News

GORCOMBE RACING NEWS

 

24th April 2024
Good news is moonshine has recovered ok from his fall just hoping it won’t have effected his confidence to much when he runs again!
Today Flash will run at Ludlow, going over three miles for the first time. Really excited to see him run again and just hoping he will manage the distance!🤞

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

19th March 2024
Very sad news on Saturday. Gorcombe Fizz had her first run in a point to point, she was going very well until about three quarters the way into the race she showed signs of something hurting so the jockey pulled her up, sadly for what ever reason after stopping she bolted with the jockey still on board. She chased around after the others until she finally stopped at the finish but in this time she seems to have damaged her tendon. She was treated immediately by the vets and we believe she will survive but fear her racing career is probably over. We will know more for sure later in the week when we are able to take bandages and supports off.😢.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

23rd January 2024
Another great run by moonshine yesterday showing he has a great top speed and some fight as well to hold on to third. We possibly didn’t get the tactics right yesterday tracking the wrong horse who went off way to quick and eventually burnt himself out but that is only in hindsight. Moonshine jumped well and has come back fit and raring to go so hopefully see him out soon when we can find him another race!👍

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

18th January 2024

Wow what a festive period. Finally Moonshine got the run he needed without being balloted out or hurting himself and he starts his season with a great win at fontwell on Boxing Day. We had hoped he would follow this up with a return to Fontwell on the 11th but sadly the meeting got abandoned. Robert now plans on him running at plumpton at the end of the month as that is the next suitable race. Such poor organisation by the racecourses on race type availability.
On top of this Flash put in an exceptional performance on the 12th, he looked like he was struggling a bit on the final bend but then proved the fighter he is as the lead horse fell, he finished very strongly to run away with the race winning by 15 lengths as the others struggled. This is the furthest he has ran so far and certainly his most impressive victory!
Buddy has taken to the training pretty well and is taking everything in his stride, he hasn’t got as far as galloping yet to find out if he is quick enough but he certainly has a reputation for being the most amiable horse.
Fizz will be returning to a point to point course at the end of February hopefully, her training is going very well, so we will be hoping for some nice ground and nice races for her.
All the name suggestions are in for Spencer’s race name so I will announce my favourite soon and hopefully we will see the new edition to the team on the track early March!

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

11th January 2024
Buddy the new club horse has settled in at Robert’s and will hopefully be cantering next week to give us an idea if he has a chance of making it as a race horse.
Fizz has returned to training and seems a lot fresher for the small break so hopefully we may see her out late next month pointing!
And poor moonshines bad luck with entries continue, after his great win he was due to go today at fontwell, starting as a hot favourite but they abandoned the days racing, now we are really struggling to find him a suitable race this month! The only option may be to travel a few hours up country!
The other gorcombe horses see Spencer continue to improve at Jim’s and Flash runs tomorrow at Wincanton possibly with another chance of being in the mix!🤞

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

02nd January 2023
We are getting close now to introducing a new member to the Gorcombe Horses Team and looking for a name for him.
The new Horses stable name is Spencer, his mum is Seem of Gold and his sire is Eric Bolin.
He is a very dark nearly black bay being trained at Jimmy Frosts stable.
Name must include Gorcombe please.
Would love to hear new suggestions and winning suggestion to be invited to watch him run when he makes the race track, so sharpen those pencils and wit.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

20th December 2023
Merry Christmas ona and all.
Flash will be running at Exeter on Thursday hopefully, be nice if he manages to improve again from his third last time and get us off to a great festive season.
We are also hoping to enter moonshine at fontwell possibly on Boxing Day. Will just keep our fingers crossed he doesn’t get balloted out AGAIN!!!😢
Despite what looked a little disappointing a race for fizz last time out both Jimmy and Bryony were still quite positive about her racing ability. They both want her to go, strengthen up and run regularly at point to points to help improve her education before coming back to the national hunt next year. This is the same route we took with Findus years ago! We will of course keep you posted on how this goes.
Hopefully we also have some happy news on Findus. I hope I have found him a cracking owner and home with Claire Stretton who in years past actually used to ride out for Robert Alner. He has now travelled to his new home, loaded straight up in the horsebox, and seems to have settled into his newi large stable very happily. We will soon announce his new replacement in the club, although that horse has very big shoes to fill!
Have a brilliant festive season from all at Gorcombe.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

04th December 2023
Another week rolls on into the season and a mixed week for the club horses. We had a minibus full on the way to Hereford for their Xmas party to watch moonshine run when sadly we received the news he had cast himself in the stable and grazed his hock so wouldn’t be able to run! Another great run by moonshine
yesterday showing he has a great top speed and some fight as well to hold on to third. We possibly didn’t get the tactics right yesterday tracking the wrong horse who went off way to quick and eventually burnt himself out but that is only in hindsight. Moonshine jumped well and has come back fit and raring to go so hopefully see him out soon when we can find him another race!👍The good news is that he hasn’t done any lasting damage and should be running again soon!🤞
Fizz has another entry on Friday at Exeter where after a few weeks off we hope to see a marked improvement from her last disappointing effort.
There is also some good news about Findus, we have met a lovely lady that is going to have him on a trial basis to make sure she is happy with his leg, who will ride and care for him on a daily basis as he deserves. So fingers crossed we will be giving you a pick of a new horse for the club very soon.
Another gorcombe horse Flash had a very good third on Thursday at Taunton, he gave it everything but just found two horses a little to good on the day, hopefully he will improve for another run though and will be back to winning ways soon!

