There has been a lot of speculation as to why Adageo Bob was beaten in the heats of the Coronation Stakes at Romford, including the suggestion that I had sent him out short of fitness. Nothing could be further from the truth. What actually happened was that he lost his kennelmate Lil Magic a few weeks ago and he has been pining for her since. She is an old retired bitch and used to belong to a syndicate including that included Hill PR David Hood. She is a lovely perky little thing who was bred by Jimmy Fenwick and she has been kennelled with several of our top open racers in the past.
A few months ago I decided to breed with her and allowed her to come in season and had to move her out. Poor old Bob has gone to pieces over it. He lost two kilos in weight and although we managed to put the weight back on, he completely lost his condition. Basically he wasn’t happy.
Thankfully we found another kennelmate for him and he has now settled down and is looking good again. He has a great record at Romford, I am quite happy with the draw. If he comes away, I don’t think they will live with him on his favourite track. I am a little concerned that we might have to match Droopys Marian to the bend, and I am very respectful of John’s (Mullins) dog in six. I would hope though that he would have to come around us and that is no easy task.
On all known form my other runner Vanfrenchie is three to four lengths slower than Bob but is a young improving dog and is plotted up in trap one. If there is any trouble in the middle he is capable of a big run. In fact, both dogs are in great order.
It is quite ironic that until last year when we had the first four home in the same competition, the Coronation Stakes hadn’t been a lucky event for us. But I am really thrilled with Bob. It is difficult to keep third season dogs in top form but he has won more than half his races and has been our most prolific winner over the last couple of years. Strangely enough, I remember that in the early days we gave him a handslip at Yarmouth and he wouldn’t chase. We then put him in the traps and he flew around. We had a similar experience with Blonde Fletch, who was also a very genuine dog. I can’t begin to explain it.
And on to Towester
I am thoroughly enjoying Towcester, it has given the kennel a whole new lease of life. A couple of years ago we were down to 37 paying customers in the kennel and I didn’t think we could carry on. We then won the 2013 trainer’s title and things started to pick up. We now have a strong kennel again and Towcester has really been the catalyst. Even before the place opened, we had owners asking to bring us decent dogs and there is now a bit of a backlog with owners asking me to find dogs for them.
It is a bit like Walthamstow all over again, though financially it is still difficult. We are charging the same daily rate, to within about 50 pence, as we were charging seven years ago.
Although we had runners at Yarmouth, and I have a good relationship there, I would have liked more runners and the ‘runner money’ is not at good as Towcester.
I am hoping to get a decent graded strength together and with more ‘runner money’ promised from the track, it will give us a chance to earn a reasonable living. But it is very difficult to increase kennel fees while prize money barely seems to shift.
Mark Wallis
