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Flat Horses to Follow

2020

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FOREWORD At the time of release it is not known when racing will resume in Britain, so the team at bettrends thought it an opportune moment to take a look ahead to the 2020 Flat season. Putting this together has given us all (I’ve also contributed in a small way) some focus at a very uncertain time, and we hope that it helps build up the anticipation for when racing does finally re-start.

Rapidly-improving on the level before he was sent hurdling, Gary Moore’s Authorized gelding was upped to 158 after his Triumph run, so is no less than 70lbs lower as a Flat horse. Unexposed as a stayer on the level, there has to be every chance that he will land a nice prize or two, before he heads down the Champion Hurdle route next autumn.

I should point out, that racing – and sport in general – is far from important in the grand scheme of things, with people suffering globally. Given the closures of many shops, restaurants and bars, this is a testing time for many, and with the recent cancellation of the Grand National meeting, it is extremely prevalent in my home city, Liverpool.

As for the less-exposed horses, Solar Screen is a maiden who caught the eye of more than one of this year’s authors, with Roger Varian’s grey a popular choice among the team. The Golden Horn colt looks a sure-fire winner of a middle-distance maiden, before he, hopefully, goes on to bigger and better things. In the same colours (of leading owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum) another maiden to note is the Kevin Ryan-trained Throne Hall, who shaped with considerable promise at Haydock on his sole start at two. The Kingman colt is definitely one who I will be noting in middle-distance races in the North.

However, we can but look ahead in the hope that things return to some sort of ‘normality’ before too long, and even if this publication offers readers no more than a brief respite from the current sombre news, it will have been worthwhile. The team have come up with a varied list of over 60 horses to follow for the months ahead, ranging from two-year-olds to older horses, as well as including maidens, handicappers and Groupclass hopefuls. The pair of four-year-olds who I, personally, included have been juvenile hurdling of late. One of those - Goshen - is probably the most interesting horse in the coming months for me, with him looking devilishly well-handicapped, reverting to the Flat from a mark of 88.

For now, enjoy the read and, hopefully, the following pages will offer you a minor distraction from what is happening around the country and beyond. And, I’m sure it will stand you in good stead, once the domestic 2020 Flat season gets going. Stay safe and best wishes, Paul Ferguson 3

FRESHMAN FINDS Every year, the Flat racing world waits with anticipation to see if yesterday’s track stars can translate their success to the breeding sheds and start their Stallion careers off with a bang. It’s never an exact science and last year’s surprise packages, Cable Bay & Gutaifan, outperformaing the likes of Muhaarar back that up. So who could be this season’s ‘super sire’? Here are four who could rock the bloodstock world in 2020. MEHMAS Mehmas’ career was short but sweet. He was one of the classiest two-year-olds around in many respects – taking dual Group 2 glory in the July and Richmond Stakes along with being runner up in the Coventry and National Stakes, plus a good third in the Group 1 Middle Park. He ended his career with a rating of 115 and has since been extremely popular as a stallion, the son of Acclamation now having 146 foals which are now of the age at which they can hit the track. His highest-priced foal to go through the ring was a colt out of Entreat, a useful Cheveley Park daughter of Pivotal, achieveing 260,000 guineas at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale last year. He’ll be trained by Roger Varian and will run in the colours of HH Shaikh Nasser Al Khalifa, the same colours in which the Varian-trained Daahyeh won the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes as a two-year-old last season. While some of the others on this list will be better at shorter distances, Mehmas’ progeny have the scope to perform at slightly further. His dam’s sire was Machiavellian who stayed up to 1m2f. Mehmas’ two-year-olds should excel at six furlongs initially, but they may even improve as they step up towards a mile. TWILIGHT SON Twilight Son was a force to be reckoned with, especially later on in his career. Trained by Henry Candy, he was victorious twice at six furlongs as a two-year-old, winning a maiden and then a nursery handicap. As a three-year-old, he showed rapid progression throughout each of his next three starts, winning two valuable handicaps and, as a result, his prize money haul quickly began to build. 4

He then won the Sprint Cup, Haydock’s prestigious Group 1 contest, before finishing second to the brilliant Muhaarar in the British Champions Sprint at Ascot. He further enhanced his reputation taking the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot; another Group 1 to add to his impressive resumé. After being retired to stud for Cheveley Park in 2016, where he now stands for just £7,000, his first exciting sons and daughters will hit the track this year. By Kyllachy, you would imagine that Twilight Son’s progeny would all about speed. This being the case, there is no better trainer to have custody of his top lot at the sales than Kevin Ryan - he now trains the 130,000 guineas daughter of Soar, who will run in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, an owner who is making a huge impression with his purchases in recent years. THE LAST LION Trained by Mark Johnston, The Last Lion is best remembered by most for holding off the brilliant Blue Point in the Group 1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes, which was to be his last performance before he went off to stud. While he doesn’t have quite as many representing him in his first season as some of the other sires on this list, there is every chance that it could be a case of quality over quantity for The Last Lion. He was one of the most consistent performers during his excellent juvenile season and was never out of the first three in his 10 starts. For a £7,500 stud fee, he could turn out to be something of a bargain – there certainly aren’t many other sires that can boost such a consistent resumé. Of the 45 foals who are due to take to the track, 14 of them have big-race entries. The most expensive of those was sold for 170,000 guineas, while 6 of the 18 sold through the sales fetched £50,000 or more, which is extremely impressive. A colt out of Anadolu fetched 72,000 guineas, and is now being trained by Richard Fahey - he is sure to have a bright future with plenty of speed in his pedigree. If his progeny inherit their sire’s best attributes, six furlongs could well be their optimum trip, but given his battling qualities, speed and consistency, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were also effective at trips up to a mile. THE GURKHA This list of sires wouldn’t be complete without the beautifully bred son of the legendary Galileo. He boasts the highest stud fee on this list and for good reason – this French 2000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes winner is also in the same family as Arc winner, Solemia, and he was just edged out of making it four Group 1 wins in his three-year-old season when Galileo Gold beat him in the St James’s Palace Stakes and Hawkbill chinned him in the Eclipse. Clearly, he was going to be popular in his first season as a sire and he has covered a whole variety of mares - you’d be hoping to see some top milers/mile and a quarter horses of the future make their debuts this season and announce themselves on the racing scene. He is part of the brilliant Coolmore breeding operation and they’ve reserved a few of his progeny for themselves, including top-lot, a €500,000 purchase at the Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale, a colt out of Larceny, a Cape Cross mare. M V Magnier also purchased a colt out of Euphrasia (Listed & G3 winner), a half-brother to Bright Eyed Eagle, who also features in this guide, for €260,000 He looks to be an extremely exciting sire to look out for in this coming season and there is no doubt that there will be some top-class winners to come from this son of Galileo’s 118-strong first crop. 5

Two-Year-Olds

POLAR FLEECE (IRE) 2YO BAY COLT

GALILEO (IRE) FRANKEL KIND (IRE) ELUSIVE QUALITY (USA) LACILY (USA) LAILANI

OWNER

SHEIKH HAMDAN BIN MOHAMMED AL MAKTOUM

By the great Frankel and a half-brother to Yalta, who was a very smart Group 3 Molecomb Stakes-winning two-year-old, Polar Fleece looks to have a big year in front of him. His dam, Lacily, also won at two, although over a mile, and her sire, Elusive Quality, was renowned for his ability to produce top-class two-year-olds, so everything points to a horse who could play a big part in the 2020’s juvenile proceedings. There’s not much else to say about his fantastic sire – a

TRAINER

MARK JOHNSTON

perfect racehorse and now a

Weatherbys Racing Bank sales

top-class stallion who has a

race at Doncaster in September

surprisingly good strike rate

over six and a half furlongs

with his two-year-olds given

though, so perhaps he shows

the stamina he does seem to

plenty of speed as well at home

impart to his progeny.

– surely a good sign.

Six furlongs will probably be

One thing is for sure, being part

the starting point for this horse,

of the Mark Johnston stable,

but don’t be surprised to see

he’ll certainly see the track as

him running over seven sooner

much as the trainer can get him

rather than later and maybe

there, so there will hopefully be

even a mile come the end of

plenty of opportunity for him

the season – he could well be

to rack up some wins in 2020.

a Guineas Horse for 2021 and a top-class miler going forward. He has an entry in the valuable 7

AMOR DE MI VIDA (FR) 2YO BAY FILLY TRAINER: ARCHIE WATSON OWNER: ONTOAWINNER & PARTNER

HAT TRICK (JPN)

DABIRSIM (FR)

RUMORED (USA) ONE COOL CAT (USA)

TROIECAT (FR)

GUERRE DE TROIE Archie Watson had a fantastic season with his two-yearolds in 2019, saddling seventy-one winners overall (turf and all-weather) with an impressive 22% strike rate. One of his juveniles to follow in 2020 could be Amor De Mi Vida for the Ontoawinner Syndicate.

being the European Champion two-year-old Dabirsim.

Bought for €48,000 at the Arqana Deauville v2 Yearling Sale in August last year, Amor De Mi Vida is bred to make an early impact on the track with her sire

He has quickly made up into a sought-after stallion, after his first-crop daughter, Different League, won the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2017 and then

Trained in France, Dabirsim was unbeaten in his five races in 2011 including two Group 1 wins, the Prix Morny at Deauville over six furlongs before the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp over seven.

placed twice at the highest level. Out of Troiecat, Amor De Mi Vida is a half-sister to five winners (three of whom won at two) including London Protocol, also owned by Ontoawinner and won over six and half furlongs as a juvenile before going on to be rated as high as 102. Amor De Mi Vida’s pedigree looks to be all about speed and she has an early entry in the Weatherbys Super Sprint.

UNNAMED (IRE) 2YO BAY COLT TRAINER: AIDAN O’BRIEN OWNER: MICHAEL TABOR

AIR FORCE BLUE (USA)

SECRET CHARM (IRE)

Just in case you were in any doubt, Aidan O’Brien is a trainer right out of the very top drawer and landing Group 1s are just a common occurrence to him nowadays. So, it was no surprise to see this nicely-bred son of Air Force Blue find his way into Aidan’s yard to race in the famous silks of Michael Tabor who picked up this exciting two-year-old for €250,000 with a view to adding to O’Brien’s top-level tally.

WAR FRONT (USA) CHATHAM (USA) GREEN DESERT (USA) VIZ (USA) This Air Force Blue colt looks to have a very good pedigree behind him, his Dam being Secret Charm, the daughter of Green Desert, a top-class sprinter. Air Force Blue had a very successful career as a two-year-old, winning three Grade 1s over six and seven furlongs, while achieving a lofty rating of 115 in his first season. If this smartly-bred colt can also land a Grade 1 or two as 8

a youngster and emulate his sire, this will make connections very happy. Secret Charm has already produced successful horses over in the US including the likes of Enchipher and Hidden Message, formally trained by William Haggas. This colt looks, on paper, a type to do well early and will be one to look out for throughout the season.

JET ENGINE (IRE) 2YO BAY/BROWN COLT

SCAT DADDY (USA) NO NAY NEVER (USA) CAT’S EYE WITNESS (USA)

INDIAN RIDGE (IRE) DOUBLE FANTASY (GER) DAKHLA OASIS (IRE)

OWNER

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM With a name like ‘Jet Engine’, you would expect this 320,000 guinea Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum to be pretty sharp.

Ridge, a high-class sprinter with a record for good two-yearolds, while her dam was a German 1000 Guineas winner, so there’s pace and class right through this horse’s pedigree.

A No Nay Never half-brother to six winners, many of whom were winners at two, including Magical Dreamer, Piece of Paradise and George Rooke, Jet Engine is by a sire who excels in producing speedy, early types with plenty of quality.

While Roger Varian is renowned for taking his time with horses, his two-year-old winners’ rate is beginning to rise, with a 20% strike rate last season, and this owners’ backing may be a big factor in that.

The dam, Double Fantasy, is a 1m-winning daughter of Indian

His recent big-priced purchases have needed to start

TRAINER ROGER VARIAN

recouping those big outlays sooner rather than later, especially when they’re the precocious types that have been purchased in the last few years. Everything points to Jet Engine being one such type and it would be no surprise to see him right up to the level required to contest races like the Norfolk or the Coventry, with the July Stakes, Richmond and Gimcrack all on his radar over five or six furlongs.

ENTRAPMENT 2YO BAY FILLY TRAINER: JAMES TATE OWNER: SAEED MANANA

ZAFONIC (USA)

IFFRAJ

PASTORALE

REBECCA DE WINTER

KYLLACHY MISS ADELAIDE (IRE)

James Tate often makes a flying start to the season with his two-year-olds, and this filly looks one to continue that fine record. Her sire, Iffraaj, has a superb pedigree and a quality record with his progeny, a record which can be highlighted by the success of Powerful Breeze, trained by Hugo Palmer, who took the Group 2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster last year as a two-year-old. This filly is out of a daughter

of Kyllachy who won a Chester maiden as a two-year-old. Her two foals to reach the track so far are the thrice-raced Frosty De Winter and his full sister Mrs Danvers. Both are by Hellvelyn, with Mrs Danvers making headlines as a cheap acquisition before winning all of her five starts as a two-year-old, notably the Weatherbys Super Sprint, the St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury and the Cornwallis Stakes at Newmarket.

Iffraaj is a real sire upgrade for this mare. Considering how well one of her progeny by a lesser sire has fared, you’d take great confidence that Iffraaj would throw in some of his class and the cross should produce a fine sprinter. Whether she’ll be truly precocious remains to be seen, but a decent summer campaign should be on the agenda.

INTERNATIONAL GIRL (IRE) 2YO CHESTNUT FILLY TRAINER: RICHARD FAHEY OWNER: P D SMITH HOLDINGS LTD

CAMACHO

LADY ARABELLA (IRE)

DANEHILL (USA) ARABESQUE DARK ANGEL (IRE) LADY FABIOLA (USA)

Richard Fahey often targets the major two-year-old sales races and International Girl, out of Lady Arabella holds early entries in the contests at Newbury, York and Doncaster through the season.

