Our News
July Newsletter
This midsummer newsletter comprises a full update on the current Horse Watchers team, as well as a report from last week’s Tattersalls sale at Newmarket, where we added four new members to the squad.
All shares in the new horses were quickly snapped up by existing shareholders so we are unable to offer the chance to get involved in the new additions to our team but we will be looking to add further horses at upcoming sales.
The obvious place to start is with our flag-bearer RAASEL, whose star continues to ascend. At the start of the season we were hopeful he’d be able to add to his five consecutive successes in the second half of 2021, but we’ve still been very pleasantly surprised by his sustained rate of progress. He has taken successive rises in grade in his stride this year, winning a handicap at Goodwood, a listed race at Haydock and the Group 3 Coral Charge at Sandown, all under the excellent James Doyle.
Some have pointed out that Raasel had a clear passage at Sandown whereas a couple of his rivals met trouble, but we’re not convinced the track suited him ideally and we think he might be able to take his form to an even higher level next time in the Group 2 King George Stakes at Goodwood, a course at which he’s unbeaten. If he can extend his winning run there, the Nunthorpe, the Flying Five and even the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint may beckon, but we’ll take each race as it comes and just enjoy the ride. He’s the most talented horse we’ve been involved with.
His stablemate LIBERATION POINT returned to winning ways in June in less exalted company - it was just a claimer at Chester - but the victory still gave us a kick. This talented son of Iffraaj showed enough speed to handle the drop back to an extended 7f, and front-running tactics seemed to suit him down to the ground. He performed just as well when second back in handicap company at Chelmsford on Tuesday, bumping into an improver, and he seems as good as ever. The fitting of blinkers has really helped him and he should continue to give a good account of himself.
Meanwhile, HATHLOOL now has four victories to his name after fairly bolting up at Leicester on Thursday when the good pace played to his strengths, recording a personal best in the process. He’s typical of one of Mick’s in that he has thrived on his racing, and there could be better still to come from him. We’ll try to get him out under a penalty next week, and longer term he’s likely to have an entry in the Cambridgeshire.
Like Hathlool, SAATTY came to us from Kevin Prendergast in Ireland. He made an immediate impact by winning two of his first three races for us last year, but he hasn’t been in quite the same form this season and he was sold at Newmarket last week. We wish his new connections every success.
Last winter’s winning machine INTERVENTION has had his scheduled spring break and is nearly ready to go again. He went up 16lb in the weights as a result of five successes early in the year, but his last run - when a very close fourth in a big field at Haydock - suggests there may still be some mileage in his mark. He’s very durable and should continue to give his owners plenty of fun in handicaps at around six furlongs.
NIGHT ON EARTH, another who made hay during the all-weather season, winning four times, shows no sign of losing his enthusiasm, and his fifth of 12 at Newmarket’s July Meeting was even better than the result suggests as he ended up on his own against the stand rail. He thrives on his work and will be out again before long.
BALDOMERO, on the other hand, is now likely to have a short break with a view to an autumn campaign focussed on the all-weather. His best efforts (and both his wins) have come on artificial surfaces and he’s now just 1lb higher than when beaten an agonising head in the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton in March. We’re very hopeful he can be placed to advantage at the likes of Kempton and Lingfield in the second half of the year.
Up in North Yorkshire, STARSHIBA has gradually come to the boil. He took several runs to gain full fitness but a close second at Ayr in June suggested his turn was near and he was again narrowly beaten in a blanket finish at Epsom on Thursday night. He’s well handicapped on the pick of his form from last year and it should be just a matter of time before he strikes gold.
Positives have been harder to glean from stablemate TIGER TOUCH’s last few runs. We thought he’d be able to score from a reduced mark in the spring, but after finishing on the heels of the leaders at Ayr he found disappointingly little at Newcastle, having been well placed early in the straight. We’ll keep persevering with him but it’s fair to say our expectations have been scaled back a bit.
RHOSCOLYN didn’t handle the very quick ground in the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket last Saturday and James Doyle sensibly allowed him to coast home once he was clearly held. His superb third in the Buckingham Palace the time before is already proving strong form and he has several possible targets in the next month, including the International back at Ascot and Goodwood’s Golden Mile in which he was second last year.
Officially rated 44lb lower than Rhoscolyn, GLORY AND HONOUR hasn’t cut much ice in three runs so far in our colours but he has faced stiff assignments in novice races and he should do better now that he’s qualified for handicaps. We’re still unsure about his trip requirements as he won a point early in his career but isn’t short of speed by any means. We’re stepping him up to 1m6f for his handicap debut at Redcar on Sunday and we should learn a lot more about him then. Hopefully an opening mark of 59 gives him enough scope to win a race or two.
Our two-year-old ZEBADAAY has an even lower level of form than Glory And Honour, having beaten just one rival in his three outings to date, but - believe it or not - we feel he may have a future in low-grade handicaps. He’s a late-developing type who has found things happening too quickly for him at this stage of his career, but he wasn’t beaten that far on his third run at Redcar and he’s been allotted a basement mark for handicaps. He’s also now been gelded and we’re hopeful that when he returns to action he’ll be an improved model.
He’s been joined at Upper Helmsley by the first of our new recruits, ZOZIMUS. A four-year-old, previously trained in Ireland by Donnacha O’Brien, this son of Footstepsinthesand had some very solid form in 2021, finishing fourth in the ultracompetitive Cambridgeshire at Newmarket where he was just two places behind Anmaat, who went on to win the John Smith’s Cup last weekend.
Zozimus has been held up by minor problems this year and hasn’t seen a racecourse, but Dave loved what he saw of him at the sale and we think he’s 30,000 guineas well spent. It’s early days but we’ll come up with a plan for him in the next few weeks.
At the beginning of sales week, we had our usual in-depth discussion about what we considered the most interesting lots in the catalogue and ended up with a shortlist or two dozen or so potential purchases. These were whittled down after physical inspections by the trainers, our vet and the rest of the team at Newmarket.
Horses that might have ended up running in our colours included ENCOURAGED, a progressive four-year-old who has done well this year for James Fanshawe (75,000 guineas exceeded our budget); MOONIS, a big son of Muhaarar with bags of potential (ended up changing hands and going elsewhere for 45,000 guineas); CHIEF WHITE FACE, an out-and-out 5f horse with more than a passing resemblance to Raasel (sold for 38,000 guineas); and BAYRAQ, a lightly raced three-year-old previously trained by Owen Burrows.
However, in the end we were the successful bidders for three new recruits from other sources, and all of them will join Mick at Langham.
The first of the trio to come under the hammer was NASIM, a three-year-old son of Galileo Gold previously trained by Andrew Balding. Successful twice over 1m for the Balding team, he didn’t build on the second of those two wins but we’re hopeful he has some untapped potential and, like many before him, that he’ll benefit from a change of scenery at Mick’s.
