Sabine Crowe's 5 horses to watch this season

In a prior blog I did an interview with Sabine Crowe- travelling head lass at Declan Carroll's stable. These are the horse's Sabine would watch from his yard.

1) Jus Pires- He's believed to be well handicapped and a recent wind op has only accentuated his ability. The gelding has had 3 winners from 13 runs and numerous placings too. The majority of his best runs have come on all-weather but he's versatile.

2) Tweet Tweet- She's currently an unraced filly with an alleged fast turn of foot. Sabine says she's "lightning quick". There's a big hope with will translate on to the track. This two-year-old is still not had any entries as of yet. Maybe one to put in your tracker.

3) Trinity Lake- in the best fitness of his life. This full brother to Titus a Sky Bet handicap winner which Declan also trainer won first time out last season. But seemed to peter off, there's a belief that this will transform. The bay gelding likes good and soft ground so as of yet has run once and looked better for the run. I was impressed with the transformation I saw within the horse.

4) Sommer Katz- Undeniable form 2 wins and one second. The gelding has the official rating of 75 and there's hope that this will allow room for improvement. This Frank Gillespie owned bay has not yet been raced this year. But the turn of pace shown and the level of success suggests that this horse could be an interesting one this year.

5) Rock Sound- He's raring to go already building on his form from last season. The Lope De Vega gelding has great form since going to Declan's yard being placed in every run. It will be interesting to see if this all-weather form transfers onto the turf and see what the plan for this talented horse is.

An extra horse to watch is Music Seeker. This York winner is a favourite of Sabine's and he's in great form which was shown by his first run back this season being a narrow second. He has consistent form and always tries.

Additionally, Declan has an incredible strike rate with two-year-olds and any of these should not be discredited. Over the past five years on the turf with two-year-olds, he has a 15% strike rate. This is impressive considering the number of horses he has and they have gone on to win some big races. For example, Santry who won two competitive races at Doncaster and York and a close second at Ascot.

Royal Ascot Round up!

There were some amazing moments from Ascot this year. These are some of the most prominent in my opinion.

 Hollie Doyle her first Royal Ascot winner. She's made history by doing so being the 3rd ever female jockey to have a winner here. Hollie continues to break records and build on her success of last season mentioned in my prior blog which can be found here. She gave Scarlet Dragon a hell of a ride by weaving her way through the field and having a strong finish . Her strength significantly helped her. This followed the success of the day before of Hayler Turner who replicated last year again in the Sandringham Stake on the 33/1 Onassis for Charlie Fellows.

 Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore have additionally made history having their 70th and 60th Royal Ascot winner. Also, Frankie has now won every single group one winner at Royal Ascot showing how much of an exceptional jockey he is. Frankie's 70th was on the penultimate day on Fanny Logan in the Hardwicke Stakes while Ryan's happened on Russian Emperor in the Hamton Court Stakes. They both rode well all week and these just show why they are two of the best jockeys in the country.

 Jim Crowley had six winners which is amazing in itself. These were all ridden exceptionally, he read the race well. These winners came from the outsider Motakhayyel, Battaash, Nazeef, Hukum, Molatham, Khaloosy. They were all owned by Hamdam Al Maktoum. He has a very impressive string of horses making it appear like they hadn't had any time off at all.

Battaash was one of Crowley's winners. I wasn't sure about this horse, it seemed like a big ask. The favourite made all and went on to win easily. His turn of pace has largely been exciting and we got to see this again. He went clear and won by 2 1/4 lengths.

The Queen had her first winner at Royal Ascot for FOUR years which is incredible. Tactical under James Doyle rode this winner in complete and utter style.

 John Gosden was one of my top trainers of all time and I wasn't wrong. He was this year leading trainer of Royal Ascot with six winners including Frankly Darling, Nazzef, Lord North, Stradivarius, Fanny Logan and Palace Pier. For me Stradivarius was one of the best wins of the entire meeting, winning in such ease by moving through the field and just accelerating away. He went on to win by 10 lengths making it his third Gold Cup win. Simply incredible.

Another surprise from the jockeys was Kevin Stott. He managed to ride a double on the final day in tremendous style. These came from Hello Youmzain and Hey Jonesy. This was a big day in his career and I'm sure he will just continue with this momentum.

 I could have mentioned so many more moments. What would be your best moment of the week?

My looks for royal ascot

These are the looks I would have picked for each day if the public could attend. When picking outfits for Royal Ascot please check their website for dress code as outfits I would have worn wasn't allowed due to the strict rules. I'm a huge fan of two pieces/co-ords but midriff isn't permitted. Other dress code rules are no narrow straps or off the shoulders including Bardot tops.

I'm a big believer of wear what you want and what feels comfortable so this is what I would have worn. I kept my nails rather neutral so they would go with anything that I would have worn but again this is up to the individual like with makeup too. I would have my makeup subtle with big lashes and a nice lipstick that works with my skin tone.