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

01st December 2023
Please see facebook for an up to date picture of Spencer going for a morning ride.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

29th November 2023
Sadly moonshine got cast in the stable yesterday and grazed his hock with a little swelling so had to be withdrawn. He should all be ok and will be back in action soon. Flash will hopefully run later at Taunton!🤞He has a safe trip round and looking forward to see if he has improved for his opening run!🤞

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

31st October 2023
Flash tried very hard on Sunday and narrowly missed out on third well clear of the rest but tired. Not bad for a first run back and hopefully he will get stronger for it, as usual he certainly gave it his all!🤗

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

29th October 2023

“🏇 Exciting Times at Gorcombe Horses! 🏇

The new season is just around the corner, and our club’s horses are raring to go. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming up:

1️⃣ Fizz: Keep an eye out for Fizz as she possibly runs at Exeter again on the 10th. She’s been in fantastic shape during training.

2️⃣ Moonshine: We’re thrilled to announce Moonshine’s first jump at Taunton on the 15th. He’s been showing great promise during his preparations.

🐴 Findus: Some good news and some not-so-good news. The good news is that Findus’s leg is in perfect condition, and he’s enjoying his time with the younger horses in the field. The bad news is that we’re still on the lookout for a rider for him. Until we find a loving home for Findus, we can’t replace him.

🌟 Flash: Don’t forget to watch Flash in action at Wincanton tomorrow in the last race. Let’s hope he can return to his winning form from last year! 🤞

Stay tuned for more updates and get ready to cheer for our fantastic horses! 🎉🐎
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

10th October 2023
🐎 Exciting News for the New Season! 🌟

We’ve got some thrilling updates for you as we kick off the new season! 🏇

1️⃣ Angel, now known as Gorcombe Fizz, is all set for her debut race at Exeter this Thursday in a competitive GBB mares race. 🏆 It’s going to be a tough one, but we’re eager to see her start her racing journey. 🥳 We’ve opted for hurdles, given her impressive jumps in training, and we’re on the path to getting her a handicap.

2️⃣ Moonshine has been impressing us with his jumps during training, and Robert is considering a shift to chasing instead of hurdles. 🏁 Stay tuned for his racing debut, possibly at the end of this month!

3️⃣ Flash, another of our Gorcombe horses, is shaping up nicely in Robert’s care. Spencer has returned to Jim’s, exploring the point-to-point route into racing. 🏇

While things are mostly looking up, it’s with a heavy heart that we share the sad news about Findus. 😢 He has strained a ligament in training, and despite his current soundness, he won’t recover to race fitness. We’re actively seeking a loving home where he can be ridden and cherished. If you know anyone interested, please reach out to us.

As we navigate this change, we’ll be in touch with our club members to select the next horse to join our team. 🐴

Thank you for your continued support, and here’s to a fantastic season ahead! 🎉 #RacingSeason #ClubUpdates #HorseRacing
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

02nd October 2023
The young horses of the future all having a nice trot round now in the big field! Go over to facebook to see the video
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

31th July 2023
Thank you everyone for the racing names suggested for Angel. There were some very clever ones, some funny, several similar or the same but all in all very hard to decide on the shortlist of 6 below.
If you would like to vote on which is your favourite we will hopefully name her at the end of the week!
The 6 names are
1.Gorcombe Delight
2.Gorcombe’s Angel
3.Gorcombe Fizz
4.Gorcombe Bollinger
5.Gorcombe Tipple
6.GorcombeFizznChips
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

30th March 2023
Flash has his comeback race later today and we will see if his steamed hay and outdoor living has helped him . Fingers crossed for a good effort
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

21st March 2023
Hold on to your saddles, folks, because we’ve got some exciting news and updates from our stable.
We were chomping at the bit to see Moonshine run on Thursday, but darn it, the ground’s just too tough for him. Ah well, we’ll just have to wait a little longer to see him in action. Meanwhile, Flash is feeling mighty fine after some TLC from his outdoor stable and steamed hay. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for his next race.

Findus is a bit of a slowpoke when it comes to recovery, but our trusty masseuse Mark has been working his magic on him every day. The leg still swells up a bit in the evenings, but we’re not letting that dampen our spirits. Slow and steady wins the race, after all and he has won a few!

Angel is having fun,fun,fun! She had a fantastic day out with the hounds, and we can’t wait to soon give her a racing name that’ll match her fiery spirit. We will no doubt be tapping into your think tanks for help with this.
It won’t be long now before she’s tearing up the track like a true champion.

And finally, we’ve got some heart-melting news about Buddy. Jim, our tough old trainer, has taken a shine to him, and the feeling’s mutual! . I was thinking a good hunter or possible shire horse, Jim see’s a big boned strong Irish type racehorse with the best nature! Can’t wait to watch this relationship develop!

