A training legend with over 1000 winners saddled up and the only one to have won the Grand National, the Champion Hurdle and of course the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Master Oats in 1995, Kim Bailey has a fine team of young horses for the 2013-14 season – not least one Harry Topper, who runs in the Charlie Hall Chase tomorrow.
(Kim, with his star horse Harry Topper)
Consistency has been key over the last four years, and Bailey and his team at the wonderfully picturesque Thorndale Farm have been churning out a steady number of winners and placed efforts from their string. The new training facilities are as good as it gets, and Bailey will be hopeful one or two of his inmates could be described along those same lines on the track after this season.
Kim was kind enough to allow us in to visit his horses, and tell us about his thoughts on the season ahead for them. As usual, click on any horse name bolded in blue to visit its profile page and add to your GG Alerts.
“Ran well the other day over 1m6f at Fontwell in what might have been a pretty decent bumper. We’ll try to find a bumper to win with her, which is always handy for breeding purposes! She just needs a more galloping track – somewhere like Towcester might suit.”
“He got a bit of flack for not winning at Kempton, where he hit the front way too soon under Jason Maguire. He is a consistent and versatile horse who’ll find an opening, and two miles is his trip.”
“She had her second run over hurdles the other day after a summer break. She wants a trip and soft ground and will be suited to handicaps in due course.”
“He is what he is, he’s been placed over hurdles and was badly interfered with last time out at Uttoxeter at the fifth flight. He’s another who might be suited to running at Towcester.”
“She was placed in all her bumpers and finished third at Towcester the other day behind Blase Chevalier and Reves D’Amour. I had entered her to run at Ludlow but if she’d ran well in what looked a hot race it may well have scuppered her handicap mark for life. People don’t realise that handicappers go by how many lengths you finish behind a good horse, and quite often it doesn’t work as neatly as they think and a horse’s career could be over before its started.”
“Ballywatt has been placed on more or less all of his starts. He was actually second to Simonsig in a point to point in Ireland! He deserves to win a race for his owners patience and will be ready to run soon.”
Bay Max – Un-raced
“Won’t be seen until the spring, he’s nice, a half-brother to Ruby Crown who was a good servant to the yard and has recently been retired.”
“He’s won a couple of races at Towcester. He’s been to Yogi Breisner to brush up on his jumping. A Towcester specialist, he is now handicapped out of Towcester races! So he won’t be there again until he comes down a few pounds. Basically he need a galloping track and some decent ground to be seen the best effect.”
“Ran a very encouraging first race the other day at Uttoxeter and I’m very happy with him. He’ll spend a season getting experience over hurdles before going chasing where he’ll be a good prospect. He won a point to point but that isn’t always an indication of jumping experience so we’ll take our time in educating him.”
“He came to me from Ferdy Murphy’s and is handicapped to the hilt on what he’s achieved. He is qualified for veteran races but although he gets 2m4f, the 3m they’re usually run over will would stretch him. He wants to come down a few pounds to be competitive again.”
“She had one run at Bangor and she’s out of a decent mare I won the mares’ final with (Lucia Forte) and I’m happy with how she’s done over the summer. She’s due to run in another mares’ bumper, probably at Warwick or Towcester.”
“An 11 race maiden who has placed on 3 of her starts. She is capable of winning one we just need to find the right race.”
“He’s an interesting horse, we thought he ran well in his bumper considering a bolted before the race. He’s been working well and schooling nicely, and will be ready to go in 2 weeks time or so. Looking forward to seeing where we are with him.”
“Ran an encouraging race at Kempton the other day over 2m5f on good to soft. He is a good ground horse however, and that might be it for him until the spring.”
“Placed in a couple of bumpers and had his first run over hurdles the other day. He’ll have another couple of runs in similar races before being put away until the new year.”
“He goes to Wetherby tomorrow and takes on Long Run! The problem is for a horse rated as high as he is with such little experience, you have to put him in at the deep end somewhere. The Hennessy isn’t ideal first time out given his lack of experience and the Charlie Hall will only have a handful of runners. But he’s only six, this race will tell me if he’s a Hennessy horse, or a Welsh National horse or whatever. But he if goes and wins this or anything like it then it could be something different we’ll look at!! (We hope he means the Gold Cup!!) Being 17hh he is still big and weak, and still has plenty to learn, but we he’s a very nice horse and we have high hopes for him.”
“Had one run in a bumper last season, finishing fourth at Market Rasen. A nice horse out of Kings Theatre who wants good ground and will start off over 2m soon in hurdle races as he has a bit of speed.”
[Knockenrawley]()
“I bought three out of Portrait Gallery and he was the cheapest. The other two turned out alright and I’m hoping he will too. He’s won a point in Ireland and wil go over hurdles in about a month.”
“She is only small but has ability and she won at Ludlow in early October. We’ll get her handicapped and the mares’ final would be a target provided good ground which she needs. She’s by Midnight Legend, a horse I loved dearly and is a tough and honest filly.”
“He’s been dropped sufficiently in the ratings since he’s been off the track for us to continue handicap chasing rather than going hunter chasing. He is also qualified for veteran races now so those are an option.”
“Midnight Oscar won his bumper and was impressive back at Uttoxeter when winning over hurdles. It didn’t go to plan at Wincanton on Sunday, but we have pretty high hopes for him over fences as he usually jumps particularly well. We’ll find the right races, he just needs good ground.