Sheisahalf-sistertosix-furlong two-year-old winner Reason To Believe and to Princess Mandy, who was placed over seven furlongs as a juvenile.

The filly was bought by Fahey for £35,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale and could be a shrewd purchase. She’ll be the first foal of Lady Arabella to make the track, a 9½ furlong winner herself, but her pedigree

However, it is the filly’s close relation to Winning Express which makes her stand-out as a fine prospect for 2020. Her granddam is Lady Fabiola who is the dam of Winning Express, a Listed winner on only her

suggests she could produce speedy, early types.

second racecourse start in 2012 before finishing runner-up in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes. Like Winning Express, the filly’s sire is Camacho who is an excellent source of quick two-year-olds, such as the dual Group 2 winner Signora Cabello. This daughter of Lady Arabella is in good hands to enjoy success as a two-year-old in 2020, with Richard Fahey having a particularly strong record in the juvenile sales races.

INVEIGLE 2YO BAY COLT

ACCLAMATION DARK ANGEL (IRE)

SAND VIXEN

MIDNIGHT ANGEL DUBAWI (IRE) FUR WILL FLY

OWNER

TRAINER

On paper, Inveigle looks to be a beautifully bred colt with a top sprinting pedigree.

Inveigle will prefer a sound surface when he takes to the track, so should relish summer conditions.

THE QUEEN

Inveigle has one big race entry & all roads look to lead to the Weatherbys Racing Bank ÂŁ300,000 2-Y-O Stakes on the 10th September. What is of particular note is that his owner, Her Majesty The Queen, won this race last year with Kings Lynn. By Dark Angel, this colt has some big footsteps to follow in, the sire having produced some of the top sprinters in Britain his progeny have a 12% strike rate at two and a 13% strike rate over the sprint distances.

He is the first colt out of Sand Vixen who herself was a top sprinter, winning the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes - her other progeny was Dream Castle, who was by the legendary Frankel and has achieved a lofty rating of 116, winning the Group 1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan. If this is anything to go by, Inveigle will be a top class proposition this coming season.

MICHAEL BELL

He is a horse you would have to be very excited to see this season and could be superstar material for Michael Bell in the famous colours of Her Majesty The Queen.

THE STORY FROM THE SALES Yearling sales are one of the most hotly anticipated events in the bloodstock world, with the best stock on show for prospective owners. Big sales take place at Arqana, where the best of the French produce is on offer, Goffs and Tattersalls lead the way in the UK and Keeneland tops the bill in the States. The sale season begins in earnest with the Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale. This sale tends to be where Godolphin make the majority of their French purchases, with this past sale being no different. The boys in blue went to €1,625,000 for a Dubawi filly out of the Dansili mare Prudenzia, a half-sister to Magic Wand and the talented Chiquita. Named Philomene, she’s in training with Andre Fabre, with breeders Haras de Monceaux and Skymarc Farm retaining shares. Next up was a Galileo son of Prudente, who went for €1,500,000 to Japanese agent Mitsu Nakauchida. Offered by Haras de Monceaux and Skymarc Farm, this sale capped a stellar week for the French breeding partners, with this colt closely related to Philomene courtesy of their dams being sisters. The Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale saw M.V. Magnier go to £440,000 for the top lot, a Kingman colt out of the Exceed And Excel mare Shamandar. The weight of support behind Kingman after a stellar start to his stallion career is showcased by the volume of his progeny acquired by the big players in the thoroughbred world. Unsurprisingly, this colt will go to Aidan O’Brien and, while his relations haven’t made great waves in the racing world so far, this is a significant sire upgrade for the dam. He holds early entries in the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting, and in the Weatherbys Racing Bank £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes at Doncaster towards the end of the season. Aidan O’Brien

Over in America, all eyes turned to the September Yearling Sale at Keeneland, and those present were in for some serious fireworks. A half-sister to US champion Beholder, high-class Mendelssohn and Grade 1 winner Into Mischief went to Whisper Hill Farm for an eye-watering $8.2 million. This filly has a regal pedigree, and that was enough to make her the most expensive female progeny of Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh to be sold at Keeneland. While this filly is yet to be named, the owner of Whisper Hill, Mandy Pope, has a record of making big purchases and sending them straight to the breeding sheds, but given this filly’s pedigree, as a half-sister to Beholder, it’d be no shock to see her grace the track. 12

The who’s who of thoroughbred breeding descends upon Newmarket for the Tattersalls Yearling Sales in October. Godolphin were the big spenders of the Book 1 sale, purchasing three of the top five lots for a combined 9,000,000 guineas. The end of the so called ‘Thoroughbred Cold War’ has been evident in recent years, with Godolphin and Coolmore ending a long-standing embargo of each other’s top sires. Godolphin made the first big move, purchasing a Dubawi colt out of the Galileo mare Alina for 3,600,000 guineas. Recently named Ides Of August, you’d imagine this colt would be heading into the care of Charlie Appleby, and, as a half-brother to Barney Roy (also a Godolphin/Appleby horse), the big money move is a clear indication that Barney Roy has a pedigree they like.

Charlie Appleby

Godolphin landed another big price purchase with a Frankel colt out of the Dubai Destination mare, Fleche D’Or, for 3,100,000 guineas. Not yet named, but also likely to head Appleby’s direction, this colt has a fine pedigree - he’s a half-brother to Golden Horn. Frankel has made an electric start to his career as a stallion and continues to supply big money buys at these premier sales. Considering the heights that Golden Horn reached, this colt could be a potential Derby horse, so with a pedigree to marvel at, this one should be making his mark at two in the Godolphin blue. Rounding off ‘the Godolphin three’ was an unnamed Kingman colt out of the Montjeu mare, Grace And Favour. Kingman’s ability to produce good-looking stock bodes well for his future as a sire, and if he can continue the brilliant start to his new career, then this colt may turn out to be a big name on the track. Fame And Glory features on the page of this colt, with Legatissimo further down under the second dam he was unsurprisingly bought for a pretty penny - 2,300,000 guineas in this case. The next three top lots were all purchased by M. V. Magnier, with Coolmore seeming to spend more sensibly at this sale, rather than getting involved in bidding wars with Godolphin. A Galileo filly out of the Oasis Dream mare, Quiet Oasis, was signed for in partnership with Westerberg for 2,100,000 guineas, who have made a splash with some big purchases in the past few years. This filly will be heading into training with Aidan O’Brien and is a full sister to the talented Lancaster House, a Listowel Listed winner in 2019. A Kingman colt out of One Last Dance went for 1,800,000 guineas and is registered in the colours of Derrick Smith. He too holds an entry in the Weatherbys Racing Bank £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes, but his future looks over further. A few of Siyouni’s progeny have found their way to Ballydoyle recently, and a colt out of Cabaret is headed there too following his acquisition for 1,300,000 guineas. Out of a talented mare, this colt is a half-brother to Magna Grecia, and as Coolmore continue to search for valuable outcrosses from Galileo, he fits the mould perfectly. Book 2 of the sale saw Shadwell, always big players in the sales, go to 1,050,000 guineas for a Dark Angel filly named Tarhib, likely to head in the direction of Roger Varian or Owen Burrows - she’ll certainly be one to watch out for.

Messrs Magnier and Tabor, surveying the ring

DARK ILLUSION

2YO BAY COLT TRAINER: EVE JOHNSON-HOUGHTON OWNER: THE KIMBER FAMILY ACCLAMATION

EQUIANO (FR)

ENTENTE CORDIALE (IRE)

MAGIC ESCAPADE (IRE)

AZAMOUR (IRE) ESCLARMONDE (IRE)

Something of a ‘dark horse’ in the two-year-old division, the Eve Johnson-Houghton-trained Dark Illusion may not be the first name you may come up with when looking for a high-class juvenile. However, this son of Equiano, bought back by the vendor for 20,000 at Goffs’ Premier Yearling sale last year, could well be just the sharp sort that does well in his juvenile season. A half-brother to Graceful Magic, who was a super Gutaifan

filly for the same connections last year, winning three times at a decent level and being placed in the Group 3 Firth of Clyde Stakes at Ayr in September. Dark Illusion is by a more established sire in Equiano and could well match those achievements, if not out-do them if his constitution is as strong. Johnson-Houghton is another trainer who is certainly not shy to get her two-year-olds out

and running. With a consistent 10% strike rate over the last five years with all her two-year-old runners, Dark Illusion could be the latest smart juvenile to come from her Blewbury stables. He holds an entry in the Goffs Premier Yearling Stakes at York in August and, all being well, that appeals as a lucrative target if Dark Illusion can start life on the racecourse on the right foot.

UNNAMED (USA) 2YO BAY COLT TRAINER: JOSEPH PATRICK O’BRIEN OWNER: MRS A M O’BRIEN

SEA THE STARS (IRE)

OWNWAN (USA) Big things are expected from this young recruit, even if it may not be this year, as he already holds an entry in the Epsom Derby, despite not even being named yet. The €550,000 recruit from the Goffs sales has found his way into the Joseph O’Brien stable and this son of Sea The Stars is expected to be a high-class horse in the making after being bought by Mrs Annmarie O’Brien.

CAPE CROSS (IRE) URBAN SEA (USA) KINGMAMBO (USA) HELENA MOLONY (IRE) Mrs O’Brien already has some promising horses including Flower Garland, Mythologic and Irradiate, who have all made a promising start to their careers but this colt could well be head and shoulders above all these. This colt has an excellent page, so it was no surprise to see him fetch so much, with his sire Sea The Stars and grandsire Kingmambo, he looks an excellent type on paper when he goes up to at least a trip of a 14

mile and a quarter to a mile and a half and possibly even further. However, this doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to follow his sire’s footsteps and land a graded contest in his first season, before continuing to progress. He will definitely be one to look out for in this upcoming season when he makes his debut for the Joseph O Brien stable.

DARVEL (IRE) 2YO BAY COLT

ACCLAMATION DARK ANGEL (IRE) MIDNIGHT ANGEL STARSPANGLEDBANNER (AUS) ANTHEM ALEXANDER (IRE) LADY ALEXANDER (IRE)

OWNER

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM Speed. That’s the name of the game with this Dark Angel colt, who is another owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid who could have a big future in front of him.

of his progeny; these include Battaash and Harry Angel, who are two of the top British sprinters of the last five years.

Kevin Ryan is no stranger to training top sprinters, including Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup winner, Hello Youmzain, last year’s Abbaye winner, Glass Slippers, and the ever-consistent Brando.

Darvel should excel over five or six furlongs judging by his pedigree and Dark Angel is one of the most prominent sires when it comes to two-year-old success - some of his top juveniles include 116-rated Estidhkaar and the 114-rated Guataifan.

Dark Angel was a formidable sprinter in his day and his legacy has been carried on by many

A Group 2 Queen Mary winner at two, Anthem Alexander has only had one of her three foals

TRAINER KEVIN RYAN

reach the track to date - a bay gelding by the name of Full Verse, by Kodiac, who fetched 600,000 Guineas in October of 2018. Already a novice winner rated 89, he has been recently gelded, so could rate higher in 2020. Darvel fetched 380,000 Guineas at the same auction last year and Kevin Ryan will be hoping he’s a speedy colt that could bring him success in this upcoming season.

SHALANEZ (IRE) 2YO BROWN FILLY TRAINER: RICHARD HANNON OWNER: SAEED SUHAIL

INVINCIBLE SPIRIT (IRE)

SHALAA (IRE)

GHURRA (USA) DAI JIN

INEZ

IBERI (GER) One of the first crop to hit the track by Al Shaqab Racing’s new stallion Shalaa, who was a juvenile sprinting sensation himself when winning the July Stakes, Richmond Stakes, Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes, all over six furlongs. Shalanez has certainly landed in a nice spot as far as juveniles go – Richard Hannon is one of the best trainers of two-yearolds around and this filly could be another smart young recruit

if she’s ready to go early. She’s a half-sister to Spectre, who won over seven furlongs at two before taking Group 3 success in the Prix Impudence at Maisons-Lafitte again over seven furlongs, and then finishing second to the excellent Vadamos in the Group 1 Prix du Moulin at Chantilly over a mile. Of course, Spectre’s sire, Siyouni, is far less a speed influence than Shalaa, so six

furlongs will likely be the order of the day for this filly. Something like the Lowther at York’s Ebor meeting could be a possible target if she makes up to be smart right away. 260,000gns were parted with to secure this filly at Tattersalls’ October Book 1 sale, so those in the ring that day must have seen plenty to like – let’s hope we can see that on the track this year.

TWILIGHT LUCY 2YO BAY FILLY TRAINER: MARK JOHNSTON OWNER: NICK BRADLEY RACING 17

TWILIGHT SON

RIVA ROYALE

KYLLACHY TWILIGHT MISTRESS ROYAL APPLAUSE REGATTA

Twilight Son’s first crop of two-year-olds hit the track in 2020 and his young stock were well-received at the sales, including Twilight Lucy who was bought by Mark Johnston for 52,000gns at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. A son of Kyllachy, Twilight Son won both of his starts as a juvenile over six furlongs before going on to record two victories at the highest level in the

Haydock Sprint Cup as a threeyear-old and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot the following year. He looks set to become a popular addition to the stallion ranks at Cheveley Park Stud, where he stands alongside his grand-sire Pivotal. Twilight Lucy is out of Riva Royale, who won twice during her racing career, including over five furlongs at two,. and has since gone onto excel as broodmare producing five 16

winners, with four successful during their juvenile season. It is a family that Mark Johnston has enjoyed recent success with, as Mrs Bouquet won four times in her first season last year, including a conditions race at Glorious Goodwood. Twilight Lucy has the pedigree to be a quick two-year-old and can become another winning juvenile for her dam and her trainer.

