Winker Watson | Trainer: PETER CHAPPLE-HYAM
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Jul 16th, 2009 3 Comments »
Long time no blog. I’ve been out and about for a while now with no blogging time, so a fair bit to catch up on.
Last Thursday I went up to Cambridge with Steve Morana, Betfair CFO. We spent the afternoon in the offices of a small company called Featurespace - they are data analysts specialising in [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Winker Watson on Mar 26th, 2009 3 Comments »
My house is a building site at the moment - they’re working in half of it and we’re living in the other half. The whole place is covered in brick dust - it seems that no matter what we do to keep the dust out it finds a way through.
The highlight of the week occurred [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Dec 29th, 2008 1 Comment »
I’ll be brief again today as I’m on cooking duty - I cook a mean Shepherd’s Pie.
Jane got me a couple of framed photos for Christmas - Bouguereau in the Derby and Winker in the July Stakes. They were fantastic professionally taken photos that I’d never seen before - I’ll post them in here when I get time. I [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Horse Racing, Kings Head, Mon Michel, Winker Watson on Nov 6th, 2008 No Comments »
I’m back at my desk having flown in to a freezing cold Heathrow at 5:30 this morning wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I hardly slept a wink and I’m fading fast - as soon as I’ve done the blog I’m off to bed.
I couldn’t have been more impressed with Melbourne - it’s got everything. It’s [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bet Noir, Kings Head, Tikka Masala, Winker Watson on Oct 13th, 2008 4 Comments »
A quite incredible day in the financial markets today. Massive gains around the world were topped off with an almost unbelievable rise of 936 points on the Dow Jones - a move nearly twice as big as the previous all time high move of 499.
It’s the sort of fillip the financial world needed to get moving [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Effingham, Winker Watson on Oct 1st, 2008 1 Comment »
More disappointment on Saturday with Winker running no sort of race. In many respects it was a run that was too bad to be true - he was being niggled to go the pace almost from the start and we knew our fate before the half way point. I think the will is still there [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Kings Head, Winker Watson on Sep 27th, 2008 5 Comments »
Jane and I went to Ascot yesterday as guests of Watership Down Stud. I have yearling filly with them that I really like - Sadlers Wells out of Race the Wild Wind and a half sister to King Charlemagne and Meshaheer. The room was full of all types of racing people with a few theatre people [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Sep 26th, 2008 1 Comment »
So the Ballydoyle three finally paid the price for their crimes and that should be the end of the matter, for now at least. The reality though is that this was a total open and shut case - the rules are worded clearly and Johnny Murtagh had admitted the breach in the papers. The BHA had [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Effingham, Kings Head, Lilac Moon, Prince Ary, Shepherds Warning, Winker Watson on Sep 23rd, 2008 2 Comments »
A good day on Sunday with King’s Head doing it nicely. He needs it G/F or firm and given that he has invariably delivered when he has had his ground I probably should have given him a stronger write up. He may come out again on the weekend - he has entries on Saturday at Market Rasen [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bet Noir, Marine Boy, Pansy Potter, Winker Watson on Aug 23rd, 2008 4 Comments »
Ugh. My hopes and dreams from Friday lie crushed and broken.
Marine Boy’s run was too bad to be true. He’s a lot better than that - in a sense I’d have been more concerned if he’d been beaten a couple of lengths. He scoped clean after the race and he trotted up fine - we [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bet Noir, Bouguereau, Marine Boy, Pansy Potter, Winker Watson on Aug 21st, 2008 13 Comments »
I travelled up to Newmarket late on Monday night with Mick and we checked into a hotel. In the morning I went down to watch work with Pete.
Winker was out first lot. He worked extremely well without seeming to extend himself - Pete thought it was there or thereabouts his nicest piece of work this [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Aug 11th, 2008 4 Comments »
Skid Solo comes out today trying to break his duck in the first at Wolver. We thought a lot of him at the start of the season but he’s been disappointing thus far. To be fair most of Pete’s 2yos that have come out have been disappointing this year, but he had a nice winner yesterday and maybe [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Aug 7th, 2008 2 Comments »
The weather is currently scuppering my racing plans.Â
We made the decision this morning not to supplement Winker at Deauville - the ground there is on the soft side and there is heavy rain forecast on Sunday. These forecasts are extremely unreliable and it’s perfectly possible that Sunday could turn out to be a glorious summer’s [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Kings Head, Winker Watson on Jul 28th, 2008 7 Comments »
A quick one from me from the hotel computer.
It’s not easy checking out the racing from here as all betting related sites are blocked by the Italian regulator. I can access the Racing Post site at least, where I can check out Bouguereau’s oppo.
Only six runners but no easy task on. Boug is extremely well, [...]
Posted in Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Jul 28th, 2008 3 Comments »
Bert€™s Bouguereau, in Tuesday€™s Betfair sponsored Gordon Stakes, and the Comic Strip Heroes€™ Winker Watson, in Wednesday€™s Sussex Stakes, are declared runners at Goodwood this week. They face just five and six rivals respectively and hopes are high for a bold show from both.