If he does, he’s on an attractive mark, just 1lb higher than when scoring at Southwell in March from two horses who won on their next outings. We’ll formulate a plan for Nasim in the next month or so but the likelihood is he’ll be campaigned over 7f or 1m, and it has not escaped our notice that he is two from three on the all-weather.
Nasim went for 32,000 guineas and we paid the same amount for MOBASHR, a four-year-old previously trained by Marco Botti. He looked a useful prospect early in his career, winning three of his first five races, and, although his recent efforts have been more subdued, we think he’s the sort Mick can revitalise.
Two of the three victories were on Lingfield’s Polytrack and his current mark is now 6lb lower than the second of them. If he benefits from Mick’s regime he’ll be adding to those three wins at some stage.
Our final purchase was APHELIOS, a three-year-old who came from Roger and Harry Charlton. At 70,000 guineas he’s the most expensive horse we’ve ever bought and we think he’s worth every penny.
For a start he’s well-bred, being a Kodiac half-brother to a 7f Group 2 winner, and he really looks the part too, impressing all who saw him at the sale. He seems very sound too, with good wind and a perfect report from the vet. He was placed on all five of his starts for the Charltons, winning a 6f handicap at Windsor, and we reckon there’s plenty of mileage in his current mark of 75.
Expect more news on Aphelios and all our squad in the next newsletter, and if in the meantime you’d like to join our syndicates, follow us on Twitter at @Horsewatchers1 or contact us via the website.
All-Weather Season Review
When the last newsletter was published in November, shortly after the Tattersalls Horses In Training sale, we were about to embark on a winter all-weather campaign, with Intervention, Whittle Le Woods, Night On Earth, Baldomero, Seagulls Nest and Hathlool comprising The Horse Watchers’ team based with Mick. Raasel had just reeled off five consecutive wins and we were full of hope for the coming months.
Fast forward to the spring and it’s safe to say those expectations have been surpassed. Horses running in our colours notched a total of 19 wins during the 2021/22 All-Weather Championships with the six-strong squad at Mick’s supplemented by Sammy Sunshine, who joined us in January and has been expertly handled by Rebecca Menzies in County Durham.
We’ll start this recap with Night On Earth and Whittle Le Woods, who share a number of the same qualities and have absolutely thrived since joining Mick in the autumn.
NIGHT ON EARTH, purchased for 18,000 guineas on the final day of August last year, has had 13 outings since, winning on four occasions, all over five furlongs, and making the frame another six times. His first two victories in our silks were characterised by a sharp turn of foot from off the pace, but as we’ve got to know him better we’ve realised his dazzling speed can be utilised at least as well under more positive tactics.
For his last two successes Night On Earth has made most of the running, pinging out of the stalls and controlling those races from the front. At Kempton, under the excellent Adam Farragher, he had things sewn up by halfway, scoring in convincing fashion. At Lingfield three weeks later he faced a much sterner task against smart opponents and off a 7lb higher mark, but with the promising Benoit de la Sayette giving him an exemplary ride, he broke smartly and dug deep to fend them all off.
When we bought Night On Earth he hadn’t run on the all-weather, but he’d handled Chester’s tight turns so adeptly that we thought the likes of Lingfield and Wolverhampton would suit him down to the ground. Next up, good-quality sprints at the likes of Chester and Epsom should be tailor-made for him, and he has already translated his improvement to the grass with an excellent third at Newmarket’s Craven Meeting.
The tough, game and consistent WHITTLE LE WOODS, bought for 20,000 guineas in October, gave his all on each of his 11 starts during a winter campaign that included four wins and four second places.
Whittle Le Woods doesn’t possess Night On Earth’s brazen speed, but he stays a bit further and seems equally effective over six and seven furlongs. He’s tactically versatile, too, performing to his best when ridden up with the pace or held up. His last three victories were gained by a neck, a head and a neck again, underlining his will to win in a driving finish.
The highlight of his all-weather season was a hard-fought victory at Wolverhampton in March, in a well-contested handicap in front of the ITV cameras. Theodore Ladd, a key member of Mick’s team, gave him a dynamic ride and the pair held on grimly as the favourite Zarzyni finished fast.
Whittle Le Woods is heading for the sales at Tattersalls next week but before then will have one more go in the orange and black at Chelmsford on Thursday when we expect him to go close after shaping nicely from a wide position at Lingfield on Good Friday. We didn’t enjoy a huge amount of luck on Friday but it was the day that saw Mick crowned champion all-weather trainer once again, a tremendous achievement for him, Jonny and the rest of the team at Langham. From the inception of The Horse Watchers, our success has gone hand in hand with theirs.
INTERVENTION is just the type of horse that Mick has made his name with in that he has one or two quirks but that hasn’t stopped him having a stellar winter. With five victories and three second places he took the prize for the winning-most horse during the all-weather season and in doing so secured a nice £10,000 bonus. A large factor in purchasing him was a belief he had the credentials to land that prize as although he joined us from Ireland towards the end of 2021 with a record of 0-21, he had some strong form in competitive races and we were hopeful Mick’s regime would bring about an upturn in his fortunes.
Sure enough, he won on just his second start in our colours, stable apprentice Freddie Larson riding him to perfection at Wolverhampton, and after one or two bumps in the road he rattled off three more wins and a second place during a memorable ten-day period in February/March.
The last of those victories came at Southwell under Jason Watson, who has been a crucial component in our recent success, riding with skill and confidence and giving us intelligent feedback both post-race and after morning workouts.
Despite surging up the weights, Intervention managed another win at Wolverhampton in April and we’re hopeful there’s still some mileage in his new mark. He’s durable and sound, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in a big field back on turf - hopefully starting at Haydock on Saturday.
We were expecting the switch to grass would suit HATHLOOL in the ten-furlong handicap at Doncaster’s Lincoln Meeting. Only ninth of 12 that day, he clearly didn’t give his running, but he’s still an unexposed handicapper with untapped potential.
Hathlool managed to score three times during the winter, at Chelmsford, Wolverhampton and Newcastle, despite overracing on each occasion. Because of the narrow margins of his victories, his mark has risen just 8lb from 70 to 78, which ought to be workable, and a close eighth in a blanket finish at Lingfield on Good Friday only served to underline that he should be winning again soon when things fall right for him.
Hathlool was bought on the strength of two encouraging turf runs in Ireland so it’s unlikely he needs the all-weather to perform to his best. He’s crying out for a well-run race, probably at ten furlongs, and he’ll be out again soon.
