Kevin had a good opening weekend of the new turf season after hitting the post on a few occasions but the first winner of the new season wasn’t long in coming. The Good Friday meeting at Musselburgh provided some good racing and decent prize money, and Kevin duly sent three runners north of the border. With another couple of good runs from Blaine and Kellini the horses continued to show good form but the winners were still elusive. That was until the 4 year old Distant Pat stepped up and took the 0-85 5f handicap, his third career victory.

The track had looked in good condition all day but the ground was still on the slow side and with four races already run the ground was turning softer as the day went on. Distant Past had finished last year with a great effort at Ayr, being beaten by the draw bias. Despite it being his first run of the season there was a bit of confidence behind Distant Past making a winning start to the season. Jamie Spencer had travelled to the Scottish track to take the rides on all of Kevin’s runners and went home with a winner in hand but also a two day holiday for over-use of the whip.

With the gates bursting open, Distant Past jumped smartly and Jamie allowed the big 4 year old to stride on. As usual the pace was strong and Distant Past just slotted behind the leaders. With plenty of runners who like to get on with things there was a mad dash up front and this led to the field being quite strung out across the track. Spencer was positioned well in behind the leaders, ready and waiting to pounce. Musselburgh’s sharp nature meant the field were soon thundering towards the halfway mark and coming to the business end of the race. Out in the centre of the track, Keep It Dark had burst clear racing alone and had set sail for home. This move had stolen a march and the field were struggling to go with the new leader. Jamie began to get to work and Distant Past responded but the gap looked to large to bridge. With every urging, Distant Past tried harder and began to close the margin to Keep It Dark. As the 1f pole came and went the gap was closing quicker and quicker. Jamie was now in full drive, asking for everything and getting it from a willing partner. Hard ridden, Distant Past made one last lunge and crossed the line in tandem with Keep It Dark. At first glance it looked as though he had nicked the win but it was very close. The announcement of the photo didn’t take long and first impressions were correct.

Owners Mike and Lyndsey Wynne were there to welcome Distant Past into the winners enclosure. They have had to be patient as he has been a slow maturing horse but he now looks more like the finished article. He has some very good runs behind him and hopefully now Distant Past can build on this and fulfil his full potential.

There are different ways of winning impressively, it can be a wide margin win, it could be a smooth and confident passage without coming off the bridle or it could be sheer genius from the jockey. The way Sir Keating did it was all wrong, doing everything he could to scupper his chances but still striding away to win the 3yr old 7f handicap at Wolverhampton.

With only one run to his name, a win in a maiden, inexperience was always going to be a worry and it showed throughout the contest. The debut win had led the handicapper giving Sir Keating a fair opening mark of 73 and Kevin took advantage of this in the 0-75 handicap. Jamie Spencer has only been seen a few times through the winter but with the new turf season approaching he was booked to partner Kevin’s runners and capitalised with a winner.

As the stalls burst open there was the usual dash for the lead but Sir Keating was a little slower away than the rest. Jamie was happy to settle toward the back of the field but as the runners converged Sir Keating had different ideas and began to run keen, wanting to get on with the job at hand. Jamie had to use all his strength and experience to settle the free going 3 year old but it looked in vain. Fortunately with no room to manoeuvre in the tightly bunched field, Sir Keating had no choice but to settle. Now he was getting into a rhythm and giving Jamie’s arms a bit of a rest. This didn’t last for long though, as by halfway the leaders began to quicken and tried to stretch the field. With the injection of pace daylight appeared for Sir Keating and he made his mind up to try and reel the leaders in. Jamie had different ideas and so the fight started again, with Spencer desperately keeping his mount from galloping through the field. The runners were soon heading into the home bend and the free going Keating was running all over the horses in front of him. As the field rounded the bend they began to spread out, all ready to lay down their challenge. With the field fanning out, Jamie was forced wide and as he moved Sir Keating out the 3yr old began to motor. Within a matter of strides the powerful son of Sir Percy flew down the outside of the field to lay down his challenge. There was no stopping Sir Keating now he was he full flow and soon passed the leader and kept on going. As the pair crossed the line they had a 1 1/2 length advantage but it could have been a lot further.