I have a slight concern about the ground being too fast [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Kings Head, Winker Watson on Jul 19th, 2008 1 Comment »
Up and down betting at the moment. Good bets on Addikt and Whispering Angel came in but I took a heavy loss on Royal Destination last night. I missed an opportunity when Papradon, who had nearly reeled in Lilac Moon last time, won the first at Newmarket at a big price. It’s a nice boost [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Jul 12th, 2008 9 Comments »
An unbelievable day yesterday when Tom won the second 2yo group 2 with another incredibly cheap buy. Firth of Fifth cost 5,000 Guineas - Classic Blade 19,000 Euros. It is an incredible training feat, and great credit also to Richard Kingscote who rode so intelligently.Â
I didn’t go yesterday - it seemed like a good time [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Jul 11th, 2008 10 Comments »
A big day and I made arrangements to go to Newmarket - I decided to book a driver for the day. I had a few errands to run in the morning and I headed off a bit late. I slept most of the way there - when I have a driver I usually stay up late the [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Jul 9th, 2008 5 Comments »
More hideous weather today - I’m told that we’re getting a month’s worth of rain today here in leafy Surrey. I can believe it - it’s cats and dogs out there.
It wasn’t raining at Newmarket overnight and early morning, but the rain started an hour ago and it’s chucking it down now (11:40). Rain is [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Kings Head, Shawhill, Winker Watson on Jul 1st, 2008 7 Comments »
I had a good day at Wimbledon with Jane and our two daughters. In truth the girls were a bit too young to appreciate it and they got bored towards the end. When Andy Murray went two sets down we decided to call it a day and head home. Oh well.
I spent most of the morning [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Kings Head, Winker Watson on Jun 13th, 2008 3 Comments »
Unfortunately Winker now passes Royal Ascot - the next opportunity may be the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly next month. He worked on Wednesday with Al Qasi - he tired at the end of the gallop and blew the house down afterwards. It’s frustrating as he’s not far off full fitness, but he wasn’t quite going to [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on May 19th, 2008 2 Comments »
We left Winker out of the Irish 2,000 today - he’s back in work but short of full fitness and it’s too soon for him. He’ll probably go straight to Royal Ascot now.
It’s going to be a fairly quiet week runner wise. Scrapper Smith may come out towards the end of the week and he’s [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on May 4th, 2008 3 Comments »
The big day arrives for Max and everything has gone as well as it could have. The ground is probably about right. She seems to be spot on and ready to run her race. Her draw (10) looks pretty good - she’ll need a bit of cover and wouldn’t want to be stuck out left [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Apr 16th, 2008 No Comments »
Some snippets from my conversations this morning;
In the Free handicap there is a lot of confidence behind Stimulation. No surprise perhaps as he is the favourite.
Pete tells me that Skadrak will like this ground and trip. There are, however, very strong vibes for Virtual who I’m told was unlucky last season and has wintered very [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Apr 13th, 2008 7 Comments »
Pete called this morning with the news - they had gone out with Winker and he was moving ‘like an old man’, a bit hunched and sluggish. The vet had indicated that this was a minor problem, but it wasn’t going to stand up to training in the short term and Pete wanted to back [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Lord Snooty, Winker Watson on Apr 12th, 2008 4 Comments »
It was a big night last night, with Lord Snooty finally justifying our belief in him by winning his maiden in the US in smart style. I went to bed feeling exhilirated. My Blackberry rang early this morning, showing Pete’s name.  Pete never rings early unless it is bad news - as I picked it up I was [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Better Together, Big Paddy, Bouguereau, Effingham, Furtive Glance, Horse Racing, Lord Snooty, Mon Michel, Ours, Shawhill, Theophrastus, Winker Watson on Apr 10th, 2008 6 Comments »
It’s a big time of year as an owner, and there are highs and lows. Aintree was ultimately a real mix, and there was a lot of good and bad on Saturday. I didn’t go up as I was at AFC Wimbledon for a match that my wider family were sponsoring in memory of my great uncle, who [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Apr 2nd, 2008 3 Comments »
Hope Road ran a good race but just got edged out - frustrating and my luck is out at the moment. He’s at least a half decent horse, and he’s running fairly consistently now. He’ll go away for the year and come back in the autumn - he still has his maiden status and he [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Feb 13th, 2008 7 Comments »
I had a long chat with Pete today - I really do need to find some time to go down and watch the horses work, as he is just beginning to wind them up. I haven’t updated my horse list for a while - I own or part own six horses with Pete. The are two [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Mon Michel, Shawhill, Winker Watson on Jan 11th, 2008 8 Comments »
First things first, and the diet’s going ok - 18st3 this morning. I’ve had a headache but nothing worse than that - I still haven’t worked out how I intend to do it, but the one thing I know I must do is break my sugar habit permanently. Thanks all for the encouraging comments.