First day outfit 

My first-day outfit is a predominantly black jumpsuit with a pop of colour down the front. I paired this with a pair of black heels, a matching hat and bag. I'm a big fan of wearing black clothes I think it really suits my skin tone but by having the dash of red it makes it a bit different. I would wear this with gold accessories. I went for gold hoops which in my opinion make any outfit and a simple gold

necklace as the front was rather lowcut.

Second day outfit 

My second-day outfit is A little black dress with white detailing. You can't go wrong with a monochrome moment. I wore this with silver accessories, including a clutch and shoes. I would always wear heels but this is up to the individual. To me, heels brings an extra touch of class where flats wouldn't. Again a hat is necessary. Due to the top of this dress, I don't think a necklace is needed but I would have long-ish dangly earrings.

Ladies day outfit 

My third-day outfit is: Ladies day means all the best outfits will be out, the most extravagant hats and dresses for the best-dressed competition will be seen. This dress is more floaty and airy. The burgundy colour is one of my favourites and slightly unusual. This again gives a change of silhouette throughout the week, giving some variation to the looks that you have. This I would wear gold accessories with a hat to match shoes. this time I went for a strappy heeled sandal type shoe. I would pick simple stud earrings and a delicate necklace.

Fourth day outfit 

My penultimate day outfit is a simple blue dress which flatters my skin tone. The top has a slight decoration with some delicate lace. This would be worn with gold accessories including the strappy sandals and a gold clutch. However, this could be worn with various coloured shoes, bags and hats including cream, black, blue and silver. The choice is up to the individual. I think the silhouette of this dress is classy and suits most people.

Final day outfit 

My final day outfit is A emerald green ruched dress, I love this dress I think it suits my figure. I paired this with gold jewellery and black shoes but again a variety of colours would work. The black lace-up shoes matched with the little black handbag. Ruched dresses are very popular at the moment as they flatter all figures and are very diverse.

The next blog will be coming soon keep an eye on my Twitter and Instagram!

Successful jockeys' since racing has returned

A few jockeys have done very well since racing has commenced behind closed doors. Here are some of the more memorable moments so far...

Cieren Fallon's group 3 win on Oxted in the Betway Abernant Stakes saw him following in his father's footsteps. The champion apprentice jockey gave the horse a safe but smart ride keeping clear of the rest of the field. Then as the field opened he was sat second and came through and the other horses easily. Fallon kept Oxted on despite the rallying second place of Breathtaking Look. This has put him in a great position to keep improving from for the whole of the season.

The 2000 Guineas did have some surprises. Initially, it was a shock after Pinatubo didn't win and came third. But the win went to Kameko and Oisin Murphy's first guineas triumph. This excellent ride and the win made the Champion Jockey very emotional as this was his first classic win. I'm sure there will be many more classic wins to come.

Richard Kingscote had a four-timer at Haydock Park. It was 9593-1, making this feat nearly unpredictable all but to 1 punter in Ireland who won 18,000 euros on this. The four-timer with the horses Lauded, Brad The Brief, Ishvara and Shady McCoy. Kingscote himself was shocked by this and attributed the victory of these to the tough horses with good ability or attitude.

There's a fair few other jockeys who are flying at the minute these include Hollie Doyle, Ben Curtis and Tom Marquand. Let's see what other jockeys highlight their talents in the following weeks.

My top 5 trainers of all time

With racing back and behind closed doors this will give you an insight into which trainers in the UK I think are the best and why. Here’s the top 5:

1) Sir Henry Cecil undoubtedly one of the best trainers of all time his death in 2013 had had a serious impact on racing. Some of the best horses he trained included Noble Mission, Frankel and Camacho. The ten-time champion trainer also had 25 UK classic wins under his belt. Despite some struggles personally and sometimes with the horses he never did badly in terms of racing.

2) John Gosden- his best trainer horses have often been mentioned before in other blogs like Stradivarius, enable, Nathaniel and roaring lion. He’s known for his straight-talking interviews and this year alone from 48 runners he’s already collected over £160,000 in prize money.  His worldwide success just adds to the 40 wins he’s had at royal ascot.

3) Mark Johnston- with an incredible string of horses that have had the very unlucky Dee Ex Bee, Sharmadal and Attraction. He is the most successful British flat trainer of all time with 4,194 winners in 2018. This total continues to rise. Additionally, last year he earnt over £5million in prize money.

4) Jimmy Fitzgerald- is perhaps one of the less known significant trainers but he is very much missed. His horses are most known for over the jumps where he saddled over 1,200 winners in his career. Forgive n’ Forget probably was the greatest for his trainer career. But the success was clear from the early stages of training when he had a winner with the second horse he ever trained.

5) Aidan O’Brien- has trained some of the biggest names in racing such as Henrythenavigator, Galileo and Camelot. He has a long list of credentials next to his name including Champion Irish National Hunt for six years running. In 2001 he was the England Champion trainer, the first Irishman to do this since 1971. O’Brien is also an 11-time Irish derby winning trainer and 8-time Irish 1000 Guineas winner. These make it near impossible to find a better trainer than him.

That’s my top trainers' list who would be on yours?