Sir Keating was very impressive considering he did everything wrong and exerted a lot of energy throughout the early stages. He is a horse that Kevin has always liked and definitely looks to be going the right way. This was only his second run so there is a lot of improvement still left and he should get further in time. Once Sir Keating learns how to race he will be a force to reckon with.

Elite racing club has hundreds of members and when Searchlight captured his fifth career victory it put a lot of smiles of a lot of faces. Although a previous winner on the all-weather, twice winning at Lingfield, he had only raced once before on Wolverhampton’s Tapeta surface. In good form at home, there was confidence in Searchlight but it meant he was going to have to put in a career best performance. Running off a mark of 85 meant was 6lb better than his previous highest winning mark of 79, but that didn’t stop the 4 year old swooping late in the 5f handicap.

Shane Gray has been on fire during the all-weather season and notched his 27th winner aboard Kevin’s speedy bay. The partnership had notched 2 wins together from only 6 runs and the success continued in decisive fashion. With a competitive field it was always going to be a frantic pace and the runners didn’t disappoint. With the 11 runners breaking evenly there was a frenetic charge to gain the advantage at the head of affairs. The strong early gallop worked out well for Searchlight as, from his draw of 9, Shane was able to edge his way across and sit just off the leaders. It was hectic through the early stages and there was plenty of hustle and bustle throughout the field with plenty of the jockeys keen to maintain their position. Shane was perfectly situated toward the outside of the pack, keeping out of trouble whilst close enough to pounce when the leaders began to tire. The strong gallop ensured the field flew through the first half of the race and were soon rounding the home bend. As the runners turned for home they began to fan out, pushing Shane a little wider than he would have liked. Although pushed wide, Searchlight was making progress and as he straightened up was in full flow. The race was unfolding towards the inside and Searchlight had a couple of lengths to make up. As they moved into the final furlong the pair were eating up the ground and with each stride looking more and more dangerous. With a late swoop down the stands side, Searchlight reeled in the leader and managed to repel the late surge of the runner up to win by a neck, but a convincing neck.

With this career high win Searchlight has shown another level of improvement and is clearly best when there is a very strong gallop. The all-weather is now winding down but there are still races available and he could reappear in the next couple of weeks. It’s always nice to get a winner for Elite Racing as there are a lot of people to keep happy, but Searchlight certainly made sure they were at Wolverhampton.

With the new season fast approaching, Hambleton Lodge is now full with horses preparing for the long year ahead. The 2 year olds are now working, older horses are shaping up for another season and the place is buzzing with anticipation. With so much going on there are staff vacancies at the successful North Yorkshire yard. Kevin is looking for good riders, weighing under 10st. The job is full time and along with it comes accommodation as well as plenty of opportunities to work with high quality horses, gain experience and to go racing.

There is also an opportunity for an apprentice jockey. Kevin has over 120 horses in training and there will plenty of opportunities for a young, hungry and determined jockey. Kevin is looking for a 7lb or 5lb claimer who rides well and has the ambition to match that of the yards.

If you are interested in working for Kevin Ryan then please do not hesitate to contact the office

01845 597 622 or you can e-mail at Kevin.hambleton@virgin.net

2 weeks after a special afternoon for Shane Gray and owner Jimmy Chua, Realize was back at Lingfield to create some more celebrations. After a convincing win at Lingfield, 13th February, Kevin had given his recent purchase a couple of weeks to freshen up. That 14 days proved a good respite for the 4 year old Realize, who travelled south once again in great form. Since his first win, the handicapper had given Realize a 6lb rise in the weights which was understandable considering his victory. Despite this increase, Kevin still felt there was plenty of improvement left and was confident the 6lb burden would not be stopping Realize.

