There are good times and bad times in kennels. This last week isn’t one I would want to repeat.

Last week Bombers Bullet broke a hock in a trial at Shelbourne Park. This week, after a great spell at Henlow, we had three career ending injuries.

The worst was a nice little sprinter called Tiffield Boy who smashed a wrist. It was a bad one, but we had him sedated and taken to vet Stefano who did a good job in the operation.

The following day, his litter sister Energise Babadee picked up a stopper bone injury. It isn’t anything that causes her any distress but it is the end of her racing career.

Saffrons Bonnie, who damaged a gracilis in her 64th race, and has also been retired.

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We currently have Shrewd Honcho in the semis of the Puppy Cup at Romford and Chubbys Caviar in the Bedfordshire Oaks.

At the weekend we should have Aayama Breeze and Baroness Bullet running at Shelbourne on the Night Of Stars and looking forward, I hope to bring Saleen Ash back for the Essex Vase.

Looking around the kennel though, they are a fairly depleted bunch. It isn’t that there aren’t any top class dogs in the kennel, the problem is they are all on low beds after being injured.

Bruisers Bullet is due an x-ray this week to see how his progress is going, but I’m not building my hopes too high given how our luck has gone.

It is a reflection on the open race strength that we didn’t have a serious challenger for the Eclipse or the St.Leger. It will be a similar story for the Oaks. Looking around the kennel, I don’t see another Cashen Maureen or Domino Storm, not that bitches of that calibre come along very often in a lifetime!

We have a bunch of pups coming through through but at this stage they look more ‘Henlow 8am’ than ‘Cat 1’.

I have spoken to some of the big owners and about dogs for next year and the message coming back is ‘we’ll leave it and see how things go.’

If we are going to get some stars for next year, we might have to introduce them as the year wears on, but at the moment, the kennel is as weak as I can remember.

Maybe Imperial Kennels have had their day and someday else is out there looking to dominate for the next ten years. . . .

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There is a perception out there that trainers are doing well out of the media rights battle.

Sure the prize money is reasonable, but the expenses are up too with vehicles and staff needed for the extra meetings.

Most owners don’t want dogs for these obscurely timed meetings so of the 50 dogs on the strength, I now probably own 20.

That was never a direction that I wanted to go. It means there are minimal kennel bills coming in, I have to pay the vets bills and replace the injured dogs.

As an example, Energise Bobadee still hadn’t been sold and was one I owned myself. That isn’t a sustainable business model.

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I realise that this all sounds very whingey, but life is tough and we are supposedly the ones enjoying ‘the big success’.

So I guess I should finish on one ‘good news’ story and it concerns a little bitch called Calco Swift who was four years old back in May and had been retired after a successful career in A3-A5 at Towcester.

She was mated to Do It For Twiggy but failed to get in whelp. She was still in good condition and getting bored at home so we decided to bring her back to the track.

She has been an absolute revelation. In her last seven races she has six wins and a second!