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I returned to home to collect the cash balance and a horsebox with which to remove the horses, but there was one thing I needed to do first. I had to tell Alice. I'd rehearsed what I was going to say and went into the house, put the kettle on and casually broke the news. "Alice I've just bought some more horses", I began, explaining the deal I'd made with Lord Grimthorpe. "How many?" enquired Alice. "A couple,” I replied. "How many, I know what your 'few' usually means", Alice retorted. "Eight”, I replied. "Eight!!!" echoed Alice with displeasure. "What the devil are you going to do with them Michael? We're full, we haven’t got the room, there's nowhere to put them. You’ll have to build some more boxes." "I'll give them away", I replied. "I've no choice, and if I can't give them away then they'll be put down, but I gave Lady Grimthorpe my word that I wouldn't do that." "Can't you sell them?” enquired Alice. "They're old broodmares", I replied. "Barren. Nobody will buy them." "Don't worry, one of these horses is very special. You wait 'til you see her, I've never seen anything like her." "So what do you know about it?" asked Alice. The tone at the end of her question made it apparent that she already knew the answer. "No idea," I replied. "I just saw her in the field and I didn't ask questions, wasn't time, I did a deal. Trusted my eye". Alice must have thought I'd gone off my head, buying a horse, or in this case eight horses, about which I knew nothing and all but two of them being more or less unsellable. I was tingling with excitement. I was sure that I was on to a good thing here and I was not going to waste any time in bringing the filly and her less appealing field mates back to the Farm. Later that afternoon I returned to Lord Grimthorpe's estate with the horsebox and a pocketful of cash to collect the horses. It would need two trips, but I would make sure that my filly would be in the first consignment and I'd send one of the lads back later to collect the mares that I didn't really want. I also had the task of finding out the identity of this filly, because I had no idea of her breeding. It turned out that ther sire was Tribal Chief. He'd won the Norfolk Stakes as a two-year-old but was otherwise of little account. The dam was Hanina, who could only be described as a desperately poor racehorse. Anyone who had looked at the pedigrees would have passed her over in a matter of seconds, but as I have done throughout my career I made by judgement by simply looking at the horse. The horses arrived at New House Farm and I put the filly in a box and turned the others out in a field. I sold six of the of the horses straight away for just a few pounds. Once the filly was tidied up and her mane pulled you'd never have thought that she was the same horse that I'd first seen rolling about in the field. I could tell what she was behind all that mud and hair coat but that's what I do, it's my trade and I've done it for years. Most folk wouldn't have given her a second look. The day after her arrival I started breaking in the filly. Lord Grimthorpe's chosen horse was also broken in preparation for training. He would later be given the racing name 'Tin Miner', after his dam 'Myna Tyna', and he went on to win two races. I now needed to find an owner for the filly in order to pay the bills and it was Alice who came up with the idea of the Kettlewells. Bill Kettlewell and his wife Edith ran a hotel at Aysgarth in the Yorkshire Dales and I'd known them a long time. Alice was always on the ball. She knew who had asked for horses and she reminded me that Bill Kettlewell was on the lookout for a filly. It had slipped my mind, but here I had a filly without an owner and an owner without a horse. I telephoned Bill and I told him that I'd finally found a horse for him and would he like to come and take a look. Bill and Edith arrived at New House Farm the following morning and it was time to show them the horse they were going to buy. I'd put the filly in a box by the Farmhouse where I could keep a close eye on her and Derek Shaw was given the task of looking after her. He would eventually lead her up in the big races two years later. I welcomed the Kettlewells and after exchanging pleasantaries took them across to where she was stabled and unbolted the door. "Bill, this filly, she'll win the 1000 Guineas", I said to him confidently. He looked at me his brow furrowed, as if I'd lost my mind. "Just look at her", I enthused. "Isn't she something?" "Where did you find her?" asked Bill. It was a natural question. There were many ways of answering. I could have told him exactly what happened, that I saw a horse in a field and I thought she'd win the Guineas, but that would sound ridiculous. So instead I told him that I'd bought her from her breeder, Lord Grimthorpe of Westow Hall Stud and she was by Tribal Chief who was a very quick two-year-old. "She'll be one for the back end. And she'll be quick", I advised. After a little negotiation and haggling we agreed on a price of £1,200 and I spat on my hand and we shook. And I was true to my word. The rest, as they say, is history. |
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