Newbury trials day is one for the old school
THE NEWBURY Group 3 Classic trials afternoon was reminiscent of racing days gone by – with two horses successful from long-held pedigrees developed by long-term British-based owner breeders, the Sangster colours carried to victory in the Group 3 7f Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes, and an exciting maiden winner by Galileo from the family of Milan and Kahaysi.
The Group 3 Dubai Duty Free (Fred Darling Stakes), the Classic trial for the 1,000 Guineas, was won by the Julian Richmond-Watson homebred Remarquee (Kingman), and the trainer Ralph Beckett is definitely eying the Newmarket Classic option for the three-year-old filly.
Remarquee is from the Classic-winning family of Look Here – her grand-dam is a half-sister to the winner of the 2008 Epsom Oaks, the family has been in Richmond-Watson care for three generations.
“We will certainly go to Newmarket with her now,” said Beckett. “She was a bit green today, running away from the crowd, Rob [Hornby] had dropped his stick by the time she heading away [from the stands]. She does not know very much but she will know more now.”
Owner breeder Richmond-Watson said: “She has gone one better than her mother who was a Listed winner and placed in Group races. The family just keeps producing, they keep coming. We still have got this filly’s granddam Look So, she has been covered this year by Cracksman.”
He also outlined: “Regardez, the dam of Remarquee, is at Coolmore and going to Saxon Warrior, she has not got a foal this year but has a Study Of Man yearling. This filly is fairly typical of the family and is a good size.”
Grand Alliance gets off the Group race mark for owner breeder Paul Roy
The day got off to a great start for the homebred battalions – the Group 3 John Porter Stakes was won by the Paul Roy-owned and bred Grand Alliance, the son of Churchill winning his first Group race in six stakes race starts. The colt won in spite of drifting toward the infield through the final furlong.
“He is a bit of a character,” said jockey James Doyle after the son of Churchill swerved over the track in the last couple of furlongs. “He keeps you busy as a jockey, he gets a bit bored in a race and you have to keep him interested.”
It was not the first time the the colt has made significant late moves across the track– in the King Edward VII he drifted left in the last 110yds and lost the race by a short head to Changingoftheguard.
Trainer Charlie Fellowes reported that he and Roy do not have any immediate plans for the four-year-old colt.
He said: “Today was the plan. He is in the Yorkshire Cup, but James said would not want to go any further with him as yet. We have a few kinks to iron out, but he is smart and he has beaten a decent field there quite impressively.”
The colt is a homebred out of Roy’s good mare Endless Love, the dam of the Lennox Stakes (G2) and Supreme Stakes (G3) winner Dutch Connection, the winner of five races and runner-up in the Prix Jean Prat (G1). A son of Dutch Art, he collected over £600,000 in prize-money earnings and won or placed in 10 Group races from a 28-race career.
“Grand Alliance is a homebred and I would never sell a homebred,” said Roy, who now has six mares at stud in Ireland. “He is out of my good mare Endless Love, the first mare that I really had, and she is due to produce a full-sibling by Churchill soon. We are late in the year now, so we will probably not cover her this year.”
Endless Love, a daughter of Dubai Destination, did not run but has made up for it in the breeding shed – she has had nine foals, seven runners and four winners.
French Classic hopes ahead for Isaac Shelby
It has been 19 years since the Sangster colours were ridden to Greenham Stakes victory with Turtle Island’s victory ion 1994, but they returned to the winners’ enclosure in style after the colts’ Classic trial with Isaac Shelby’s taking success in the Group 3 Greenham Stakes.
While the son of Night Of Thunder undoubtedly benefited from the stalls unseat of Frankie Dettori from the race favourite Chaldean, the Brian Meehan-trained winner was an emphatic victor, with a clear-cut victory despite jockey Sean Levey reporting that the colt got a little lit up and ran too free when the loose Chaldean galloped upsides.
Isaac Shelby burst onto the scene last year with victory in the Group 2 July Stakes, but disappointed last time out when last of seven in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes behind the race winner Chaldean.
Sam Sangster, who bought the colt at the Goffs UK Premier Sale for £90,000 for the syndicate owners Manton Thoroughbreds VII, reported that the three-year-old did not come back sound from the Newmarket Group 1 last autumn.
“He was not right after the Dewhurst,” reported Sangster. “But we kept him ticking over at home, he has done everything so well over the last six months, we were really confident we had him back to the horse he was last July.
“He is in the French Guineas. The plan has always been to go to France, he loved the ground here today and I think it will be similar at Longchamp, we are happy to go there. I think soft ground will be in his favour, the Night Of Thunders are pretty versatile. I am so delighted for the team at home, they have put a lot of work into this horse.
Of the colt himself, Sangster outlined: “From the moment the hammer went down at Doncaster, he has just been an absolute dude, he has a wonderful mind and that comes from Dubawi and Night Of Thunder, they just have that will to win. They are triers and they love it, and he loved winning today.
“I loved him when I bought him at Doncaster, our normal budget for the partnership is £50,000, he was the first horse we were buying for the partnership, and I said to Brian we are not letting this horse go. We have to give a little more for this horse.”
The colt is the third foal out of the unraced Heliostatic mare Kentucky Belle, a half-sister to the US 1m6f Grade 2 Turf winner Ramazutti out of the US stakes-placed 5f1 two-year-old Turf winner.
He was bred by Elaine Chivers, who purchased Kentucky Belle from Nafferty Stud for just 4,500gns, Richard Knight Bloodstock in charge of purchasing at the Tattersalls February Sale 2019.
Kentucky Belle was covered by Sergei Prokofiev last year.
Fittocks Stud-bred Klondike wins maiden
The last maiden of the day was won by Klondike, a son of Galileo bred by the Sara and Luca Cumani’s Fittocks Stud out of Koora (Pivotal). He is from the farm’s leading family of Milan and Kahaysi.
The colt was sold to MV Magnier at Tattersalls October Book 1 in 2021 for 600,000gns, Fittocks retaining a leg share.
The horse is now owned in a four-way partnership between South African businessman Nic Jonsson, Magnier, Tabor and Fittocks.
Sara Cumani said: “I am thrilled, to do that first time out against horses who had already had a run, is very pleasing. He was very green, but he has always been the sort that once learnt he will really apply himself.
“William [Haggas] has his two-year-old sister by Kingman, the mare has come back from Ireland and has a beautiful Frankel and was covered by Night Of Thunder.”
Haggas drove Cumani to the races, the part-owner with a plastic boot on her foot after an operation; the drive home must have sped past as the two will surely have been putting together plans and dreams for the well-bred and highly promising colt.