A WEE JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN

Alright then...so by now you're thinking you know the drill in this section....the good-looking, charismatic and wonderfully eloquent author tells you how we went to the sales, looked at a breeding page and then Stuart told us whether we were actually somewhere close to having some sort of clue regarding said horses potential....

But hold on a second!!.....here's a glitch in the matrix....we didn't need to visit the sales, we didn't need to research our next purchase's pedigree (although we would have done rather well on Mastermind if we'd nominated our latest horse's Mum's racing career as a specialist subject.....

The reason?...well after the wonderful Our Valentina (above) was retired and subsequently sold onto a breeding operation near Limerick, we had a gentleman's agreement to have the option of purchasing RV's first foal, were she to be a filly....and as fate would have it...she was!

Thus the Horsplay Story embarked on a gloriously sentimental chapter as the sale was complete and our syndicate had another superstar (other words are available) in the making!

So we had a yearling on our hands! (Although when I say 'we' I am telling a little porky as the terms of the sale allowed us to let the as yet unnamed filly remain with our vendor for a few more months whilst we got down to the very serious business of naming the girl herself.....

If truth be told, the often mystical inner workings of the syndicate's horse naming process was one of the most predictable episodes in its' history on this occasion as "Wee Vee" sailed through with the kind of majority only usually reserved for a North Korean By-Election. 

And so with a name and a year of being busy growing completed, Wee Vee made her way up north and found herself settling in at her new digs only a few miles from Stuart's yard in Larne.

Very kindly, one of Stuart's most loyal and successful owners (Raymond Scullion and Martin McGrogan) offered to let Wee Vee spend her time as a 2 year old amongst their considerable stable of store and pre-training horse, allowing her to gradually adjust to life in a busy yard and learn to play nicely with her stablemates!

 Given all good things come in threes, you are most welcome to spend the next 4 paragraphs reading all about what's happened since Wee Vee turned 3!

Well it was a case of another year another dwelling for our charge as a decent growth spurt and all round general life experience meant that it was time to head to the wonderful pre-training yard of Ross Crawford, who if you're willing to believe the chances of, is indeed Stuart's brother.

Ross's facilities for breaking in young horses are second to none, (as are his filming skills which you shall be able to peruse at your leisure below).

Naturally, there's absolutely no harm in reading all reports regarding Wee Vee's progress to date through the rosiest of rose tinted spectacles, because...(well actually there is no "because" due to the fact that as a group of owners who always look on the bright of life, we can dream wonderful dreams of a young filly, whose mum was as gutsy as they come and whose dad sits within the upper echelons of the Sire's table)....

So bring it on and in Stuart (and Ross!) we trust!