The family
With her dam passing away a couple of years after her birth, Baby
Ticker is the only progeny of the prolific winning hurdler Baby Gee,
who was also trained by Donald here at Dodlands Steading.
Baby Gee was one of 4 individual winners out of Market Blues, with
most having Whillans' connections, best of which was Palacegate King
trained by Brother Ali to win 10 hurdle races (he also won 3 on the
level for Jack Berry).
And all 4 of these winners were sired by King Among Kings.
Back to Baby Gee, who won 6 hurdle races, and was well suited by 2m and soft
ground.
The most recent member of the family to be trained in Hawick
was Baby Sister (a full sister to Baby Gee) who didn't quite win but was
runner up in a bumper and subsequently placed 5 times over hurdles.
About the sire
Having raced once (unplaced) as a 2yr old
for Dick Hern, Endoli (bay horse, born
1987) was next seen as a progressive 4yr old for Clive Brittain
winning a couple of minor grade events. His best (and last) season
was as a 5yr old winning a listed staying race before signing off
with a very creditable 4th place in the 1992 renewal of the Ascot Gold Cup.
With a stayer's pedigree, Endoli
was always going to appeal most to NH Breeders, and he did stood for
several seasons at Girsonfield Stud at Otterburn, just across the
border in Northumberland
Endoli was frequented mainly by local breeders and Harriet Graham trained two of his best stock in Scotswell and Indy Mood. Always gave the feeling that, as a sire, he could have done a lot better given more opportunities.
Season 2020-21 outlook
Two runs only in 2018-19 and a year on
the sidelines followed but Nosdtradamus himself could not have foreseen Baby Ticker's 2019-20
season.
A hard fought victory at Hexham in December (off OR107) was
followed a couple of runs later by an impressive 6l Ayr success (off
OR111). Lifetime best as an 11 year old!
She is destined for the paddocks next spring, but we'll give her a
couple of runs should the ground come up testing this season.
Commences on a OR118 mark.
Although Baby Ticker has been seen to best effect over 2½ miles in handicap
hurdles so far, both The Trainer & his assistant are keen to try 3
miles. She acts well with give in the ground and seems to love Ayr.
Previously....
Baby Ticker is a neat, athletic mare, who can be a bit moody at
times but she has always showed up well in the morning gallops in
all her time at the stable. The late Chuck Whillans, father of
Donald, had owned and enjoyed much success with many members of
this family. Brother Ali trained full siblings of the dam (Baby Gee)
in Palacegate King and Gospel Song, while we trained Baby Gee
herself and full sister Baby Sister - all running in Chuck's yellow,
red sash
and blue sleeved colours.
It was certainly a long time coming but our home bred mare
made her belated racecourse debut in a bumper (as a 6 year old) at
Carlisle in
December 2015. Hampered by
administrative issues over her passport (it's a long story), the mare had
actually been at Dodlands in training for a couple of seasons prior
to that debut run. She ran with a lot more promise than the bare
form might reflect in finishing 4th of 5 to Irish raider Billy
Billy. Each of the first two then went on to win over
hurdles.
'Baby' then had three fairly quick runs in novice hurdles at the back
end of winter 2016, again showing enough promise in the second of
these when 4th of 7 at Sedgefield in March. The mare completed her
2015-16 season in the middle of March at Kelso over 2m 2f
running a fine race, with improved jumping, to finish 3rd in a maiden hurdle beaten 15l.
On handicap debut in a hurdle at Sedgefield in January '17, she
jumped the last in a
clear lead only to swerve violently right 100 yards from the line as she spotted the
paddock, unshipping Callum in the process. Up 8lbs for that effort,
she finished 2nd next time beaten just under 2 lengths before
signing off 2016-17 season with a below par effort in a Musselburgh
handicap.
In season 17-18, she ran consistently well in testing conditions
over distances between 2 and 2½ miles, winning once and runner up
twice before rounding the season off with an 8th place at Ayr over 3
miles on good ground.
Just the two runs in 2018-19 due to lingering ill-health, but she
did finish second (blinkered first time) in that season's final of the Northern Lights Series Mares Hurdle
at Carlisle, a valuable series. Not seen again that season.
Season | win | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | other | |
2015-16 | NH Flat | 1 | ||||
2015-16 | Hurdles | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
2016-17 | Hurdles | 1 | 3 | |||
2017-18 | Hurdles | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
2018-19 | Hurdles | 1 | 1 | |||
2019-20 | Hurdles | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
2020-21 | Hurdles | 1 | 2 | 1 |