Barney's Blog
- 28-Jul-2021: Latest News from Denton Hall Stables the home of Michael Dods Racing
- 27-Jul-2021: Proud Archi surges home at Beverley under Callum Rodriguez
- 25-Jul-2021: Great performance by Brunch to win Listed race at Pontefract under William Buick
- 24-Jul-2021: Northern Express and Paul Mulrennan come from last to first to win at York
- 23-Jul-2021: Havagomecca makes it three wins this season with game victory at Ascot under David Probert
- 16-Jul-2021: Commanche Falls and Connor Beasley make it 30 for the season with narrow win in the Scottish Stewards' Cup at Hamilton
- 13-Jul-2021: Berry Edge lands first win under Connor Beasley at Beverley
- 09-Jul-2021: Challet and Callum Rodriguez land 20-1 victory at York
- 08-Jul-2021: Blackrod lands Newmarket victory under Silvestre de Sousa
- 07-Jul-2021: Motawaazy and Cam Hardie score at Catterick
- 05-Jul-2021: That's 25 winners for the season as John Kirkup and Connor Beasley get up for an Ayr double
- 05-Jul-2021: Vaccine impresses with smooth victory at Ayr under Connor Beasley
- 02-Jul-2021: Jawwaal doubles up at Doncaster under confident ride from David Probert
- 30-Jun-2021: Wor Willie gets off the mark under Paul Mulrennan at Thirssk
- 19-Jun-2021: Blinkers make the difference as Cleveleys focuses on Redcar win with Paul Mulrennan
- 18-Jun-2021: Hear Me Roar roars to victory under Connor Beasley at Redcar
- 14-Jun-2021: Langholm and Connor Beasley justify favouritism at Carlisle
- 13-Jun-2021: Jawwaal and Callum Rodriguez win at Doncaster in thrilling finish
- 11-Jun-2021: Promising run by Circoloco to be runner-up on her debut at York under Connor Beasley
- 04-Jun-2021: Motawaazy and Cam Hardie do the business at Catterick
- 03-Jun-2021: Dulla Bhatti, bred by Elwick Stud, wins second time out at Hamilton under Paul Mulrennan
- 02-Jun-2021: Commanche Falls gets back to winning ways under Coonor Beasley at Ripon
Finishing like an Express train
Saturday, 24 July 2021
EVENING all, Barney McGrew here again. Sorry it’s been a while since I last blogged but I’m getting long in the tooth and, quite frankly, I couldn’t be arsed. I’ve been watching the telly with my hooves up today and have to say I was impres ...
Read Barney's PostRoar talent
Saturday, 19 June 2021
Evening all, Barney McGrew here - legend, superstar, sex symbol, literary genius. I want to kick off this week with a big well done to Hear Me Roar - or Roary as I like to call him - after his win at Redcar this week. I've noticed a lot of improvem ...
Read Barney's PostA right Royal disappointment
Friday, 11 June 2021
Evening all, Barney McGrew here – celebrity equine blogger and sex symbol. I’ll be honest with you, I’m a bit miffed this week and I’ll tell you why. It’s Royal Ascot next week and, unbelievably, I haven’t been included in the Denton Hal ...
Read Barney's PostHava drink on me....
Saturday, 29 May 2021
Evening all, Barney McGrew here again. Equine superstar blogger, all-round celebrity, and available for after-dinner speaking engagements. Isn't it nice to feel a bit of sun on your back for a change after all that rain? I've been having a nice rol ...
Read Barney's PostWhat a job for Bob the cob!
Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Evening all, Barney McGrew here. Superstar equine blogger. Sorry I haven’t done a blog for a while but, quite frankly, I’m getting on a bit and I couldn’t be arsed. Anyway, I was having a natter with a nice three-year-old called Dulla Bhatti ...
Read Barney's PostA sparkling week all round
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Hey up, everyone, How's it going? Well it's been a right canny period since my last blog. For a start, I have to say a big well done to the Rachael Blackmore human. What an achievement in becoming the first female human to ride the winner of the Gr ...
Read Barney's PostThe Grand National? It's a piece of cake
Wednesday, 7 April 2021
Evening all, Barney here again. It’s the Grand National at the weekend so I thought I’d better show my face and let you know what’s going to win. But before I do that, there are a couple of congratulations in order. Firstly, well done to the ...
Read Barney's PostLooking forward to a bit of Brunch
Friday, 26 March 2021
Evening all, Barney McGrew here... I SEE it’s been confirmed that my mate Brunch is taking his chance in the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster tomorrow. Brunchy’s a canny lad and he won three for us last year so he’s definitely worth his place in ...