So will BALDOMERO, who has made a promising start in our colours having been bought from Joseph O’Brien for 32,000 guineas in the autumn. Gelded and brought along steadily in his first few months at Mick’s, he hit the ground running with a narrow defeat at Kempton in February followed by a win there the following week in a £20,000 handicap under an astute Luke Morris ride.
Wolverhampton’s valuable Lincoln Trial is a race we like to target - Supersta failed by a whisker to win it in 2016 and Big Country went one better two years later - and this year’s renewal fitted nicely into Baldomero’s schedule, coming ten days after the Kempton win. A furlong out, two lengths clear, it looked as if the race was in the bag, but Baldomero was reeled in late by the fast-finishing Notre Belle Bete, nonetheless picking up £12,000 for second place.
We’re still learning about Baldomero, but he’s already rated 102 by Timeform and we’ll be surprised if that’s his limit. Like Hathlool, he was compromised by the steady gallop at Lingfield on Good Friday, finishing a close fifth. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do on turf, and he’s likely to be plying his trade over the coming months in good-quality handicaps between a mile and ten furlongs. He’s another who could line up at Haydock on Saturday ahead of a possible outing at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting at the end of the month.
The only member of our winter team not to get on the scoresheet was SEAGULLS NEST. She ran creditably on several occasions, notably when second under Rossa Ryan at Newcastle, but she injured a tendon soon after her last run in March, and, as the recovery process would probably be very lengthy, she has been retired and found a good home.
Elsewhere at Mick’s, SAATTY (back from a small knee operation) and LIBERATION POINT are limbering up in readiness for a spring campaign, and Saatty will start his season at Chelmsford on Thursday. We expect the run will bring him on but he seems well at home. RAASEL is just back from his reappearance at Musselburgh on Easter Saturday where he finished a promising fifth in the valuable five-furlong handicap we won a few years ago with Saaheq. After looking dangerous at halfway, Raasel faded late on, and the run should put him spot-on for next time which will likely be a valuable handicap at Goodwood at the end of the month. Beyond that we’re hoping he’ll contest some top 5f handicaps before perhaps trying his hand at something better!
One of the most upwardly mobile trainers in the last few years has been Rebecca Menzies, and we were delighted to join forces with her in January with the purchase of SAMMY SUNSHINE for 5,000gns at the Thoroughbid All-Weather Sales.
Sammy won’t be the most talented horse ever to run for us, but she lacks nothing in guts, showing real determination to come out on top first of all at Kempton under Adam Farragher, and then at Wolverhampton under Oisin McSweeney. Sadly she burst a blood vessel at Chelmsford on her most recent outing and may be off for a short while, but hopefully this is just the beginning of a successful partnership between us and a trainer going places.
Things have been quieter for our four horses trained at Upper Helmsley, but it will not be long before the pace quickens in North Yorkshire. 2021’s major success story, RHOSCOLYN, won’t find it easy to repeat last year’s exploits which included three handicap wins, a second in the Golden Mile and a third in the Group 3 Supreme Stakes, but he’ll be representing us on some of the biggest stages this summer.
Following on from an encouraging reappearance at Thirsk, Rhoscolyn has two entries later this week with the Group 2 Bet365 Mile at Sandown one possible race for him if cutting up to a small field and a handicap at Haydock on Saturday his other option. We’ll decide where he goes on Wednesday morning but top handicaps and, given the right conditions, Listed and Group races will be on the agenda too. Rhoscolyn has given his owners tremendous fun to date, and we’re hopeful he’s not reached his ceiling just yet.
Rhoscolyn’s new stablemate STARSHIBA is one we’re really looking forward to campaigning this year. Bought out of David Elsworth’s stable last autumn, he’s ticking along nicely with a view to making his reappearance in a few weeks. Starshiba’s strike-rate thus far is a modest 1-13 but he has some quality form (a short-head second to Perrotto at Goodwood last June, for example, was boosted when that horse followed up in the Britannia at Royal Ascot) and we think he’s well handicapped.
Starshiba is bred to be smart and, although he’s now a five-year-old, we think his best days are still ahead of him. He could start off over six furlongs at Thirsk or over seven at Doncaster, both at the end of April and pleased Dave in a piece of work on Tuesday morning.
TIGER TOUCH disappointed in three runs for us last year after coming over from France, but all is not lost. Plenty of French recruits need time to acclimatise, and with another winter behind him there’s a good chance Tiger Touch will start showing his true colours. If that proves to be the case, his current mark of 67 will prove to be lenient. Expect to see him out again by the middle of May.
Finally, an unknown quantity. Our unraced two-year-old ZEBADAAY, a half-brother to Richard Fahey’s useful sprinter Show Me Show Me, has been gradually going through his paces at Dave’s. He’s a very laid-back type but he should be ready to run some time in May. Dave’s first two-year-old runner of the season, Star Of Lady M, made a winning debut at Redcar, following up at Ripon, and the signs are that he has a talented bunch of juveniles this year. There’ll be more news on Zebadaay in the next newsletter.
Until then, for more information on how to get involved with The Horse Watchers, follow us on Twitter at @Horsewatchers1 or contact us via the website.
November Newsletter
The week of the Tattersalls Newmarket Autumn Sales is probably the busiest of all for the Horse Watchers. Over the years the fixture has been an excellent source of future winners - the likes of BIG COUNTRY, SAAHEQ and RHOSCOLYN were purchased there - and at the start of the week there were plenty of horses we were interested in from a catalogue of over 1500 lots.
In the days before the sale, we had a couple of lengthy group discussions to whittle down an extensive list of possibles to a more manageable number, and to put a rough value on each of the horses that made the cut. Martin, Chris and Matt assembled at Newmarket on the Sunday, and over the next four days, in conjunction with our vet and our trainers, the likely candidates were inspected more closely. By the end of the four sessions we had increased our string by three.
The first point to make about this year’s sale is that competition was unusually fierce, and there were significant rises in turnover, average price and median price compared with 12 months earlier. 92% of the lots that went through the ring were sold, signifying an extremely strong market.
A major consignment from the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Estates was always going to be popular - we ourselves had sourced HAKAM, MITHQAAL, KASBAAN, SAATTY, HATHLOOL and RAASEL from Shadwell in the past - and 118 horses from that draft sold for a total of 5.2 million guineas. Keeping the market buoyant was significant interest from Middle Eastern buyers, fuelled by increased racing opportunities in the likes of Saudi Arabia in recent years.
So obtaining perceived “value” proved difficult, and by the end of day one we had not landed a successful bid. ESHKAAL, a twice-raced son of Exceed And Excel with Richard Hannon, REIGNING PROFIT, a speedily bred son of Profitable with Michael O’Callaghan, and MUTASARREF, a useful maiden winner in the care of Dermot Weld, were all on our radar but passed through the net for various reasons.
