Happy New Year

by Hayley 

Happy New Year to our supporters, we hope you've had a fantastic holiday season and are ready to seize 2019 with both hands!

Here in the office at Sun Hill we are trying our best to break the naughty habits developed over Christmas (chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner) and get back into the good habits we think we have. So far so good, we've managed to resist the single remaining Ferrero Rocher, which has become the subject of a silent stand-off between Anna and I, both too proud to 'crack' and gobble up the last of Christmas now that the New Year has rolled around. Thank you to Alan Court for the chocolates - they were delicious.

During the winter months, visitors to the yard are much less frequent. The days are shorter, the weather is colder and being a flat yard not many horses are running. So it was lovely to see Lee and Julia Patterson this morning as they arrived at Sun Hill to stay in one of the lodges for the weekend, watch the horses on the gallops and see their beloved Troop, the bonny grey in which they are shareholders. Both brightened up the office on a particularly dank Friday in January. They're big racing fans, especially Lee, whose enthusiasm never wanes. Troop's success at Hamilton earlier in the year was their Derby, and their outward show of happiness and enjoyment serves as a reminder of just what an exciting sport racing is to be involved in. Even when the weather is less than desirable!

Meanwhile on the yard, some of the horses are getting their first winter haircuts, the Equilux ligthing has done a stirling job of convincing us it's still summer but the air temperature tells a different story and almost all of them have either been clipped or are on the waiting list for a snazzy trim.

We've been very quiet on the racing front, with our next potential runner entered for Tuesday. Sils Maria, now officially a three-year-old, has one run under her belt and should she line up on Tuesday, will step up in trip to a more suitable mile. She's a strapping filly and really looks to be one for the future. Fingers crossed that patience will be rewarded and that 2019 gets off to a winning start.

Troop and connections