2011 filly ex Baldovina.

This half sister to Van Go Go and Ceiling Kitty looks really good. No major conformation issues and a lot of size and muscle for a yearling filly in April. She’s a shade bigger than Ceiling Kitty (who was bigger than Van Go Go) which I think is a good thing. I’m very positive about her.

2011 filly ex Teia Tephi

This first foal out of Teia Tephi is probably not in the same league as the Baldovina filly - she’s always been weak and her legs aren’t great. Teia Tephi has had a lot of problems - she’s very in-bred and has had a variety of health issues. I’ll put her weakness down to her mother - she is improving and Paul (stud manager) thinks there is a chance she could see the racecourse one day.

2012 colt ex Bea Menace

This was a first foal and, perhaps as a consequence of that weighed in very light at birth (43kg). He is extremely spirited - he virtually refused to lie down in his first week and he’s quite pushy, hardly giving his mother any peace in the stable and running round and round the paddock with his poor mother following on. He’s caught up a lot since birth - I’d say he’s still a shade small but he doesn’t lack for energy.

2012 colt ex Quaker Parrot

Not a great photo as this foal was in the stable today with a touch of diarrhoea. I like him - he weighed in at a good birthweight (53kg) and looks a fair shape. Tom Goff described him as ‘Good size, strong bodied and quartered. Good bone. Slightly slack hind pasterns. A nice first foal.’

2012 colt ex Peintre D’Argent

I love this foal out of Peintre D’Argent - I think he’s my favourite of all of our foals this year. He’s mid sized, athletic looking and is very well toned - his neck is rock hard. Peintre was a weak, late maturing stayer who didn’t win until she was four - this foal is very different to that.

2012 filly ex Shawhill

This sweet little filly is only a few days old and is still all skin and bone - she will change immeasurably in the next couple of weeks. She looks really nice - a good size (tall and leggy) but of relatively light bone. I’d say she’s the best we’ve seen from this mare, but it’s early to judge - her yearling brother by Gentlewave looks nice enough, although not an early type.

Our first race with a clear cut favourite, and he’s a very decent animal. Boston Bob has done everything that has been asked of him, and has excellent credentials to score in this race.

Not a race I generally spend much time on, but there is one I like this year.

This is a funny race. The two previous races are not for professional jockeys, and the biggest names may feel their work is done by the time the Gold Cup is over. It’s a long hard four days.

I’ve had a few winners lately. Present Danger won tonight which was nice - she’s very capable but is still very green and quite weak. She’ll be better next year if we keep her in training - it’s tempting to start breeding from her but my current feeling is that we should give her another year. I need to chat to Michael about that.

Whey Sauce was a nice winner the other day, and I think she may make up into a decent animal. She’s placed in a Group 3 and has won a good looking maiden - again I think I’ll give her another year. Work Shy has run and won - she is injury prone and may never run again. Bouguereau and Morana may go jumping this year.

I’ve become a little obsessed with the problems of the Eurozone, trying to work out what is likely to happen and how it is going to affect me and my future plans. The current situation is very bad, if somewhat predictable. I don’t really know how the powerful economies of Europe thought it would be a safe bet to get into bed with Silvio Berlusconi - Italy is culturally a pole apart from Germany and Berlusconi’s swashbuckling style of politics was always going to be too rich for the controlled and collaborative effort required to make the Euro work as a currency. If it all comes apart now it’s going to be an unmitigated financial disaster the like of which the world has never seen before - it would be very very bad.

…but I don’t see it happening, at least not yet. The situation can be saved, at enormous expense, by printing vast amounts of new money. Italy in return will presumably have to sign up to extremely tough terms if they are to accept the bailout. The concern is that there will be rioting on a massive scale as the horrible truth sinks in to the people of Italy and Greece and other countries that have not managed their finances as well as the Germans.

The only way to get a deal done is to get everyone looking hard into the abyss - not just the leaders of the economies around the world but also everywhere in the media. We need to get to the point where people are afraid rather than angry - only then can the right deal be struck - and I think that Europe’s leaders are playing the game accordingly. I think deals will be struck when the time is right, but all they will do is to buy time.