Similarly, the consistent handicapper FIEROSPEED and the Queen’s INVEIGLE, a horse we’d had our eye on for quite some time, were carefully considered but ended up being sold elsewhere. On a brighter note, Matt took a punt very early in the sale and bought ELEKTRONIC (for 3,000 guineas), who’ll join Mick from Richard Hughes, and the following day he also secured FOX POWER (for 28,000 guineas), who’ll switch to Matt’s white-and-black silks from the blue and white of King Power.
Another key purchase on the first day was CAIRN GORM, a useful sprinter formerly trained by Mick Channon. He was bought by the Value Racing Club, who have done so well in recent months with Boundless Power, and like that gelding he’ll join Mick at Langham.
Day two dawned with renewed hope, and it didn’t take too long for us to get on the scoresheet. At 120,000 guineas, ALREHB, a half-brother to the top-class Muhaarar, was beyond our budget, as was another from the Shadwell consignment, HANNIBAL BARCA, who changed hands for a cool 500,000 guineas.
But we were happy to secure WHITTLE LE WOODS for 20,000 guineas, and this three-year-old son of Lethal Force completes the three-strong team for our all-weather syndicate. He has run consistently well in five races on turf this year for Michael Dods but it’s his all-weather record (two from three) that catches the eye and he should give us plenty of fun in sprint handicaps over the next few months.
Joining him at Mick’s will be BALDOMERO. This three-year-old is unlikely to be seen on a racecourse as early as Whittle Le Woods - he’s due to be gelded and will then have some time off - but he looks an exciting prospect for 2022. He’s bred to be useful (by Shalaa out of a mare who was second in a French Group 2) and he showed a decent level of form in seven runs for Joseph O’Brien in Ireland. Given that he cost £460,000 at the breeze-ups last year, we’re hoping he proves a snip at 32,000 guineas. Good-quality handicaps at up to a mile are likely to be where he plies his trade. Expect more news about him next time.
High on our list of possibles on the third day was LIFETIME LEGEND, a three-year-old maiden previously trained in Ireland by Andrew Oliver. A big, robust son of Pride Of Dubai, with a stamina-laden dam’s side of his pedigree, he has some solid form in middle-distance handicaps and looks the type to progress again as a four-year-old. At 55,000 guineas, he went for slightly more than we wanted to pay for him, but it’s not hard to see him winning races on the Flat or over jumps for his new connections.
We had to pass on the imposing OLD FLAME, who went through the ring for 250,000 guineas, as well as the smart FUNDAMENTAL, who still has potential but was out of our range at 240,000 guineas. However, towards the end of day three the hammer came down on our bid of 40,000 guineas for STARSHIBA, and this talented gelding will join Dave at Upper Helmsley.
By Acclamation out of the useful Dashiba, from a really successful family, this four-year-old has some strong handicap form to his name. His short-head second to Perotto at Goodwood in June, for example, looked even better when that horse followed up in the Britannia at Royal Ascot. Starshiba ran off 87 at Goodwood, and after a few subdued efforts later in the year he’s now down to 82. We’re hopeful he’ll benefit from a change of scenery and make his mark in handicaps over seven furlongs or a mile.
That concluded our business for the third day, and day four was always likely to be quiet. We had a look at KEEL BAY, a progressive Irish juvenile who has the potential to win a race or two, but we were satisfied with the week’s work and called it quits.
There is news of a further addition to the string, however, as we have bought the four-year-old INTERVENTION privately out of Charles O’Brien’s stable in Ireland. This gelding is a maiden after 21 starts but he’s been knocking at the door of late in some strong sprint handicaps for the grade.
Usually a fluent traveller, he has not had the rub of the green in terms of draw or track position in recent races, and he joins Mick off what could be a lenient mark. He has form on the all-weather and on both a sound and a soft surface, and we’ll be surprised if he can’t make an impact in run-of-the-mill handicaps.
Intervention has been busy so will have a short break with a view to him starting off for us in the early weeks of 2022. Seemingly a very sound animal, he should be the type to run regularly when he’s back at concert pitch, and he reminds us of SUPERSTA, who had won just once from 21 attempts when joining Mick in August 2015; by the following May he had another six victories to his name.
The previous newsletter discussed the rest of the string in some detail, but it would be remiss not to mention RAASEL, who completed a four-timer in scintillating style at Nottingham at the end of October. This was his most impressive success of all. In a well-contested race, he travelled strongly as usual and showed a rare turn of speed to settle matters soon after James Doyle pushed him along over a furlong out.
A hefty 13lb rise for that win made it an easy decision to run under a 5lb penalty over the same course and distance on Wednesday, and Raasel made it five on the bounce in very different fashion. This was a race with less of a contested pace, and after a sluggish start Raasel found himself towards the rear. With the leaders not stopping, Tom Marquand switched Raasel to the outside and the horse showed a really willing attitude to edge ahead inside the final furlong. He’s come such a long way in the last six weeks and he’ll be contesting some of the top five-furlong handicaps next year, after a well-deserved rest!
Meanwhile, the all-weather syndicate got up and running in positive fashion with NIGHT ON EARTH, who ran a promising first race in our colours at Wolverhampton on Monday night. With a bit more luck he might have won, as Rossa Ryan reported that his saddle slipped in the early stages, but Night On Earth impressed with the way he knuckled down in the straight and at the line he was only a neck behind the winner Red Walls. He looks in great nick and will hopefully be in for a productive winter.
He’ll be joined on the all-weather by HATHLOOL, who has been ticking over nicely and has entries at Newcastle and Wolverhampton on Monday. We’re still learning about Hathlool, but he’s doing everything right at home and he’ll be qualified for handicaps after his next run. SEAGULLS NEST is limbering up for her first run in our colours, too, and there will be more news about her in the next newsletter.
Between now and then, if you would like any information about getting involved with The Horse Watchers, please contact us via the website.
October Newsletter
With the Flat turf season having reached its climax on Champions Day at Ascot, now seems a suitable time to reflect on recent performances from the The Horse Watchers’ string and to look ahead to the winter all-weather campaign. There’ll be another newsletter along shortly with a full report from the Horses In Training sale at Newmarket where we’ll be aiming to unearth the next Hakam, Big Country or Rhoscolyn.
Champions Day itself saw RHOSCOLYN take his chance in the valuable Balmoral Handicap, and although he finished only ninth of the 20 runners he ran a really encouraging race with next year in mind.
Prior to Ascot, Rhoscolyn had been campaigned mainly around a bend, his wins coming at Beverley, Goodwood and Epsom. His official rating had risen 32lb in just six months but even off a mark of 106 he looked perfectly comfortable in the Balmoral, his run just petering out after he’d made a surge from the rear of the field, stamina for the stiff mile a possible factor.