TRILOGY 2YO BAY COLT

DARK ANGEL (IRE)

SHADEN (IRE)

Trilogy has two-year-old written all over him, being by a sprinter who was retired after a stellar season as a juvenile and out of a Kodiac mare who won a six furlongs Group 3 as a juvenile while trained by Lady Cecil. Given Dark Angelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proven record in siring Pattern-class

MIDNIGHT ANGEL KODIAC LADY AVENGER (IRE)

OWNER

TRAINER

juveniles, this colt looks of particular interest given the ability his dam possessed.

guide, turning three this year and his four runs as a juvenile came in maiden company at York, the Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury (a race Kevin Ryan tends to aim a smart one at), the Gimcrack back at York and the aforementioned Sales race.

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM Kevin Ryan has been entrusted with a few smart horses owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum in the last few years and looks to have got his hands on another in this son of Dark Angel.

ACCLAMATION

A 210,000 guineas purchase from Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, this colt may slip under the radar of a few courtesy of a few other big price buys on the same day. His entry in the Weatherbys Bank ÂŁ300,000 2-Y-O Stakes an indicator to follow regarding ideal distance. Connections have the promising Repartee, an Invincible Spirit colt also featured in this

KEVIN RYAN

This looks a probable route to assume Trilogy will follow, given his pedigree and connections.

PARTY SPIRIT 2YO CHESTNUT FILLY TRAINER: MARK JOHNSTON OWNER: S R COUNSELL

DUBAWI (IRE)

NIGHT OF THUNDER (IRE)

FOREST STORM MONTJEU (IRE)

PARTY LINE

PARTY (IRE) An extremely interesting addition to the Mark Johnston operation. Owned and bred by Stuart Counsell, she certainly catches the eye on pedigree. Her Dam, Party Line, has produced two progenies so far. One of these is Caplin, who has recently improved when maturing into a 3-year-old. Party Spirit, like many promising two-year-olds, is entered in the £150,000 Tatterstalls Auction Stakes at Newmarket in October.

A furiously run six-furlong affair, you can’t help but feel this will be too sharp a test for Party Spirit, judging on her pedigree.

known for overturning Kingman over a mile, he also had enough speed to win two races at six furlongs.

However, Mark Johnston has a fantastic record with two-yearolds, operating at around a 20% strike rate, so the master trainer has most likely seen plenty of speed at home. As mentioned earlier, this filly’s pedigree is extremely taking when put into the context of longer trips.

Still,histop-ratedprogenyisthe highly promising Pocket Square who has certainly appreciated every yard of the mile trip. An interesting parallel between the two is their dam’s sires both wanted around 10/12 furlongs. This would further support the theory that Party Line will certainly relish a longer trip later on in the season.

Although her Sire was best

RAADOBARG (IRE) 2YO BAY COLT TRAINER: ROGER VARIAN OWNER: AMO RACING LIMITED

NIGHT OF THUNDER (IRE)

QUEEN BODICEA (IRE) Night Of Thunder enjoyed a superb start to his new career as a stallion, with the smart Under The Stars, Night Colours and Molatham a few particular runners to note for the 2000 Guineas winner. Followers of racing may not be familiar with the colours of Amo Racing Limited, but the ownership group had a few useful two-year-olds with Michael Bell and David Simcock last year and are expanding their range

DUBAWI (IRE) FOREST STORM REVOQUE (IRE) BRAZILIA to new trainers. This colt is related to a few smart types and is out of Queen Bodicea, a Revoque mare who raced for Eddie Lynam. As a twenty-year-old, she’s had her fair share of progeny and appears to be a solid producer. In recent years she’s been covered by top class sires in No Nay Never and Dark Angel, but her best produce were born in 2005 and 2006, sired by Captain Rio and Daggers Drawn. 18

Her breeders keep sending her to the best stallion prospects around so she must be showing signs of producing top class horses, and the new owners will be keen to establish themselves with a big name two-year-old. Roger Varian is really starting to kick on with his two-yearolds now he’s getting the numbers in the yard and this well-bred colt could be one to figure in Pattern events in the late autumn.

Three-Year-Olds & Upwards

Under The Stars

BLOODSTOCK BARGAINS The spending splurges of the big names in the racing world tend to grab all the headlines, but a six-figure price tag isn’t always the gateway to success. The canny operators in the bloodstock market can pick out an under the radar yearling or two and turn a relatively small investment into a big race success. A recent example of this is James Tate’s filly Under The Stars (IRE). A 6,000 guineas purchase from Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale 2018, she races in the colours of Saeed Manana, a big supporter of the yard. With the yard continuing to produce big race success it’s easy to see why the owner sends his stock to Tate, with this filly just one highlight of what has become a fruitful racing partnership. Victory on debut at Ripon was followed up by an unexpected success in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot in July. Strong efforts in deep Group company at York, the Curragh & Newmarket culminated in a narrow success in the valuable £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes over six furlongs. That win netted connections a cool £81,165, taking this fillies earnings from six races a two-year-old up to £138,712. Although continued success in the bloodstock game depends on a little luck, the purchase of this filly will go down as a very shrewd one. From Night Of Thunder’s first crop of two-year-olds, his first yearlings went through the ring at a time where demand for the stallion was falling. He relocated from Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland to Dalham Hall in Newmarket for two seasons and his stallion fee dropped to £15,000. Still, those in the bloodstock game willing to take a bit of a gamble were handsomely rewarded. This filly is a great example of that payoff, with her purchase for 6,000 guineas looking retrospectively cheap in the grand scheme of the bloodstock world.

Bettys Hope

Another who tasted big race success in a Sales race last year was the Rod Millman-trained Bettys Hope. A £3,000 buy from the Tattersalls Ireland Ascot Yearling Sale in 2018, this daughter of Anjaal followed the well-trodden Millman path to success in the Weatherbys Super Sprint, emulating Lord Kintyre, another cheap purchase who landed this race in the same colours as Bettys Hope back in 1997. Close seconds at Beverley, Southwell set up back-to-back wins at Chepstow and Chelmsford City, before victory in the Weatherbys Super Sprint netted connections £122,925.

While the conditions of Sales races are set up perfectly to see low cost acquisitions excel on the track, Horse In Training sales are also prime places to pick up a relative bargain. The big operations tend to prefer the success first approach to bloodstock sales, and those who are a little backwards or who appeal as stayers don’t get the limelight they deserve. A great example of this is the ex-German horse King’s Advice. First trained in Germany by Andreas Wohler, he raced once for the French-based Eoghan O’Neill before going through the ring at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale 2018. Picked up by Mark Johnston for a retrospective bargain of 16,000 guineas, he went on to notch up a six-race winning sequence at Lingfield (twice), Kempton, Wolverhampton, Thirsk and Ripon, culminating in a big race success at Goodwood. Those six wins alone more than justified his price tag, with the son of Frankel proving to be very well handicapped off a mark of 71, the start of his winning run. As game as they come, he went on to finish sixth in the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle, before winning the bet365 Heritage Handicap and the Qatar Summer Stakes at Newmarket and Goodwood respectively, winning connections £74,700 and £62,250 for those wins on the biggest stage. This shrewd purchase has found himself the perfect home being trained by Mark Johnston, with his running style suited ideally to Johnston’s ability to rejuvenate these well-bred types to perform as dour stayers at the very top level. Another stayer of note is the Tim Easterby-trained Wells Farhh Go. By Farhh out of a Galileo mare, this horse cost 16,000 as a Book 3 purchase during the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale of 2016. A debut win at York was followed up by victory in the Tattersalls Acomb Stakes at the same track, a race worth £51,039. He took a few runs to get going again as a three-year-old but rewarded that patience with victory in the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy over a mile and five furlongs, taking £85,065 home in winnings. He went on to land the Fred Archer Stakes, a Listed contest, back at Newmarket’s July Course on his first run as a fouryear-old, winning a further £22,684 in prize money. His total earnings currently stand at £180,928, not bad for a horse who cost 16,000 guineas. Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale is a prime hunting ground for those seeking a bloodstock bargain. Speak In Colours, a dual Group 3-winning sprinter, was picked up at the 2016 sale for 22,000 guineas, with his earnings now standing at £302,781. Joseph O’Brien was handed a talented son of Excelebration who relishes the unusual seven-furlong trip, with big efforts coming at his favoured track on the Curragh and an honourable third in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp. Bacchus, winner of the 2018 Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot, cost 24,000 guineas from Book 3 of the 2015 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, with his consistent three-year-old season culminating in the aforementioned success on racing’s biggest stage. That win alone netted connections £108,937.50, where he nabbed 2/1 favourite Dreamfield on the line to land a memorable success. An outsider that day, he showed his class and demonstrated to great effect that racing’s touted ‘Big Boys’ can be beaten by those who send out horses purchased at a fraction of the price of their rivals.

Speak In Colours

Wells Farhh Go

COLD FRONT 3YO BAY COLT • LOPE DE VEGA (IRE) – CLOUD LINE (DANEHILL DANCER (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 2BHA RATING: Another who has yet to get off the mark, Cold Front did everything but win on his racecourse debut at Newbury in late October. Sent off favourite for a 20-runner maiden over 6½ furlongs on heavy ground, the Lope de Vega colt broke well and travelled with purpose, possibly too strongly, on the front-end of the pack. Still going well, he looked to have the race in safe keeping entering the final furlong, but was run down late on by With Respect, another three-year-old of considerable potential. The pair drew four-and-a-

WILLIAM HAGGAS

OWNER LAEL STABLES

half lengths clear of the third, and although a few directly in behind were subsequently beaten, the eighth, ninth and tenth home have won five races between them since. From the family of the same connections’ Jersey Stakes runner-up Sentaril, Cold Front has class stamped all over him and he ought to be difficult to beat in a maiden on his reappearance. He’ll most likely prove best at around a mile, so as he goes up in trip this season, it would be a surprise if this son of Lope De Vega, one of the best sires around, didn’t improve further. 22

While it’s too early to say for sure that he’ll be contesting Pattern-class races, connections have had plenty of smart sorts before and will surely be

plotting

campaign

a for

year-old in 2020.

Group-class this

three-

SNOW SHOWER 3YO BAY FILLY LOPE DE VEGA (IRE) – SOLAR PURSUIT (GALILEO (IRE))

FORM FIGURES: 1BHA RATING: When Sir Michael Stoute saddles a first-time-out winner, it normally means that they are pretty useful, so Snow Shower could make up into a Patternclass performer in 2020 after doing just that last year. A Juddmonte home-bred, Snow Shower is a half-sister to four winners who were successful over distances ranging from seven furlongs up to a mile and a half. By Lope De Vega, her dam won over a mile and five furlongs and is a half-sister to winners at the highest level; Polish Summer and Meteor Storm. Snow Shower should therefore improve when stepping up in trip as a threeyear-old, with ten-furlongs at least looking likely to suit. She was pitched straight into Class 2 company for her debut at Salisbury in September, a fillies’ maiden over seven

furlongs which has produced some good types in recent times, such as Group 3 winners Nathra and Poet’s Vanity. Snow Shower was weak in the betting ahead of the race but won the contest in good style. Held up towards the rear of the field off a strong pace, she readily made the ground up on the leaders before powering away to win by a length and three-quarters from the Roger Varian-trained Alash Orda. Snow Shower does not currently have any big-race entries, but with Sir Michael Stoute’s patient approach she can establish herself at Group level by the end of the year, over a distance of ten furlongs and later on in the year, maybe attempting to stretch to further – she might be a Ribblesdale type in the medium-term.

OWNER K ABDULLAH

TRAINER

SIR MICHAEL STOUTE

ROYAL CRUSADE 3YO BAY COLT • SHAMARDAL (USA) – ZIBELINA (IRE) (DANSILI)

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 122BHA RATING: 110 A late-blooming two-year-old for Charlie Appleby’s top-class operation, Royal Crusade looks to be the latest excellent addition to the Godolphin threeyear-old ranks. With a racecourse debut only coming in August 2019, Appleby clearly took his time with this horse and it paid off as he ran out a cosy winner of a very competitive Newmarket maiden despite being green and not doing too much in front. He travelled supremely well and quickened smartly there, so it was no surprise to see him upped in class to contest the Group 2 Champagne Stakes on his next start.

CHARLIE APPLEBY

OWNER GODOLPHIN

He only found Threat, the Group 2 Gimcrack winner, too good in a cracking race where he outran his inexperience in a big way. An October trip to France for a Group 3 looked a punt, but finishing second in a race that didn’t pan out ideally, on softer-than-preferred ground, was a decent effort. This son of Shamardal will certainly be back this season running over a mile, possibly even stretching out to a mile and a quarter, but either trips could and should be taken in at the highest level – he looks for all the world like he’ll develop into a solid Group 1 performer. 24

It would be no surprise to see him playing a big part in races such as the Irish 2000 Guineas (for which he holds an entry), the St James’s Palace Stakes and perhaps even the Juddmonte International going forward.

AL QAQAA (USA) 3YO BAY COLT WAR FRONT (USA) – PIN UP (IRE) (LOOKIN AT LUCKY (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 42BHA RATING: A $1.2m purchase for his illustrious owner, Al Qaqaa has a rather large price tag to live up to, but while many would think a fourth place and a second in his first runs as a two-year-old was a disappointing return, a glance at his pedigree suggests that he’ll have plenty of time to come good.

OWNER

HAMDAN AL MAKTOUM

TRAINER

WILLIAM HAGGAS

His sire, while very successful with his two-year-olds, was at his best at four and is one of the world’s leading sires in terms of stakes winners. On the other side, Al Qaqaa’s dam, Pin Up, was a useful staying mare for Richard Fahey; by Lookin At Lucky, a top-class mile and a quarter horse in the US, and out of the Irish Oaksplaced All My Loving, dam of Thomas Chippendale. All this adds up to a horse that will surely improve given time

and either a well-run mile or even a mile and a quarter. The form of his October fourth in the 7f Newmarket maiden won by Kinross is very strong, while he was very unfortunate not to open his account in November when the line came too soon at Chelmsford over a mile. He was held up that day in a race where a prominent position was crucial, so it can be marked up as a far better effort than it may look on paper. Everything we’ve seen so far suggests there’s plenty more to come from Al Qaqaa and if he manages to secure himself a handicap mark of around 90 after his next run, expect William Haggas to make hay with him in some decent races, both on turf and the all-weather given his pedigree.