Shane Gray has been catching everyone’s eye this winter and was once again the partner for Realize, having ridden him in all of his races since Kevin claimed him.There was only 6 runners going to post for the Ladbrookes Handicap, a 0-85 7f race, but it looked a tight affair. The punters and bookies were not making the same mistake again with Realize and he was supported into 11-4jf.

Jumping from the stalls there was a couple of runners keen to take up front running duties and force the action. The pace began strongly and Shane was happy to take a lead, settling towards the inside and with only one runner behind. Realize had shown a good turn of foot when winning last time and Shane was wanting to utilize that again. The pace up front soon slacked off, causing a couple of the field to become keen and fight for their heads. Realize was travelling smoothly against the rail but would still have to pass almost every runner to win. The field were soon heading into the final bend, leaving only 3f to run. Shane was oozing confidence as he had yet to move a muscle. The leader began to wind up the pace heading into the bend, and as the field rounded it into the home straight, quickly there was daylight between the front running Whaleweigh Station and the rest. Coming off the bend Shane began to work and ask for Realize to lay down a challenge. The 4 year old quickly moved through the field with Shane weaving a passage between horses. Having to move to the outside of the field for a clear run, Shane now had daylight and was urging his mount to close the gap. Realize was willing but it looked as the leader had first run and was going to hold on. Both horse and jockey were willing and Realize began clawing back the advantage with every stride. In the final few strides they drew alongside and in the next stride passed the long time leader. At the line Realize held a 1/2 length advantage but was probably worth a little bit more.

Realize is certainly thriving at the moment and turned in another strong performance. That’s two wins at Lingfield now and there is a race on Good Friday that he may be aimed for now. Shane racked up another winner to keep his all-weather apprentice title challenge firmly in place as he now leads by 2. It was another good day for owner Jimmy Chua who once again took the short drive to Lingfield to celebrate another winner.

Some people look upon Friday 13th with dread, superstition surrounds the date but Friday 13th February turned out to be a very lucky day for people attached to Hambleton Lodge. Owner Jimmy Chua and apprentice Shane Gray had multiple winners, with Kevin’s Realize rounding off their great days.
Shane Gray has really taken the eye in recent weeks and recorded his first career treble, taking him top in the all-weather apprentice title. The first race of the day saw Shane team up with Jimmy Chua for trainer Simon Dow. Malaysian Boleh ran out an easy winner, kick-starting a great day for both owner and jockey. Next it was time for Shane to done the famous blue silks of Godolphin, something that is becoming a normal sight to racing fans. Hills and Dales, trained by Charlie Appleby, was the well backed 5/4fav and Shane rode him like he was the best horse in the race. leading from start to finish, the 3 year old tired late on but still had enough in hand to win by 3/4 length under a strong ride from the Irish apprentice.

Realize’s race was an hour later, which allowed the dust to settle and the celebrations to subside. It was Jimmy Chua’s first chance to see his new horse, as he had been claimed only 2 runs earlier. After arriving at Hambleton Lodge, Realize has posted a couple of disappointing runs over 6f but had shown a lot of ability in his work at home. Kevin was confident a step up to 7f would suit and it proved to be the right move.

The 7f Apprentice Handicap at Wolverhampton looked to be an open race and despite his starting price, 12-1, everyone was confident that Realize could transfer his home work to the track. Jumping from the stalls the pace was immediately frantic, as is the case with a lot of apprentice races. Shane had always planned to be patient and with the leaders going hard from the start it played into Shane’s hands. Although giving quite a lot of ground away to the leaders, Realize was travelling comfortably towards the rear of the field. The leaders were keen to take each other on and with the pace increasing with every stride, the distance back to the rest of the runners began to slowly increase. Showing his increasing experience Shane didn’t panic and was happy to allow his mount to travel where he was comfortable. The field was soon heading into the bend and Realize had the best part of 7 lengths to make up on the leaders. Entering the bend there was little over 3f to run and the leading pair continued to battle hard, with their jockeys making their way for home early. Shane was still motionless and just ensured that Realize kept tabs with the horses around him. Coming off the bend and inside the 2f marker, Shane began to weave in between runners and pulled Realize around towards the stands side. Under a strong drive the 4 year old began to respond and was gaining ground with every stride. As they passed the 1f marker, Shane had forced his mount up to the new leader and with a couple of left handers to encourage, Realize passed the Godolphin favourite. As Realize got his head in front he continued to go forward and stretch his lead to 3/4 length. This was the final finishing distance and in turn completed Shane’s treble and Jimmy Chua’s double.