What we learned there was that Rhoscolyn should be capable of running right up to his best in a straight-track cavalry charge under different circumstances, and races like the Victoria Cup, the Buckingham Palace and the International, all over 7f at Ascot, will be under consideration for him next season, along with Listed and Group 3 races elsewhere.
Nothing’s set in stone yet, but it’s likely that Rhoscolyn will have a well-earned winter break now after doing himself proud in 2021 with 12 outings that netted three wins, four places and £112,000 in prize-money. He gives his band of owners, who have had some great days out in the last few months, a good deal to look forward to next year.
Another of our team currently on a break is LIBERATION POINT. He’d looked a horse of some potential when making a winning start for us in a maiden at Ripon in August, and he went close to making a successful handicap debut at Pontefract the following month, but since then things haven’t gone to plan.
He didn’t travel with much fluency on heavy ground at Leicester, but we were hopeful he’d be suited by the much longer trip next time at Redcar, only for him to disappoint with his finishing effort and trail home last.
Liberation Point is a big, strong sort, and rather than plough on with him, we’re happy to give him a few months off to come right. We’re hopeful he still has more in the tank, and he could be well handicapped off 82 (the mark he ran off when second at Pontefract) when he returns to action.
One horse who has benefited hugely from a softly-softly approach has been RAASEL. Like Liberation Point, he was in the doldrums earlier in the year, finishing last in handicaps at Lingfield (when favourite) and Newcastle, and at that point it seemed wise to draw stumps with him and give him a long holiday.
When he eased back into his routine at Mick’s in the second half of the summer, he seemed altogether more relaxed, showing none of the buzziness he’d previously displayed at home and accomplishing his morning workouts with ease.
So when he made his return, in a 5f apprentice handicap at Goodwood towards the end of September, we were hopeful of a bold show. As it turned out, he was very well treated off a mark of 73, travelling strongly and needing only to be nudged out to win impressively under the promising Adam Farragher.
Unpenalised for that success, he followed up at Nottingham the following week, but it was his third consecutive win, over the same course and distance, that left us with the firm impression we had a useful sprinter on our hands.
Upped 5lb for his first two successes, RAASEL again impressed with the way he travelled in a well-run race, easing to the front inside the final furlong under William Buick and doing just enough to keep the rallying runner-up at bay.
A Timeform timefigure of 90 suggests that form is rock solid, and the fluency with which he went about his business makes us think he’ll take a rise in grade in his stride. He’s been edged up another 3lb to 81, and if all remains well with him that mark should not be beyond him.
Raasel was originally owned by the late Hamdan Al Maktoum, and another to come our way from the same source was SAATTY, who made a winning start in our colours with a win at Chelmsford under Oisin Murphy, in a race that admittedly fell in his lap.
In the last newsletter we remarked that further winning opportunities looked likely for Saatty, and he duly showed that a handicap mark of 70 underestimated him with a tenacious success at Kempton the following month.
A last-of-nine defeat back at Chelmsford next time was therefore a disappointment, but it turns out there was a genuine excuse, as Saatty suffered a knee problem which required a small operation to remove a chip.
These things are never ideal, but at least the injury fully explains his poor run, and we expect Saatty to make a full recovery from his setback and to continue his progress next year.
Saatty was bought at the same time as HATHLOOL, a further recruit from the Shadwell operation, and this striking three-year-old has been simmering away at Mick’s with a view to making a return to action in the next few weeks.
Twice-raced in Ireland for Kevin Prendergast, Hathlool is a horse with bundles of scope and his recent work has been very solid. Middle-distance handicaps will be on the agenda for him in time, but he’ll first run in a maiden or novice to blow away the cobwebs. Expect further updates on him over the winter.
One horse who won’t be featuring in future newsletters is MAHANAKHON POWER, but we’ll certainly be following his new career with interest as he was a popular member of the team and notched two wins in the summer for his loyal group of owners.
Last time, we predicted that his sales entry might “catch the eye of some jumps trainers”, and sure enough he was bought for £15,000 at Doncaster to join Martin Keighley. As tough as they come, and best under a positive ride, Mahanakhon Power should make a hurdler and we’ll be rooting for him as he moves on to the next phase of his career.
Heading back to North Yorkshire, we’ve news on TIGER TOUCH, who does everything right at home but has yet to deliver on the racecourse. In three runs for us since he came over from France, he has finished nearer last than first each time, and we took the decision after his most recent outing that he’d benefit from a rest.
It’s not unusual for French recruits to take some time to acclimatise to a different regime, and we’re hopeful that by taking a patient approach with Tiger Touch we’ll reap the rewards in the longer term.
His final run, at Newcastle in September, promised more than the first two, as he made up ground from the rear only to flatten out late on. He’s been dropped another couple of pounds in the weights, and if he’s refreshed by having a proper break he could do some damage next year off a mark of 67.
It’s unlikely Tiger Touch will be out between now and Christmas, but with our all-weather syndicate fully subscribed for the winter we’re expecting to have a busy time over the next few months.
The first cab off the rank could be NIGHT ON EARTH, who won three races for Andrew Balding and Nigel Tinkler and came to us for 18,000 guineas at the end of August. A nimble, speedy type, he looked well suited by a turning track when winning at Chester in the summer and we expect him to take well to the demands of racing round a bend on the all-weather courses. He’s almost ready to go.
Next up could be SEAGULLS NEST, who came to us from Mick Channon at the end of the summer with a view to an all-weather campaign focused on Lingfield’s polytrack, a surface she’s already shown a liking for. A taller model than the compact Night On Earth, Seagulls Nest is a maiden after 11 attempts, but she has gone close on several occasions and should not be difficult to place to success.
The third component of the all-weather syndicate will hopefully join Mick’s team after the Horses In Training sale at the end of the month. The catalogue has been studied carefully and we’ll have a full update on any business conducted at Newmarket in the next newsletter.
As usual, for any more information about getting involved with The Horse Watchers, simply get in touch via the website.
August Newsletter
With summer drawing to a close and the busiest period of the racing year reaching its conclusion, now seems a suitable time to take stock, and to reflect on the progress of the eight-strong team currently operating under the Horse Watchers umbrella.
With summer drawing to a close and the busiest period of the racing year reaching its conclusion, now seems a suitable time to take stock, and to reflect on the progress of the eight-strong team currently operating under the Horse Watchers umbrella.
Newmarket’s July Sales saw us add two new recruits to the ranks, and one of them, the 3yo SAATTY, is already off the mark. A gelded son of the smart 6f/7f performer Markaz, he’d looked open to improvement on the form of his six runs in Ireland for Kevin Prendergast, and Mick was keen to crack on with him soon after he’d arrived at the yard. Saatty isn’t a flashy worker by any means, but it didn’t take him long to approach full fitness, and we gave him entries for the Grey Horse Handicap at Newmarket and a 5f maiden at Chelmsford in the middle weekend of August.
