Well, we have just had an open day to remember! After weeks of hard work getting everything tidy and in place for our guests, hurricane Bertha hit us hard just four hours before the start of our party.
Despite our best attempts, the beautiful marquee blew away, leaving us in a state of panic. However, once we had calmed down and could think logically again, plan B was put into force.
We cleared the owners room of its contents, brought in the tables and chairs from the marquee and filled the place with drinks and nibbles.
It wasn’t exactly what we had planned, but as usual everyone had a great time. We weren’t going to let a fierce hurricane spoil our day after all.
Horsing around
We sold one of our horses – Silk Train – but fortunately she is to stay at the yard. Silk Train is a gorgeous looking filly that has won on the flat. She is competitively handicapped on the flat but also has the size and scope to go jumping. At only four-years-old we hope to have quite a bit of fun with her over the coming months.
Double Mead (pictured right), who has won a total of 22 races, has been covered and scanned in foal to the gorgeous and highly successful National Hunt sire Malinas who is by Lomitas, the sire of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream.
During her career, Double Mead was a fantastic mare on the racecourse and one of the most genuine horses I have ever seen. Together, we won 19 races so I hope she passes on her sheer grit and determination to her offspring. She will now go back to Worcestershire to live on my parent’s farm and have her baby.
Top-class mares are few and far between and I owe an awful lot to Double Mead. Not only did she give me my first winner as a trainer, but she also gave me my 50th win as a jockey this season at Fontwell. All we need now is ‘lady luck’ on our side and I very much hope that we will be able to have some fun with her son or daughter.
New kids on the block
We have been on the lookout for some new horses to join our stables at West Buckland in Somerset and I am pleased to announce that we have acquired several new additions already.
These vary from three-year-olds to competitively handicapped older horses. We still have Come on Annie, who won twice for us last season, but I have deliberately tried to source a few more mares to add to the yard.
We have just bought Black Narcissus privately through our Irish bloodstock agent. We have decided to syndicate her so that we can give as many people as possible the opportunity to get involved in our yard.
Please visit: www.alexandradunnracing.com for more information, if this is something you might be interested in doing.
We are nearing being full, with an exciting bunch of horses to take us through the winter. Having a full jumps licence for 12 months and having got to where we are so quickly, I am looking forward to what is to come!
Alexandra
