Barney's Blog
- 11-Aug-2020: Latest News from Denton Hall Stables the home of Michael Dods Racing
- 09-Aug-2020: Diamond Haze wins comfortably under Connor Beasley at Thirsk
- 08-Aug-2020: Magisterium runs a fine race in defeat to be a neck second at Newmarket
- 05-Aug-2020: John Kirkup wins gamely under Connor Beasley at Ayr
- 01-Aug-2020: Trainer and owner praise Thirsk for setting example of how to cater for owners
- 29-Jul-2020: Challet defies topweight under Paul Mulrennan to win at Thirsk
- 26-Jul-2020: Brunch gets up close home under Callum Rodriguez to win a York thriller
- 26-Jul-2020: Dods criticises some northern courses for not doing enough to cater for owners
- 23-Jul-2020: Michael Dods pays tribute to racehorse owner and breeder Geoff Turnbull who has died aged 74
- 20-Jul-2020: 5% shares available in winning three-year-old Gigi's Beach, bought for Denton Hall Racing syndicate
- 13-Jul-2020: Inductive gets up on the line to win at Ayr under Callum Rodriguez drive
- 12-Jul-2020: Third win of the weekend as Antico Lady holds on gamely under Paul Mulrennan at Hamilton
- 11-Jul-2020: Magisterium and Paul Mulrennan get up in dying strides to win at Newcastle
- 06-Jun-2020: Daily updates on all the latest entries from the yard
- 27-May-2020: We are looking for an experienced and capable rider to join the team at Denton Hall, Visit the Jobs section for further details
- 10-Jul-2020: The latest weekend preview - see the news section
- 14-Jun-2020: Barney's Blog latest - all the gossip through the eyes of Barney McGrew
- 29-Jun-2020: Commanche Falls digs in under a great ride from Connor Beasley to win at Thirsk
There'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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