Not wanting to overface him first time up, we chose Chelmsford because it looked the weaker contest, although it would have been hard to predict just how uncompetitive a race it turned out to be. As the field approached the first bend, one of Saatty’s three rivals turned right instead of left and took the other two runners with him, gifting our horse an unassailable advantage. Inadvertently, Oisin Murphy’s decision to hug the inside rail on Saatty turned out to be a race-winning manoeuvre.
In many ways it was the perfect start for Saatty. He collected first prize for what was no more than an exercise gallop and had a positive first experience on a British racecourse. Because the race was essentially a non-event, his handicap mark has remained unchanged on 70 while his current Timeform Rating stands at 80+. There will be plenty of opportunities for him over the coming months and we’ll no doubt learn much more about him next time. He’s now likely to head to Epsom on Bank Holiday Monday where William Buick is provisionally booked to ride.
Our other purchase at Newmarket was HATHLOOL, and in this one’s case we’re happy to play a longer game. A former stablemate of Saatty’s in Ireland, he raced only twice for his previous yard, showing promise on his debut and giving the impression his second outing might have come rather too soon.
The plan was always to geld him and give him a minor wind operation, with the all-weather beckoning later this year. Physically, Hathlool is a more substantial type than Saatty, just the sort to benefit from time and patience. He’s bred to be useful, being by the promising stallion Awtaad out of a well-related German Listed winner, and we’re hopeful he’ll prove well bought at 22,000 guineas - he cost ten times that price as a yearling.
Middle-distance handicaps will be Hathlool’s target in due course but he’ll need one more run in a maiden or novice beforehand. Expect to see him at some point during the autumn.
Resisting the temptation to rush a horse until the foundations are firmly set remains crucial to what we’re aiming to do as a syndicate, and the 4yo LIBERATION POINT is the latest example to reap the benefits. A strapping son of Iffraaj, he came to us for 16,000 guineas last autumn from Richard Fahey’s yard. The form of his debut at Newcastle in December 2019 worked out extremely well, and he’d pulled clear with a useful Stoute-trained colt at Pontefract on his only 3yo outing.
Towards the end of 2020, however, it was clear he wasn’t moving as well as Mick would have liked, and after a series of small issues it wasn’t until July of this year that Liberation Point started working seriously again. Since then, he’s done nothing but please his work riders, giving the feel of a very different horse from earlier in the year.
Liberation Point made his debut for us in a maiden at Ripon on Monday and created an excellent impression in seeing off the odds-on favourite, digging deep under Kevin Stott to assert inside the final furlong. That was over a mile on good going, and the feeling is he’ll come into his own over further, while some ease in the ground may always be to his benefit. Handicaps will be his next port of call, and we’re hopeful he’s all set for a productive autumn campaign, when he’ll be fresher than the majority of his rivals. His opening handicap mark will be published on Tuesday but Timeform have him rated 90p after Ripon.
In what proved to be a memorable week for the Horse Watchers, MAHANAKHON POWER gained his second success in our colours in a 1m2f handicap at Chelmsford. Now, patience may be a virtue where some horses are concerned, but “MP” could probably run twice a week, every week. His first win at Yarmouth came only four days after his previous outing, and the Chelmsford victory was on his tenth start since he debuted for us in the spring.
Mahanakhon Power absolutely thrives on racing, and Chelmsford represented a career-best according to Timeform ratings as he ran to a mark of 74. The win was achieved in characteristic fashion too, as he bounded off in front and kept on dourly, making deserved amends for a defeat at Nottingham the previous week when he’d set fierce fractions in front. He’s been a fun horse to be involved with, and will now head to Yarmouth on Sunday prior to being sold at Goffs in Doncaster early next month when we hope he’ll catch the eye of some jumps trainers.
Autumn should see the return of RAASEL, who has more ability than his mark of 73 indicates - it’s just a question of unlocking it.
Promising as a 2yo but unraced at three, he was a relatively cheap purchase from Marcus Tregoning’s yard at 10,000 guineas and looked a bargain when making his debut for us in a novice at Chelmsford in January and going down narrowly after looking all over the winner. He failed to beat a rival in two starts afterwards but a proper break since then will hopefully have done him the power of good.
Raasel certainly seems in fine shape at present. We tried him in a hood and a crossed noseband on his last start at Newcastle in an attempt to get him to settle but he again overraced and found little. After the layoff he seems a more relaxed individual at home, far less buzzy than used to be the case. He’s still doing solo exercise but it won’t be long before he’s working his way to full fitness. Sprint handicaps will be on the agenda in the closing months of the year and if we can find the key to him he’ll win races off his current mark.
Switching our attention to North Yorkshire, Dave has taken charge of TIGER TOUCH, a son of American Pharoah we bought at the Arqana Deauville Sales at the beginning of July. Formerly trained in France, Tiger Touch seems to have settled in well at Upper Helmsley and his work had been encouraging before he made his debut over 1m2f at Sandown last Sunday. Finishing down the field there was clearly disappointing but there were extenuating circumstances and we’re expecting him to come on plenty for the run.
For a start, the Sandown race, part of the well-received Sunday Series, was a warm one with a near-maximum turnout - the healthy prize money saw to that. Tiger Touch’s chance was compromised when he drew the outside stall of 17, and in a competitive, well-run race in a big field his fitness was tested to the limit. Our feeling is that, on the back of a layoff, Tiger Touch was found wanting in relation to his race-conditioned rivals.
In addition, recruits from France can take some time to acclimatise to a different training regime. For example, Safran, another ex-French member of Dave’s team, finished last on his British debut in June but has since been running creditably off marks in the 80s, and it’s probably just a matter of time before that one gets off the mark over here. All in all, Tiger Touch, a strikingly attractive 4yo, seems likely to leave the Sandown form behind in due course.
His neighbour RHOSCOLYN has been our standard bearer this year. From modest beginnings when finishing last at Wolverhampton in April, he has scaled heights few of us thought likely, winning three handicaps on the bounce in May and June, including memorably at Epsom on Oaks day. In the process he has picked up just shy of £100,000 in prize money.
Rhoscolyn’s star continues to rise, and on his most recent outing, at Glorious Goodwood, he was second in the prestigious Golden Mile, giving the impression he’d have gone close with more luck in running. That was another personal best on the Timeform figures for Rhoscolyn - his new rating is 114 - and he now looks well worth his place in pattern company.
