TOM AND MICHAEL PAY TRIBUTE TO STABLE STAR

ManorHouseMonthly
Issue No.55
October 2015
TOM AND MICHAEL PAY TRIBUTE TO STABLE STAR
HEARTACHE AT
PANTHER LOSS
Brown Panther, won 11
of his 28 races and more
then £1M in prize money
E
VERYONE at Manor House Stables has been touched by the
outpouring of emotion from
across the racing world and beyond
since the tragic injury endured by
stable star Brown Panther in last
month’s Irish St Leger.
Michael Owen and Andrew
Black’s seven-year-old was attempting to repeat his victory in last year’s
Irish Classic when he broke down seven furlongs from home. Unfortunately
he could not be saved.
“It’s the saddest day of my life,” said
Michael afterwards. “The toughest,
most honest, most brilliant horse I
will ever set eyes on passed away today doing the thing he loved most.
“I was with him when he was born,
shared an experience for seven years
that will never be repeated and gave
him his last kiss goodbye. What an
honour to have owned and bred
him. I love you Panther, life will not
be the same without you.
“I’ve not shed so many tears in
years but my grief is shared by so
many people. The team at MHS will
be devastated but they can be very
proud of themselves.
“One person I’d like to thank more
than anyone though is Chris Ely. He
rode him every day, fed him, travelled
him round the world and genuinely
adored him. You were the perfect
match, Chris. Thank you.”
Michael’s heartfelt sentiments
were echoed by his trainer.
“I would like to thank everyone
for their kind messages of support
at our tragic loss,” said Tom.
“It really is overwhelming the
genuine affection in which Brown
Panther was held. It is touch-
ing to know that complete strangers
and many people within our industry
shared in our despair. It is apparent
that many people saw Brown Panther
as their horse not just ours.
“It would be easy to have regrets
but I have none. Of course it is desperate that he fractured two bones in his
right hind leg, both of which had no
previous medical history. It was just a
catastrophic accident.
“He died at the scene of his greatest triumph, doing what he loved best.
No matter how heartbreaking this
is for us, Brown Panther was happy
and cared for by everyone right up
until the moment he was put down.
We were blessed to have him and, of
course, he will be hugely missed.
“In Brown Panther’s honour we
must put our heads down and just get
on with it as he always did.”
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Manor House Monthly
Jack’s a big fan of all
kinds of horsepower
Jack and Fine ‘n Dandy at Chester
WORK rider Jack
Hunter-Dean has
been at Manor
House since April
2012.
Jack was just
three when, encouraged by his
grandmother, he
started to ride and
fell in love with
racing when he began attending the
Northern Racing
College in Doncaster during the
school holidays.
His favourite
horses at the yard
are Swansway and
Thataboy, while his
all-time favourite
MHS inmates are
Fine ‘n Dandy and
Dream Maker.
He says his
most memorable
experience since
joining MHS was
the first time he
rode work around
Wolverhampton
racecourse aboard
Barracuda Boy.
Jack likes all
forms of horsepower and is also a
keen motor racing
fan. Indeed, when
he isn’t working he
likes nothing more
than taking his
own car on track
days at Oulton
Park.
 See the MHS
website for Jack’s
complete Q&A.
Drone used for new
promotional video
OUR friends at
M7Aerial have been
back to the yard to
record some stunning new footage.
The Flintshirebased team
returned to MHS
with their stateof-the-art drones
at the end of last
month to film the
new yearlings and
obtain some more
A drone in action
aerial footage of
the gallops.
Their footage
will be used in a
new promotional
video for the yard.
Ian captures latest
five-to-follow heat
IAN Arnold was the
winner of our fiveto-follow competition for September.
Ian scored 35
points over the
course of the
month, which
was four more
than Tony Peart in
second [31] and 11
more than thirdplaced William
Harmes [24].
Above N Beyond,
Barracuda Boy and
Cymro were last
month’s highest
scorers with 14
points apiece.
Page 2
Exciting times
ahead in 2016
W
ITH the sales season
continuing apace, Tom
has been travelling far
and wide in his efforts to unearth
some star two-year-olds for 2016.
At the end of last month he was
at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale,
in Ireland, while more recently
he has been at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in
Newmarket.
One of the yard’s most exciting
acquisitions thus far is a chestnut
son of Arcano, purchased at the
DBS Premier Sale in August.
“Arcano isn’t the most popular
stallion, but has done perfectly
well,” said Tom. “Think, for example, of Arcanada who was an impressive winner for us at Chester
in August and has proved to be a
fantastic acquisition.