REPARTEE (IRE) 3YO BROWN COLT • INVINCIBLE SPIRIT (IRE) – PLEASANTRY (JOHANNESBURG (USA))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 1432BHA RATING: 101 Already performing at a high level after his four runs at two, Repartee looks a prime candidate to improve a bucketload for a step up in trip which is surely not far away. All his four runs at two came over six furlongs – his first a deeply impressive all-the-way maiden win at York before finding the ground a little soft for his liking at Newbury in the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes where he was a disappointing fourth. However, returned to quicker ground, he was third in the Group 2 Gimcrack back at York, behind the very high-class Threat.

KEVIN RYAN

OWNER

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM

He backed that up with an unfortunate second in the Weatherbys Racing Bank £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes at Doncaster in September, coming from almost last-tofirst in the valuable, big field sales race, carrying top weight. That performance suggested that the extra half-furlong was ideal and the way he saw the race out pointed towards plenty more to come over seven furlongs and perhaps even a mile this season. He could certainly win a Group 3 or perhaps even a Group 2, but keep an eye out for him in big handicaps over those trips.

A mark of 101 could well be workable in that kind of arena and

Kevin

Ryan’s

are

certainly

open

options for

this

talented sort given how well he perfomed in that big field back in September.

FANCY BLUE (IRE) 3YO BAY FILLY DEEP IMPACT (JPN) – CHENCHIKOVA (SADLER’S WELLS (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 11BHA RATING: 102 This Deep Impact filly could be one of the most exciting prospects for first-season trainer Donnacha O’Brien this year. Originally trained by his father, Aiden, this quality filly won by short margins on her first two starts but the wins themselves couldn’t have been any cosier.

OWNER

MICHAEL TABOR & DERRICK SMITH & MRS JOHN MAGNIER

TRAINER

DONNACHA O’BRIEN

She needed every yard of her debut over seven furlongs, overcoming a tough passage to win more comfortably than the winning margin suggested, while she always looked like she would appreciate the step up in trip and a Listed victory over a mile showed that was certainly the case. Held up out the back, she was very green, until she finally kicked into gear and swooped past the whole field to take the

prize. She looked full of running and didn’t look like stopping when she hit the line and in beating the very consistent A New Dawn, who had placed in multiple Group races, she hinted at her potential. Deep Impact’s progeny really excel over middle distances Saxon Warrior was the latest high-profile horse by that sire and Fancy Blue can have a similar campaign in the fillies’ division. Fancy Blue has already proven she has the speed to win over seven furlongs, and this tactical speed, coupled with her promise to stay well, will surely make her a top class threeyear-old to follow for her rookie handler in his all-important first season out of the saddle.

TRAINER GARY MOORE

OWNER

STEVEN PACKHAM

GOSHEN 4YO BAY GELDING â&#x20AC;˘ AUTHORIZED (IRE) - HYDE (FR) (POLIGLOTE)

FORM FIGURES: 80/111BHA RATING: 88 Given the immense progress that Goshen showed as a juvenile hurdler, there is every reason to believe that he remains very well handicapped on the Flat.

his first three starts over hurdles and all set to run out an impressive winner of the Triumph Hurdle, when coming down after the final flight.

Unbeaten in three starts on the level as a three-year-old, he clearly appreciated the step up in distance, first winning over 1m4f at Brighton, before following up easily at Sandown (a week later) and Nottingham over 1m6f.

Following that top performance, his BHA mark over hurdles was upped to 158, so he will make plenty of appeal when reverting to the Flat from a mark of 88 - just 8lb higher than when bolting up at Nottingham.

Impressive on all three occasions, the son of Authorized won

The Ebor has been mooted as a possible target, but the ground might be on the lively side for

him during the height of the summer, plus his mark would need to go up considerably to get a run at York. Freshening him up for a crack at the Cesarewitch would be another option, before he embarks on a Champion Hurdle campaign. Wherever he goes, he looks more than capable of landing a valuable handicap, when conditions are right.

TRAINER TRENDS RALPH BECKETT Look Here, Ceilidh House, Secret Gesture and Simple Verse - all high-class fillies & mares for Ralph Beckett, who clearly has a penchant for training the fairer sex. His record with such is very good indeed and highlights a combination of fine breeding and shrewd purchase practice. This year, the progressive Hereby (daughter of Look Here) will look to continue her rise through the ranks, having ended her threeyear-old campaign by winning the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot, whilst the once-raced Trefoil looked hugely promising, when making a successful debut in what looked a decent back-end Newmarket maiden. This year, he also bids to make an impact in the coltsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; three-year-old division with Kinross, a Kingman colt out of the aforementioned Ceilidh House, but it is with his middle-distance fillies and mares that Beckett has fared best to date.

JAMES FANSHAWE During the past five years, Newmarket trainer James Fanshawe boasts a fine strike-rate when sending runners North to either Chester or Redcar. During the 2018 season, Fanshawe was threefrom-three at Chester (saddled one loser on the Roodee last year), whilst last year he was fourfrom-eight (50%) at Redcar. It is an almost 500-mile round-trip to the last named course from Newmarket, and Fanshawe is clearly finding the long journey North a fruitful one. Selective in his placement, respect runners from Pegasus Stables at both tracks this season.

WILLIAM HAGGAS Fellow Newmarket trainer William Haggas also likes a trip to Redcar, with his 34 runners during the past five years yielding a fantastic 16 winners (47%). Last year, Haggasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; record on the North East coast stood at five winners from eight runners (63%) and that quintet included Zetland Gold Cup hero, Al Muffrih. He was partnered by Danny Tudhope, who has ridden 46 winners (from 144 rides, at 32% strike-rate) for the stable in the past five years. Given the record of Haggasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; runners in the North, his partnership with Tudhope is a noteworthy (and understandable) one, and other tracks at which his runners boast a very good recent strike-rate include Ayr (67%), Ripon (42%) and Catterick (40%). He also does well at Newcastle (36%), Hamilton (30%), Beverley, Carlisle and Musselburgh (29%) so pay healthy respect to any Northern raiders from Summerville Lodge.

CHARLES HILLS During the past five years, Charles Hills has saddled 282 winners, of which 47 were obtained in races over 1m2f or further. Therefore, 83% of his winners during this period were over 1m1f or shorter. 181 of his 282 winners (64%) came over 7f or shorter, so it is clear that the focus at Wetherdown House is very much on speedier types, and the likes of Battaash, Equilateral, Khaadem and Muhaarar have all demonstrated the trainers talents with sprinters in recent years. The former will once again fly the flag for the Lambourn yard in the top races in the division, whilst at the opposite end of the scale, it is worth noting that Hills has saddled just three winners (from 39 runners) over 1m6f or further.

STORTING 4YO BAY GELDING • IFFRAJ – STELLA POINT (IRE) (PIVOTAL)

FORM FIGURES: 45126BHA RATING: 86 An Iffraj half-brother to the same connections’ useful Caravela, the Mick Channon-trained Storting looks a prime candidate for improvement in his fouryear-old season, just as Caravela showed her best at four. Storting was gelded in June and his performances after that were good – a tricky task in a competitive Apprentice Handicap at the Qatar Goodwood Festival was made harder as he pulled strongly and hung left, yet still finished a decent fifth from a bad draw in 14. He immediately made good on the promise of that run, easily defeating Eva Maria in a novice contest at Pontefract over a

TRAINER MICK CHANNON

OWNER

JON AND JULIA AISBITT

mile. She is a filly of Richard Fahey’s that went on to win twice after that and is now rated 92, where Storting is now rated 86. A second in a Doncaster conditions race behind a smart sort in Sandret followed, before heavy ground and a bit of keenness contributed to a below-par effort at the same venue in October. It’s clear that to show his best, decent ground and a strong pace are ideal for Storting and, in the hands of a very shrewd setup at the Channons’, it would be no surprise to see this slow-maturing gelding develop into a smart handicapper this season. 32

Those big-field cavalry charges over a mile suit a certain type of horse and Storting could end up being a big player in races like the Hambleton, the Royal Hunt Cup and the Cambridgeshire.

ORIENTAL MYSTIQUE 3YO BAY FILLY KINGMAN – MADAME CHIANG (ARCHIPENKO (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 41BHA RATING: The first foal out of 12f Group 1 winner, Madame Chiang, who was a full sister to the very handy Mister Chiang (1m-2m winner) and two-year-old mile winner, Chinoiseries. This well-bred filly, who carries Kirsten Rausing’s famous white and green silks, made a very promising debut when staying on strongly after missing the break in a solid maiden over a mile at Newmarket last October. She followed that promising debut with an excellent performance in a similar contest, a Fillies’ Novice event over the same trip at Kempton just a fortnight later, staying on well once again to win by just over a length over Ralph Beckett’s Declared Love.

That was an excellent run, despite it only being her second start, and must merit serious respect with horses such as Dubai Love, who subsequently ran extremely well over the winter at Meydan, behind her. The dam’s side heavily suggests that she will be even better when sent over a longer trip and David Simcock’s filly could improve plenty during this upcoming season. It would be no surprise to see this daughter of Kingman achieve plenty on her return, convincing her connections to skip any shot at handicap company and go straight for the silverware.

OWNER

MISS K RAUSING

TRAINER DAVID SIMCOCK

DARK VISION (IRE) 4YO BAY COLT • DREAM AHEAD (USA) – BLACK DAHLIA (DANSILI)

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 65630BHA RATING: 97 After an extremely successful two-year-old season, including winning the Qatar Vintage Stakes at Goodwood in 2018, many had tipped Dark Vision to have a big year at three – so you wouldn’t have thought he would be going into this new season rated only 1lb higher than when recording that Goodwood victory after 12 further runs on the flat. He ran 11 times as a threeyear-old, putting up some very respectable efforts in defeat being 4½ lengths behind King of Comedy in the Listed Heron Stakes and then finishing beaten 6¼ lengths behind Lord North in the Cambridgeshire off 101 were a couple of his better efforts.

MARK JOHNSTON

OWNER GODOLPHIN

Mark Johnston likes to run his horses as many times as possible in the year and for some this works and yields fantastic results. However, it’s possible that Dark Vision will really have appreciated the winter break. He has finished first and a close third on his seasonal debuts so far, so his early runs could be key this year. Being by Dream Ahead, he may even have the speed needed to be competitive in top class sprint handicaps and he has proven his stamina over longer distances too, so he’s versatile. Dream Ahead’s top rated progeny include Donjuan Trium34

phant,

the

2019

Champions

Sprint winner, Glass Slippers, the 2019 Abbaye winner, and Dream of Dreams, a 119-rated sprinter. This could further suggest that a stiff sprinting trip may be an option for this upcoming season. He’s a fascinating horse to follow.

TOP RANK (IRE) 4YO GREY COLT DARK ANGEL (IRE) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COUNTESS FERRAMA (AUTHORIZED (IRE))

FORM FIGURES: 1/11BHA RATING: 91

OWNER

SAEED MANANA

TRAINER JAMES TATE

This colt may be four, but with only three runs under his belt, he may fall under the radar somewhat.

A strong son of Dark Angel, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s out of an Authorized mare and seems to relish a quick mile on decent ground.

His sole run as two-year-old came over a mile at Lingfield on the all-weather, where he made a rattling dash home to grab the race late and win by a neck under Luke Morris.

An 8lb rise for that success at Newmarket is fair considering he has further scope to continue his upward curve.

His next run came early as a three-year-old, where he backed up that win at Lingfield with a more clear-cut success at Thirsk. That run earned him a mark of 83, which was clearly very lenient in hindsight considering the way this colt demolished a strong field over a mile at Newmarket in September.

An early season entry in the Irish Lincolnshire indicated connections will be looking to cash in on his mark sooner rather than later in big money events. The handicapping route would suggest a tilt at the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot would be an obvious aim, a race which connections targeted last year with New Graduate.

MARS LANDING (IRE) 3YO BAY GELDING • DARK ANGEL (IRE) – PSYCHOMETRY (FR) (DANEHILL DANCER (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 829BHA RATING: 77 Sir Michael Stoute has another exciting type for handicaps on his hands in the form of Mars Landing. Although a maiden after three attempts, there was plenty of encouraging signs to suggest he will be a top handicapper. His best effort came when finishing 4½ lengths behind Palace Pier, which was a marked improvement on his first attempt against the same horse, when he finished 8¼ lengths adrift. He has so far only been tried over seven furlongs, which will, almost certainly, not be his optimum trip.

SIR MICHAEL STOUTE

OWNER

NIARCHOS FAMILY

Mars Landing looks like he will want an extra furlong at least and in time, maybe even further. Psychometry is his dam and her only other son is TheMaxwecan, who is a long-distance specialist. Although his sire is Maxios, who was better over further compared to Dark Angel, there are still a few similarities that can be drawn. Furthermore, Sir Michael Stoute had a fantastic strike rate with handicappers in the summer of last year. 25% of his runners were successful in handicaps and Mars Landing should fall into this category in 2020 when racing resumes.

Also, he has now been gelded, which may well help him to become the finished article as he enters his three-year-old season.