Thanks for tuning in to our stable’s shenanigans, and stay tuned for more horsing around!
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

09th March 2023
Plenty been going on apart from just rugging the horses up in this delightful weather.
Findus is still struggling on with his swollen leg but we do think it’s still heading the right way with the swelling going down and the good news is he still seems to be pretty sound on it.
Spencer has returned home eventually after taking an hour to load through stubbornness and Buddy has replaced him, settling in nicely.
Angel continues to train well for the club and hopefully we will see a run out of her before the end of the season.
Flash seemed to be improving for his changes and clearing up but has now developed a slight cough at but will hopefully see him running soon.
Moonshine goes tomorrow at Exeter where we will try another approach to try and get the best out of him.
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

23rd February 2023
As you can see Spencer is finding the whole training regime a little bit tiring! Think he may have to come home for a holiday soon!😂
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

17th February 2023
After Flash finished his last race he was again full on snot so we have decided to give him a much airier stable and hope that helps!🤞 On top of this Robert is putting on his chefs hat and steaming his hay!
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

26th January 2023
Findus continues to make progress and although still a little stiff seems to have fought the infection well. The weather also seems to be on the change so hopefully we will see some runners again soon!🤞
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

18th January 2023

Findus continues to improve albeit slowly as is to be expected from such an aggressive infection. James the vet has had the results back from the lab and it is a regular bug that lives on the horses skin and hair but can sometimes cause infection. This is obviously just a basic description to make it understandable but he did quote the type of bacteria and said it was a particuarly violent reaction Findy experienced but hopefully with time, care and treatment he should make a full recovery! Fingers crossed let’s hope so!
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

15th January 2023

Not such good news I’m afraid. Findus has picked up an infection in his leg. It was looking very touch and go all day Friday and yesterday but Jim thinks he is beating it slowly and the vet is a lot happier with him today so fingers crossed he can get back on top of it pretty quick. Please see our facebook page for a video
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

30th December

I hope everyones had a great Christmas and ready for an exciting new year of racing!
2022 may not have been a very rewarding calendar year for us prize money wise but the development of our young horses has been very exciting.
We start 2023 all guns blazing with two club horse entries, first up on the 4th January is the veteran and still star of the show Findus having a run at Hereford followed by Moonshine after his great second last time out, having his first run at Wincanton on the 7th January.
On top of this we also have another gorcombe horse Flash, hopefully going on New Year’s Day at Exeter for his first handicap chase.
We would have liked Flash to try hurdling first but the lack of suitable nearby races has left us with little choice.
Hope you all have a fab new year and we get off to a cracking start with the horses.
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

07th December

Great last couple of weeks for the club. First we went with Jimmy and watched Findus, (or didn’t see, because of the fog at wincanton !) So experience him getting back to his best with a great run from the front, tiring out all bar one of the field and just being pipped over the last couple of jumps but running on well for a great second. He seemed so happy at the end and back in love with his racing!
Then yesterday we went sussex way with Robert and enjoyed a great day out with the fontwell hospitality, and watched a fabulous run by moonshine learning that he also likes to lead from the front. Holding on valiantly as he seem to tie up over the last furlong but bravely fought on to keep second place!
Both horses have given us a great day out.
Angel is enjoying herself back at home with the other young stock back here.
Meanwhile Spencer and flash the other two gorcombe horses are both going on nicely. Spencer is filling out and getting an education still, whilst Flash is training up over fences as he needs a right handed course and we can’t find a suitable hurdle until next year so hoping to send him chasing on his handicap debut!
We also welcome Xyle Enki into the group, a mate we have bought from France that will hopefully in time breed us some new goals and possibly even come back racing in a year or so!
As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

25th November

Also this week Flash Gorcombe got his handicap of 84. We had guesses from 63-88 but nobody guessed this exactly right.
Stewart Skinner was two out with 82 and Charlie Spiller was the winner with 85 so wins the two tickets to the races to watch him very soon I hope!As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

24th November

Hopefully you have been able to follow the horses a bit more recently as they start their seasons.
The club horses seem to all be heading in the right direction, Findus has had another run and looked like he was enjoying himself although just got ran out of it at the end of the race, he has bounced back well and we hope to run him possibly next week at Wincanton.
Angel has continued her education and although we were hoping to see her run in the new year, we have decided she needs a bit of a holiday to grow up a bit more and come back somewhen in the new year.
Moonshine on the other hand is loving his training and had a really good run at fontwell coming a very close 6th, but the biggest story being that he made a record in gaining the most weight ever(32 lbs) for not winning a race! He goes again today at Lingfield off his new mark of 77.
The other Gorcombe Horses Spencer and Bolt are both going on well, Spencer had his operation, has recovered well and is enjoying his training. Flash has got his opening handicap, which is 84 and will soon be out racing we hope!
Plenty going on and fingers crossed for today!As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

15th November

Findus had a nice run yesterday and seemed far happier with Bryony back on board, what was even more positive was that he has come back to the yard well with no knocks and a bit of a spring in his step, So hopefully we will get him back out again soon!
Flash on the other hand came back with a small bruise but should hopefully be ok and will now hopefully get a handicap mark!
So competition time, Flash should get his handicap next Tuesday, please private message me or email [email protected] with your guess at his handicap and see if you get closer than me or Robert. The first correct answer in will get an invite to his next race! Only one guess per person!As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

