Friday thirteenth December, 2024 – Richard Phillips Racing

Neeps And Tatties made a splendid debut within the bumper at Hereford on Wednesday.  Eager early on, she regularly settled and was distinguished till the straight earlier than staying on to be fourth crushed eight lengths by the well-considered first three.

A shiny begin to her profession and we’ll now contemplate working her in a mares solely bumper in January and look ahead to rewarding the persistence of her house owners in 2025.

Now we have declared Tech That and Smile Again at Carlisle on Sunday.  Tech That made a really pleasing debut in a bumper at Ffos Las just lately, ending fourth crushed solely a size by the winner.  He makes his hurdling debut within the two mile novices hurdle on Sunday and has schooled effectively at dwelling.  Hopefully the staying monitor will swimsuit him and he appears a really promising horse for the longer term.

Smile Again gained her solely point-to-point in Eire and like Tech That, was bought on the Doncaster gross sales in Might.  This good trying four-year-old has happy us in her work from home and though she gained on good floor, hopefully she’s going to address the softer circumstances right here.  Each are promising sorts and might be ridden by Finn Lambert.  We’re delighted that two of their three house owners, Eustace and Carol Theodore, have travelled from America to see them run.

Eustace and Carol (pictured) noticed them undergo their paces yesterday morning and met them for the primary time and we look ahead to each horses giving them a lot enjoyable and pleasure within the years to come back.

It was a privilege to attend Alastair Down’s memorial at Cheltenham Faculty Chapel yesterday.  The exceptional wordsmith died final month and far has been written and stated about it since his passing.  Nonetheless yesterday was a possibility for everybody to come back collectively.  Most of the nice and good of the game from the final three many years and extra had been in attendance to say farewell to a fancy and legendary character who influenced so many lives and careers.  Alastair would have been enormously pleased with the best way his household spoke so actually and movingly about this distinctive man.

As J Francome so precisely stated “If Alastair was drowning, he would swim out to sea,” and Alastair can be the primary man to confess this.  Nonetheless he was a sort and beneficiant and engaging particular person who by means of his God given expertise, is not going to be forgotten.