Read Barney's PostWhen Irish eyes are smiling
Friday, 19 March 2021
Evening all, As much as I’ve loved living in County Durham for most of my life, I’ve never forgotten my Irish roots. I was born on the Emerald Isle and I’ll always have Irish blood running through my veins. Don’t tell anyone but, when no-on ...
Read Barney's PostOh, Danny boy!
Saturday, 6 March 2021
Evening all, Barney here. Barney McGrew – superstar. How are you doing? I want to start this week with a word of praise for my old mate Danielsflyer, or Danny as I like to call him. God loves a trier and he finally got his head in front at Newcas ...
Read Barney's PostI'm back - and snowbody does it better!
Saturday, 13 February 2021
Hello everyone, Barney McGrew here. I’ve had a few months off from the blog, but I know how much you’ve all missed me, so I thought I’d get going again. I woke up the other day and, when I looked outside, there was all this white stuff coming ...
Read Barney's PostRoll out the red carpet - it's The Barney Awards 2020
Monday, 21 December 2020
Festive greetings everyone. Barney McGrew here – the only racehorse in the world with his own blog. Well, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Never mind The Oscars, The Brits, The Baftas, and Sports Personality of the Year. These are ...
Read Barney's PostGetting into the Halloween spirit - and looking ahead to The Barneys!
Saturday, 31 October 2020
Evening all, Yes, I know I said I was winding down the blog last week, but I found myself twiddling my hooves with nowt to do. Anyway, there’s been some strange goings on round the yard this week. I kept hearing these high-pitched screams and I t ...
Read Barney's PostHere come the dark nights
Saturday, 24 October 2020
Evening all, I’m feeling a bit sad this week because I can tell from the dark nights that we’re nearing the end of the season. It’s a bit like when the young humans have school holidays, and they don’t see each other for a while. Some of m ...
Read Barney's PostGold and silver service
Saturday, 17 October 2020
OK, folks, I admit to feeling a little bit threatened this week. As everyone knows, I’m the true celebrity round here but I can’t deny that Dakota Gold is attracting a lot of adulation after clocking up eight wins in the past two seasons. On We ...
Read Barney's PostHappy to welcome Goldy to my elite group
Saturday, 10 October 2020
Evening all, Hope you’ve had a good week despite all this coronavirus business causing havoc everywhere. What a bloody carry on! Anyway, a big well done to Dakota Gold for winning his first Group race earlier today. Goldy won the Group 3 Bengough ...
Read Barney's PostThe day Tommo got me all grumpy
Saturday, 3 October 2020
Evening all, WELL, there’s been a fair bit of excitement round here this week because we had a visit from a human known as Tommo, who’s well known from being on the telly. Derek Thompson, to give him his full name, was making one of his "Mornin ...
Read Barney's PostSix of the best
Friday, 25 September 2020
Evening all, It’s been a funny old week, hasn’t it? The humans seem to be very upset about this coronavirus business dragging on and, on that subject, Shaun Sewell has asked the following question: “Dear Barney, I was wondering how these new ...
Read Barney's PostDon't get me started!
Friday, 18 September 2020
Evening all, Barney here. During the week, I was in my field and I overheard a human (who shall remain nameless) refer to us horses as “dumb animals”. Bloody cheek! Well, let me tell you that humans are the most gullible creatures I’ve ever c ...
Read Barney's PostThe talk of the Toon
Saturday, 12 September 2020
Evening all, Hope you've had a good week. As you know, I like receiving questions and an interesting one has come in from Shaun Sewell (the nice bloke who kindly sent me a packet of Polos last week). Shaun says: “Barney, when you raced at Newca ...
Read Barney's PostFestive greetings - yule love this!
Friday, 4 September 2020
Evening all, I love it when I get fan mail, so big thanks to the Alan Davison human for coming onto the gaffer’s Facebook page to enquire if I’ll be designing any personalised Christmas cards this year. Well, Alan, it’s a bit bloody early to ...
Read Barney's PostWhen the going gets turf...
Sunday, 30 August 2020
Morning all, Last week, I promised to give you my expert opinion on racing coverage on the telly. Well, I have to say that I think ITV Racing do a very decent job and I’m pleased to see they’ve secured a deal to carry on until at least 2023. I ...
Read Barney's PostLove is all around...
Saturday, 22 August 2020
Evening all, Hope you had a good week at the York Festival. I thought there were some cracking performances, not least from my stablemate, Que Amoro, running Battaash so close in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes. I see Shaun Sewell, on the stable’s F ...
