Lucinda, Scu and NTF - Silver ready to strike Gold?

SBN - Hoping every cloud has a Silver (and rainy!) lining!

I'm not sure what it is about this wonderful sport of National Hunt racing but despite a bitter wind and icy rain constantly drizzling down on me I still felt like a kid in a sweet shop wandering around Lucinda Russell's yard, looking at the best jumping talents this side of the border.

Granted, the friendliness of the entire staff at Alarly house makes it hard not to enjoy yourself at the yard and despite the miserable weather they were all simply ploughing on with their jobs and once again moving like clockwork. In fact they are so efficient I sometimes think Scu has a job keeping up with them!! 

Make no mistake this is one well-oiled and happy outfit Lucinda and Scu have established and to my mind that must play a huge part in the success of the yard.

Silver By Nature......

Obviously this is a big week for the galloping grey. It's not every day a horse rated 156 gets into a class 1 handicap carrying 10st, however, that is exactly the situation the son of Silver Patriarch finds himself in. 

There was a certain amount of excited nervousness around the horse, they all know how good he is and they all want him to be spot on to prove it. The yard clearly think he is more than good enough to land this prize but there is a concern over the ground; the 8yo needs it soft or worse to be at his best and at the moment there is no guarantee he will get his conditions. 

There is no bullishness from the yard about the horse but rather a quiet confidence; it's not their nature to shout from the rooftops about how good one of their horses is they'd rather let the horses speak for themselves on the racetrack. If the heavens open they are fully aware their boy has the weapons to take down the mighty Denman. 

Not for the first time someone in the yard told me they think this boy could be Gold Cup class, this time it was the turn of jockey Campbell Gillies. I had a chat with him outside the box of Silver By Nature and like the others in the yard you could tell he though the world of the grey. Campbell was in no doubt the wide-galloping expanses of Newbury would suit the horse but again he raised the concern over the ground.

Unexpectedly (to me anyway) Silver By Nature's owner Geoff Brown made an appearance to check on his horse(s). Interestingly he told me that all his horses come back to him for their summer break and none of them are allowed to beef up and put on any excess weight; they are all kept walking and active and in light work. When they return to the yard for the season there is zero time spent having to shed the fat they have put on over the summer, it's a simple case (simple probably not the correct word!?) of getting them match fit for the season ahead. In Geoff's own words "I'm paying Lucinda to train my horses to race not to put them on a diet after I've fattened them up over the summer!". Great attitude and one that can only benefit the horse and the yard; I'm sure Lucinda appreciates getting a horse that is only a few lbs away from its racing weight rather than a few stone!

Unlike last time I was at the yard, this time I actually got to see the galloping grey in action and luckily for you guys I have some exclusive video footage of the 8yo on one of his final gallops before he goes for the Hennessy.

In this clip Silver By Nature is in the second pair that are cantering up the gallop. The other gentleman that was up there with Scu and I is the owner of a couple of the horses in the yard including Etxalar and Culcabock.

Silver By Nature was pencilled in for a one and a half spin up the gallop so here he is taking his second canter - 

The one thing that instantly strikes me about this horse is how laid back he is. He is a big, well bodied sort who gives off an extremely relaxed vibe. You can tell he is special, the horse knows he is special but at the same time he doesn't strut about the place like an arrogant so and so.

The horse is primed for his first big target of the season but will he get his ground?

We will soon find out......

I'll be back with the second part of this report soon where I will have more video footage of some of the other horses in the yard tackling some barrel jumping in the AW circle gallop as well as more news on my day at the yard.

p.s remember you can still purchase the latest NTF book - NTF National Hunt 2010/11 - by clicking on the 'BUY NOW' button at the top of the Blog.

Find out more by clicking here.

Ben (NTF)