05th November

Flash had a run at Chepstow on Wednesday which went quite well in a very tough race and is getting ever nearer to getting his handicap.
Moonshine also had a run at fontwell today and somehow came in from a huge 80-1 to a starting price of just 9-1! Definitely the biggest market mover, and something the commentary team picked up on!
He didn’t quite pull off the shock result but he did run a cracking race and although came 6th he was only a few lengths behind the hot favourite.
Hopefully both will be out again soon!As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

23rd October

Angel had a tough work out yesterday and enjoyed her sunday lie in today!
Findus is back, fully fit and raring to go, so will hopefully look to get him a run at Exeter in a couple of weeks.
Moonshine meanwhile is getting. close to being ready for his first run under Robert!

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

16th October

Great effort by Robert and his team today. Really pleased with Flash effort and performance. He still jumped a little to the right but generally ran and jumped very well in what was a pretty classy race.
Daryl said he was a nice horse and gave him a great ride for a first time effort. Hopefully he has a safe journey home and recovers quickly to get back out again very soon.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

27th September

Went with a couple of members last week to watch Moonshine and Flash train. Robert was very complimentary about both and looking forward to running them hopefully fairly soon as the weather breaks. Flash will prob go first as he has to get his handicap and moonshine will hopefully follow shortly. Findus has started light training after recovering from his abscess and Angel continues to move forward with Jim happy with her progress. Really looking forward to reporting on some race dates soon!

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

15th September

This is a picture of Findus hoof, after the race with obviously a nasty crack. After a thorough examination by the farrier he found there to be an abscess that had broken out during the race. There had been no signs at all before and shows just how much this little horse has. He has since been treated and been on a course of antibiotics to clear it up, hopefully being able to return to training very soon.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

07th September

A bit disappointed with the race tactic on Monday but there was the obvious concern of his bleed last time so Jim wanted to ease Findus back into his racing and that made it very difficult for Findus to compete not running from the front, he did however stay on very well which was pleasing!
Findus unfortunately managed to cut his hoof on Monday though. Hopefully it is nothing to serious and the farrier is having a look at it tomorrow. Its causing him a little discomfort but apart from that he is very happy in himself! Hopefully will be able to resume training soon!👍

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

1st September

Lots been happening again with horses, Spencer goes to the vets today for an operation, hopefully not to complicated and he will be ok.
Flash enjoyed his short holiday and seems to be loving training and food at Robert Walford’s.
A slight change of plan with Findus this week, we have decided not to go to Fontwell Sunday but to go to Newton Abbot on Monday. No particular reason except it’s a nicer journey for the horse who would have travelled alone, plus we know Findus is happy at 3 plus miles as well as he is at 2.5 miles. Not sure who our jockey is yet but hopefully we have made the right decision, we are certainly all looking forward to his first run back!👍
Angel meanwhile continues to learn and enjoy her training at Jim’s and Moonshine seems to be excelling at Robert’s.
Let’s hope for some rain at the weekend and a nice start to the up coming season!

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

16th August

This week has already seen Elvis return home to Gorcombe and Spencer has now joined Findus and Angel down at Jimmy’s to continue his education.
Findus had a great work out trying to keep up with Bryony on Black Corton, he is really well in himself as we look for a race for him, in the hope for some rain to return to help with the ground real soon.
Angel is progressing well and we will soon be running a competition to give her a racing name.
Flash and Moonshine have both gone to Robert Walford’s training yard and hopefully I will be able to take some members to see them in training real soon.
Robert is very pleased with there first efforts and hopefully it won’t take them to long to get to racing fitness!

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

08th August

Time is just flying by at the mo but still no rain to soften the ground up at all.
Jimmy has Findus raring to go but struggling to find him a nice race!
Angel is progressing well and is now out cantering and building up her fitness,
Jim also has another of my youngsters Elvis with him at the moment to be broken, who is taking everything in his stride and has already accepted a jockey on his back. We will soon be hoping to bring him back and Spencer will head down to Devon to further his education!Meanwhile Robert Walford has picked up Moonshine who now already has shoes on and made his first canter up the steep Oakford gallop. Robert said he was really pleased with their effort and recovery rate, so moving forward nicely at the moment.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

25th July

Sorry for the lack of news and posts, all been rather busy and organising the new season that I have neglected my posts, so I do apologise but everything is moving forward.
So much has happened! The big news is I have decided to get a club horse trained closer to home whilst still keeping a large share with Jimmy in Devon.
Jimmy currently has chosen to keep Findus in training, who is currently ready to go but we are just waiting for the ground to be a little kinder!
He also has chosen to take Angel on and hopefully we will see her out in action late this year!
On top of that he has also broken our three telescope youngsters this year, pocket the orphan, recently Skye who is growing to be a pretty large filly and now he has Elvis down there who is really developing into a smart looker.
Meanwhile I have also agreed with Robert Walford to take on the club horse Moonshine who he is quite excited by and thinks has a great chance to have some fun with and will also take on another of my horses Flash after his point to point places. We hope to have them with Robert at the beginning of August, and as they develop will try get more video postings up and hopefully some club members visits to watch them!
More regular updates to follow!