Read Barney's PostIt's festival time!
Saturday, 15 August 2020
Evening everyone, Bet you’re all looking forward to The Ebor Festival at York next week. You can keep your Royal Ascot, this is the best meeting of the year if you ask me. A bit of a history lesson for you – records show that York first fully s ...
Read Barney's PostThere's only one Barney McGrew
Saturday, 8 August 2020
Evening all, Big thanks to a helpful human, called Trevor Bowerbank, who got in touch on email to pose the following question: “Can you ask Barney if he's doing a bit of moonlighting? I see he won at Kenilworth last night and he hasn’t mentioned ...
Read Barney's PostHistory in the making
Sunday, 2 August 2020
Morning everyone, Well, it’s been quite a week since my last blog. Enable won her third King George in impressive style, but it was disappointing to see just three runners turn out for such a prestigious race. They should have given me a call to ...
Read Barney's PostWriting on the hoof...
Saturday, 25 July 2020
Evening everyone, Well, what a funny old week I’ve had... It started when Phil, the farmer, decided he needed to worm his sheep. Don’t ask me for the full, gory details. I don’t want to think about it – turns my stomach. Anyway, it meant I ...
Read Barney's PostIt's all in a name
Saturday, 18 July 2020
Evening all, Hope the week went well and you backed a few winners. I wanted to talk about names this week. Young ‘uns often ask me where my name comes from but anyone who’s a bit long in the tooth already knows the answer. Barney McGrew was a b ...
Read Barney's PostStrange creatures these humans...
Sunday, 12 July 2020
Morning all, Well, everyone’s buzzing round here after that Jawwaal won at Ascot yesterday. We love it when us northern yards go down there and put one over on the southerners. Mind you, Jawwaal hasn’t been here for too long. He came up from New ...
Read Barney's PostDerby Day memories
Saturday, 4 July 2020
Evening all, Did you watch The Derby today? What a bloomin' turn up for the books that was! Who’d have thought Serpentine would lead them a merry dance like that? He just kept on going and, before the humans realised what was happening, the bird ...
Read Barney's PostExciting beginnings, a frosty atmosphere, and desert island fantasies...
Saturday, 27 June 2020
Evening all, What an exciting day we have in store tomorrow with Mecca’s Angel’s first foal, Hudson River, running over in Ireland. We always got on well, me and Mecca’s Angel. She was a canny lass and she certainly helped to put the yard on ...
Read Barney's PostReflections on Royal Ascot
Sunday, 21 June 2020
Morning everyone. Happy Sunday. I’ve had a nice quiet week, watching the racing on telly, and enjoying having a bit of sun on my back on Saturday. Royal Ascot seems to have gone well, albeit behind closed doors, and no sign of Her Majesty. Nice t ...
Read Barney's PostShear madness
Saturday, 13 June 2020
Hello again everyone, Hope you’ve all had a good week. Another nice winner for the yard with that Arch Moon. He’s another nice young ‘un – always respectful of his elders, and I like that. I can’t stand these uppity types. There’s a bi ...
Read Barney's PostMaking a Mark on racing history
Saturday, 6 June 2020
EVENING everyone. Hope you’ve had a canny week. It’s been buzzing around Denton, what with racing being back. Seems to have gone really well by all accounts. All the horses that ran were full of how well organised it was, although a few said it ...
Read Barney's PostMaking headlines as a radio star
Monday, 1 June 2020
WELL, I might have been ignored by the telly last Friday but I’m delighted to have made the radio this morning. I was part of the BBC Radio Tees breakfast show where they have a regular feature called ‘The Headline Challenge’. It’s a kind o ...
Read Barney's PostThe secrets of staying handsome
Sunday, 31 May 2020
MORNING everyone, hope you’re having a nice relaxed Sunday and had a lie-in, like me. All the gossip this morning is about racing getting going again on Monday. Dancin' Boy, Twist of Hay and Heath Charnock are full of it – just because they're ...
Read Barney's PostUnbelievable! How could the telly ignore the real star of the show?
Friday, 29 May 2020
We had a bit of excitement here at Denton Hall this morning when the telly cameras turned up – but can you believe I was ignored! How dare they? Don’t they know who I am? More than 80 races I ran, with nine wins. That's a career anyone with a b ...
Read Barney's PostBarney McGrew - Remember Me?
Thursday, 28 May 2020
Hello everyone. It’s Barney here – Barney McGrew. Remember me? I was named after one of the firemen in Trumpton – along with Pugh, Pugh, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub. That’s going back a bit. Anyway, suffice to say, I’ve been around the block ...
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