Realize has now shown why Kevin wanted to claim him and when he is in this type of form he will be hard to beat. It was a great way to round off a great day for Jimmy Chua who had never had 2 winners on one day. Shane is an apprentice really going places and again showed why he is catching everyone’s eye. With this treble he took the lead in the apprentice all-weather title and there is reason why he can’t keep this momentum going and on into the turf season.

Kevin has been fortunate to have some very good horses throughout the years such as Amadeus Wolf, Palace Episode, Hot Streak, Astaire and many more but none have quite scaled the heights of The Grey Gatsby. After a truly phenomenal year, the plaudits and recognition have been coming thick and fast over the past couple of months. He has been voted the north’s top horse and finished third in the Cartier awards, plus many more nominations for various awards. Whilst these have all been with British or European racing, it was the Longines best racehorse award that judges horses from all continents and countries.

Owner Frank Gillespie and his wife Kris headed to the event which was held in the famous Claridge’s Hotel in London. It was a very special event that people from all over the world travelled to to show respect to the winners and marvel at equine excellence. With the award going to the top rated horse it was the Japanese Just A Way that took top billing with his mark of 130 being awarded for his win in the Dubai Duty Free. Second was again heading to Japan with Epiphaneia taking second with a mark of 128. Showcasing the calibre of the three year old generation were the highest ranked Europeans, all tied for third place and all hailing from last seasons classic generation. With a mark of 127, The Grey Gatsby shared third in the world rankings with Australia and Kingman. Also on 127 was South Africa’s Variety Club and Able Friend from Hong Kong.

It was an honour to be included in a list that has so much talent in the equine world. The Grey Gatsby proved to everyone last year that he deserves to be mixing it with the best. His performance in the Irish Champion Stakes was judged as his career high and he firmly established himself in the highest echelon of world racing. Longines have long been supporters of world racing and their sponsorship of the awards is a real boost for the sport. Along with a beautiful photograph of his star, Frank Gillespie also picked up a stunning Longines watch. It really was an honour to be involved in the awards and hopefully next year The Grey Gatsby can once again prove that he is one of the best.

Having arrived at Hambleton Lodge towards the back end of last year, Mukaynis has now won two out of his four races for Kevin and Owner Mubarak Al Naemi. Previously trained in France, the three year old colt arrived with no wins to his name but a bit of promise. Immediately Kevin sought to find a race over 6f for Mukaynis, believing he had shown too much speed over 1 mile, the distance of his previous few runs.

Mukaynis had gone very close last time out when flying home to finish a very close fourth at Lingfield. This run led the punters to make him favourite for the 5f contest at Wolverhampton. Up and coming apprentice Shane Gray took the ride an rode with bags of confidence. Again Mukaynis got behind early and through the first furlong there was only on rival behind him. The leaders went off very hard in front and so Shane decided to leave his mount alone and ride a race from the position he was in. The field blitzed through the first half of the race and was soon heading into the business end. Eventual runner up Give Us A Belle kicked early in the home bend and stole a 2 1/2 length lead on the field. Turning into the straight Mukaynis still had more in front than behind and needed to make up a lot of ground. Whilst nothing else could get into the race, Shane was hard at work to get Mukaynis to try and cut into the leaders gap. With only the final furlong left to run, the leader began to run on empty legs whilst Shane and Mukaynis were rattling down the stand side. Soon they were along side and despite hanging into the long time leader, swept past with relative ease. In the final 200 yards Mukaynis asserted to run out a 1 length winner.