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

28th March

Hasn’t been a lot to report recently on the group horses but it’s all starting to move again now.
Rascal had a urine infection which really rocked him and we even wondered if we were going to lose him at one point but he has now made a full recovery and we will again start to look for a new home for him.
Findus is still having a holiday at home and enjoying being the top dog bossing all the youngsters about and being defensive over his food!
Moonshine took a week or so to get over his last run and wasn’t quite 100%, not sure why or what but def wasn’t quite right. He is back to normal again now and we are making the decision whether to try him pointing or go back to national hunt again. Either way hopefully he will hopefully be back out soon.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

1st March

Sorry for the slightly quiet period but not a lot has happened recently.
Rascal continues to recover well from his injury and we will start to look for a new home so hopefully once we have, we will be giving members some new choices for who they would like to join the team to replace him!
Findus is enjoying a rest back home at Gorcombe and we will look forward to him resuming training after a few more weeks off.
Meanwhile Moonshine on the other hand has been training nicely and is back to fitness, a bigger suprise is that he hasn’t been balloted out at Taunton on Thursday from the 40 entries so hopefully we will see how he is progressing then!
There are twelve in the race and we are expecting it to be quite heavy but hopefully we will see a nice introduction for him into handicaps even though he is a long way out of the weights.
More updates to follow soon.

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

4th January

Findus runs today at Hereford. He is back chasing and seems quite well so hoping for a nice run although he is still carrying over 11 stone he might have a chance of getting on the podium! Janes Best is on board for the first time today as Bryony is away but hoping they will gel well together!🤞

As always, for more updates check out our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

23rd November

Moonshine enjoying sunshine before his next attempt at hurdles tomorrow at Taunton! Fingers crossed he avoids being dragged down again!

Check the pictures out via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

31st August

Good news, we hope to see moonshine back out on the course at Newton Abbot next Monday the 6th! We went down and saw him in training this week and he is really starting to come together so it seems his little rest did him good!
He is only going in a bumper again this time but hopefully we will get him on to some hurdles soon!🤞

Check the pictures out via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

8th August

Well quite a lot has been happening with the horses and I haven’t been great at keeping you all informed!
Moonshine played up a bit after his last run and just wanted to gallop pretty much everywhere after! Which was great in that he seemed to enjoy his last race but made him a little bit of a handful so Jim thought it best to let him down a bit so that they could continue to teach him manners and to make sure he continues his racing education well. He has now restarted training and seems to be responding really well to the break and hopefully we will see him back on the course at the beginning of September.

The other two club horses Findus and Rascal have come home for a holiday, Findus needed a break and Rascal needed to protect his front leg, Flash has also come home whilst we decide what to do with him next!

Meanwhile the three two year olds Angel, Spencer and Buddy have gone down to be broken, Jim’s team say that they really could not be easier to work with and Mark has done an excellent job with all his handling and because of that he has speeded up the breaking process no end.
All the youngsters continue to grow well and look quite impressive all out together.

Check the pictures out via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

29th April

Here is the new recruit ‘Shock’! And he certainly was, he started to foal two and half weeks early whilst out in the field! Fortunately Mat spotted him and we got him out safely! Both mother and foal been doing well! Findus has an entry at Fakenham next Tuesday but we are still waiting for some rain to soften the ground for Rascal and for Moonshine and Flash to have their first runs!

Check the video out via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

15th April

We have withdrawn Rascal from racing tomorrow as the ground is to hard to risk his tendon on, especially after he gave us such a good race last time! We are hoping for some rain to soften the ground for him to race or he may be coming home for a holiday! Where he can meet our new foal Shock! Which has been named by Mat who fortunately noticed Seenigora being on foaling prematurely by two weeks, but we got him out ok and mother and foal doing well!🥳

Check the image of Seenigora out via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

9th April

Here we have Findus and Moonshine going head to head on the training gallops! Both went really well just need some rain for the ground to ease a bit!

Check the image out via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

28th March

Did you all get to watch Rascals heroic efforts last Sunday? Was so nice to see him in full stride at the end of the race! Let’s hope he can replicate that sort of effort again next time!

I kind of doubt he will be at as favourable odds next time though!

We did think he was a horse with promise so was just nice to see him show some of that talent. Real praise has to go to Jim and his team for helping him achieve this as he hasn’t had the best of luck with his fitness in the past!

Findus meanwhile is getting back to fitness and we are looking for a suitable race hopefully mid April and both Flash and Moonshine will be entered in a bumper in early April for their first visits to a race course and a start to their educations!!

Check race via the link below!

https://www.attheraces.com/atrplayer-popup/VOD/1191653?showResult=yes

 

21st March

Hope you have all had a good Cheltenham or even half as good as Nat did with her tips!Back to normal racing again and making plans for our team!

Rascal runs shortly, his first run back after his ulcer treatment, he is in great shape but probably needs a run. We have Alex Thorne on board as Bryony is on This Breac Jimmy’s other horse.

