Down Farm Racing – Promo Video

The 1^st of October saw us head to base the Tom George’s where former Champion Conditional Jockey, Luca Morgan, has set up camp for his breaking, pretraining & point to point training operation. We were seriously spoilt with the most glorious filming conditions as well as being surrounded by beautiful and dynamic landscapes. Luca has an incredible eye for detail, with great facilities in abundance at his new base, and with a yard full of horses, we’re excited to see him continue with his next chapter. Keep a look out for his yard promo video, which will be out very soon!

Halfords – Villa Park

Next, it was onto Villa Park for Halford’s Conference Day. I was on photography for the day whilst Pete, joined by Dave Francis, headed the videography. We were helping the Halfords team led by our good friend, Ben Pankhurst. We arrived onsite for 8am and made it back to the office just after midnight. A few hours sleep and it was onto the next job…

The Jockey Club – Toby Lawes

Pete and I picked Brooke up the following morning before heading down to Toby Lawes’ yard to film two videos for The Jockey Club. One, to find out more about the legendary Bristol De Mai’s life in retirement, and the second video on Toby Lawes himself. Toby has some really exciting horses under his care, and we’ll keep everything crossed for a successful season ahead for him and his team!

Away from the horses, Clare Lawes’ little dog, Beetle, very much won Brooke over - a very cute, grunty doggo who I think she’d have happily taken home! We’ve visited Toby’s a few times over the past month and it feels wrong not to also mention the hospitality of his stable jockey, Kevin Brogan, who is never far away from the kettle or coffee machine!

Market Rasen

From Lambourn to Market Rasen. Brooke drove us up to Market Rasen that afternoon to cheer on CFC’s very own Leave Her To Me. It wasn’t her day, but she got around safely and we managed to enjoy some Shepards Pie in Owners and Trainers before hitting the road for our next destination.

We headed straight down to Newmarket where we checked into a great place in Balsham and enjoyed a delicious dinner just before the kitchen closed. Pete and I then started to back up the footage from Toby’s that morning. A quick kip and it was up and out and early for the next job!

GBR - George Boughey, Jack Callan and Billy Loughnane

We arrived into the yard of George Boughey at 06:30 the following day ready to film a few features with Billy Loughnane and Jack Callan, followed by interviews with George and Jack. All three have accomplished an incredible amount so far, particularly when you factor in their ages. George spoke so fondly of both Jack and Billy, and it is clear to see why. A huge congratulations to both jockeys for picking up their respective titles this season and best of luck for the next!

Old Gold Racing – Fergal O’Brien

No month would feel complete without a job for our friends at Old Gold Racing. This shoot location was even more familiar than others, at my regular stomping ground, Fergal O’Brien’s. Their exciting new horse, Goliath Power, has been launched this week – definitely one to get involved in if you fancy owning a share!

BASC Filming – Campaign Video

Pete and I, alongside the brilliant team at BASC, well and truly battled the elements on our next shoot near Ross on Wye. The objective was to shine a spotlight on the various communities and businesses which Game Shooting supports. From the local pub to the village butchers. Considering how horrendous the weather was, we’re really pleased with how the video has come together!

RDA – Christmas Campaign

Our last shoot of the month was certainly our favourite. We rounded up the whole CFC team plus soundman, Ed Shakespeare, and headed to the RDA Headquarters in Shrewley to film their Christmas Campaign. We were joined by three RDA participants who were an absolute privilege to work with, along with the staff and volunteers who helped throughout the day. Brooke was delighted to be sticking Christmas decs up in the middle of October and Billie was busy ticking off each shot one by one, which was an enormous help when working on this sort of project. We wrapped up filming at 7pm and came away thrilled with what we’d got. Definitely keep a look out for the release of this video in a few week’s time!

CFC Team

The highlight of the month for me by far was watching Billy Boi Blue go and win his first races over fences. Kielan Woods gave him a confident ride and he won with plenty in hand. I was joined by Daisy Horsfield, fair play to Daisy she certainly had to deal with my emotions during a raceday. I get very nervous before watching any of my horses run and then when they win, that nervous energy turns into ecstasy. Billy Boi Blue has been a horse of a lifetime for me, I have been extremely lucky to come across such a brilliant horse. Really all the credit must go to Graeme McPherson who called me up and persuaded me it was a good idea. Graeme has been a huge supporter of mine and I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now without his support.

The K&M Racing team are really a yard to follow, Graeme and David head the hard working team over there. I’d recommend them to anybody looking to get involved in a racehorse.

And of course, as already mentioned, racing is back at Cheltenham. Brooke went both days to watch Richie and I headed in with Pete on the Friday and Emily on the Saturday. Really great to be back, despite the blustery weather!

Pete enjoyed a trip down to Brighton with his partner, Leanne, to visit family. He also filled a few weekends working for a friend of ours’ catering business. He’s tidied up his allotment ready for winter and is now getting ready for a well timed holiday in Madeira!

Billie has been busy enjoying plenty of long walks with her shadow, Mani. Along with catching up with friends and family. It was great to have her join us on the RDA shoot too!

Brooke’s social calendar doesn’t ever really seem to slow down, with plenty of celebratory dinners and weekend plans this month, including seeing her partner’s 40^th Birthday in, which involved a trip to Nottingham to see Amble live and a well deserved meal at The Feathered Nest - a place which I’m also fond of!

Louis, Pete, Billie and Brooke x