This was a good performance in a strongly run contest, and it gave Mukaynis a second win whilst coming over to England. There could be a lot more to come from the three year old and he looks one that will definitely improve when reverting back to the turf.

With her sparkling in her work at home, Bacall was seen as one of the yard’s best two year olds before heading to Thirsk last May. If she was to run well or win then it would be onto Royal Ascot but unfortunately it didn’t all go to plan. Missing the break she then ended up behind the enitire field and ran very immature. Worse was to materialise after the race when she was found to have an injury that would her off the track for the rest of the year. Having come back a bigger and stronger filly, Kevin aimed to win her maiden on the all-weather which she duly did at Southwell in the 6f fillies maiden.

Barry Mchugh took the ride but it wasn’t all plain sailing through the early stages of the race. Bacall again showed inexperience by missing the break slightly and ended up towards the rear of the field. Barry did not panic and after bustling her into a rhythm, he happily tracked through the field giving the filly a chance. The pace was strong and the leaders were taking each other on stride for stride. The fast pace allowed Barry to be patient and Bacall travelled smoothly in behind. The tempo never ceased as for the first half of the race the leaders were fighting for position, increasing the pace all the time. Barry had his mount in a nice position just off the rail and Bacall travelled well, in a good position to strike when the time came. As the field headed into the home bend the pace increased again, with the leaders keen to try and get a couple of lengths on the field. This didn’t happen and Barry nudged Bacall along to stay in contention. As they rounded the bend the runners panned out across the track and Barry was quick to dart up the inside rail, taking the shortest route possible. Bacall soon locked back onto the bridle and travelled easily into contention. With 2f to run there was a couple of chances but it was Bacall who was travelling the best and soon looming up to the leader. Barry began to ask for an effort and the response came as Bacall took the lead and quickly began to assert. Moving into the final furlong she carried a couple of lengths lead and Barry was keeping her up to her work with a hands and heels ride. Towards the line Barry eased the 3 year old down as she won by 1/2 length from the favourite.

It was a commanding and impressive display from Bacall, showing the quality everyone at home knew she had. After such a long time off Bacall will improve for the run and looks to be a filly to keep on your side. Kevin may now wait until the turf season starts before running her again but it is nice to see that she retains all the ability she showed as a juvenile.

Godolphin have recently changed their policies regarding jockeys and begun to put faith in the young up and coming jockeys. Shane Gray who has already worn the claret silks of Qatar Racing, and ridden a winner for them, gained his first ride in the royal blue silks only on Monday (8/11/2014) at Lingfield. Unfortunately his first ride was narrowly beaten but trainer Charlie Appleby already had ride two lined up for the young Irishman. Anglophile was engaged in the London middle distance final, a race worth £60,000 at Kempton, a big race ride for famous connections.

Anglophile was strongly fancied to go close and Shane was inch perfect throughout the contest. With the race run at break neck pace, Shane had his mount settled in mid division. Kempton suits all styles of running and Shane never panicked although he was just shuffled to the outside of the pack. As the field entered the home bend, Anglophile just hit a flat spot and Shane had to niggle at him to ensure they kept tabs with the quickening leaders. Coming off the bend the race was on and Shane was pumping away trying to get his mount to respond. Still they had plenty of ground to make up but Shane had a very willing partner who was responding to his urgings. With every stride the pair were wearing down the leaders, Shane working hard to get the most out of Anglophile. Delivered to perfection, Anglophile landed the prize on the line by a neck.

Shane has now ridden a winner for two of the biggest organisations in world racing and continues to impress. He now has the experience to go with the maturity he has always shown, and his tactically awareness is excellent for such a young jockey. Shane also showed the power and strength he has in the saddle, using his skills rather than his stick. He has all the attributes to go far and Shane Gray is definitely an apprentice you will be hearing about in 2015!!