KINROSS 3YO BAY COLT KINGMAN – CEILIDH HOUSE (SELKIRK (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 15BHA RATING: A very nice winner on debut last October as he landed the Weatherbys Design And Print Novice Stakes at Newmarket over seven furlongs. The Ralph Beckett-trained colt looked very handy as he drew well clear of the rest of the field, thrashing his 14 rivals by eight lengths and further, including the likes of Finest Sound and Al Qaqaa – both featured in this guide as sure-fire improvers for the coming season. Therefore, it was slightly disappointing when he could only manage fifth in the rearranged Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes (Group 1) at Newcastle over the 1m trip after being sent off the 13-8 favourite. It is possible that he was hastily prepared for that race just

27 days after his first appearance and the scheduling of the first Group 1 run on an artificial service after Doncaster was deemed unraceable, may not have been ideal. It’s also possible that the all-weather surface wasn’t to his liking, so add that to the way he dwelt out of the stalls against mostly far more experienced juveniles and you have a decent set of reasons as to why he didn’t show his best. This season, despite the uncertainty regarding the 2000 Guineas, could be a different story to that and this son of Kingman is certainly expected to pick the winning thread back up sooner rather than later on turf over a mile and a mile and a quarter.

OWNER

J H RICHMOND-WATSON

TRAINER RALPH BECKETT

TRAINER KEVIN RYAN

OWNER

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM

Juan Elcano is a well-bred individual and was purchased for 360,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2018. A son of Frankel, he is a half-brother to two winners at five furlongs to a mile with his dam a sister to Whazzat, the dam of the dual Group race-winner James Garfield. 38

JUAN ELCANO 3YO CHESTNUT COLT • FRANKEL – WHATAMI (DAYLAMI (IRE))

FORM FIGURES: 123BHA RATING: 108 One of racing’s top owners, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum sent more of his horses to trainer Kevin Ryan last year and the pair teamed up with a number of smart two-year-olds who could go onto bigger things in 2020. Juan Elcano was sent off a well-backed favourite for his Haydock debut (seven furlongs, heavy ground) in June and made an eye-catching beginning to his career, starting slowly and running green before staying on

strongly to land the odds. The colt was kept to the same distance for his following two starts and he put up good performances at Group 2 level. On both occasions he showed that good-to-firm ground was not a problem, despite signs of inexperience, as he was runner-up in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket’s July Festival before a fine third-placed effort in Doncaster’s Champagne Stakes, only

beaten a length by Richard Hannon’s Threat. Juan Elcano always looked like he would make up into a better three-year-old and is an exciting prospect for 2020. He held an entry in the 2000 Guineas, as well as the Irish equivalent and looks capable of playing a major part in the top three-year-old mile races throughout the season.

SOLID STONE (IRE) 4YO BROWN GELDING • SHAMARDAL (USA) – (LANDMARK (USA) (ARCH (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 00223BHA RATING: 94 It’s an adage as old as time – Sir Michael Stoute-trained horses get better as they get older. Connections of this newly gelded son of Shamardal have enjoyed a fruitful time of it recently, highlighted by the Group 1 success of Poet’s Word. Solid Stone won a Newcastle novice on his third start as a two-year-old and made a winning reappearance as a three-year-old at Newmarket’s Craven meeting in April 2019. He contested strong events on his next two starts, particularly the London Gold Cup, a 0-105 three-year-old handicap at Newbury which almost always

TRAINER

SIR MICHAEL STOUTE

OWNER SAEED SUHAIL

turns out to be a quality event. The renewal last year was won by French Group 2 winner Headman, with a series of smart three-year-olds finishing in front of Solid Stone. It’s worth noting he was sent off at 5/1 for that race, travelling strongly before fading tamely to finish ninth. However, he found life easier moved into open age handicaps, finishing a close second at Sandown and Yarmouth over a mile, before running well under David Egan to be third over a mile and a quarter back at Sandown. His mark only went up 4lb for consecutive placings, and he

threatened to win all of those races before ultimately finding his lack of experience to be his downfall. Newly gelded, he should take a big step up this year and could prove to be nicely handicapped.

HEIRESS 3YO BAY FILLY KINGMAN – LOVE DIVINE (DIESIS)

FORM FIGURES: 1BHA RATING: The winner of a 14-runner Newmarket maiden on her sole start to date, the beautifully-bred Heiress was never far off the speed, and once asked to pick up the long-time leader, she took control at the furlong pole before drawing right away. A Kingman half-sister to St Leger winner Sixties Icon, she should relish an extra furlong on her return and should, in time, get 10 furlongs and, possibly, beyond. Her jockey for that impressive debut, Robert Havlin, spoke of her being ‘on the weak side’, so the potential for improvement is huge this season, especially given that trainer John Gosden

is never usually hard on his two-year-old fillies. Still, she looked pretty mature mentally on debut and showed a fine attitude to put the race to bed, while the form was given a boost when the runner-up won at Lingfield just three weeks later, so there is obviously plenty to like about this Lordship Stud filly. At this stage, Heiress holds no fancy entries, but that will surely soon change as she very much appeals as the type to win more decent races this season, and is one of what would appear to be, once again, a very strong team of three-year-olds from the Gosden stable.

OWNER

LORDSHIP STUD

TRAINER JOHN GOSDEN

MANUCCI (IRE) 4YO BAY GELDING • NATHANIEL (IRE) – AMERICAN SPIRIT (IRE) (ROCK OF GIBRALTAR (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 6721BHA RATING: 74 Rather like Goshen, Manucci is likely to revert to the Flat following a juvenile hurdling campaign and albeit not at the same level, Amanda Perrett’s lightly-raced fouryear-old is another to note in staying handicaps. The imposing son of Nathaniel actually twice finished behind Goshen over hurdles, with an easy victory at Fontwell (2m1½f on soft ground) sandwiched in between. Runner-up on his final outing in that sphere at Warwick, he has only had the four starts on the level, so remains completely unexposed.

AMANDA PERRETT

OWNER

JOHN CONNOLLY & ODILE GRIFFITH

Gelded after his debut, which came in May of his threeyear-old season (unraced at two), he finished runner-up at Epsom on his third start, before making a winning handicap debut at Bath last October. Stepping back up in trip (1m3½f) he was ridden prominently throughout, and was sent on when grabbing the stands’ side rail with around three furlongs to run. Given both his size and running style, Manucci ought to flourish once racing in excess of 12 furlongs and his pronounced knee action suggests that he will always be at his best on a soft surface. 42

Amanda Perrett has done well with staying types down the years – with the likes of Solo Mio, Bangalore and Big Moment springing to mind – and she might just have another useful youngster on her hands, in the shape of Manucci.

PERFECT ARCH (IRE) 3YO BAY GELDING DAWN APPROACH (IRE) – WILLOW BECK (SHAMARDAL (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 83BHA RATING: -

OWNER GODOLPHIN

TRAINER

SAEED BIN SUROOR

With a stamina-packed pedigree we were never going to see the best of Perfect Arch during his juvenile season, but as he steps up in trip this season, he has a good chance of fulfilling the potential he’s flashed so far.

the betting ahead of his debut over 1m1f at Wolverhampton in October but never looked like getting involved after getting very slowly into stride and being driven along from halfway, finishing well-beaten.

His 2000 Guineas-winning sire adds a little speed to the pedigree of this €110,000 purchase for the powerful Godolphin team, but his dam was at her best over 10/12f, herself a halfsister to the Yorkshire Cup winner, Franklins Gardens.

He improved a chunk on that first effort when finishing third of four behind the Coolmore-owned pair, Persia (the odds-on winner) and Cormorant, over 1m2f at Chelmsford the following month after being given a considerate ride.

She herself was a properly powerful stayer, once beaten only half a length by the famous Sergeant Cecil in a Lonsdale Cup.

His racing style suggests that a step up in trip to 1m4f+ will bring about further improvement and there should be races to be won with him.

Perfect Arch was prominent in

PONDUS 4YO BAY GELDING • SEA THE MOON (GER) – DIABLERETTE (GREEN DESERT (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 62239BHA RATING: 107 After previously being trained by James Franshawe, Pondus has now joined forces with Joseph O’Brien who could have an exciting season ahead of him - this well-bred new recruit could help him along the way.

Both wins came last season in novice contests, but he has since only been able to place, even though promising runs behind Fox Chairman and Addeybb in Listed and Group 3 contests show he was still progressing.

James Fanshawe has a habit of bringing his horses on quite steadily and we could well see this horse make a vast improvement this year, especially with the switch over to the Irish trainer.

Connections seem to have their eyes set on two targets this year, the Navan Vintage Crop Stakes in April and the Curragh Tattersalls Gold cup just a month later, both of which he has entries for already.

Although the son of Sea The Moon found the Champion Stakes too much when last seen in October, Pondus had earlier shown plenty of smart form and looked a very progressive type.

However, his new owner, Lloyd J Williams, is renowned for his love of the Melbourne Cup and the owner/trainer combination had success in the race with 44

TRAINER JOSEPH O’BRIEN

OWNER

LLOYD J WILLIAMS

Rekindling just three years ago, so ‘the race that stops a nation’ could be the ultimate target. This horse is lightly-raced for a four-year-old and has now been gelded – a move that could help to release his full potential.

HIGHEST GROUND (IRE) 3YO BAY COLT FRANKEL – CELESTIAL LAGOON (JPN) (SUNDAY SILENCE (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 1BHA RATING: Another three-year-old with an unblemished record, Highest Ground came from last to first to make a winning racecourse debut at Leicester. Having missed the break, the Frankel colt found himself someway adrift leaving the stalls, and had to be switched to the far side to get involved. Having recovered from the slow start, he then met a little trouble in running when about to launch his challenge, but he soon burst through to lead inside the final quarter-mile, and scampered right away in the closing stages. Given the start he made, and then not getting the clearest of

runs, it was a very impressive debut. Fifth home was Dulas (also featured in this publication) who got off the mark at Newcastle next time, and he gives the form a very solid look indeed. Sir Michael Stoute has handed Highest Ground entries in the Derby and the Irish equivalent, but he isn’t sure to stay 12 furlongs (on breeding at least) and it could be that he proves at his best up to 1m2f. Again, it will be disappointing if he can’t add to his tally this season and he could easily make a impact at a decent level for a trainer who is widely-publicised as being adept at improving horses with age.

OWNER

NIARCHOS FAMILY

TRAINER

SIR MICHAEL STOUTE

WALDKONIG 3YO BAY COLT • KINGMAN – WALDLERCHE (MONSUN (GER))

FORM FIGURES: 1BHA RATING: Just two months after Waldgeist ran down Enable to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, his halfbrother made a blistering racecourse debut which turned the heads of plenty a racing expert. The 600,000gns yearling was sent off favourite to land a 1m½f novice event at Wolverhampton and he duly won in emphatic fashion, drawing nine lengths clear of the field in the closing stages. The Kingman colt travelled

with zest throughout and, not unexpectedly, showed signs of greenness when hanging slightly around the home bend, but it didn’t check any forward momentum, and he swept into the lead in a matter of strides as the rest of the field began to flounder and slow. It was a taking turn of foot, and one that saw him put the race to bed immediately. Despite not really settling early on, Waldkonig ran on power-

fully, right through the line, and although he might not have beaten much, visually it was very impressive and suggested he’ll get further when he settles better and grows up a little. He looks a Group 1 horse waiting to happen for the Champion Trainer and could easily end up as a top-class three-year-old – the Derby would be the obvious target, but, being by Kingman, he obviously has plenty of speed to work with as well.

TRAINER JOHN GOSDEN

OWNER

GESTÜT AMMERLAND & NEWSELLS PARK STUD

He is the type of horse I would like to run in a novice before going in at the deeper end. He has only run once – but he is a little green, and I’d love to get a novice into him. - John Gosden 47

RAINBOW DREAMER 7YO BAY GELDING • AQLAAM - ZAMHREAR (SINGSPIEL (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 21-111 BHA RATING: 105 The son of Aqlaam, a top-class miler, looks to be one to look forward to this upcoming flat season, despite now being a seven-year-old. It must be said that Alan King’s Rainbow Dreamer has taken his time to hit top gear, but a quick-fire four-timer over the winter has rocketed him to a rating of 105. With only two wins from his 14 attempts on the turf, the Maple Street Partnership’s gelding did show a bit of promise when finishing second on his final run of the turf season in a Newmarket handicap, although that race wasn’t the strongest of races. However, he took his form to the next level on the all-weather.

ALAN KING

OWNER

MAPLE STREET PARTNERSHIP

Not only is he unbeaten on the All-Weather, he also managed to defeat big-name stars on the surface, such as Kings Advice, Raymond Tusk and Mildenberger, who all had respectable turf seasons last year. Furthermore, all his wins recently have been very convincing over the 2m trip, recording at least a two-length margin over his rivals in all four successes. Unfortunately, the All-Weather-Championships were cancelled so he will have to prove that he can be a force to be reckoned with back on the grass. This gelding’s Dam’s sire, Singspiel, has produced some 48

top-class horses including Moon Ballad, Solow and Dar Re Mi, so there should be no reason why Rainbow Dreamer can’t step up this season – while he may not reach those heights, races like the Northumberland Plate and the Cesarewitch will be on his radar.

