More Gold for Nickle

Nickle Back followed up his impressive 24 length debut chasing win at Warwick with another demolition job to win by 19 lengths in the 2 mile 31/2 furlong 0-140 handicap steeplechase at Stratford on 2 November, the feature race of the meeting. This was despite Nickle having been raised 10 pounds in the handicap for his Warwick victory. James Best who, once again, rode him to victory said that Nickle hated the soft ground, which makes the win against highly regarded horses even more impressive. As is usual for the horse, he went into the lead from the start but settled well and saved plenty for the final stages, moving from being just three lengths ahead at the second last to winning by 19 lengths. He is an exciting horse and we hope that he will continue to progress and win again before long.

The day was made even more special for the Humphrey family by our son, William, winning his 93rd race in 18 months in the USA. He won on Chickahominy at Laurel Park and also had a very close 2nd and a 4th placed finish. He has now won over $3.65 million for connections in 18 months! Let the good times roll!

On Monday, 30 October, Jacks’ Touch (aka “Jet“), ridden by Nick Scholfield, ran in her debut steeplechase, finishing placed 4th – but beaten only just over 3 lengths by the winner. If Jet hadn’t slightly fluffed her lines at the final fence, she would have been even closer. It was a very encouraging start over fences for her and we were very pleased. At the same meeting at Huntingdon, Nick also rode Milan Bridge on his debut for the yard. He was also placed 4th and, again, it was an encouraging performance. Milan had done very well hurdling for Paul Nicholls but had lost his confidence chasing and we have worked hard to rebuild his confidence. We also gave him a serious operation on his wind during the summer. Horses are often a little tentative in their first run after a wind op. It was therefore good to see him finishing this race so strongly. We expect him to improve further and Nick Scholfield was very complimentary about his prospects.