2024 was not an easy year, but both Smugglers Haven and Mr Vango have kept us all cheered with two good wins for Smugglers Haven and a brave feat of mental strength and stamina by Mr Vango in the valuable London National at Sandown at Christmas. Both have been a great pleasure to care for and have thrived here with the extra care and time given to Smugglers Haven and strengthening and balance exercise tailored to Mr Vango paying dividends for another pair of cheaply bought horses.
Mr Vango’s Fabulous Win in the London National and Our Plans for 2025
Mr Vango was heroically brave in the London National answering every question asked by Nico de Boinville. He ploughed on up the hill to outstay all of his fancied rivals. That took a bit out of him so we had to bypass the Welsh National, which was probably no bad thing as the ground would not have been soft enough to see him at his best. However, he has bounced back now so we were desperately disappointed that the Classic Chase at Warwick had to be cancelled as the ground looked suitable and the opposition beatable. He will now head to Haydock for the Grand National trial. We will be praying for rain for that.
Everybody who knew him as a young horse before we bought him joked about how slow they all thought he was and indeed he is not blessed with too many gears, but he jumps, he stays forever and he wants very badly to win, so we will continue to love and cherish him for what he is and keep praying for the extreme conditions that he needs to be seen at his best. He will get an entry in the Grand National just in case it comes up heavy but he would not run on good ground as they would just go too fast for him.
Smugglers Haven and Our Plans for 2025
Smugglers Haven won a four runner mares point to point in the Spring of ‘23 and we bought her soon after. She was leggy and weak, and we had to be very careful with her last year, so it has been very pleasing to see the massive steps forward she is taking every time that she runs. She was impressive scoring for the second time under Lily at Plumpton, last time. She takes a bit of time to get over her races and does not want soft ground, so she has been on easy work since that victory, but is back in good spirits now so we will be looking out for a possible race for her on reasonable ground early in the New Year. She will continue to improve and strengthen and will be even better over fences so there should be plenty more to come from her in 2025.
The Mark Bradstock Racing Club
We are very much looking forward to the emergence of the first Mark Bradstock Racing Club horse, Kalypso His in the four and five year old maiden point-to-point at the Heythrop on the 26th January. He has matured and strengthened and recovered from ulcers that were troubling him, so I am confident that he will take all the beating at the Heythrop, which we are hoping will be a springboard to even better things on the track.
There are still small shares in him and slightly larger ones in a very promising five year old called ‘Trigger The Light’ by Soldier of Fortune out of a close relation to Flakey Dove who will be ready to run in the Spring, if not before. If you are interested in finding out more about the Racing Club please call us on 01235 760780 or complete the form on this page.