Sooner or later it all has to change, and in a big way, but I think we will buy the necessary time to effect change in an orderly fashion. It will come at a big cost.

I’ve had a hard look at the 3:35 at Ripon - the sharp early turn on the mile course has played into the hands of low drawn front runners in the past. In the Great St. Wilfrid on similar ground the action occurred on the other (stands) side which could help those drawn higher. Wannabe King won this race two years ago as a 3yo - he was drawn high that day and is again today. He should go on the ground and might be a bit of value at the current long odds.

I’ve had debates about course and distance form before - I’m reliably told it is not worth following as CD horses tend to be overbet (in fact it is good strategy to lay these horses). I think CD is interesting if the course has unusual characteristics - Epsom is such a course. I like Resurge in the 3:40 and Salient in the 5:25 - both CD winners four runs ago and both have shown weakish form between times. Both are from small stables but have solid jockeys booked.

In the 3:50 at Chepstow I like the unraced Good Morning Star. I’m keen to oppose the Hannon trained favourite who hasn’t managed to win in 5 starts and is now swimming against the tide of later maturing types. Good Morning Star was a cheap purchase for Jaber Abdullah despite being fairly well bred - presumably something wasn’t quite right. Her mother won a 17 runner maiden at Newbury on soft ground on her first start and came a close second in a listed race on heavy second time up. Shirocco is a stallion whose progeny do well on softer ground. She looks like the value alternative to me.

In the 5:00 at Chepstow I’m siding with George Thisby, who looks a nice consistent type, should go on the ground and has the assistance of Luke Rowe, who won on the horse the only time he rode him before.

In total I now have nine mares, all in foal, in my biggest paddock (Baldovina, Bea Menace, Lilac Moon, Park Acclaim, Peintre D’Argent, Quaker Parrot, Teia Tephi, Transvaal Sky, Valandraud). They are in foal, respectively, to Areion, Winker, Major Cadeaux, Zamindar, Winker, Winker, Panis, Major Cadeaux and Pastoral Pursuits. I have three foals in another paddock - Winker/Baldovina, Winker/Teia Tephi and Compton Place/Max One Two Three. Photos to follow.

I’ve had a run through of tomorrow’s cards - there are four bets I like. Poet’s Voice is a horse of quality, and he looks to have conditions to suit in the Celebration Mile at Goodwood. He isn’t the longest price but he might be a class apart. Police Force runs in the 3:00 at Newmarket, and he caught my eye last time. He looked a certain winner at Ascot when cruising up to take the lead, but he didn’t appear to last home and finished fourth. He showed a lot of speed and looks to have some of the physique of his brother, Dream Ahead. Dream Ahead may be happiest at six furlongs and he is definitely happiest with cut in the ground. If Police Force is a similar animal he will take all the beating over six on the soft tomorrow.

In the first at Beverley I’m looking at Scarlet Whispers, trained by Pam Sly. On the face of it this is very hot for a Beverley maiden - a daughter of Simply Perfect, a fourth at Royal Ascot to Maybe, a Godolphin daughter of Authorized - but these classy looking types are all here looking for an easy option and may not live up to their billings. Pam Sly may only have a small operation but she’s a classic winning trainer. Scarlet Whispers has been tenderly handled to date and has shown ability - I imagine Micky Fenton will ask a little more of her today.

Bet of the day for me is Golden Destiny in the Bullet Stakes at Beverley. Year in year out Peter Makin seems to do best in August. Golden Destiny clearly has ability but she looks like a nervy type and she may not be the most resolute - she’s capable of sustaining a gallop once she is at the front but may not be the type to push her way through a field. She’s drawn one at Beverley which is the place to be for a front runner - if she can break well she can grab the rail and hold on to it for the length of the stiff five, which is probably the ideal distance. She’s a working man’s price.

I now have a pin sticking out of my toe with a blue bead on the end of it - it will be there for six weeks. None of the family can look at it without gagging - we’re a sensitive lot around these parts. I’m less than a week in and I’m going bananas already.