On that score, he’s heading back to Goodwood on Sunday for the Group 3 Supreme Stakes for which he is the Timeform Top Rated in the race. He’s shown such a liking for the course that this or Saturday’s Celebration Mile were going to be his next target and we go there confident of a big run. The ground is likely to be firmer at the weekend than he has encountered this year, but his best run and his only win as a 2yo came on going described by Timeform as good to firm, so we’re certainly hopeful he’ll handle it. Incidentally, Dave sent him for an away-day at Easthorpe at the start of the week, and Rhoscolyn worked as well as he’s ever done, so it’s all systems go as we bid for a first domestic Group race success.
Any future targets will naturally depend on what happens there, but Rhoscolyn also has entries in Group 2 events at Doncaster and Leopardstown in September. He’s come a long way in a short space of time and it’s possible we’ve not seen the best of him yet.
Finally, the only member of the team yet to make it to the racecourse is the 2yo SCALDED, who hasn’t had much luck in his short career to date. He’s a straightforward type at home and was working well and close to a run when injuring a sesamoid on the gallops in June. That’s quite a serious injury, but he had an operation soon afterwards and is currently recuperating with a view to racing on the all-weather this winter or on the turf in the first half of next year. Fingers firmly crossed for him.
Meanwhile, we’re always on the lookout for further additions to the Horse Watchers string. Next week’s Tattersalls August Sale at Newmarket is currently under scrutiny, and it’s then only a couple of months until the big Autumn Horses-In-Training sale which takes place at the same venue. 2020’s sale unearthed Rhoscolyn, Liberation Point and Mahanakhon Power.
We’re also in the process of putting together a three-horse syndicate for the all-weather this winter. The first member of the team is the 4yo filly SEAGULLS NEST, a daughter of Camelot who showed a consistent level of form for Mick Channon without quite managing to get her head in front. An ordinary maiden should be well within her range, her handicap mark looks very fair, and crucially she has already shown a liking for Lingfield’s Polytrack.
She’ll be trained by Mick, who was crowned champion all-weather trainer once more in 2020-21, and will be joined by two new purchases before the all-weather season begins. The syndicate will run throughout the winter, and an all-inclusive price will cover all three horses, the aim being to wrap things up and move the trio on again at the Guineas Sale next May. To find out more, or indeed for any other information about getting involved with The Horse Watchers, simply get in touch via the website.
July Sales Update
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for us in the sales ring and we’re delighted to have added three new horses to the team.
The Arquana Summer Sale in France has been a fine source of future winners for David O’Meara in the past, with star names such as Mondialiste and Lord Glitters sourced at the Deauville sales complex. Dave’s assistant and bloodstock agent Jason Kelly signed for eight horses during the course of the sale, including TIGER TOUCH on our behalf.
On a shortlist of two horses we’d highlighted as being of interest going into the sale, Dave and Jason were impressed by the physique of Tiger Touch upon seeing him in the flesh so we pressed on to purchase him for what we felt was a real value price of E32,000. A son of the US Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner American Pharoah out of the Group-winning mare Osaila, he has an excellent pedigree and form in some strong races in France. We believe he can be better placed in the UK and hope to have him running by the middle of August, potentially as part of a team in The Racing League which launches later this month and offers 50k total prize funds for each race on a card.
Shares were immediately offered to current shareholders in our other horses and all available shares were quickly snapped up.
Onto Newmarket’s Tattersalls July Sale and we’d hoped to add a nice filly to our squad on Wednesday but unfortunately Karuoka proved out of our range, eventually being knocked down to Eve Johnson Houghton for 77,000 Guineas. A gorgeous daughter of Dubawi with some strong form, she’s one to keep an eye on for her new connections.
One or two others of interest were removed from the list following physical inspection and vetting so we didn’t end up purchasing on the opening day of the sale but we did say goodbye to our three-time winner WARRIOR BRAVE. As a 100 rated 3yo there’s a chance a horse like Warrior Brave can make a significant sum but plenty of things need to come together to get the top money and that wasn’t quite the case this time. Still, at 100,000 Guineas he was one of the most expensive geldings sold last week and leaves behind some great memories and a healthy profit. Purchased to go into training with Ross O’Sullivan in Ireland, we wish his new connections every success and would love to see Warrior in the winners enclosure soon. For all we don’t see there being tons of improvement in Warrior Brave, he’s a very sound and straightforward horse and with the sprint handicap division in Ireland not being quite as competitive as it is in the UK we’re hoping he’ll prove a great buy for his new owners.
Onto Thursday and, as expected, it proved to be fairly uneventful for us. The few horses we had considered were either withdrawn or scratched from our list after physical inspection and vetting.
We’d always anticipated the final day of the sale would be our busiest so it wasn’t a surprise that we were able to add a couple of new names to our team during the morning session. Former Shadwell horses such as Hakam, Mithqaal, Saaheq and Kasbaan have been a huge success in our colours in the past and after highlighting a few of the latest Shadwell draft as of serious interest we were delighted to secure a couple our top targets for the week with lot 621 HATHLOOL and lot 703 SAATTY both secured for 22,000 Guineas.
Both acquisitions from Newmarket will be trained by Mick Appleby and with Hathlool already sold out, there are only shares available in Saatty, details of which are below.
SAATTY
Bought out of the Kevin Prendergast yard from Shadwell, Saatty is a Markaz gelding who has run 6 times between mid-March & mid-June this year. After catching the eye with a strong-travelling 4th of 20 on his debut at the Curragh it would be fair to say that Saatty hasn't really progressed, although his 4th at Gowran in May was another good effort (recording a Timeform timefigure of 79) & some other subsequent runs have had excuses in our opinion.
A compact, sprinting type in appearance, Saatty tried 5f only once but had more than enough speed for the trip & with a lot of speed influences in his pedigree we do feel that he's worth giving more opportunities to over shorter distances, whilst a lot of his family have been very effective on all-weather surfaces (including the sire Markaz who put up his career-best effort on his sole AW start in the Chipchase Stakes) so the AW is another angle to explore with him for all that he has clearly shown ability/promise on turf.
Mick was particularly keen on this horse as a type & he’s essentially fit & ready to go so the hope will be to have Saatty running in our colours at some point in August, with a possible race already identified for him over 5f at Chelmsford on August 15th. Saatty will also be added to The Racing League team making those 50k handicaps a possible option for him next month.
The cost of a 10% share in Saatty is £3,200 to cover purchase price, sales commissions & vetting, management fee, travel from the sales, fees for July & syndicate registration.
Monthly payments begin on August 1 at £260 pcm.
June Newsletter
A good deal of water has passed under the bridge since the last Horse Watchers newsletter at the end of April. Back then, few of us had heard of the Delta variant of coronavirus, it was still forbidden to pop into a pub for a quiet indoor pint, and the record winning distance for an Epsom Classic was still 12 lengths, set by Sun Princess in the 1983 Oaks.
