier Handicap Chase.
Then on Saturday we plan to send a strong squad to our local track Wincanton.
January is usually our quietest month of the winter but we will be a little busier than usual this time as we have staggered the timing of the bi annual flu jabs for our horses. More than half have already been innoculated but we will keep going with a certain number and they will be get their flu jabs at the end of the month.
For all the latest news on my weekend runners and also my runners on January 1 please turn to my Betfair column which goes live the previous day.

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Frodon

After talking about Frodon in depth with his owner Paul Vogt we have taken the decision to retire him. He has been a legend for Team Ditcheat since he joined us from France as a three year old in late 2015.

It was the right thing to do after his final run in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. He led for a while and ran his usual solid race but doesn’t quite have the legs these days and was last of the five to finish.

Frodon has been a fantastic horse for us and has won so many different races. He was successful in the Victor Ludorum Hurdle on his second start for us at Haydock in February 2016, was a revelation over fences and gave everything every time he raced.
He forged a brilliant partnership with Bryony who likes to call him Pegasus. They shared so many superb days together including the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham, the King George VI in 2020, the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal in 2021 and the Badger Beer under top weight at Wincanton in November last year. I will never forget the stunning reception they received at our local track that day.
When you look at Frodon’s record down the years you will understand why I wouldn’t mind a few more like him. He won seventeen times over fences for us, once over hurdles and earned almost £1.2 million in prize money.
I’m delighted that Cheltenham have invited Frodon to make his final public appearance at their New Year’s Day meeting on Monday.
He will missed by everyone involved with Team Ditcheat when he leaves for Devon in particular Michelle Kramer who has looked after him for many years. The great thing is that he is finishing in one piece and will have a lovely time in retirement with Bryony on Dartmoor alongside his old stable mate Black Corton.

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