As with the start of any new year, there comes a time of reflection and looking back over the last twelve months I have been delighted with some very notable performances from our yard. Something I shall fondly cherish was training the last winner – Love Affairs – for her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. It was one of my greatest honours to have her horses in training at Beechdown, and to share this final success for her with Adam (Kirby) has made it a very dear and lasting memory.
Following a little winter break, I’m very pleased to say we have started the year well and are seeing some exciting prospects unfold from our string. A year on in their racing careers, our three-year-olds have developed well, both in maturity and strength, and following some down time, are now picking up the pace with their work at home. I’m very eager to see how their training will soon translate onto the track once the turf season gets underway.
It's often my favourite moments of training to discover the potential of a precocious racehorse at home. These early and formative days spent with our two-year-olds are the building blocks to their racing education, so it’s imperative to take our time to develop and nurture them through these stages. I’m thoroughly enjoying getting to know our new additions and watching them grow day by day. As we look to the season ahead, I’m pleased to share some are shaping up nicely for their debut outings and we look forward to the results that will hopefully come from them this year.
With our younger prospects nicely ticking away, I can’t forget to mention our string of older horses (and much-loved stable stars!) who achieved strong success for us last year. It’s great to see them so well established in their careers now and look forward to their racing. I love to see them relish in their training in the mornings on the gallops, as much as I do to see them finish with their head in front at the track. Our card is marked with some key opportunities this year, where we hope to see strong performances amongst competitive fields.
As always, I’d like to say a big thank you to the tremendous team at Beechdown for their hard work and dedication, and to all our owners for their ongoing support. I hope to share more moments in the winner’s enclosure with you all this year.
Clive Cox