We do however still have this small problem of Damians travelling in the lorry and the state he gets himself in. We really are a little bit stumped as to what is causing it, is it excitement, nervous energy, he gets travel sick or possibly he is claustrophobic? Does anyone have any sensible suggestions similar experience or possible cures?

If we can find a cure we think we would see some huge improvements in his performance.
We are looking for a new race for Findus to get him back out there and a first bumper for Lunar and Bolt to show there ability!

More information on this soon!

 

23rd February

COMPETITION UPDATE

After much deliberation we have finally decided on the two racing names we are going to use for Lunar and Bolt.

Lunar the new club horse and half brother to Findus will be called Gorcombe Moonshine thanks to the name given to us by Louise Frampton. Incorporating a lunar link, our love of alcohol and a year which we have seemed to be banned from enjoying ourselves this name was perfect in every way!

Bolt his stable companion and possible syndicate horse will be called Flash Gorcombe kindly given to us by Stewart Skinner. Again with a great link to Bolt originally being named after a lightning strike but also with the humorous link to Flash Gordon, this made us smile and let’s hope he does as well as that hero did!

We would like to thank everyone who gave us some great names and entertainment in picking two, we will also be saving the name Gorcombe and Wise from Stephanie for the future as we think this is just brilliant!

Once we are allowed to go back to the races as owners we will arrange a suitable date with the winners of the competition to attend and watch the horses run! Hopefully we will be in touch sooner than later!

 

21st February

Sadly Rascal didn’t get in tomorrow at Taunton he was entered but got balloted out as they had more than the maximum 10 runners allowed.
Hopefully we will find another race for him really soon as he is eating and training well at the moment!
We now have to hope that Findus doesn’t get balloted out on Friday, especially as it looks like we may have a dry week!! 👍

As always, keep up to date via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

2nd February

Weather continues to play havoc with our horse racing and management at the moment although Mark continues to look after them well at home. All the young stock are doing well, Rocket is still a little on the small side, Sky continues to be a little quieter and Elvis continues to look striking!

As for the yearlings they are very full of themselves and full of fun regularly keeping us on our toes!
Tried sorting some of their fencing out this week and Angel was determined to help with the handy work!

Check out the picture linked to his post via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

27th January

Elvis, our striking telescope foal and half brother to Findus, is somehow amazingly still keeping clean in the wet muddy weather! All the horses at home are pretty wet and muddy but all doing well! Will soon have to start thinking about breaking some of the two year olds and seeing what Jim thinks of them, although he has his hands full with the other four at the moment!

Bolt was bucking away in the school yesterday and is getting ready for a gallop, lunar continues her education and gives great hope for an exciting future!

Rascal seems to be recovering from ulcers and is getting back his mischievous side whilst Findus seems to have recovered from his last excellent race and we will start to look for his next opportunity after this band of wet weather has gone through!

Check out the picture linked to his post via our facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/

 

25th January

Findus did us very proud again on Thursday, he was soooo close, just ran in to another progressive horse sadly but hopefully any bets were each way? We were very pleased with the way he ran though in a higher grade and in heavy conditions. Hopefully it hasnt taken to much out of him so we can see him run again soon.

Rascal had a scope this week to check his stomach and found some ulcers which he has been receiving treatment for and were hoping this may have been contributing to him getting worked up traveling but only time will tell on that.

Lunar continues to develop well and will hopefully be on the track near the end of Feb!
I will keep you all posted!

As always keep up to date on our facebook page via the link here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/posts/244390833978006

 

7th January

Findus runs tomorrow weather permitting and he is in great shape so will be hoping he will be in the frame with Bryony on board!

Also if any of you have chance please click on the great British racing site and vote for jockey of the month as Bryony is one of three nominees and is currently lying second although you only have till 4.00PM to vote! Hope you get to watch and support Findus tomorrow as none of us are allowed to go but we will all be shouting at the TV!!👍

https://www.greatbritishracing.com/features/vote-for-decembers-jockey-of-the-month/#anchor

 

4th January

John of Gorcombe adapting to his new life as an eventer and showing! Loves where he is now and is quite spoilt!

FindusatGorcombe now has an entry for this Friday at Taunton. Fingers crossed it goes ahead. We are still looking for a new entry for Rascal.

 

2nd January

Well what a disappointment yesterday with Exeter being called off, especially when Findus was in such good order!
Can’t believe our luck as it would probably have been on had it been today or Thursday!!
Still we just have to move forward and are desperately looking for a new race for both Findus and Rascal so will hopefully be able to give you an update on a new race soon!

All the others are doing very well at home and all had their birthdays yesterday! The new yearlings are looking and growing very well especially Elvis who is Findus half brother and a Telescope colt! He now doesn’t look out of place with the two year olds!