“From the moment I first saw
this colt I thought that he would
be a proper two-year-old for
2016.”
Manor House will be staging
yearling parades for anyone interested in acquiring an interest
in one of next season's two-yearolds on Sunday, November 1, and
Sunday, November 15. If you are
interested in attending on either
of these dates then please call the
yard on 01948 820485.
 MHS also has the seven-yearold gelding Kingscroft, a 12-times
winner who ran well at Chelmsford
on his first start for the yard last
Wednesday, available for sale. Call
Tom on 07973 511664 for more details.
FOR SALE
Tom has been busy
in the sales ring
FOR SALE
FOR SALE
BAHAMIAN BOUNTY
x ALIANTE
ARCANO
x ROYAL BLUSH
This chestnut colt is the first foal
of Aliante, a winner at three and
placed five times. His sire,
Bahamian Bounty, was a
top-class two-year-old with a
reputation for producing
precocious juveniles and
above-average sprinters.
Out of the mare Royal Blush,
whose only previous foal was a
winner, this chestnut colt is a son
of Arcano. His sire was unbeaten
at two, when his wins included a
vintage renewal of the Prix Morny,
and had 17 first crop two-year-old
winners in 2014.
Cost: £70,000
FOR SALE
Cost: £37,000
FOR SALE
DRAGON PULSE
x MYSTERIOUS GIRL
ASHKALANI
x SAFFRON FOX
MAJESTIC MISSILE
x RON’S SECRET
This chestnut filly was sired by
Dragon Pulse, a son of Kyllachy,
who won an Irish Group 2 at two,
when he was rated one of the
top 10 juveniles in Europe, and a
French Group 3 over 1m
the following year. Her dam,
Mysterious Girl, was unraced.
Sire Ashkalani won four of his
six races, including two Group
1s, and more than £350,000 in
prize money for his owner, His
Highness the Aga Khan. Dam
Saffron Fox was a winner at two
and has subsequently produced
two winners.
This bay son of the precocious
5f specialist Majestic Missile,
a multiple Group winner, was
purchased at Tattersalls Ireland.
His dam, Ron’s Secret, won three
times at three and her offspring
have produced seven winners
from just eight runners.
Cost: £30,000
Cost: £10,000
€34,000
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Manor House Monthly
Page 3
Q&A: Russell Jones, owner and yard sponsor
TOM’S TAKE
Manor House’s main man shares his thoughts
on the Sport of Kings and life at large
Great to see Ralph
capture the Leger
Russell, second right, following
Kachy’s success at Goodwood
Kachy gave
us a day to
remember
What’s your connection with
Manor House Stables? Owner and
stable sponsor.
How did your association with
the yard come about? I’d seen
great results over the last couple
of years and wanted to join in the
success.
What, in your opinion, sets
Manor House apart from other
yards? Tom and the team are
always honest and they have
the best facilities in the area. The
friendly staff are always welcoming and it’s great for corporate
book you read? Does the Racing
hospitality.
Post count as a book?
Sum yourself up in five words.
If you had to choose a single
Honest, driven, loyal, ambitious
‘Desert Island Disc’ what would it
and happy.
be? Bridge over Troubled Water by
Who would play you in a film of
Simon and Garfunkel.
your life? Telly Savalas [Kojak],
Who do you most admire and
because of the hair.
why? Sir Winston Churchill for
If there is one thing you could
leading the battle to save Britain.
change about your life, what
Who’s your favourite-ever horse?
would it be? I’d have liked to
Jodami – my dad and I followed
have lived in Australia when I was
him throughout his career in the
younger but it didn’t happen.
UK and Ireland.
What was the most memorable
What would be your specialist
day of your racing life? Kachy
subject on Mastermind? Wines of
winning the Group 3 Molecomb
the world.
Stakes at Glorious Goodwood
What TV show do you always
this year.
switch off? Big Brother.
What is your earliest racing
What football team do you supmemory? Being at Bangor-onport? Manchester United, as I live
Dee races with my dad as a child.
nearby.
If you were taking someone
What is the strangest / funniest
racing for the first time, where
thing you
would you go and why? Chester –
have ever
because of the atmosphere.
What was the
last film you
saw? Catch Me
If You Can starring Leonardo
DiCaprio.
What was the last Sir Winston Churchill
seen on a racecourse? There
have been too many to remember whilst in the Manor House
Stables box at Chester.
Give us a trainer and jockey to
watch out for in 2015. I’m expecting more great things from Tom
Dascombe and Richard Kingscote
in 2016.
What’s your greatest extravagance / guiltiest pleasure? Long
winter holidays in Barbados.
What makes you depressed?
