Donald McCain Stable Tour 2023/24 - Key quotes on stars for the new season

He had a school the other day and it is highly likely we are going to go novice chasing with him. He will be effective between two to two and a half miles, and he is a horse we like a lot.

We were obviously delighted with him last year and it was unfortunate he got beat at Aintree. He pulls himself up in front, so we had to sit and wait, and the winner just quickened from the front. He’s a lovely horse and we haven’t decided where we are going at the moment. He schooled well over fences which I expected knowing where he came from, and hurdles are an option. We will decide a little further down the line which way we go.

He had a gallop away from home the other day. He ran a blinder in his Grade 1 in the spring at Aintree and on his day, I think there is a Grade 1 in him on a certain day when everything is run to suit him. However, he is a bit one dimensional and probably needs to go right-handed over two and a half or two mile six. He is a very useful little horse, and he may start in the Old Roan at Aintree if we are still happy with him.

The plan was always to go to Aintree as I have always wanted to have a Grand National runner for Tim Leslie. He hadn’t had a smooth preparation and we only managed to sneak one run into him in a handicap hurdle on ground he didn’t like at Bangor. We were thrilled with his run at Aintree, and he jumped like a buck and did everything right but got tired going down to the second last. With the preparation we had that is fairly understandable and with a fair wind we will go back to the Sefton after a little run somewhere and go from there. We won’t concentrate on just the National and will go racing with him and he could go back in trip as well.

He ran really well the first day at Musselburgh and then went to Doncaster and for some reason ran away with Brian (Hughes). We went out of our way to make sure he did his job right the other day at Bangor and we probably didn’t ride him to suit the track, but he was running a lovely race when unseating at the second last. He just overjumped and pitched on his head. The winner of David Pipe’s, Wordsworth, is obviously pretty good and Brian said he was not going to say he would have won, but he was not done with when he unseated. He doesn’t necessarily need soft ground, so it won’t be too long before he is out again.

Lynne and Angus Maclennan have sent me a couple of horses and he is a nice horse who finished third in his bumper for Michael Scudamore. He has schooled well, and he is a likeable horse, but I can’t tell you much more as I haven’t had him long.

He is another nice horse and I he came to me from the Considines who make a good job of them. I was thrilled when the Owners’ Group sent him to me, and he is in fast work now. He is likeable horse, and we are looking forward to getting him started.

He was recommended by Donnchadha Doyle, and he won his division of the maiden nicely despite running around a bit after the last. He is nearly ready to run, and we are just waiting for the ground, but he goes nicely.

He was a disappointing the other day and got a fright early and jumped badly early on and Brian pulled him up to make sure he was okay. He seems okay and we are going to check everything. We thought plenty of him last year and, hopefully, we can get him back fairly soon.

He was very immature and weak last year but we managed to win a race and I would like to think he can improve plenty. As it turned out, both of the horses that beat him on ground he didn’t like both won at Hexham the other day, so it probably wasn’t the worst race in the world. I think he is going to keep on improving.

She had a little knock after she run but she has just started riding back now. She has won a lot of races, a lot of prize money and a lot of bonuses too. I don’t think she is just a summer jumper; I think she is better than that. We will keep on picking up money in these mare races during the year.

He is having a little break now and will coming back around Christmas. He has taken to the job really well and gets two and a half miles really well and might get a bit further along the way. He is just a thoroughly likeable little horse.

Ballyporeen had a little setback after his last run, and he is just about ready to come back. He has been great since he joined us, and it looks like he will jump a fence. We will just get him back and then go from there.

He is a forward going two-miler and I have schooled him over fences. He is not very big but some of the sharper track on soft ground will be fine and we should have a good bit of sport with him. He won his novices hurdle well and I would expect him to do well over fences too.

He ran a lovely race the other day at Hexham and was the best horse in the race. I knew going to Hexham wasn’t the right thing to do with my type of horse. On heavy ground and with 12 stone there was every chance he was going to get beat but he’s ran a very nice race. He jumped great but if he was ever going to get beat it, then would be at Hexham.

He will be going novice chasing and is a big heavy horse but only wants two miles. He needs to go left-handed and won’t be far off running.

He is very much a staying chaser and may take a little time to get there. He is an older point-to-pointer who jumps and stays.

He is a nice horse who ran well in his first race over hurdle to be beaten by the horse that won the EBF Final (Crambo). He won his race at Bangor then fell early on at Sedgefield. He is a likeable horse, and he will go novice chasing. We quite like him.

I gave up on fences probably a little bit too soon last season and he was beaten 16 lengths by Notlongtillmay who finished runner-up in a Grade 1 novices’ chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He ran well when we went back hurdling and then the season was finished. I think we might start back hurdling and then go over fences again at some point.

He has a good year, and he doesn’t find jumping fences easy, but he has a lot of ability and is always going to win his races as a result of it. We will probably go to that first Wetherby meeting as he won’t mind the ground and we will see where we go with him.

He normally does most of his winning in the summer as he is ground dependent, and I would say there is a big day in him on the right day. He didn’t really enjoy Market Rasen the other day as he was too wide and it was too quick and it wasn’t really appropriate. He has been a great horse for us and there are more days in him.

I don’t think he will be ready for an Old Roan, and I would say it would be early November at the moment. He finished his year off nicely winning the Hillhouse Quarry at Ayr and he is getting his act together and is a nice horse.

He had a little setback at the end of last year and was late coming back but he is a solid likeable horse. Hopefully we can win more races with him.

His form has worked out well and the second horse in his point-to-point made over £140,000 and he is a likeable type. He’s a big horse and I can’t believe he ran in his point-to-point as a four-year-old. He is doing his job really nicely and he is going to jump a fence in time. I still own him at the moment, and I haven’t advertised him, but we will try and find him and owner in the near future.

He is a big, gorgeous horse but he is not a quick fix and is a long-term horse. He is 17 hands plus and has a good pedigree and we will just take our time with him.