Team Hollinshead looks to the future

There won't be any Classic winners or superstar sprinters coming out of veteran trainer Reg Hollinshead's yard at Upper Longdon, near Rugeley, this summer.

But as the turf season swings into action, the Hollinshead team, now headed by Reg's son Andrew, have plenty to get excited about.

There's last year's total of 31 winners to target, a group of potentially talented two-year-olds to bring on and some yard favourites back on the track.

And Andrew, who now does the training with his 87-year-old father confined to barracks with mobility problems, is hoping that a change of policy will reap dividends.

For years now, Reg's name has been top of the list of leading trainers at Wolverhampton's Dunstall Park track.

But it may not be there too much longer, as Andrew has made the decision to scale back on the yard's all-weather runners with the aim of saving the ammunition for the turf season.

He said: "We have saved more horses for the turf this season rather than run them in the winter. We have a few quite nicely handicapped horses and that counts for a lot.

"We made a decision not to run so much on the all-weather. The prize money level means it is not worth travelling to Kempton or Lingfield and we don't have many horses who operate on the deep ground at Southwell.

"If you are only going to run at Wolverhampton it doesn't make much sense to keep too many horses going that can only run there, so we have backed off that.

"It will be interesting to see how they will run this summer after having an easy winter. We are a little bit short of superstars but I am hopeful of a good season.

"And all the time I am hoping that something will emerge that will turn out to be much better than I expected."

That surprise package may already be in place, with Andrew's 45-strong team boosted by the arrival of two new youngsters.

The two-year-old pair are unknown quantities, but their trainer believes they have plenty of potential.

Both have plenty of stamina in their pedigrees, as Andrew believes that is the way to inject longevity into a racehorse's career and avoid injuries.

He said: "If they are genuinely precocious I have nothing against running them as soon as the season starts.

"But it is a rare one who does that, so usually it's June before they see a bit of action."

One of the newcomers, a well-bred colt by Dylan Thomas, was bought last week for £25,000 when Andrew paid a trip to the Newmarket Breeze-up Sales on behalf of an owner.

The other, called Pathfinder, is already showing signs of talent.

Andrew said: "I think I was quite lucky to get him. He is very forward so we will be able to run him earlier than our other two-year-olds as we give them lots of time and patience.

"He's French-bred and I've bought him with half an eye on taking him back to France to run as there are big premiums for running French horses to be earned on top of the prize money."

Another of the two-year-olds worth noting is Astonished Harry.

Andrew said: "He's not an early one, but I like him a lot. He's one I will have to be patient with."

Too Ambitious, owned by a syndicate from Burntwood, could be another one out early and is rated as very promising.

Patience is the watchword at Upper Longdon. The Hollinsheads bypass the early-season meetings at Catterick and Doncaster and don't really get into their stride until Chester in May.

But there are early signs that the sun could shine this summer for the Hollinsheads after a couple of their inmates made their seasonal debuts last weekend.

Andrew has a high opinion of the six-year-old mare Boa and she rewarded his faith with an impressive victory at Leicester.

He said: "She is a well handicapped filly who is much better than her mark.

"She comes from a slow maturing family and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what she can do."

Also in action was One Scoop Or Two - owned by an ice-cream manufacturer - who finished third on a discovery mission at Haydock.

It was his first time over a mile and a quarter and he was running on ground much faster than his favoured soft.

Andrew said: "He won four on the bounce for us last season and he's gone up 28lb since then. But he's very genuine and always gives his best.

"He's had the whole winter off and I'm hopeful that he can have another successful season."

Standpoint, a five-year-old, has had only two runs on the sand over the winter and has been saved for a summer campaign.

Andrew said: "It would have been easy to run him right through the winter, but I am trying to save him for better things.

"Ascot on April 28 might be his next outing."

The quirky Tominator is proving a bit of a puzzle for his trainer.

Andrew said: "Some days he just has the handbrake on. His pedigree is full of stamina, so I'm hoping he wants a step-up in distance.

"We have entered him in the Chester Cut over two and a quarter miles."

Another Chester candidate might be the consistent Straversjoy, who is back in training after a break.

With the as-yet unnamed new arrival still to show his abilities, there's plenty to look forward to at Upper Longdon this summer.

By Celia Holmes