The days seem lovely at the moment.  My mare is here, and somehow many things seem right in the world.  In recent news it was announced that the gorgeous Fiorente is going to stand at stud right here in Victoria at Eliza Park Stud.   I'm delighted about this.  He's a smashing horse.  A real individual.  And I loved him as a racehorse and I hope I come to love him as a stallion as well.  His breeding is different.  He's an Irish bred stallion, from the Germany stallion Monsun.  I'm not familiar with this sireline, however he's a prolific sire of G1 winners in the Northern Hemisphere, including sons Manduro and Novelist.  He joins fellow Melbourne Cup winner Americain at stud in Victoria and will I hope lead a resurgence of Australian bred stayers that can begin competing with the current dominance of the northern hemisphere bred stayer.  A girl can hope...

Freelance came home yesterday.  I spent the day before her arrival arranging feed bins and checking out her paddock and getting rugs, etc, organised.  The morning of her arrival I saw some of my friends at school, breathlessly told them my mare was arriving, and then went off to buy dinner for the evening and horse feed for her.   I got to her new home about 30 minutes before the truck was due.  I'm out of practice lifting heavy feed bags.  I must be going soft I had wanted to take photos of the truck, and of her getting off, and all of those things.  In the end I was too busy helping the lovely Tazzie turn the truck around and getting Freelance of the truck.  The truck was huge.  The mare heard my voice and I could hear her calling me before the truck gate came down.  When the gate opened she looked at me, a bit bewildered and disbelieving.  I guess I felt the same way.  My once pristine looking mare was covered in mud, courtesy of Freelance deciding that a mud spa bath i

I popped out to the trials at Cranbourne on Monday morning.  This time I was convinced that a more direct route actually existed, and so rather than take the LONG way around I drove straight up the Peninsula and avoided driving the huge semi circle I did last time.  As a result getting there was a breeze and hardly took anytime.  Commanding Jewel was running in Trial 1.  In our house we've decided we will call her "CJ".  Her older half sister we got quite fond of when we followed her about a little bit.  Her name was "AJ".  She was Atlantic Jewel.  My little daughter was very fond of her and AJ proved to be like other horses we've encountered who seem to warm to her gentle touch.  AJ is a flighty mare, easily spooked.  Yet look at her with my then 8 year old daughter. Jessica with her pin up girl "AJ", aka Atlantic Jewel.  Just gorgeous. There's a little story about these two girls, "AJ" and "CJ" (who I want to

Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday party.  At a pool close by to us. Goodness we love living in Melbourne!  We are gradually getting to be part of the community.  It's a slow process but I like the way the other parents are making my children and I welcome.  The party rules me out of Flemington tomorrow.  That's a bit of a bummer with Belle Couture running. I have been industrious this evening.  Not only have I been Baking Queen and made the birthday cake (I'm beginning to think that I actually only know how to cook one sort of cake, it's a pretty ace one though) and we've made up all of the lolly bags.  On the subject of icing cakes the kids and I have been watching some of my Bewitched DVDs.  I laughed when Samantha frowned at her very wonky hand made icing before fixing it with that fantastic little wiggle she used to do with her nose.  I thought about Guy Walter a bit more today.  I read that Wendy is going to take over training the horses and that Ra