Hey Paul,

I fail miserably at trialling, I dont know, too many horses at a time, ground choices, tracks etc etc. Even more difficult without a time to gauge as in the days of Scatters.

I see here you have a point system for trialling ???? Any chance of a pointer ? Obviously I do not have max'd out horses as I breed randomly but the odd ones that come through and look good potential, speed, cruising etc. still fail. (I hate sitting at the bottom of the pile lol)

Any advice would be helpful especially when it comes to trialling, but understand if its a Rhodes secret

no mate always been very open about the way i do things and happy to help others

the way i do it mate is max field size of 20 and minimum of 16 you want to replicate league races NO PACEMAKERS
having 30 or 40 running in trials is pointless as some dont make it round the first bend

I also personally never export with jockey instructions

10 trials per distance

for NHC Cheltenham good to soft
for UKRA Ascot Good

you want to find your most consitant horse you can only do this by a points system

I give the first 6 home in each trial points
1st 8 pts
2nd 6
3rd 4
4th 3
5th 2
6th 1

then total up the points at the end of the 10 trials your bets horse is your
top points scorer

hope it helps

Thanks mate your a star....

that's my mentor

i cant do it that way with 600+ horses to trial

but i will be keeping Last Ben in for a laugh and should be bringing in 2 of her offspring...

New Gold Cup Horse coming in this week
Turning on the style that completes my transfers

My flat team has done much better than expected. Apart from breeding my dirt horses and stayers they are just about last season's horses.

My two year olds have struggled though it's good to watch Warning come from miles Back.
My sprinters have been competitive and that's been a bit of a surprise.
My 1m - 1m2 - 1m4 horses are just average but I've probably only bred about 20 horses In each division this year.
My stayers are the division I've bred most and all are competitive though they do come from far back that can cause problems.

My jumpers are now probably better than my flat horses but I'm still shocked they have done this well. I think this years jumps is the strongest/competitive season I've been involved in.

Look back at last season my Hurdlers were better than my chasers and I think it's the same this season. 11 out of my 12 hurdlers have won a race and the other horse has finished second twice.

My Chasers are all over the place.

My 2 milers have performed better than expected ( I've not been that strong in this division) though not near the best.
My 2m4 horses have all performed with all 3 winning a race.
My 3milers are a poor lot, all seem to be H'cappers.
My 3m4 horses have been good and a pleasant surprise.
My 4 mile horses have struggled to get a run with one horse unable to race.
My 4m4 horses are the best chasers I have and they have lived up to the hype though they have killed their ratings so i'll possibly not have a runner in the National.

I think I'll only have one new runner ( no time to breed any) and a few back up horses from my last bunch of horses.

Got some nice flat horses to add and the one I'm most looking forward to run is a horse called Coigach, she is the best 2m4 horse I've bred but I will be putting her in the league as a 4yo so I can race her for 2 season's. Not sure what races she will go for as a 4yo but loves soft ground.

Hi PJ.

What is your thinking for exporting without jockey instructions?
How did you come about this idea in the first place?

I was surprised to read it but the proof is in the pudding with your strong horses/stable.

Doug

Hi Doug i worked out with out instructions the jockey usually works out the best way for the
horse to race as you have seen with mine some can act as pacemakers but most of the time
the horse runs to its best potential best way of racing most of mine are bred to be handy types
on the pace or not far off some are even pace horses have very few hold up horses.

well, thats all transfers done, i've put one wrong one in by mistake but not to worry i'm sure i'll find a race it likes

looking forward to week 6 now.

Overall I have been delighted with the performance of my team thus far, having made significant gains in both codes, especially in the NH where my focus lies.

Flat:

1 Winner
9 Seconds, need to try to convert a few more of these into the back end of the season.

Star is really Crystaline, but there are no real stars in this team and likely no group horses either, is all about the handicaps and making the best of what I have.

Transfers:

Out -

2YO It Tingles - was a last min add who is pretty poor, one race confirmed what I knew and have taken the chance to swap out
3YO Sea of Tranquility - with most of the 3YO races over it makes sense to move this chap out.
3YO Burst of Energy - potential regret with knocking her out, could have been Fine Puzzle instead who is arguably worse, but his DSQ win made it her in what was a rushed decision
3YO Enders Shame - has been poor all season
3YO Boldy Going - Oaks candidate who fell well short, have better in my 5YO's to cover this distance

In -

2YO Closing Gap - Decent horse over 6f, can cope with 7f also, will improve upon Need for Speed who has been poor thus far
2YO Clash on Rock - Nice 7f filly who can range up to 1m and down to 6f, again will improve what is there.
2YO Rescue Diver - 1.1 to 1.2 filly to compliment the team, expectations are ok, but not expected to set the world alight.
4YO Baba Hari - An attempt to improve my sprinters, likely still only going to make the hanicap mark.
4YO Sweet Temptation - Solid looking horse not well trialled, not expecting a major improvement, not enough generations from my current team in breeding

NH

8 Winners (1x G2, 2x G3 Handi)
8 Seconds
14 Third

Have seen a largely consistent performance and I am chuffed to bits, after having directed all my best horses at the NH this season (need to breed enough for both codes ) stable star right now is Coconut Shy with her two wins, though I am hopeful that The Estate, Dominion of Saints and Chess will all pick up a win, and there are a number in the second tier who will be good for handicaps. Don't really have any targets yet, the graded wins covered that, though a G1 would be a nice cherry for the cake.

Out:

4YO Enterprise - Bumper horse who I made a mess up with entires early days, too impatient no use over hurdles
4YO Ermintrude - Good horse but again the a trainer error as I forgot to make her a novice.......
6YO Hope and Glory - Has been awful, not getting the ground she likes
6YO Gloria Slap - Much the same as the abover really, time to move on without her.
6YO Indian Summer - Real disappointment as she trialed well, looked short of that on evidence so far again I think she is being done on the ground, really needs good/firm and not much of that on the jumps

In:

4YO Trashman - acts on more testing group and is a much better horse than Cap Gemini, bumper, hurdles and chase all in his locker, strong chance he will be back at 5YO if he performs
6YO Barking - mad as a box of frogs, but a decent jumper and seems to take to softer ground, never sure who your going to get mind, will come in as a novice chaser for 2.5
6YO Translucent - hoping for a better run at the handicaps with this one, not likely to be a star though
5YO Kiss My Tail - agonised what to do with this 2.5 hurdler who consistently beats Coconut Shy in my trials and likes more testing ground, has chase options next yeat at 6YO, so a run at the novices opening with a G2 will give me an idea of her mark.
6YO Grey Estate - Wanted a little more novice depth at the 3M plus mark, does not really improve what I have mind so nothing to get excited about

Targets:

Nothing too specific, though I will get a horse in every race I can at Cheltenham, and National Sensation remains my best bet for the monster race from Aintree.

Josh