Under starter's orders....

....and away! This is - or will be, once I've stuck some stuff in it - a Blog devoted to the runners, riders and results of the Richard Guest racing stables based up at Brancepeth Manor Farm, Co. Durham, England. Formerly the base of leisure magnate-turned five times champion permit trainer Norman Mason, the license passed during February 2003 to Guest, forever associated with the extraordinary success of Red Marauder in the 2001 renewal of the Aintree Grand National (by common consent one of the most gruelling renewals in history, owing to the barely raceable muddy ground that day). Already over 100 winners have been sent out from the yard, one which prides itself on training horses as close to nature as possible, and at the time of writing Guest has taken an early lead in the 2005-6 jumps trainers' championship with a stupendous first six weeks of the campaign behind him.

Please keep checking this Blog for news, reviews, analysis and - if I can work out how to append them - photos and stats pertaining to this most fascinating and deserving of racing set-ups.

BrancepethFan is not as yet, sadly, endorsed by Richard Guest or anyone associated with the Brancepeth Manor Farm operation, although I'm always hopeful that this will one day be the case.

Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)