Alexandra Dunn’s racing blog: Getting set ready for winter
Winter is fast approaching our yard at West Buckland, as I’m sure it is with everyone in the UK right now, and going to Chepstow point-to-point on Saturday symbolised the start of the real winter National Hunt season for many people.
Our winter horses have started to do more work, while the summer horses will all have one more run before having time off for the winter months.
This summer has been a fantastic one for us with the yard achieving great results. Nikos Extra won two chases and Prince Tom won a very competitive handicap at Newton Abbot.
We have now held a National Hunt license for 12 months and had a total of 10 winners during this period. Going forward, everyone is looking forward to the winter as we have some lovely horses that we are excited about.
One of the new horses is called Black Narcissus. She loves the soft ground and has now started canter work in preparation for the season. We have created a fun syndicate for Black Narcissus, with 16 shares in total, so please look at the website www.alexandradunnracing.com for more information and to follow her progress.
Shares in this mare are affordable and monthly training fees are set at a flat rate, inclusive of travel, so all new owners will know exactly how much a month they have to pay out with no hidden extras.
She is a lovely looking mare who has solid form in Irish point-to-points. This week we had a meeting to decide on her racing colours and after registering them with the British Horseracing Authority, Theresa from Treehouse Sporting Colours is now making them up into jockey silks for us.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Time for the owners
We are waiting for a bit more rain before we run some of our horses, so in the meantime we have been encouraging all our owners to pop in and have a morning with us so they can see their horses in action at home.
Toni James, David Llewellyn and Ann Trotman and Collie dog Toby came in to see their horses Ugly Bug and last year’s dual winner Come on Annie recently. They were pleased with how the horses are running.
Reg and Lesley Payne popped in to see their four-year-old mare Silk Train and we had a lovely morning sipping champagne while they were here – never too early for a glass of bubbles at West Buckland and even Silk Train tried to join us for a glass!
Mare and foal doing well
In my last blog I revealed the news that Double Mead was in foal, so I thought I would update you every month how she is getting on. She’s currently coping well and is still living out in the field at the moment.
It is great to see the horses go on to other things after racing and we are all looking forward to seeing what Double Mead can produce as a broodmare.
During her racing career she won a total of 19 races and is one of the most genuine horses I have ever had the pleasure to ride. We are all very excited about her foal, who is by Lomitas, the sire of Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream.
I hope other horse owners are coping well with the change in weather. No doubt the clippers have come out for many by now and the hairy coats have been removed.
If you’re out and about at point-to-points this year do look out for us and come and say hello. It’s always good to meet our supporters.
Happy riding.
Alexandra
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Alexandra Dunn runs Alexandra Dunn Racing, an exciting new racing yard near Taunton, Somerset, with her husband Tom. She is sponsored by Treehouse Sporting Colours and has horses competing in point-to-point and National Hunt racing.