The two year olds are all looking great and we will soon have to start making plans for them to be broken and to plan their futures! Three cracking horses all with different possibilities so if anyone is interested in a share on one of them please let us know, we are open to suggestions!👍

 

16th December

After the stunning exploits and heart that Findus showed in his last race its Rascals turn this week as he goes to Exeter tomorrow!
The going is probably going to be quite hard but hopefully he deals ok with it and we continue to see him develop and learn from the experience! Jimmy has tried something different in the build up to this race in the hope he may be a little less nervous and enjoy the experience a little bit more!
Lunar and Bolt pictured below had their Wolf teeth out last week and are just coming back into training. They are progressing well but realistically we don’t think we will see them start their careers until February time!
Tune in at Exeter tomorrow 3:15PM!

Check the pictures over on our Facebook  page here https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing

 

25th November

More good news! Not only have they allowed us out to the races again but fingers crossed they may allow us to go in small groups again soon – fingers crossed!

Hopefully by the time Findus gets to his next race we may actually be able to go along and support him!

But before then we can get excited about watching Rascal have another run! He goes tomorrow at Hereford and although Bryony won’t be on board we still have a good jockey in, James Best, and we’re hoping his education continues on a steep upward curve! He will be wearing a hood again this time and hopefully will behave better than he did last time.

Hopefully he will give James a good ride and will show a marked improvement from Lingfield!

Check the video clip from the last race over on our Facebook  page here https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing

 

12th November

A bit of a bizarre feeling watching Findus and Rascal run on Tuesday! No crowds and only being able to see Jim and Bryony for very short catch ups was certainly not a side of racing I would like members to experience!

The horses however were brilliant! Rascal hopefully will benefit massively from the experience and although he pulled up quite early it was only due to him losing his concentration not his ability or fitness, Bryony said he jumping was very good as was his stride we just need to get him to run a few races so that he can get his head in the right place!

Findus was just fab, he ran a great race and just the top weight and the heavy going were to much of an ask on his first run back! Both horses will be out again soon and hopefully looking forward to future improvements!😁

Check the video out over on our Facebook page via this link! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing

 

9th November

So lockdown continues to ruin pretty much anything fun in our lives but at least those elite athletes can keep our racing going!😁
Hopefully you will be able to watch Findus and Rascal race on Tuesday at Lingfield.

Rascal will go off first and will be the lowest weight and probably a big outsider! It’s a long race and we do wonder if he will have the race fitness or experience to last and also how he will cope with the travelling to the race course but it will all be good experience for him and we do have Bryony on board!

Findus will run an hour later and he will go off at top weight and over a much shorter distance than usual so hopefully he won’t find the pace to fast. Either way, it will be nice to finally get running again and hopefully we will know better how they are doing after Tuesday! Really wish we could share it with some of our members but I think that will be a way off yet!😬

 

23rd October

Hi all, we are finally going racing!! Whoop whoop!

Not sure how much we are going to be allowed to enjoy it all as they put more lockdowns in place but we are hoping to get Findus out next week at Newton abbot and possibly Rascal as well!

Would normally be very exciting and a time to be looking forward to sharing the day with club members but we just have to hope that we get to share the day with a couple of others and most of all that they run well as they have both been off for a while, but both are ready for a run according to Jimmy!

Will give more of an update in a few days

 

12th October

Lunar and bolt finally headed back down to Jimmy’s today, and when I mean finally it was because it took nearly a couple of hours to load them where they were so stubborn and only after Lunar had flattened Joe, one of the racing club followers who had popped in to see them off! Fortunately Joe only has a small wound to his head and a bigger one to his pride, but now appreciates the power of the new club horse!Maybe it will help with more ideas for names!

We have had an excellent suggestion for one of the horses which we will most certainly be using at some point on a horse even if it’s not in this competition for lunar and bolt; Steph Fisher will be getting a complimentary two tickets for her suggestion of Gorcombe and Wise! Just brilliant, as they are my dads all time favourite comedians!👍

Check out our last post for details on the competition!

8th October

So, competition heads on!

It has been decided that Lunar will become the club horse!
He was chosen very scientifically; I called their names across the field and Lunar was the first one to get to me!
But Bolt still needs to be named too, as he will also remain a Gorcombe horse and potential reserve for the club!
The best three names I like will be put to the club members to choose the final name for Lunar, and I will have a family vote on Bolts choice from his best three entries!
Each of the winners of the final name chosen will be invited with a partner to the races as one of the owners when a suitable racing date can be organised with them!
If the winning name is suggested more than once it will be the first person who suggested it that will be the winner rather than a shared prize!
So far we already have several suggested names we like such as:

LUNAR
Moon over Gorcombe!
Gorcombe Moonshine
Gorcombe lunartic
Moony at Gorcombe!

BOLT
Gorcombe Thunder
Gorcombe Blitz
The Gorcombe bolt

The one rule is that the name has to include Gorcombe!

I look forward to seeing your entries and naming them soon!

Please enter via the facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing

28th September

So a bit of a disappointing end to Johns race last weekend and even worse it was kind of how Jimmy had predicted it may go!! With that information, Jim’s and Bryony’s feedback we have made the very difficult decision of ending Johns racing career and looking for a new home that suits him better! Hopefully we may have already found him this new home where he will be hacking out, dressage and being shown, funnily enough the first person that met him has already put in an offer!

His potential new home is on the edge of a lake and forest with amazing countryside all around so we think he would be very happy there.