“Suffered a crunching fall the other day but bizarrely didn’t have a scratch on him. He’s entered all over the shop, but there’s a race at Sandown in as couple of weeks which will suit him and I’m trying to get a win into him.”
“A full sister to Max Bygraves so you’d say she’ll get 3m. She’s still a few weeks away from being ready to run where she will start off over hurdles. A very good bumper filly, she won three on the bounce for us before running with credit in the Listed bumper at Aintree. She’s a nice prospect.”
[Mrs Peachy]()
“She goes to a mares’ listed race at Wincanton in a week’s time and we’re trying to get some black type into her. She’s done well for us winning four times, three this year including first time out earlier last month. She’s gone up another 10lb now.”
“He’s a precious horse who is a bit soft but he jumps well and I’ve always liked him. He’s won his last three, but the handicapper only put him up 4lb the other day which is quite fair and we can get him into a 0-140 now and see how he goes.”
Net Work Rouge – Un-raced
“He’s supposedly one of the top point to pointers in the country and you’d have to have high hopes for him if they’re as good as they say he is! By the same sire as Sprinter Sacre, and he won’t be out until the spring.”
“Surprised us all and ran really well the other day on his debut over hurdles, finishing fourth at 33/1. He doesn’t show us much at home and he was under pressure early on in the race but kept going well. His owner is new to the yard and has a nice little horse on his hands. When the ground gets better in the spring, he could find some improvement. But if he goes and wins a novice hurdle, we’ll have a 16hh little horse trying to hump a penalty around, or a horse too highly rated for handicaps, which is never easy.”
[Premier Portrait]()
He won first time out the other day for us and we fancied him to do so. He is Harry Topper’s work mate and is a very good looking horse who goes nicely at home. I don’t know how good a race that was the other day, but he is an improving sort and a lovely prospect.”
“I ran him at Ludlow the day and they didn’t go fast enough for him. He is rated 127 and we think there is a decent handicap in him on good ground. Somewhere like Ascot, Cheltenham or Sandown in a 0-140 handicap chase would be a nice race to win with him.”
“I was furious when the rain came the other day at Cheltenham! We haven’t had a winner there for a long time and we really fancied him, but he is a good ground horse and although he ran very well to be second, the ground done it for him. Another few strides he’d have won, he’s gone up 4lb again for that.”
“We were desperate to get a run into before Christmas and meetings were being abandoned left, right and centre. He ended up at Taunton and we fancied him but it was completely the wrong track as he a big horse and didn’t handle the bends there. Jason got off there and said wherever he runs next time he’ll win. He went to Kempton on RP Chase day and won at 33/1!! And we all backed him!! He is a nice horse who we have high hopes for.”
“She’s got stacks of ability but had a pig of a season last season. She won at Uttoxeter and we fancied at Warwick thereafter where Jason Maguire will admit he rode her with too much confidence, thinking she had more speed than she has. She is another good prospect for hurling this season but she needs good ground.”
“He came second the other day at Fakenham and should have won! He is in good nick. He got too buzzed up at Aintree and lost his chance before the race. Not sure what we’re going to do with him, as he is a bit of a small field horse. He jumps really well and could go back to the race he won at Ascot. We’ll see about the national in due course!”
The Scarlett Woman – Un-raced
“We’ll take our time with her, she’ll run in a Warwick bumper this month and spend a season doing that. But she is only a 4yo and is a horse to look forward to when she goes over hurdles.”
“Trumix is a half brother to Harry Topper and is the worst handicapped horse in the country! He’s been handicapped on one run, and has a mark of 107. He is probably a mid-80s horse. Hugely frustrating.”
“He’s a nice horse with stacks of ability, but has sore shins so the ground was slightly to firm for him when he finished second last time out. He hung a bit and never really let himself down on it. Can he carry a penalty in decent novice hurdles against 130 odds rated horses? Probably not. So we’ll look at going handicapping with him. He’s only five and has a bright future.”
“This is a very nice horse, a proper prospect who we really like. His bumper form is there for all to see and he is potentially the best horse in the yard. He has bags of ability and speed to burn with it. If anyone wants a share in him please do get in touch!”
Kibo – Unraced
“An athletic son of Lucarno, he is a nice type of horse who will run in a 3yo bumper in mid-November.”
“Ran very well at Cheltenham last week finishing 5th. He is now immortalised around here because he won at Hexham, which means I have trained a winner at every course in the country! Ed Cookson gets on really well with him, he’s a popular horse around the yard and he is in good form.”
“There might be a race for him this Sunday at Huntingdon. He is a strapping 17hh 4yo who is a home bred. I haven’t dared to put him in front of a hurdle yet as he’d be likely to trip over it! He’ll be running in bumpers and learning his trade for now.”
“Has experience and had a busy October, finishing up with a good run at Stratford in a fairly hot novice hurdle. He’ll be winning his races.”
Kim Bailey’s Blog is extremely popular in the community and we recommend you visit back regularly for the latest updates on the horses and Kim’s thoughts on how they’re doing at home and on the track. For further information regarding the yard or indeed if you have any enquiries regarding horses for sale, Visit the Kim Bailey Racing to find out more.
We’d like to wish Kim and his friendly team every success this season and given some of the young equine talent at his disposal we’ve saw when we visited the yard, some nice pots will be heading to the Cotswolds and to Thorndale Farm this winter and into spring.