Poppy on The Gallops

This is Poppy exploring the gallops used by Henry Daly to exercise his Racing horses. And not for the first time! It is an impressive sight to see the horses galloping with wild abandon and a dangerous place to be but if you are careful about day and time it is perfectly safe. This area is Poppy's toilet of choice when we walk along the top road and also a good way to avoid the few bits of traffic.

I know little about Horse Racing but I am told that Henry Daly is a prominent and successful trainer. Some of our neighbours work for him which leads to some amusing stories but no good betting tips - unfortunately.

Despite being the top road and the highest point in the parish the road got flooded in the recent downpours. Some local citizen made a hole through the fence into the gallops allowing the flood to subside. This was very annoying to Mr Daly on two grounds, the gallops were flooded and he fears horses may escape onto the road. He is trying to find out who did it but the concensus view is that if he does there will be a robust exchange of views so he has been unsuccessful so far. He is looking for someone with a tractor or JCB so he has a large supply of suspects around here.

The other interesting story is that he rents his current place and has recently purchased a large estate over towards Peaton. This estate includes a listed building in need of repair and he has been quoted £250,000 for the repairs. Clearly Race Horse Training is a good business. It appears to be the better end of the sport compared with the betting end.

He currently rents from the family who own Titterstone Cle Hill and the surrounding land - an interesting idea in itself. Much of the land around here is owned by the Plymouth estates raising other interesting questions.