This does however mean the introduction of a new horse to the racing club either Lunar or Bolt. Which one will be decided by the club members but this will also bring the naming of the two horses and the free competition to do this! This we will start as they return to training in the next couple of weeks! So get those thinking caps going as we already have a couple of great suggestions!

Check out the latest pictures on the Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing

 

19th September

Travelling down to watch John have his first run out since his wind operation. It’s nice to feel we are back up and running but a bit rubbish we can’t share it with anyone or enjoy the atmosphere of a crowd.

Hoping John will show some signs of improvement from his previous runs but not really any expectations at all as it looks like a pretty tough race hence his long odds!

The main thing will be to see if he can run a whole race, finish then wait to hear the feedback from Bryony! He certainly isn’t the finished article but we do think he is fit enough so fingers crossed for a good day for him!

 9th September

The weather seems to have started breaking and the ground having a bit more give so we have decided to put the third horse from the club Rascal in to training. Took him down to Jimmy’s this week and saw Findus and John both put through their paces which was nice to see them getting their fitness!
Meanwhile at home Rocket has made great friends with Elvis out in the field regularly grooming and playing with each other!

See the video on Facebook here! https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=771881206982983&extid=BaTH9wusHWR52CS7

 

4th September

Exciting days the last couple of days as first we tried to introduce little rocket to the herd!

All the yearlings were very good with her but Lunar and Bolt gave us a very nervous 10 minutes as they tried to play with her until they finally stopped and we managed to seperate them again! Only to then spend the rest of the time with each other but on opposite sides of the fence!

Today we introduced Elvis and Skye to the herd along with Rocket! Far less nerve wracking but Elvis really stood out along with Spencer as they galloped about!

He has truly grown into a very good looking and large foal now! See the video here https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=360

 

26th August

Interesting start today when Rocket had her early morning feed, having eaten and had her after breakfast scratch, I glanced over all the horses merrily grazing across the field and said hello to Rascal who came over for a pet! Until worryingly I couldn’t see either of the mares or the foals Elvis and Skye!

It took me all the way up the hill to their gate, and getting more worried as no sight of them before they appeared in a different paddock, as no one had told me they were moving them yesterday!

Had a nice picture sent of Findus and John back at work and starting to lose their holiday bulges and turn back to athletes!

See pictures on the Facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing

11th August

Since the departure of Findus and John the others have been mostly enjoying their holiday, although the weather has made some days less fun!

Bolt has asserted himself as King of the field and if truth be said is quite a bully, having left teeth and kick marks on virtually all the others!

The others all seem pretty mellow and just seem to try avoid the attention of Bolt, which is not always that easy. Let’s just hope he takes that same confidence on to the race track!

The three Telescope foals Elvis, Skye and not so little Rocket are all really thriving and turning into some really nice looking youngsters, we really couldn’t be more pleased with them.Rocket can now finally look over the stable door, so we know she is growing! See video here via this link herehttps://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/posts/166954738388283

21st July

As we see a very slow return to action at the extreme sports centre, we think this is the right time to start relaunching the Gorcombe racing team!

So we took a trip down to Jimmys to discuss the clubs horses and to look at the two young three year olds in action, Lunar and Bolt! And what a pleasure it was!

Jimmy, Bryony, Phillipa and Hayden have put some serious work in on the pair and we were all very excited with their potential! They will have a holiday now before returning in a few months to start their racing careers! During this time we will have to give them their racing names!

 

 

GORCOMBE RACING NEWS

 

26th August

Interesting start today when Rocket had her early morning feed, having eaten and had her after breakfast scratch, I glanced over all the horses merrily grazing across the field and said hello to Rascal who came over for a pet! Until worryingly I couldn’t see either of the mares or the foals Elvis and Skye!

It took me all the way up the hill to their gate, and getting more worried as no sight of them before they appeared in a different paddock, as no one had told me they were moving them yesterday!

Had a nice picture sent of Findus and John back at work and starting to lose their holiday bulges and turn back to athletes!

See pictures on the Facebook page here! https://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing

11th August

Since the departure of Findus and John the others have been mostly enjoying their holiday, although the weather has made some days less fun!

Bolt has asserted himself as King of the field and if truth be said is quite a bully, having left teeth and kick marks on virtually all the others!

The others all seem pretty mellow and just seem to try avoid the attention of Bolt, which is not always that easy. Let’s just hope he takes that same confidence on to the race track!

The three Telescope foals Elvis, Skye and not so little Rocket are all really thriving and turning into some really nice looking youngsters, we really couldn’t be more pleased with them.Rocket can now finally look over the stable door, so we know she is growing! See video here via this link herehttps://www.facebook.com/GorcombeRacing/posts/166954738388283

21st July

As we see a very slow return to action at the extreme sports centre, we think this is the right time to start relaunching the Gorcombe racing team!

So we took a trip down to Jimmys to discuss the clubs horses and to look at the two young three year olds in action, Lunar and Bolt! And what a pleasure it was!

Jimmy, Bryony, Phillipa and Hayden have put some serious work in on the pair and we were all very excited with their potential! They will have a holiday now before returning in a few months to start their racing careers! During this time we will have to give them their racing names!