Dishonest people.
If you could invite four celebrities
/ historical figures to a dinner party who would they be?
George Best, Henry Cecil, Salma
Hayek and Julia Roberts.
What is the most-important lesson life has taught you? Things
are never as bad as you may
think they are,
persevere
and you will
succeed.
How would
you like to
be remembered? Not
sure. Hopefully, it’s a
long way off!
Jodami in action
I was delighted my
great mate Ralph
Beckett won the
St Leger – it was
just a shame he
had victory taken
off him on the day
of the race and
had to wait a
fortnight
for his filly
Simple
Verse to
be reinstated.
The
again, it just
goes to show
what a great trainer
Ralph is – it’s years
since a filly has
won the Leger and
he goes and does
it twice with the
same horse!
Joking aside,
while it was unfortunate Simple
Verse had the race
taken off her in the
first place, the rules
leave themselves
open to different
interpretations
and, clearly, the
stewards at Doncaster and the BHA
panel in London
took opposite
views.
Ralph has
a fantastic
record
with
middledistance
fillies and
it was a bold
call to supplement Simple Verse
for the Leger when
she would probably
have been odds-on
for the fillies’ race.
I learnt an awful
lot in my time as
his assistant and
even today, if I’m
seeking a second
opinion, or a bit of
guidance, it’s often
Ralph I’ll turn to.
Might a Champions
Weekend work well?
Champions Day is
a great initiative
and it’s fantastic
that Quipco have
pumped so much
money into it.
At the same time,
I can’t help feeling
it doesn’t quite
compare with, say,
the Breeders Cup
in America or Arc
day in France. For
instance, you have
to wonder whether
it’s in racing’s best
interests to run
the fillies’ mile
on a Friday at
Newmarket, where
it’s all too easily
overlooked.
I’d love to see the
sport’s interests put
ahead of courses’
and the creation of
a two-day meeting
at Ascot!
Positives for Paddy
It’s great to see
apprentice Paddy
Vaughan picking
up some good rides
for outside stables.
As I mentioned
last month, Paddy’s
yet to pass his
driving test, which
means he’s often
reliant on trains to
get up and down
the country, but
nevertheless his
agent Guy Jewell is
doing a great job.
Riding for trainers of the calibre
of David O’Meara
and Gary Moore, as
Paddy has done in
the last month, can
only stand him in
good stead.
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Manor House Monthly
Page 4
Crowley’s Law
excels in USA
T
HE admirably consistent
Crowley’s Law has finished
second in two Graded races
in the States, bagging more than
£60,000 in the process.
Colm O’Donoghue was in the
saddle as Paul Crowley’s fouryear-old filly finished third in the
Grade 3 Noble Damsel Stakes at
Belmont Park on September 19
and Victor Espinoza was aboard
when she went one better when
finishing second behind Tenepin
in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at
Keeneland a fortnight later.
On her first start in Grade 1 company, Crowley’s Law travelled well
in behind the leaders and challenged for the lead entering the
straight.
“She ran awesome. I tried to go
with the winner but she left me at
the eighth pole. She’s a nice filly,”
reflected Victor.
Back at home, the yard sent out
five winners during September to
take its total for the season on to
36 [35 in the UK, plus Brown Panther’s victory in the Dubai Gold
Cup].
The first victory of the month
came courtesy of Cymro in a
1m2½f handicap at Haydock on
September 4. Derek Passant and
Hefin Williams’ three-year-old
was scoring for the third time this
season and was a little unlucky
not to register win no. 4 when he
returned to the same venue little
more than a fortnight later.
Crowley’s Law is
second to Tenepin
The grey colt was beaten just
half a length when a fast-finishing
third in the £70,000 Dubai Duty
Free Handicap.
Ben Curtis steered John and Diane Brown’s Diatomic to victory
in a 6f Carlisle handicap on September 15, while Richard Kingscote was in the saddle as stable
favourite Barracuda Boy carried
Laurence Bellman’s familiar yellow and blue silks to victory in a 6f
Yarmouth handicap on the same
afternoon.
The two-year-old Above N Beyond overcame an awkward draw
when scoring in good style for
owners Michael Owen and Andrew Black in a 6f Kempton maiden on September 23.
The yard’s fifth and final winner
of the month came at Haydock on
September 26 when Polar Eyes returned to form in some style landing a 1m2½f fillies‘ handicap and
bagging almost £13,000 for his
owners, The Illusionists.
Aside from the winners, there
were plenty of other commendable efforts over the course of the
month with Hillbilly Boy’s third
in the 25-runner Ayr Silver Cup
on September 23 chief amongst
them.
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