NEW

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THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE After the 2016-2018 adjustments to the Weight-for-Age scale, the mechanism used by the European Pattern Committee where three and four-year-olds are given weight allowances in handicaps and weight-for-age races to account for their lack of physical maturity compared to their older counterparts, we have seen just two winners of the bigger handicap contests open to three-year-olds and above. The change, which was designed to balance out an advantage to three-year-olds over longer distances in the second half of the season, has, on the face of it, reduced the strike rate and quantity of prominent showings of three-year olds in some of the higher-profile 3yo+ contests listed below. May/June

Zetland Gold Cup

Redcar

1m2f

June

Royal Hunt Cup

Royal Ascot

June

Duke of Edinburgh Stakes

Royal Ascot

1m4f

June

Carlisle Bell

Carlisle

June/July

Northumberland Plate

Newcastle

July

Old Newton Cup

Haydock

1m4f (for 4yo+ since 2008)

July

John Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup

York

1m2f

August

Summer Cup

Thirsk

September

Cambridgeshire

Newmarket

1m1f

October

Cesarewitch

Newmarket

2m2f

November

November Handicap

Doncaster

1m4f

Many of these contests were regularly farmed by unexposed and improving three-year-olds between the 1980s and the 2000s, but there has certainly been a slowing of the rate in which three-year-olds are winning those races in the past 20 years. Combined, of the (approximately) 220 runnings of those 11 races in the last 20 years, just 18 of them have been won by three-year-olds. In fact, over the past ten years, excluding the Old Newton Cup, which was changed to a 4yo+ race in 2008, there have only been seven three-year-old winners of those races. Wigmore Hall won the John Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup in 2010 at three, while Signor Verdi took the Thirsk Summer Cup of the same year at that age. Prize Money was the three-year-old winner of the November Handicap in 2016. 50

For just three winners to come out of nine of the biggest 3yo+ handicaps suggests that three-year-old horses should be steered well clear of in these races, no matter the weight allowance and no matter the historical success of that age group in those races’ not too distant past. It seems as if trainers take more time with their three-year-olds nowadays and aren’t as willing as they used to be to throw them into tougher all-age company - possibly due to an expanded and improved 3yo-only handicap programme and possibly with a keener eye on ‘black type’ and future stud/breeding implications. However, there is one exception. As I mentioned earlier, there have only been two three-year-old winners of those races in the past two years, so it’s interesting to see that they both come in the same race – the one race that seems to have defied the slow decline of the fortunes of three-year-olds in 3yo+ handicaps, with four of the last eight winners being of the younger age group. Newmarket’s 1m1f Cambridgeshire Handicap has long been one of the most fascinating cavalry charges on the calendar and its roll of honour is littered with three-year-olds, both back in the 1982-1998 period, where that age group took eight renewals, all the way up to modern times, where three-year-olds have taken charge. Last year’s renewal saw five three-year-olds pack the top eight, securing first, third, fifth, sixth and eighth, which was a staggeringly different picture compared to most of the other races of that ilk. While it’s interesting in itself to see that the stats and recent history suggest that this is the one race that three-year-olds punch above their weight against their older counterparts, but we have to ask; why is that the case? Well, after the changes to the weight-for-age scale were completed in 2018, there were no changes made to the nine-furlong races and below – this could go some way to explain why this race has seemed to retain its pull to trainers of high-class three-year-old handicappers. All longer distances have had their three-year-old allowances reduced by this time of the season compared to two years ago, so this automatically becomes a more attractive target than a 10-furlong handicap where a three-year-old horse would have to carry a pound extra. Three-year-olds, by their nature, are, more often than not, on their sharpest curve of improvement, as well as physically growing to become the strongest they can be, so many horses that have been running at a mile or even less are ready for a step up in trip. Therefore, the 1m1f of the Cambridgeshire not only gives them a strongly-run handicap scenario which they can take advantage of if they do indeed improve for the extra distance and settle well, but it’s also quite a gentle increase in trip as an ‘intermediate’ kind of distance that isn’t commonplace. All-in-all, it’s a case of minimal risk (gentle increase in trip combined with less weight carried compared to further) for maximum reward – a cool £100,000 to the winner. While, at lower levels, three-year-olds continue to pay their way in 3yo+ handicaps, the highest level of that type of race has seen a dearth of three-year-old winners in recent years, apart from The Cambridgeshire, which flies the flag for the young improver almost alone. It is strange to see one race standing head and shoulders above others in this context, but, as punters and lovers of racing, it’s an angle we most certainly can exploit and use to our advantage.

ENGLISH KING (FR) 3YO BAY COLT • CAMELOT – PLATONIC (ZAFONIC (USA))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 71BHA RATING: Another who shed his maiden tag at Newcastle last winter, English King had earlier made his debut in a competitive-looking Newmarket maiden, before running out an impressive winner in the North East. Only seventh behind Trefoil (another potentially smart filly for Ralph Beckett) over a mile at HQ, the Camelot colt took a big step forward on his second start, when appearing to relish the step up to 10 furlongs. Having settled well off a strong gallop, he was ridden patiently and eased into contention up

ED WALKER

OWNER B E NIELSEN

the home straight, before really finding his stride inside the final furlong. Visually, it was a taking performance and the runner-up gave the form some substance, when winning at Wolverhampton next time. Bred to stay much further (closely-related to classy stayer Pacifique), he might even develop into a St. Leger contender as the season unfolds. Even if he isn’t up to that level, there are sure to be more races to be won with him, once he steps up to 1m4f and beyond.

SUNCHART 3YO BAY COLT TEOFILO (IRE) – HOMETIME (DUBAI DESTINATION (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 21BHA RATING: 95 While Listowel and Tipperary wouldn’t be the most obvious of places for top prospects to be racing, this son of Teofilo could be one to break the mould. Ridden by Ben Coen, another name to watch out for this coming season, in his two starts to date, he’s shown considerable promise. His debut came over a mile on soft ground at Listowel and he showed up well, finishing just over a length behind 1/2 favourite Santiago, trained by Aidan O’Brien. The form of that first run isn’t brilliant, bar the winner, but the way Sunchart came out nearly a month later at Tipperary really put him on the map. A well-backed favourite over a furlong further, he was prominent throughout and travelled well up behind the pace to

surge into the lead just over a furlong out. The winning distance was officially four and three-quarter lengths, but it could’ve been more and he showed good determination to accelerate through a gap when it came. That race contained a few well-bred Ballydoyle inmates and how he stayed on over the intermediate trip of 1m1f gives a good indicator that Sunchart should be seen to best effect over further. He’s related to winners and his dam raced in the old colours of Sheikh Mohammed when trained by Andre Fabre. On a deeper pedigree note, the same cross that produced Sunchart (Teofilo out of a Dubai Destination mare), has also produced the talented Eziyra, placed third in an Irish Oaks.

OWNER PAT GARVEY

TRAINER

ANDREW SLATTERY

GOOD LUCK FOX (IRE) 4YO BAY GELDING • SOCIETY ROCK (IRE) – VIOLET BALLERINA (IRE) (NAMID)

FORM FIGURES: 5050-5 BHA RATING: 70 Paul Midgley is best known for training sprinters and he often does well with recruits from other yards, so Good Luck Fox looks an interesting horse to follow in sprint handicaps this season. Previously trained by Richard Hannon, for owners King Power Racing, Good Luck Fox was a useful two-year-old as he won twice over five furlongs which saw him awarded a rating of 90. However, on his final start of his juvenile campaign he finished down the field in the sales race at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting and he did not manage to progress as hoped the following season.

TRAINER PAUL MIDGLEY

OWNER

SHEILA BRADLEY AND P T MIDGLEY

He didn’t make much of an impact as a three-year-old, with his stand out effort a runner-up finish in a handicap at Ripon in June (five furlongs, soft ground). The contest looked a competitive one for the grade though as the winner, Moss Gill, has won twice since and is now rated 105. Good Luck Fox is down to a mark of 70 this season, which Midgley

does

not

run

his

the

could be very workable if he can get back to anything like

horses

his two-year-old form. He has

all-weather, so that effort was

been gelded over the winter and showed more promising signs on his stable debut when

a good pipe-opener to get

too

much

him ready for the turf, where he can win races from this mark,

a keeping-on fifth at Newcastle

perhaps at six furlongs rather

in March over five furlongs.

than five.

DELTA’S ROYALTY (IRE) 3YO BAY FILLY GALILEO (IRE) – ROYAL DELTA (USA) (EMPIRE MAKER (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 1BHA RATING: A filly with a backstory that wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood movie. Her dam Royal Delta was highclass over a mile and a mile and a quarter, landing back to back successes in the Breeders’ Cup Fillies & Mares Distaff over nine furlongs. Much has been made in the bloodstock world of the importance of Royal Delta to owner Benjamin Leon, the heartbreak of losing her and the importance of Delta’s Royalty as her only foal. She made a winning debut at Kempton over a mile back in December. Ridden by Jack Mitchell, she was green throughout and had to switch when delivering her challenge before hanging badly in a manner that may look concerning on the face of it but isn’t out of the ordinary for a green filly.

While the form might not appear as being particularly strong (33/1 & 66/1 shots back in second and third), the manner in which she stayed strongly at the finish suggests she’d be well suited to further in time. She’s clearly well regarded and, being sired by Galileo, it’s likely she may end up being an Oaks filly. Interestingly, the team at Carlburg put out a specific release about her win, an unusual occurrence for them. In this release, mention was made to the “clear ability Delta’s Royalty had been showing in her work at home”, and with all things considered, her trainer, pedigree and immaturity, she looks one to follow for targets at the back end of the season and even further into the future.

B OWNER

BENJAMIN LEON JR

TRAINER ROGER VARIAN

CRYSTAL PEGASUS 3YO CHESTNUT COLT • AUSTRALIA – CRYSTAL ETOILE (DANSILI)

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 326BHA RATING: 84 Crystal Pegasus is a superbly-bred colt from a family that trainer Sir Michael Stoute knows well for owner/breeder Sir Evelyn De Rothschild and he should come into his own over middle distances. He is closely related to ten-furlong winner Crystal Hope (by Nathaniel) and his dam is from an excellent middle-distance family, being closely related to Canadian Group 1 winner Hillstar and a half-sister to the high-class Royal Ascot-winner Crystal Ocean. With Australia as his sire, Crystal Pegasus looks set to excel upped in trip having had three runs last autumn.

SIR MICHAEL STOUTE

OWNER

SIR EVELYN DE ROTHSCHILD

It was not going to be as a two-year-old where Crystal Ocean would show his best form, but he made a promising debut over seven furlongs at Ascot in September last year. He kept on well that day to finish third behind two useful prospects trained by John Gosden and Charlie Appleby, before being stepped up to a mile at Newcastle for his next start. Sent off at odds-on, Crystal Pegasus could only finish second but he was giving 5lb away to John Gosden’s Anastarsia, who ran in the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile on her next trip to a racecourse. 56

Although Crystal Pegasus was down the field when attempting to make all at Wolverhampton, it gave him a mark for 2020. He could progress to be rated much higher than 84.

MAGICAL JOURNEY (IRE) 3YO CHESTNUT FILLY NIGHT OF THUNDER (IRE) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ALIJAAZYA (USA) (SPEIGHTSTOWN (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 12BHA RATING: 94 In a recent stable tour, James Tate spoke very highly of this filly, who looked all about speed last season. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s by Night Of Thunder, whose progeny have a 21% strike rate over five to six furlongs and she added to this number when winning a novice contest over five furlongs at Beverley. She ran on strongly too that day and continued this early promise on her next start. Running in the Listed Bosra Sham Stakes at Newmarket, she was just touched off by Mild Illusion after being given a little too much to do. She was hampered when beginning her run, and Tate was at pains to stress this in his stable tour, saying that she was forced to check at a crucial time and the trainer will no doubt feel hard done by to not have two 1s next to her name.

The form of the race has worked out well, with the fourth horse winning a Listed race at Chantilly on her next start, so Tate clearly has a talented filly on his hands and may be inclined to try her over a longer distance. Magical Journey was bred to stay further, being by Night Of Thunder who was a classy Group One winner at a mile and has started his stallion career very well indeed. His accolades included the 2000 Guineas and the Lockinge, which would suggest Magical Journey would get the Guineas trip, so if she can carry her blistering speed over the extra two furlongs, she could be a very talented filly to follow indeed and there will surely be a Group race for her during the coming season.

OWNER

SAEED MANANA

TRAINER JAMES TATE

TRAINER

RICHARD HANNON

OWNER

IMAD ALSAGAR

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still lightly-raced, with just 8 starts under his belt, and, being in such good hands with trainer Richard Hannon, you would have confidence that Riviera Nights is very much one to keep an eye on going forward. 58

RIVIERA NIGHTS 4YO BAY COLT • KINGMAN – TURAMA (PIVOTAL)

FORM FIGURES: 30013BHA RATING: 93 With an up-and-down season at three that has yielded a careerhigh mark to be taking into 2020, Riviera Nights isn’t an obvious horse to follow for this year on the numbers alone. However, his performances towards the end of last season give plenty of hope for better at four. A wind operation followed three below-par runs and, after a 90-day break, he ran two super races in September. Firstly, he won easily at Ascot

off top-weight in a 0-85 handicap over seven furlongs, beating some progressive sorts in Archaeology and Clara Peeters from a mark of 87 - a big step forward for the son of Kingman. The second run, despite finishing third from a mark of 93, was arguably even better as he was narrowly pipped by Dubai Legacy and Spanish City at Newmarket over that same trip after being front-rank for much of the race.

Keeping that kind of company at three suggests Riviera Nights will be a contender in many of the big 7f/1m handicap races on the flat calendar as a four-year-old. If, from his current mark of 93, he’s already finishing ahead of the likes of Battered, Firmament and Gossiping despite having to do most of his own work on the wrong side of the track, as he did at Newmarket last time out, he’s got the scope to do even better granted natural improvement.

SINJAARI (IRE) 4YO BAY GELDING • CAMELOT – HEAVENLY SONG (IRE) (ORATORIO (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 28320BHA RATING: 95 The London Gold Cup, held at Newbury in May, is often an informative race for the future, with the roll of honour featuring Group 1 winners Green Moon, Al Kazeem and Defoe in the past decade. Last year the three-year-old handicap was won by Roger Charlton’s Headman, who would go on to win backto-back Group 2s in France, but the runner-up Sinjaari could be one to take out from the 2019 renewal. He was sent off as a wellbacked favourite that day and was only beaten a short head by Headman, despite not getting a

WILLIAM HAGGAS

OWNER

MOHAMMED JABER

clear run and losing a shoe. However, Sinjaari did not manage to live up to expectations in his four subsequent runs, being supported in the betting each and every time, but failing to get his head in front. He contested competitive handicaps on each occasion, such as the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot, but things did not go to plan for him. He was tried over a mile and half in three of his races, but his best effort after Newbury came when finishing third over ten furlongs at Glorious Goodwood. Sinjaari

has

been

gelded

prior to the 2020 season and if that helps him to fulfil his potential then he could still be a well-handicapped horse off a mark of 95, especially if the gelding operation helps him to see out longer trips.

