By now I'm hoping as humble but dashing readers you could indeed write this initial 'meet our new horse' paragraph. However as you've done incredibly to stick with things to this point and certainly deserve both a polo mint and possibly even a carrot, I'll save you the trouble and crack on....
Our route to acquiring Maimie's Magic, another
By now I'm hoping as humble but dashing readers you could indeed write this initial 'meet our new horse' paragraph. However as you've done incredibly to stick with things to this point and certainly deserve both a polo mint and possibly even a carrot, I'll save you the trouble and crack on....
Our route to acquiring Maimie's Magic, another name plucked from, (well best not to go there in the interests of Syndicate harmony), was a slightly different one to our previous horses in that she was part of a deal struck with the yard who we had obtained Zhenya from. 'MM' was a daughter of established NH Sire, Getaway out of Flemi, a well connected broodmare, (in terms of breeding that is, and not necessarily knowing where the last carrot in yard was kept) thus the dice was rolled and we had horse #7!
Maimie's Magic was certainly as raw as they come in terms of a horse with lots of scope to develop both physically and mentally but not wishing to waste too much time given she was already 5 and a half years old , Stuart felt the best course action was to 'learn on the job' and get stuck into a few maiden hurdles as soon as her homework suggested she wouldn't be overawed by the experience.!
Now given the fact you're such a diligent and conscientious reader, I know you're intrigued to learn more of the 'slightly different route' our humble group of syndicators took in order to acquire horse #7.....
Well on the basis that having a racehorse that..well ...."races"...is generally considered a decent starting point for any syndica
Now given the fact you're such a diligent and conscientious reader, I know you're intrigued to learn more of the 'slightly different route' our humble group of syndicators took in order to acquire horse #7.....
Well on the basis that having a racehorse that..well ...."races"...is generally considered a decent starting point for any syndicate, in light of Roxanya heading off to pastures (and breeding careers new), we were fortunate to be offered the chance to acquire a raw but scopey mare from Emma 'Hammy' Hamilton , who had already provided us with Zhenya. Hammy was more than happy to let us lease Maimie's Magic for the duration of her racing career, in the hope that if it were to prove successful, she she would have a very attractive broodmare on her hands for breeding purposes upon retirement.
So less than 4 months after Roxanya exited stage left, Maimie's Magic entered stage left... (and when I say entered stage left, I of course mean entered a mare's maiden hurdle at Down Royal....
Stuart's plan for MM, was clear from Day 1, to let her learn on the job and although aware that she may need a few attempts, to get her used to being a racehorse ASAP!
So in late August 2022 with a mare's maiden hurdle at Down Royal's summer jumping fixture circled in Stuart's Diary. (I should add, although it's unconfirmed at this point that Stuart does in fact have more than one diary, so in case you think it might cause him to miss family anniversaries and birthdays,
Needless to say, given the quick
So in late August 2022 with a mare's maiden hurdle at Down Royal's summer jumping fixture circled in Stuart's Diary. (I should add, although it's unconfirmed at this point that Stuart does in fact have more than one diary, so in case you think it might cause him to miss family anniversaries and birthdays,
Needless to say, given the quick turnaround on acquiring Maimie's Magic and Stuart's wish to see what potential she had, her debut outing was always going to be something of a fact finding mission and so with JJ Slevin on board, we witnessed a more than acceptable first run, as MM ran very respectably in mid division for the bulk of the race, before understandably tiring in the last half mile.
More than satisfied with her performance, Stuart wasted no time in following up with a more outings over the next 12 weeks to help improve MM's race awareness and jumping technique over hurdles.
Running on her merits at all times, the penny began to drop with a run at Ayr in November, providing sufficient encouragement for our trainer to enter Maimie's Magic in her first handicap over the Christmas Period 2022...
So....scroll on down for what happened next!...
From the Book of John: (Thoroughbred edition)
"MM once more showed how 'tough and hardy' she is, staying longer than the proverbial mother-in-law (with apologies to all mother-in-laws) and coping with ground that was on the heavy side of heavy. Could I suggest you watch the race again keeping an eye on the speed in the bottom left. A decidedly pedestrian pace (22/23 mph) only quickened around the last bend, when once more she was 'tapped for toe' as the speed goes up to 34mph - but she then stays on at around 28/29 mph, in the process passing those who were tiring in the last furlong and gaining on the leaders. Once more the race seemed to take little out of her and she ran with her ears pricked forward which is always a positive sign of engagement. As JJ said, in a 'properly run race' her staying power will clearly come into its own, and Stuart was visibly excited at her prospects afterwards. He is going to look long and hard for a race that she can win, and this could be either over hurdles or fences, and in which she will be ridden prominently without necessarily leading (vying for the lead may have taken its toll this time around). Stuart feels that racing is keeping her fit more effectively than training so expect a reappearance in the not too distant future.
It is hard not to warm to Maimie and her dogged determination, and, as with every dog, rest assured she will have her day."
To see if John was telling porkies, have a looksie at the replay:
https://www.racingtv.com/results/2024-03-02/navan-ireland/1440
As is often true of horseracing (and life in general) we know a lot more now than we did yesterday, and most is positive.