The farm was noisy place yesterday with several extra children and parents joining in to the usual mix. Feeling a bit cramped I hobbled off to our outside loo and sat myself down. A family of swallows had built a nest in the rafters - one of them popped out of the nest,flew over the far side of the room and circled around, dropping a little poo on my head as he went. It was so clinical that I wondered if it was deliberate.

Jane had a positive take on the incident - “it’s very good luck you know!”. Eddie was more thoughtful - “He was probably trying to poo in the toilet Dad, but you got in the way.”

Well let’s hope Jane proves to be right - I could do with a bit of luck. Present Danger runs today at Carlisle and she’ll love the soft ground. It will be disappointing if she doesn’t win. Electric Qatar goes in the sales race tomorrow with big prize money down to tenth. I’m not sure what to expect, particularly given he is drawn 1, but he is well and has had a decent break.

I’ll probably be backing Irish Heartbeat at York today. I wanted to buy him at the HIT a couple of years ago - I had him vetted. The vet reported that he had an ‘inoperable cyst’ on one of his legs and advised strongly against the purchase - I nearly went for it anyway but decided it was folly to act against such advice. It was my opinion that he was a sprinter in the making, probably most effective with cut. Richard Fahey drops him back to the minimum trip for the first time today.

His surname was Webb, and there was a horse called Webbow who he had been following for years - a nine year old who hadn’t won on the turf in his last 24 runnings. He was running at Glorious Goodwood on the day of the funeral - obviously we backed him. It was fitting that he chose that day to record the finest victory of his career.

Winker goes today at Doncaster, and we’re expecting a good run. He is extremely well at home and is loving his work - he works like and old pro and is as sound as any horse in the yard.

Peintre D’Argent has what will probably be her last run at Newmarket today. She is in foal to Winker. Hopefully she will go well.

I’ll be backing Kune Kune at Thirsk - I haven’t seen an unluckier horse all season. I’ll also have a small bet on Pintrada in the last at Doncaster - he was unlucky last time and might be a horse to follow throughout the season.

Wolf Slayer runs in the 5:00 at Lingfield. She is up against an odds on fav trained by Ralph Beckett - he may well be too good for us, but Wolfie should run a good race today and is a price - I’ll be backing her.

Sunday Bess runs in a maiden at Hamilton tomorrow - she should be a cert.

I’m backing McIlroy to win the Open with a ‘lively rag’ bet on Villegas.

The colt (Dalakhani ex Everlasting Love) has been named Daliance - he hasn’t done much on the gallops but I think he could be really nice. He didn’t look much to start with but he has come on incredibly well - the pictures below were taken on Dec 1, May 5 and Jun 9;

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I part own Daliance in a syndicate which includes David O’Reilly of Betfair. It has been a joy to witness this scrawny red haired creature that we invested in evolve and grow to a point where he is being considered a candidate at the highest level. And of course it is a great privilege to own a horse with him.

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Cape Moss suffered a far worse fate - he fractured his cannon bone. It’s a bad fracture and in all probability it is a career ending injury. He was just coming together and had been showing promise - all very tragic.

Saturday was prize giving and sports day. Eddie won the prize for computer skills - something of a shoo in I imagine as he’s a bit of an obsessive. The sports day was the normal humiliation for the Black family, but there was a moment of hope in the obstacle race. Ollie negotiated the early obstacles well, and he was in a clear lead when he went past us with a bean bag on his head. The final stage was the sack race - he fell over in the shadow of the line and ended up third.

‘He blew it in the final furlong’ I said, ‘just like my bloody horses’.

Jane smiled - ‘No good in the sack’ she said. I waited for the ‘just like my bloody husband’ follow up but it didn’t come.

I went to the tennis today. I haven’t had a bet on the tennis all week, but when Nadal went 2-0 down I decided to back him. I could have traded out at 2-1 but held on for the jackpot. As Djokovic served for the match the German Derby got underway - two bets went down in quick succession.

I sponsor one of our juniors - Ollie Golding - and he was in the final of the boys doubles. When I got to court 1 he had won the first set and was looking good, but again it wasn’t to be as they lost 7-5 in the third. Ho hum.