SOLAR SCREEN (IRE) 3YO GREY COLT GOLDEN HORN – SCREEN STAR (IRE) (TOBOUGG (IRE))

FORM FIGURES: 6BHA RATING: A half-brother to the likes of Lumiere and Sheikha Reika, by Derby, Eclipse & Arc-winning hero, Golden Horn, Solar Screen is certainly bred to be highclass and it was no surprise to see Roger Varian take his time with him as a juvenile. He clearly had plenty to learn in an October soft-ground mile contest at Newmarket, which was his only run of the year, but he travelled strongly and stayed on nicely for a respectable sixth in a good race. He’ll certainly improve for a better surface, and, looking at his pedigree, a stiffer test. There is plenty of stamina in his breeding, with Golden Horn at his best over 1m2f to 1m4f and the damsire, Tobougg, third in the Derby and beaten a head

in the Hong Kong Cup, having a similar preference. The Dam, Screen Star, only ran once but bolted up as a two-year-old over seven furlongs, so the ability was certainly there, as well as the stamina element you would expect. Still entered in the Derby and the Irish Derby, this horse’s best won’t be seen until he steps up to those kind of trips and, after looking quite lengthy on his debut, the suspicion is that a winter under his belt will have done him the world of good. Varian has had success taking his time with similar types, so it would be disappointing if this striking grey couldn’t win plenty of races on his way up to competing at a high level.

OWNER

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM

TRAINER ROGER VARIAN

BRIGHT EYED EAGLE (IRE) 3YO CHESTNUT COLT • GLENEAGLES (IRE) – EUPHRASIA (IRE) (WINDSOR KNOT (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 23BHA RATING: A €220,000 purchase as a yearling, the Ed Walker-trained Bright Eyed Eagle is out of Euphrasia, a 1m2f Listed and Group 3 winning dam, and has already put in a couple of solid performances on the track, with the promise of more to come. One of the first crop of Gleneagles colts to hit the track, a good second to the smart (now 96-rated) Convict at Redcar over seven furlongs was a good start, especially considering he dwelt out of the gates from a tricky outside draw. He looked like the penny still hadn’t totally dropped despite finishing well, but he looked more straightforward on his

ED WALKER

OWNER P K SIU

next start, sticking on well in heavy ground over a mile at Newbury for third behind Dancing Harry and Sea Voice, both smart horses. Bright Eyed Eagle looks a horse with a good attitude, a solid cruising speed and is clearly versatile regarding ground, so it will be interesting to see what connections do on his next run with a handicap mark in mind. It’s not hard to see him running respectably again on his first run this season before, hopefully, receiving a mark of around 80-85. He certainly looks to have the ability to win a couple of races 62

off that kind of mark and, in time, he could become a fixture of those competitive 1m/1m2f handicaps that we all love to delve into.

EDINBURGH CASTLE (IRE) 4YO BAY GELDING SEA THE STARS (IRE) – EVENSONG (GER) (WAKY NAO)

FORM FIGURES: 2/13BHA RATING: 82 This four-year-old is a full brother to the useful Australian/ UK winner Choreographer and he found himself pitched into some tough company on debut at Bath over 10f, back in October 2018, but made a very promising impression, staying on well behind West End Charmer, rated as high as 94, and beating Durston, now rated 100. He showed further progress when next seen at Epsom almost a year later, 347 days to be precise, landing a novice event on heavy ground by just under five lengths. Edinburgh Castle looked set to score again in a similar contest at Chelmsford a month later, also over a mile and a quarter, but was unlucky on the day after being waited with and finding himself short of room two furlongs out. Nevertheless,

he still stayed on very well to finish a solid third. Despite only finishing third on the day, Andrew Balding’s horse was a lot better than the result suggests, conceding weight all round in a race that developed in a way that wouldn’t suit this staying type. He remains very lightly raced for a four-year-old, only having the three races in novice company, which could play to his advantage this season, especially considering he has only been given a mark of 82 by the handicapper, which looks very lenient considering his form so far. Andrew Balding’s horse has now been gelded and looks the type to do better this season, most likely when tackling a mile and a half or maybe even further.

OWNER MRS FITRI HAY

TRAINER

ANDREW BALDING

DULAS (IRE) 3YO BAY COLT • RAVEN’S PASS (USA) – PETIT CALVA (FR) (DESERT KING (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 651BHA RATING: 83 Off the mark at the third time of asking as a juvenile, Dulas begins his three-year-old campaign on a mark of 83, from which he looks more than capable of making his presence felt in handicaps. The Raven’s Pass colt had earlier shaped with promise on debut at Newmarket, on Falmouth Stakes day, when coming home sixth behind Al Madhar in a seven-furlong maiden. Having taken a keen hold early on, Dulas continued to travel strongly in mid-field, before displaying signs of greenness when asked to pick

CHARLES HILLS

OWNER

JULIE MARTIN & DAVID R MARTIN & PARTNER

up (hung left). He again shaped well – behind another from this list, Highest Ground – at Leicester, again racing freely on the wide outside. Given two-and-a-half months off, he appeared more professional when breaking well and making virtually all to beat a next-time-out winner in taking fashion at Newcastle, where the drop back to 6 furlongs seemed to help. Once he learns to relax, Dulas should have little trouble going back up in distance and might even get a mile, but he

certainly isn’t short of speed (had the opposition beaten from halfway at Newcastle) and he looks a nice prospect for the Charlie Hills stable.

BORN WITH PRIDE (IRE) 3YO BAY FILLY BORN TO SEA (IRE) – JUMOOH (MONSUN (GER))

FORM FIGURES: 1BHA RATING: To be thrown into a Listed race as a first step is a steep enough task in itself, but to win one in the fashion Born With Pride did was even more impressive. On heavy ground at Newmarket, she went from the front and never saw another rival. At first glance, this win was very taking and when you assess the form, it looks even stronger. The horse in third, Run Wild Fred, is a sold yard stick - going close in a Group 2 and a Group 3 before being dispatched by Born With Pride. Also in behind was Aidan O’Brien’s Peaceful, who holds Guineas and Oaks entries. She, like many of O’Brien’s juveniles, excelled on her second start, romping home in a fair maiden at Thurles and was sent off a well-backed favourite in the Listed event at Newmarket as a result, but despite powering home late, she couldn’t reel in Born With Pride.

Haggas’ filly is extremely well bred, with her Dam producing some high-class stayers. These include Raheen House, who went off favourite for the Ebor in 2019 and achieved a rating of 115 at his peak. She is also related to Sea Of Faith, who took a valuable handicap at the end of last season for the same connections. Born To Sea’s progeny also excel as they step up in trip – they have a 14% strike rate when running at 14 furlongs or more, compared to a 5% strike rate over a mile. Born With Pride has already won over a mile in testing conditions, so will almost certainly relish the step up in distance as she progresses to a three-yearold and could easily develop into an Oaks filly or even a St. Leger type in the long run.

OWNER

SUNDERLAND HOLDING INC

TRAINER

WILLIAM HAGGAS

TRAINER TRENDS ALAN KING Although predominantly National Hunt-based, trainer Alan King does well with his smaller Flat string and given that many are trained with going hurdling in mind, it shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come as a surprise that his record is much better in the middle-distance (and further) division. During the past five years, King has saddled 43 winners (from 243 runners) over 1m4f-1m5f, at a strike-rate of 18%. Last year alone, his record was even better in 2m-plus events, successful with six of his 27 runners in the division (22%). Many of his juveniles improve from two to three, with a rise in trip, and we certainly hope that will be the case with Alargedram, one of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Horses To Follow. The likes of Who Dares Wins and Coeur de Lion have shown themselves to be smart performers under both codes in recent years, and it could be that Trueshan ends up developing into an exciting hurdler further down the line. Before that, he will be the flag-bearer for Barbury Castle during the 2019 Flat season, and if he continues to progress as he did last year, he might well develop into a pattern-class stayer in the coming months. The four-year-old begins the season on a mark of 109 and it could be that the Ebor is his main target during the summer.

HUGO PALMER The third or four Newmarket-based trainers to feature in this section, Hugo Palmer is another who likes to venture North, with his top tracks (strike-rate wise) during the past five years being Carlisle and Hamilton. Six winners from nine runners (67%) make his runners at the firstnamed venue notable, whilst three winners from five runners (60%) is also extremely positive. Of those tracks where he has saddled more runners, Haydock comes out best, with 16 of his 51 runners (31%) during this period proving successful.

SIR MICHAEL STOUTE The final Newmarket trainer with a fine strike-rate at a Northern track is Sir Michael Stoute, who has saddled eight winners from 13 runners (62%) during the past five years at Thirsk. Last year alone, Stoute had just three runners at the Yorkshire venue and he was two-from-two at the track in 2018. In 2017, he was also two-from-three, so during the past three seasons, Stoute has an eye-catching record of six winners from just eight runners at Thirsk (75%).

MARK JOHNSTON Unsurprisingly, given where he trains in Middleham, Mark Johnston has a fine numerical record at tracks such as Beverley and Pontefract, whilst during the past five years, his top three tracks (in terms of numbers of winners) are the all-weather venues of Chelmsford, Lingfield and Wolverhampton. We know from his exploits at Goodwood and Newmarket (note: his record is much better on the July Course, 39 winners from 176 runners (22%) than it is on the Rowley Mile) that the trainer doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mind travelling and his three most successful courses in terms of strikerate are Windsor (27%), Bath and Yarmouth (both 24%). Last year alone, Johnston saddled eight winners from 25 runners at both Bath and Yarmouth (32%), and his runners at both venues are to be greatly respected, as he tends to make the lengthy trips South worthwhile.

TRAINER

SIMON CRISFORD

OWNER

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM

With all the good form Finest Sound has already accumulated, a mark of 82 underestimates him given natural improvement, especially given he’s now been gelded - a good move for a colt who didn’t look totally straightforward. 68

FINEST SOUND (IRE) 3YO BAY GELDING • EXCEED AND EXCEL (AUS) – AMPLIFIER (DUBAWI (IRE))

FORM FIGURES: 333BHA RATING: 82 Finest Sound looks to be a very interesting handicap prospect as a three-year-old after posting some decent efforts on his first three starts and having yet to be out of the places in some quite competitive novice contests. By Exceed and Excel, he certainly has speed in his pedigree, so despite his dam’s sire, Dubawi, being a top miler, he may appreciate a strongly run seven -furlong affair or maybe even a drop back to six furlongs.

Watching back his first three runs, he made the running on his last two starts even though it didn’t seem to suit him very well. Hopefully, he has developed physically over the winter months, as he was quite a lean two-year-old and seemed to struggle in really finishing off his races. His debut effort, and perhaps his most promising run, behind Palace Pier came when he was held up and, on that occasion, he picked up very nicely down the outside after starting slowly.

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum often has a few handicappers to watch out for each season, and Finest Sound is one of those to keep on side. Flavius Titus had quite a similar introduction and he went onto be a super-consistent performer who improved 10lb as a three-year-old. Finest Sound has that same potential, perhaps with even more scope for improvement.

ALNASHERAT 4YO BAY COLT • KINGMAN – SPLIT TROIS (FR) (DUBAWI (IRE))

TRAINER JAMES TATE

OWNER

SAEED MANANA

It’s always interesting to see horses that have changed hands or even changed yards over the autumn/winter, so to see this smartly-bred son of Kingman do both back in May was fascinating.

FORM FIGURES: 33/41BHA RATING: 83 Initially with Sir Michael Stoute, Alnasherat was third behind a couple of very smart horses, Fanaar and Quorto, in a maiden and a novice contest respectively at two, before racing twice on the all-weather as a threeyear-old. That novice comany he kept gives an inkling as to how Stoute regarded the horse, so his form so far can certainly be regarded as disappointing.

He’ll have no issue at all with a step back up to 7f and possibly even trying a mile at four, while his mark of 83 is still well below what his initial connections would have expected he was capable of. James Tate is an excellent trainer and, even though leaving Sir Michael Stoute can’t be seen as a positive, you can be sure that the new man will campaign him well.

He was a decent fourth in a big field 7f event at Newcastle on his first run for 293 days, doing best of those on the far side, before taking a 6f Lingfield handicap from a mark of 78 in April.

There’s plenty of potential locked in his pedigree and if Tate can find the key to it, there’s no doubt that the versatile Alnasherat can win a few handicaps this season, both on turf and the all-weather.

GOLD WAND (IRE) 3YO BAY FILLY GOLDEN HORN - LOS OJITOS (USA) (MR GREELEY (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 2BHA RATING: This daughter of the Arc, Irish Champion Stakes, Derby and Eclipse-winner, Golden Horn, looks a very interesting type on paper and Roger Varian’s Gold Wand produced a very promising run on her debut. In a strong looking Doncaster maiden, she just pipped late on by William Haggas’ Domino Darling. Despite not winning, Gold Wand was asked to make all from the front on heavy ground in a very competitive field. You could argue that being beaten a neck was perhaps a better effort than that of the winner, who had some cover and an easier trip.

The pair broke clear of the rest by 4½ lengths and this form has been boosted nicely as the third, fifth and sixth-placed horses all won soon after. Furthermore, the very strong market support, (Gold Wand was sent off the 6-4 favourite) usually gives a good indication on what is thought of a horse on its debut and a sneak peek into the quality of its future. Gold Wand is related to some smart performers in the US and we certainly should be hearing a lot more about this filly in the upcoming season, especially when tackling better ground than the testing surface she encountered on her racecourse debut.