Maimie has proved she can stay at least 2m 7f on tacky ground, she looked very comfortable at a steady pace and, with the benefit of hindsight,would probably have earned a place (but not won) if she'd been ridden a wee bit handier - but we weren't to know that beforehand. If you watch the replay over and over again (https://www.racingtv.com/watch/replays/16-feb-2024/kelso/1355) you will see that the pack sits at a steady pace of around 28mph for most of the race but there is an injection of speed up to 33mph just coming off the final bend (when Nab Wood cruises to the front) and Maimie can't match that speed but then does finish her race off well and shows no sign of tiring (she was hardly blowing in the paddock afterwards).
It would have been nice to be placed but such is racing (and life in general) and Stuart is confident she can win races, either over hurdles or fences, off her current handicap mark which is unlikely to be affected too much by yesterday's race- so expect to see entries for either hurdles or fences and maybe up to 3m in the coming days/weeks.
*Postscript;
The winner was subsequently raised over half a stone by the official handicapper, so MM clearly ran into a good'un!
Not long back from a very enjoyable afternoon at Navan, along with a bevy of syndicators who witnessed Maimie put in a very creditable first run back, and did pretty much what had been expected of her. In the words of the Racing Post, 'Midfield, headway on inner when mistake 2 out, briefly went fourth after last, kept on towards finish, not reach leaders.' In other words, acting to instruction JJ sat her in the midfield until the last three furlongs and then began picking off horses on the final climb to finish a close fifth but seemingly with more left in the tank.
A slight error at the second last hurdle probably lost her a crucial couple of lengths which would have made the difference between first and fifth but she ran very well, coped with the heavy conditions and gave every indication that a trip over further would do no harm.
Her handicap mark is likely to remain intact, and Stuart said she seemed to recover from the race very quickly. Interview with JJ and a few photos should be attached, and you can watch the race again on: https://www.racingtv.com/videos/watch/horse_racing_replays/475521-gaeil-colmcille-gaa-kells-day-at-the-races-handicap-hurdle
After 2 performances at Musselburgh and Downpatrick that saw Lady Luck deciding that Maimie would not be adding to her 2 career wins, Stuart was keen to let MM sign off for her holidays with a positive feeling in her hooves and so let her take her chance in what on paper looked a very competitive handicap hurdle at Perth. Stepping up in trip by nearly half a mile and being reunited with Stephen Connor who had given her such a lovely rude at Ayr in her first race out of maiden company, Maimie performed with distinction, finishing a running-on second. Perhaps with a bit more racing luck she could have got a little closer to the winner, but there were no complaints from any party as MM signed off for her summer holidays in really encouraging fashion with a great placed effort and still yet more potential for her return in the autumn.
As you'll hear above, our visit to Perth to round off Maimie's debut season was productive for all concerned as previous 'blips' at Musselburgh and Downpatrick were consigned to the past and we saw the 'real' Maimie's Magic resume her progression through the ranks with a really encouraging 2nd place over a distance she'd not tried before...
This augers very well for the 2023/4 campaign as our mare appears well suited to longer distances on a variety of ground conditions and still remains fairly handicapped to be competitive in which ever races she starts of in next season! I.S.W.T!
Here's the full race with no copyright infringement intended....
With a full report for your considered perusal in the wonderfully named 'News Update' section, the above clip is taken in the immediate aftermath of Maimie's second win on the spin at Newcastle!
As you can hear, JJ is very complimentary about MM's performance, feeling that she won in good style, displaying a great attitude and could have more improvement in her with more racing under her girth and finding similar races to be competitive in.... Now for the Hat-trick attempt!.....
With 2022 in the her rear view mirror and the winning feeling still in her hooves, Maimie took a trip over to Newcastle racecourse to say hello to the good people of England and take her chance in a very competitive Mare's Handicap Hurdle worth a tasty 7k. What followed immediately became the stuff of syndicate legend, as you'll learn from the race report in the news section and see from the above clip of the closing stages or in full via the link below.... A genuinely impressive performance that let's us all dream of more!
With no copyright infringement intended....see the full replay here: https://www.attheraces.com/form/horse/Maimies-Magic/IRE/3452807
A really informative debrief here from Sean Quinlan here after Maimie's Magic sprung something of shock by breaking her maiden at odds of 33/1! .
Given she was sent of the outsider of the entire field, first reactions may have been to immediately assume other forses underperformed rather than MM running a blinder but on review as Sean says, it rode like a good race in tough conditions and the runner-up as Roxanya found out on a few occasions knows how to find the winners enclosure!
With a good mark to work with, Stuart can paln accordingly!
OK, so it's OK to say it quietly, but even the hardiest of Syndicate fans may have struggled to believe that after leaving the parade ring at Kelso Racecourse to make her handicap debut on heavy ground, Maimie's Magic would be unsaddled next in the Winners Enclosure
The full race available on https://www.racingtv.com/racecards/kelso/425547-every-race-live-on-racing-tv-mares-handicap-hurdle-qualifier-4?show_all=true&sort=price&non-runner_display=false
(no copyright infringement intended)
For any information about anything about how we run our syndicate use the following email or click on the green speech bubble!