Monday March 2, 2026 – Richard Phillips Racing

A great win for Swift Jet at Doncaster on Friday in the three mile handicap hurdle. Harry Bannister started things off at a slow pace, turned him wisely from the front and continued to gallop all the way to the line for a fourteen-length victory. With the short price favorite falling, hopefully the handicapper won’t look too bleakly on this performance. However, we entered him into Exeter on Friday, where he should bear a seven-pound fine and wait to see what the handicapper does with his target tomorrow morning.

Swifty’s owners have been very patient with this son of Jet Away, who is a real hunter. Hopefully we can get back to hunting soon and iron out his jumping mistakes, after which I’m sure he will benefit from the pace of a chase and a test of endurance.

Agent Argylle had an enjoyable race on a very hot beginners’ obstacle at Newbury on Friday. The impressive winner looks potentially very good and ‘Archie’ stayed well on the straight after being overtaken by the entry. He would benefit from better ground and we look forward to returning to Newbury later this month when he will have a handicap mark. We are sure that he will improve during the summer holidays and possibly be a very nice permanent fighter in the making again.

Manton Road runs in the mile handicap at Kempton today at 5.40pm. This is his first run for us and last year he showed his all-weather capabilities. Sean Dylan Bowen is taking the ride and hopefully we’ll find out more about him after today’s run.

Baron Wagstaff will be named the mile beginners stakes at Kempton on Wednesday. This son of Ulysses, bred by Bob and Pauline Scott, has shown us ability at home, although he would appreciate further travel in time. Hopefully his enthusiastic owner Turrloo Parrett will be rewarded for the patience he has shown and we look forward to him providing us with plenty of entertainment this summer. With Kieran Shoemark stuck in Dubai, Sean Dylan Bowen will take the ride.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Cheltenham Memories and Fancies evening on Friday. Our panel of Jim Old, Cornelius Lysaght and Aiden Coleman treated us to a very entertaining evening with lots of Cheltenham related stories and opinions about this year’s festival. Approximately £1000 was raised for the Hunt Family Fund and hopefully one or two winners were selected.