Gallaside heads to Newcastle for the Gowland & Dawson Ltd 'Blaydon Races' Nursery Handicap on Friday Afternoon. It is a competitive affair as you would expect for a class 2 handicap and some powerful trainers are represented by well bred and unexposed types. Archie is very happy with Gallaside and has done a good job of placing this horse thus far, we are expecting plenty more improvement to come yet and would be disappointed if he was not in the shake up in this race. Hollie Doyle rides and hopefully he can make it three in a row.

Gallardise (Lucayan x Gallaecia) a full sister to our very own Gallaside was purchased by Federico Barberini and Appletree Stud on Day 2 of the Osarus Yearling Sale yesterday for 23,000 euro. This filly will go into training alongside her brother with Archie Watson and hopefully Hollie Doyle to ride.

Funny Man was just denied at Redcar on Saturday evening to be beat a nose by James Fanshawe's Selino. He continues in good from and was arguably unlucky as he was in front three strides before the line and three strides after the line and was just pipped at the wrong moment. He is a horse that takes a bit of winding up and Selino finished strongly and late with Funny Man being to unable to respond quickly. It was a well judged ride by Daniel Muscutt on the winner but we feel on another day the result could of been different. However we are still delighted by the way he ran and David O'Meara and Danny Tudhope are still confident there is plenty more improvement to come from Funny Man yet. He seems to be thriving on his racing and upcoming targets for Funny Man include a 2m handicap at York on September 8th, and hopefully the step up in distance can unlock further improvement.

It was a promising debut run for Jessie Harrington's Gold Maze at The Curragh last Friday evening. Bought for 550,000gns at Tattersalls Book 1 last October, he was the most expensive Golden Horn to be sold at auction last year. Finishing 5th of 16 runners in what looked a hot maiden with some expensive and well bred horses on show. It was encouraging to see him finish best of the newcomers as the 4 in front of him all had the benefit of experience and he looks certain to come on bundles for the run after being green and slightly outpaced before staying on strongly towards the finish. His future definitely lies over further and what he does as a two year old can only be a bonus as he's sure to get better with time and age. He is by Golden Horn and a second foal out of our Galileo mare Astonishing. She has a Showcasing yearling on the ground and is currently in foal to Dark Angel. Hopefully Gold Maze can progress further and continue to strengthen the family for Astonishing going forward. Gold Maze is also a third runner bred by AppleTree Stud. Our other two runners Three Weeks is rated in the 90s and Funny Man is a multiple winner who is still progressing and Gold Maze looks sure to get Astonishing off the mark before long.

Funny Man Redcar [...]

Three Weeks made his reappearance in the Bet Totescoop6 At Totesport.com handicap at Chelmsford on Friday night. Ridden by David Probert he was put in a handy position in 2nd throughout and travelled well until the final 3 furlongs where he was ultimately a spent force turning for home. He was entitled to need this race after a lengthy break, he is clearly a better horse around Southwell so we will be heading back there and it looks like his future lies abroad. He is safe and well and hopefully he can continue to progress further with a bit more time. Funny Man's winning sequence came to and end on Saturday afternoon when finishing 3rd in the William Hill Leading Racecourse Bookmaker Handicap at Ripon. Ridden by Daniel Tudhope he was held up in the early stages and was on and off the bridle throughout, which has been his style of racing for much of this season. When brought wide turning for home for a clear run, Funny Man struggled to handle the ridges and contours of Ripon and this big and long striding horse struggled to pick up at a vital stage in the race. However, he has still ran a mighty race and finished strongly to push for second at the line. There a signs there that Funny Man has still not finished progressing yet and hopefully he can regain the winning thread soon.

Funny Man bids for the four timer on Saturday afternoon at Ripon in the 4:55 William Hill Leading Racecourse Bookmaker Handicap. He steps back down in trip to 1m4f following his victory at Lingfield last time, he was workmanlike that day only getting on top inside the final furlong. Hopefully he will have learnt plenty for that hard fought win. Funny Man is now running off a 16lb higher mark than when he started his winning sequence and even though things are going to get tougher for him we are hopeful he can continue to progress and rate higher yet. David Nolan rides and hopefully he can extend his winning sequence.

Three Weeks is declared for Chelmsford on Friday Evening for the 8:15 Bet totescoop At totescoop.com handicap. He is returning from a 139 day break following a solid performance earlier this year in the listed Magnolia Stakes at Kempton when finishing sixth behind some smart performers. He is ready to start off his season again and even though he will come on plenty for the run, we are hopeful he can be competitive in this race off a mark of 92. David Probert takes the ride and this seems an ideal opportunity for Three Week's return to action.

Was Nice To Have A Visit From John Wayne To Lead The String At AppleTree This Morning