 I’m having [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Lord Peter Flint, Major Eazy, Winker Watson on Oct 3rd, 2007 8 Comments »
I’m still reeling over the Winker news - apart from anything else it was only a gentle piece of work today. I really believe he was a virtual certainty in the Middle Park - Pete certainly thought so and the only threat looked to be Sir Gerry - he would have been a very short price. [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Oct 2nd, 2007 3 Comments »
Desperate news from Pete - Winker had a setback today and will now miss the rest of the season. He did a light piece of work this morning and he was fine immediately afterwards, but he was sore and a bit stiff later on and they called in the vet. An X-ray showed no damage, but [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Effingham, Lord Peter Flint, Major Eazy, Prince Ary, Shawhill, Winker Watson on Oct 1st, 2007 1 Comment »
Winker made the front page of the Racing Post today as Jeremy went public with our ambitious plans.  Winker is extremely well and we think he’s the best 2yo out there - we’re going to try to win both the Middle Park and the Dewhurst to prove our point, and we’re hoping we can persuade Jim Bolger [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Prince Ary, Winker Watson on Sep 15th, 2007 1 Comment »
Bouguereau runs in the 4.40 at Goodwood, and anything other than a win will be a disappointment. His came fourth last time in the Criterium du Fonds, a listed race at Deaville which is a group race in all but name. The prize money for this race is greater than that for the Flying Childers [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Major Eazy, Prince Ary, Shepherds Warning, Winker Watson on Sep 12th, 2007 1 Comment »
Pete called us after Winker’s work this morning and said he is still running a bit flat and needs more time. We could have run him over the weekend in group company but he’s too good a horse to take liberties with. The Middle Park is only three weeks away and that is his next [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Winker Watson on Sep 10th, 2007 No Comments »
I’ve been short on time and have a fair bit of catching up to do. No runners last week but a few this week. I’ve been to Newmarket, and the Comic Strip Heroes have bought another three yearlings (possibly four) in the sales. The main event at the WSOPE starts today, and I’m playing in [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Prince Ary, Winker Watson on Aug 20th, 2007 3 Comments »
Ultimately a disappointing week horse wise, but a good break with the family.
We took the quick ferry over to France on the Monday - around 3 hours from Portsmouth to Cherbourg and a 2 hour drive the other end. It was fairly uneventful - my one observation was that although I wasn’t driving that fast [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Aug 12th, 2007 1 Comment »
I’m off to Deauville with the family this morning - we’ve decided to make a week of it ending with Winker running in the Morny on Sunday. As I’ve said he’s in great form and I think he’ll win easily - the danger looks to be MyBoyCharlie who has been impressive in winning, albeit on heavy [...]
Posted in Bouguereau, Captain Hurricane, Shepherds Warning, Winker Watson on Aug 10th, 2007 1 Comment »
I had a long chat with Pete today. It’s all systems go for Winker on Sunday week in the Prix Morny, and he’s working extremely well. I don’t see anything beating him - if he wins we may go for an extremely aggressive 2yo campaign with him.
The best news he had concerned Bouguereau. Pete was [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Shawhill, Winker Watson on Jul 17th, 2007 No Comments »
… and treat those two imposters just the same…Â I’m not sure I agree with Rudyard Kipling on that one - I definitely prefer triumph to disaster and I’ve seen a bit of both this week.
Authorized’s defeat last week was a blow - I was hoping he’d have an unbeaten 3yo year. I’m less comfortable [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Winker Watson on Jul 17th, 2007 3 Comments »
I thought it was an absolutely stunning performance from Winker in the July Stakes - everything went wrong and we still won. I couldn’t have a higher opinion of the horse. We have believed for a while now that it would be an understatement to just call him a classy horse - his work at [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Conservation, Horse Racing, Major Eazy, Master of the Race, Shawhill, Winker Watson on Jul 2nd, 2007 1 Comment »
I’ve been waiting to write that headline for a long time. Major Eazy’s win at the fifth attempt on Saturday night was long overdue, and at last we have confirmation of something we have believed for a long time - he is a proper racehorse.
Every jockey who has sat on ME has told us that [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Jun 22nd, 2007 7 Comments »
What a day!! We thought he was up to it and we were right. It’s a great thrill and also a relief as I’d got a lot of people onto him who don’t often bet.
I was quietly happy after the race but also a little melancholy. I don’t take a lot of credit for the [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Kings Head, Major Eazy, Winker Watson on Jun 16th, 2007 3 Comments »
…and I’m beginning to get excited. Winker is extremely well and we’ve been arguing the toss with Pete all week as to which race he’ll go for. It’s looking like we’re going for the Norfolk on Thursday. Major Eazy will run in the Windsor Castle on Tuesday, and Frankie is taking the ride. He’s run [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Major Eazy, Prince Ary, Shawhill, Winker Watson on May 8th, 2007 4 Comments »
Winker Watson, recently top of the Racing Post 2yo ratings with 92 has slipped to fourth - Major Eazy is joint seventh on 88. Achilles of Troy tops the list with 100. Call me a pedant but I don’t like the name - Achilles was Greek and he fought against the Trojans, not with them.
Shawhill [...]
