Stable Form: A dream month courtesy of Andrew Balding

General / Robin Keck / 22 September 2009 / 2 Comments

Andrew Balding is proving to be a superb trainer of young horses.

"I’ve been following this stable’s two year olds all season as for reasons unknown to me the market doesn’t seem to have fully twigged that he’s a bloody good trainer of the young un’s. Long may that be the case."

Robin Keck tells us how he is quickly closing in on his end-of-year target on the profit stakes and how this month's action played a big part in that, courtesy of Andrew Balding.

How do you start a blog when all you want to do is scream "Oi Oi Andrew Balding I want to marry you!!"?

After a weak performance from this column since early August I stayed with Andrew Balding and was rewarded when something a little bit special happened at Newmarket on Friday. 'Side Glance' was, as they say, friendless in the market but he has a buddy for life now as he obliged at BSP [130.20] returning a much needed £646 to the columns coffers. I've been following this stable's two year olds all season as for reasons unknown to me the market doesn't seem to have fully twigged that he's a bloody good trainer of the young un's. Long may that be the case.

The week can't pass without me again returning to the amazing season of Richard Fahey. Despite being a huge advocate of stable form I find his ongoing ability to improve his handicappers quite perplexing. All my rules of hot stable form don't apply as he's turning Madras into Vindaloo into well...hotter Vindaloo. He has to be doing something different to other trainers as he has a Welsh jump trainers knack of immediately improving the horses he picks up from other stables. Baldemar won the Bronze Cup on Friday on only his second run after leaving Karl Burke and it's time to dig deeper into the stats for following his runners blind when inherited from other stables. I'll report back on that one. Fahey simply bulldozed his way through the Doncaster meeting with winner after winner and it seemed to be a rare occasion when you could throw the form book away and just follow him. Naturally, as such an advocate of the value of stable form this trainer was on my hot list (gggrrrr....I lost faith a couple of weeks earlier).

I'm very happy with most of the rest of my stable as Simon Dow is still in a lovely streak of consistently good form and despite a winless fortnight Ronnie Barr has been knocking on the door with double figure priced horses. Luca Cumani can exit the hot list as it was a mistake to add him in the first place - I need to be tougher about avoiding hot or cold form from popular leading stables as the market reacts much more quickly and there is no juice left for the anoraks. Evan Williams sacked himself from the cold with a winner and he's back in good form. I'll add Eve Johnson Houghton whose runners have really picked up over the last week.

Finally, any thoughts that I wouldn't make my £1,000 target by New Years Day should be well and truly forgotten. It's my time of the year soon and once we have some jumps results to pore over I'll find plenty of opportunities on both sides of the hot and cold fence. A touch arrogant perhaps but that's because I'm a touch arrogant. Does anyone want to re-price my likelihood of making it?

Total Starting Bank = £250.00
Closing Bank after Week Fifteen = £243.22
Week Sixteen Result = -£120.80
Week Seventeen Result = £603.40
Closing Bank = £725.82

Comments (2)

1. Kieran Ryan | 22 September 2009

   Who does this guy think he is with his hot and cold list, and maybe even a semi-warm-at-the-back-of-the-stove list as well? Why doesn't he just say that all trainers with surnames beginning with vowels are 'hot' and those starting with consonants are 'cold', or something equally as random, and he will probably get just as lucky one of the days. And also, just a piece of advice on dramatic effect, but he should have finished his article off with "....perhaps, but thats because 'I AM' a touch arrogant" rather than "I'm" - carries more punch, but, maybe he'll get lucky with that one of the days as well!

2. Robin Keck | 23 September 2009

   Dear Mr Ryan, I appreciate your thought provoking response to my column and I do like the idea of a "semi-warm-at-the-back-of the-stove list" which I may implement. Your advice to add a little punch to my blog is also welcome and I'll work much harder to make my columns much more readable in future.

   Robin Keck
   PS How is our horse? If you spent less time doing this and more time calling our trainer we might know when he's running some time soon.