Barney's Blog

A Mash made in heaven

Morning all,

Barney McGrew here, the world’s most famous Barney - just ahead of Barney Rubble.

I want to start this week by saying how nice it was to catch up with news of my old friend, Mash Potato.

Mash Potato was a stablemate of mine at Denton Hall from 2012 to 2016. I called him Mashy when we used to share a few carrots in my field in between races, but he now goes by the name of Spud. Lovely lad – always very calm and friendly. Grand looking horse too.

Back then, he was owned by Bennett Potatoes, which is where I’m guessing he got his rather odd name. I wasn’t a fan of it to start with. I’d have preferred something a bit classier – like Gratin Dauphinoise. That said, it could have been worse – he might have been called Oven Chip.

His dad was a high-class horse called Whipper, who was trained in France by a human called Robert Collet, and won three Group 1 races.

Spud ran 21 times for us here at Denton Hall and won three races, finishing off with a victory at Carlisle when he was ridden by that nice Paul Mulrennan human.

He then went jumping with a human called Noel Kelly, in County Derry, over in Ireland, and ended his career with a human called Hugh Burns, at Alnwick in Northumberland.

In all, he won five times in 65 runs, adding a win apiece over hurdles and fences to his three victories on the flat.

Anyway, a picture of him cropped up on social media last week at his new home. He now lives with the Wright family in a place called Barnsley, which isn't too far away in South Yorkshire.

You may wonder what happens to us racehorses after our racing days are over – well, Spud is a shining example of the effort that goes in to finding a thoroughbred a loving home.

After his last run in a chase at Kelso in April, he went to live in Malton with an ex-jockey called George Chaloner and his partner Daisy Jones. They run Rough Diamond Equine, which specialises in retraining and rehoming racehorses.

Back in 2014, George won the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot on Baccarat, trained by the Richard Fahey human, then the Northumberland Plate a week later on stablemate Angel Gabrial. Sadly, he quit the saddle after a series of injuries but he’s now doing a fantastic job with Rough Diamond Equine.

After some tender loving care with George and Daisy, Spud's now loving his new life with the Wright family, who are such nice humans.

Josh Wright, the dad, used to play for Darlington Football Club, making his debut in 2006, making a few appearances before moving on to Doncaster. Small world, eh?

I had a chat with his lovely wife, Kaye, the other day and she described Spud as “the horse of a lifetime”. Isn’t that nice to hear?

She and her husband, Josh, bought Spud for their 14-year-old daughter, Ollie, and the hope is that she’ll take him showjumping. I shouldn't think that'll be too much of a problem for him because he's proved himself to be a versatile fella.

“He’s Ollie’s first horse and he’s so placid and gentle. He’s like a big dog – he’d do anything for her,” Kaye told me.

“It’s lovely to see the care that goes in to finding racehorses good homes and Spud has got a home for life with us. He’s part of the family now,” she added.

It's what you might call "the perfect Mash". Kaye has promised to keep me up to date with how Spud gets on. In the meantime, she’s sent me some pictures and a little video of him settling into his nice new surroundings. Sorry about the one of him sticking his tongue out - he was always had a cheeky side!

I always love to catch up with old friends. Please let me know how any horses that have been trained at Denton Hall are getting on. You can write to my glamorous assistant at peter@peterbarronmedia.com

 

 

 

 

All the best Spud, my old friend. Send me a postcard from Barnsley – and a few carrots.

BACK to the current crop at Denton Hall and big congratulations to Wor Willie, who's won his third since my last blog. And he didn't just win - he scorched home by seven and a half lengths at Pontefract, with the Paul Mulrennan human riding. Mark my words, Willie's a horse on the up. Willie win again? You bet he will.

FINALLY, back to spuds. What do you call a potato who likes to get his own way? DICK TATER!

God, I'm funny.

Lots of love til next time.