OWNER

KHALED A RAHIM

TRAINER ROGER VARIAN

APLOMB (IRE) 4YO BAY GELDING • LOPE DE VEGA (IRE) – MICKLEBERRY (IRE) (DESERT STYLE (IRE))

FORM FIGURES: 61420BHA RATING: 96 Aplomb has been a great servant for the William Haggas team, winning three times already for the Newmarket outfit, from just 11 runs. Lope De Vega’s progeny have proven themselves to be ultra-consistent and Aplomb is no different. He ran twice as a two-year-old, getting his in head in front on his second start, but he came into his own at three. Aplomb contested some of the top handicaps and was an unlucky second in a competitive Ascot handicap worth £18,000 in October over six furlongs. He ended the season on a mark of 96 after a below-par

TRAINER

WILLIAM HAGGAS

OWNER

MRS FIONA CARMICHAEL

performance at York, however he may have been feeling the effects of a hard season and this run can easily be excused. After winning a Nottingham handicap off a mark of 83, Aplomb kept improving. He took another handicap at Leicester from a mark of 88 before going close at Newmarket and Ascot off 94 and 93 respectively. He was sent off 7/4 favourite at Newmarket in a tough Class 2 contest, so the faith the Haggas team have in him was reflected in the betting and he’s the type to go on again at four. This season, watch out for him running in a big 6f handicap at Ascot as he has good course 72

form there, especially on ground that has soft in the description. If he can continue his improvement, he certainly looks a sprinter with a big prize in him this coming season – the Stewards’ Cup and the Wokingham would be two possible targets.

KENZAI WARRIOR (USA) 3YO BAY/BROWN COLT KARAKONTIE (JPN) – LEMON SAKHEE (CAN) (LEMON DROP KID (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 11BHA RATING: 102 Roger Teal isn’t the first name you would think of when going through big-race winners and for that reason he and his smart three-year-old Kenzai Warrior has been a little overlooked in many corners. He was thrown into an extremely tough-looking novice stakes over a mile on his debut but ran out the victor by a neck to Max Vega.

The most impressive of these was Max Vega who hacked up at Pontefract before taking the Group 3 Zetland Stakes at Newmarket, beating a field of 90+ rated horses in good style. The horse that finished third, Mambo Nights, was a neck behind Quadrilateral, whereas he finished 2½ lengths behind Kenzai Warrior. Quadrilateral is favourite for the 1000 Guineas so it looks to be solid form.

It was a very encouraging performance and his next start, in the 7f Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes, staged at Newmarket last year, backed up that early impression - Kenzai Warrior won nicely in testing conditions against a good field of horses.

Judging by Kenzai Warrior’s pedigree, he looks tailor-made for the mile test and maybe even stretched out to run over slightly further as his dam’s sire, Lemon Drop Kid, was a very smart 1m 2f winner.

It was his first win however; that has turned out to be the most impressive in terms of form. Of the seven runners to come out of that race since, six have won.

He held an entry in the Guineas, a race he surely would have been targeted at, but there will hopefully still be plenty of opportunities at a high level for him this season.

OWNER

RAE AND CAROL BORRAS

TRAINER ROGER TEAL

BRUSHWORK 4YO BAY GELDING • KYLLACHY – MISS ELEGANCE (MIND GAMES)

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 111-3 BHA RATING: 88 Brushwork has raced exclusively on the all-weather in his career to date, but the lightly-raced four-year-old could be one to keep an eye in in turf handicaps this season for Charlie Hills. The son of Kyllachy was a 150,000gns purchase at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2017 for Khalid Abdullah. However, he wasn’t seen on the track until autumn last year and was unfancied in the betting for his belated debut at Newcastle in September. Despite that, Brushwork made a winning start at odds of 16/1 and looked like a horse with a bright future.

CHARLES HILLS

OWNER K ABDULLAH

He raced keenly early in the contest but still saw out Newcastle’s stiff six furlongs strongly to win nicely by two and three-quarter lengths. In his three subsequent starts, Brushwork has been kept to racing at Newcastle and he brought up his hat-trick in December, showing a good attitude on his handicap debut to get the better of his more-experienced rivals. On his first start of 2020 he was stepped up to seven furlongs, but they went slowly through the first half of the race before it turned into a bit of a sprint - this did not suit Brushwork but he kept on well to finish third. 74

Although losing his unbeaten record, Brushwork’s mark of 88 could underestimate him in handicaps on the turf over seven furlongs or even dropped back to six with a strongly-run race likely to bring out the best in him.

ALARGEDRAM (IRE) 3YO CHESTNUT GELDING LOPE DE VEGA (IRE) – MYRICA (DANSILI)

FORM FIGURES: 944BHA RATING: 72 Having shown progressive form in three starts as a two-year-old, Alargedram appeals as the type to take another step forward this season, particularly once upped to middle-distances. A half-brother to Guinevere (won over 1m4f at Dundalk in January), Alan King’s Lope de Vega gelding was keen on debut at Ffos Las and never really threatened to take a hand.

OWNER

MCNEILL FAMILY & NIALL FARRELL

TRAINER

His next two runs were much more encouraging, however, keeping on well to take fourth at Wolverhampton and Windsor, on both occasions strongly suggesting that he could come

ALAN KING

into his own over an extra half-mile. I would expect him to begin the season at 1m2f and although he looks more than capable of winning a maiden, an opening mark of 72 should ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for him during the months ahead. Later in the year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him sent hurdling (given his connections) and he seems versatile in terms of ground conditions. Gelded since his last run, Alargedram should certainly be winning races this season.

TRAINER ROGER VARIAN

OWNER

HAMDAN AL MAKTOUM

War Front tends to produce a top-class horse every now and then - while Turjomaan might not be quite up to that level yet, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with the right stable to bring him along slowly and in his own time, in order to maximise his potential. 76

TURJOMAAN (USA) 4YO BAY/BROWN COLT • WAR FRONT (USA) – ALMOUTEZAH (USA) (STORM CAT (USA))

FORM FIGURES: d1/12BHA RATING: 109 A colt that may go slightly under the radar given he only had the two runs last season and only has four starts to his name in his career so far, despite now being a four-year-old. The first of those starts resulted in him being first past the post at Ascot but retrospectively disqualified for not actually being qualified to run, while his subsequent two starts, one at two and one at three came in weak novice events at Newcastle over seven furlongs.

Still, when upped to Group 3 company in the Thoroughbred Stakes over a mile at Goodwood, he showed up remarkably well considering he drifted out to 15/2 from an early show of 4/1, suggesting many thought he would be outclassed. He was keen, possibly due to the first-time application of blinkers, but to be only beaten half a length was a herculean effort in the circumstances. He certainly looked up to that level despite his relative inexperience.

The form stacks up too, given that the winner (Duke of Hazzard) went on to land a Group 2 on his next start and Momkin had been deemed good enough to run in a 2000 Guineas earlier on in the season by Roger Charlton. Rattling fast ground looks important to this horse, and his pedigree would only support that view. He’s a Group-class horse through and through and connections would be disappointed if he didn’t continue to improve in 2020.

THRONE HALL 3YO BAY COLT â&#x20AC;˘ KINGMAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; APPEARANCE (GALILEO (IRE))

TRAINER

FORM FIGURES: 3BHA RATING: Another well-bred maiden who carries the yellow and black silks of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, Throne Hall shaped well when third at Haydock on his sole start last season and should leave that form behind once upped in trip this term. A

half-brother

Appeared

and

both

Apparate,

the Kingman colt was briefly outpaced

when

the

speed

lifted, but stayed on well to secure third, close up behind Atheeb and End Zone, with a couple of subsequent winners in behind.

KEVIN RYAN

OWNER

SHEIKH MOHAMMED OBAID AL MAKTOUM

Fifth home King Carney was one of those winners, with the Australia colt winning a Nottingham maiden for Charlie Fellows, before taking the Listed Silver Tankard at Pontefract, so the race was clearly a strong one for the grade. When he returns, Throne Hall will probably want ten furlongs to be seen at his best and he remains open to considerable improvement after just the one start over an inadequate trip. He looks a sure-fire future winner and could be a nice prospect for the North.

DOMINO DARLING 3YO BAY FILLY GOLDEN HORN – DISCO VOLANTE (SADLER’S WELLS (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 1BHA RATING: A little over an hour after Cold Front had finished runner-up at Newbury on the 25th October, stablemate Domino Darling made a winning debut at Doncaster. Closely-related to Gordon Stakes winner, Namibian, the daughter of Golden Horn was covered up for the most part, but showed a fine attitude once asked to pick up, finishing very strongly to beat Gold Wand (another Golden Horn filly covered later in the guide), who had the run of the race from the front. The pair drew nicely clear (four-and-a-half lengths) and

several in behind franked the form by winning subsequently, including third home, Wonderful Tonight, who won well in France on her very next outing. Given her pedigree, it wasn’t a surprise to see this filly cope with the heavy ground on debut and given that her sire did actually prefer fast ground, Domino Darling looks a lovely prospect for middle-distance events this season no matter the surface. She could easily develop into a pattern-class performer, and it would be fitting if one of the first leading lights sired by Golden Horn were to carry the silks of owner Anthony Oppenheimer.

OWNER

A E OPPENHEIMER

TRAINER

WILLIAM HAGGAS

POWERTRAIN (IRE) 3YO CHESTNUT GELDING • ZOFFANY (IRE) – EMERALD RING (IRE) (JOHANNESBURG (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 63115BHA RATING: 86 Zoffany is really starting to come into his own as a stallion, enjoying a fruitful year last season and garnering some particularly useful prospects to represent him in their threeyear-old season. One such is this Hugo Palmer-trained gelding who ran five times as a juvenile. Three of those runs came over six furlongs, but the Coolmore-bred colt took the step up to seven in his stride when winning at Chester on his handicap debut, albeit from a plum draw. To go into Tom Dascombe’s back yard and beat one of his fancied runners is noteworthy, especially given

TRAINER HUGO PALMER

OWNER ISA SALMAN

the fact he was a heavily backed 5/4 favourite. His prior novice run at Newmarket’s July Course, beating the smart Premier Power, helps to hold up his form and he ran a respectable race in a nursery handicap at the Rowley Mile in October. That nursery looked to comprise some smart horses, they were nicely bunched in the finish and Powertrain was beaten just over three lengths. That race could be a very strong one in hindsight, and he’s been dropped a pound for that which seems more than fair. A mark of 86 puts him in the 80

perfect bracket to get an early season win under his belt before taking on bigger tests, possibly the Charity Sprint at York over six furlongs and if the winning thread can be found, he may be one for the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket’s July Meeting.

DAAYEB (IRE) 3YO BAY COLT LOPE DE VEGA (IRE) – MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT (USA) (HENNESSY (USA))

FORM FIGURES: 9BHA RATING: The success of Madhmoon last year has rejuvenated the Kevin Prendergast operation and his resurgence should continue to make further headlines this season. One prospect who could shoulder many of the trainer’s hopes is this Lope De Vega colt, whose one racecourse appearance came at Roscommon over seven and a half furlongs.

OWNER

HAMDAN AL MAKTOUM

TRAINER

The soft ground wouldn’t have been an inconvenience given his pedigree, but he plugged on in a promising manner under hands and heels despite being slow out of the stalls, not rushed and eventually beaten 23 lengths.

KEVIN PRENDERGAST

Runners from the yard have a tendency to need the run and that was surely the case here. A mile to should turn out to be his perfect trip, and with a couple more runs under his belt, he should be able to make an impact in handicaps off a mark between 80-90. A Premier Handicap at the back end of the season could be in the mind of connections, with a couple of possibilities likely to be the Sovereign Path at Leopardstown on Champions Weekend, and the Ahonoora over seven furlongs at Galway in August.

HORSE INDEX AL QAQAA (USA)

page 25

KENZAI WARRIOR (USA)

ALARGEDRAM (IRE)

KINROSS

ALNASHERAT

MAGICAL JOURNEY (IRE)

AMOR DE MI VIDA (FR)

MANUCCI (IRE)

MARS LANDING (IRE)

ORIENTAL MYSTIQUE

PARTY SPIRIT

PERFECT ARCH (IRE)

COLD FRONT

POLAR FLEECE (IRE)

CRYSTAL PEGASUS

PONDUS

44 80

APLOMB (IRE)

BORN WITH PRIDE (IRE) BRIGHT EYED EAGLE (IRE) BRUSHWORK

DAAYEB (IRE)

POWERTRAIN (IRE)

DARK ILLUSION

RAADOBARG (IRE)

DARK VISION (IRE)

RAINBOW DREAMER

DARVEL (IRE)

18 48

REPARTEE (IRE)

RIVIERA NIGHTS

DOMINO DARLING

ROYAL CRUSADE

DULAS (IRE)

SHALANEZ (IRE)

EDINBURGH CASTLE (IRE)

SINJAARI (IRE)

ENGLISH KING (FR)

SNOW SHOWER

ENTRAPMENT

SOLAR SCREEN (IRE)

FANCY BLUE (IRE)

SOLID STONE (IRE)

FINEST SOUND (IRE)

STORTING

SUNCHART

DELTAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROYALTY (IRE)

GOLD WAND (IRE)

61 40

GOOD LUCK FOX (IRE)

THRONE HALL

GOSHEN (FR)

TOP RANK (IRE)

TRILOGY

HEIRESS HIGHEST GROUND (IRE) INTERNATIONAL GIRL (IRE)

TURJOMAAN (USA)

76 16

TWILIGHT LUCY

INVEIGLE

UNNAMED (IRE)

JET ENGINE (IRE)

UNNAMED (USA)

JUAN ELCANO

WALDKONIG

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AUTHORS Paul Ferguson, Michael White, Adam Cockings, Eddy Arthur, Will Urch, Josh Homann The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Weatherbys or any employee thereof. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of publication, Weatherbys will not be liable for any losses arising from its use.

2020 WEATHERBYS QUIZ BOOK Whether it is the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot or Glorious Goodwood – the brand new 2020 WEATHERBYS QUIZ BOOK has it covered. Our brain teasers will require every ounce of grey matter as we test your racing knowledge around all the ﬂat and jump seasons major festivals and races. And for those lighter moments we have included Wordsearches, Pictionary rounds and a whole host of other entertainment for horseracing fans from novices to Group 1 performers.

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The Ebor Festival is one of the final big meetings of the summer and the flat racing season, so the bettrends team are on hand to provide expert analysis and points-based betting advice on every race over the four days of York’s premier racing festival.

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