A good deal of water has passed under the bridge since the last Horse Watchers newsletter at the end of April. Back then, few of us had heard of the Delta variant of coronavirus, it was still forbidden to pop into a pub for a quiet indoor pint, and the record winning distance for an Epsom Classic was still 12 lengths, set by Sun Princess in the 1983 Oaks.
Life moves fast. COVID continues to dominate the headlines, and will no doubt do so for months and years to come. And perhaps at some point in the future there will be an even more dominant Classic winner than Snowfall, whose 16-length demolition of her 13 rivals made the first Friday in June more remarkable than most.
From our perspective it was a red-letter day too. To have a fancied runner at one of the most high-profile meetings of the year seemed a long way off when Old Fashion and Two Jabs got the ball rolling for The Horse Watchers in 2015. And even at the end of April it would have been hard to predict that our fancied runner would turn out to be RHOSCOLYN on Oaks Day at Epsom.
When we last discussed Rhoscolyn’s prospects, he’d finished last of seven on his reappearance at Wolverhampton on Easter Monday, at a time when nearly all of Dave’s horses were needing their first run of the season. He followed that by travelling down to Yarmouth, breaking out of the stalls when spooked by the starter (who was shouting at a jockey milling around behind them) and completing the 400-mile round trip back to North Yorkshire without having had a race. Not ideal.
We took comfort from the fact that Silvestre De Sousa had been impressed by Rhoscolyn’s demeanour at Wolverhampton, and after the horse had passed a mandatory stalls test without any bother it was time to regroup and start again.
The following week Rhoscolyn was on the road once more, clocking up another 450 miles in the horsebox, with Lingfield Park his destination, and this time the outcome was far more positive. Sent off at 40/1 in a field of 11, he raced zestily up with a good gallop and kept on well to finish second, just half a length behind the winner Bowman, in a race that looked likely to prove solid form and was backed up by a strong Timeform timefigure.
Subsequent events have shown the race to be much warmer than many 0-80 handicaps at Lingfield, with the second, third and fourth all successful on their next outing. The fifth-placed runner, Roger Teal’s Chipstead, a full brother to his July Cup hero Oxted, hasn’t run since but has been entered up recently and is one to keep a close eye on.
Rhoscolyn’s first contribution to boosting the Lingfield form came a week later in a handicap over the extended 7f at Beverley. This was one of the first occasions that the heavy restrictions on racecourse attendance were relaxed after the lockdown, and several of Rhoscolyn’s part-owners were present to see him blaze a trail from start to finish under Danny Tudhope. Keeping on gamely on the rain-softened ground, he showed a great attitude to hold on from runner-up Crown Princess, the pair finishing a long way clear of the rest.
Rhoscolyn @Beverley
At this point of a horse’s career, one’s expectations as an owner tend to rise above the mundane. Pondering where Rhoscolyn should go next, we knew we wanted to keep him to 7f, and as he’d taken the tight bends of Lingfield and Beverley in his stride it made sense to look for another race on a turning track. By crossing swords with some of the top stables in a Goodwood handicap with a purse of £50,000, we were certainly throwing Rhoscolyn in at the deep end, but under his optimum conditions we had a feeling he’d swim.
After the Beverley victory, we knew Rhoscolyn handled soft ground well, so every drop of heavy rain that fell before the Goodwood race was welcome. Silvestre was booked for the first time since Wolverhampton and he gave Rhoscolyn a peach of a ride, tacking over from a wide draw to dispute the lead and quickly sealing the deal with a telling burst of speed approaching the final quarter-mile.
Three things stood out that day. First of all, Rhoscolyn again handled the tight turns with aplomb. Secondly, he was able to quicken away from some promising rivals in the manner of a well-above-average performer. And thirdly, his head carriage in the closing stages - straight and low - indicated a racehorse with a very determined attitude to win.
Rhoscolyn @Goodwood
All roads led to Epsom on the first Friday of June. Rhoscolyn was entered for the Listed race and the handicap, both over 7f, and after a fair amount of discussion we plumped for the latter, with a bigger field likely but less taxing opposition to compensate for that. Again, several of his part-owners were in attendance, along with Martin and Chris, and confidence in the horse’s chance increased as the heavens opened.
With Silvestre committed to the favourite Dulas, on whom he’d won the time before, James Doyle took the mount on Rhoscolyn, and like his previous jockeys he gave the horse a textbook ride, never far off the pace and forging clear from two furlongs out, the horse’s trademark low head carriage again in evidence as he put four lengths between himself and his nearest pursuer, his stablemate Shelir. Cue great celebrations both on and off the course.
Rhoscolyn @Epsom
Where Rhoscolyn goes next needs careful consideration but it’s a nice dilemma to have. A top-end handicap such as Newmarket’s Bunbury Cup is tempting, and he was entered in that race this morning, while with his rating spiralling ever upwards he now looks well worth his place in Listed/Pattern company. Later this week, he’ll be given two Royal Ascot entries in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes and Buckingham Palace Handicap, both over 7f. There’s also a Group 3 in France and 7f Listed race at Chester in July, all under consideration. His new Timeform rating is 108, with the clear possibility of better still to come, while the official handicapper raised him to 104 this morning.
Rhoscolyn evidently goes well in the mud, but easily his best performance as a two-year-old came on good to firm ground, and the weather forecast won’t be a factor in determining his next engagement.
In six weeks Rhoscolyn has gone from an unconsidered 40/1 shot at Lingfield to completing a hat-trick on Oaks day at Epsom, and he’s given his owners the sort of experience they could barely have dreamed of when they first got involved.
News on our other horses is understandably less rapturous, but we’re certainly hopeful of having another winner or two during the summer months.
Staying with Dave’s horses, TUKHOOM looks ready to strike before much longer and is set to run at tonight’s 7f handicap at Ayr. He’s on a lenient mark on his old form and went close to capitalising on that on his penultimate start, also at Ayr, leading the whole way until the last 50 yards. A below-par effort the following week was probably down to the soft ground (he has won in testing conditions in the past but a sound surface almost certainly suits him best).
Those familiar with Tukhoom know how well he thrives on his racing, so there’s a good chance he can build on his first few runs this year. He’s eight now but seems to retain all his enthusiasm.
At the other end of the age scale, our unraced two-year-old SCALDED has been putting in some solid pieces of work and is now close to making his debut. There’s been nothing seriously amiss with him - just a series of minor niggles - but Dave has had a clear run with him over the last few weeks and he’ll soon be ready to step things up a notch.
He shows plenty of speed at home and is almost certainly a sprinter through and through. Patience is nearly always the best policy with a horse like him, and hopefully ours will be rewarded when Scalded starts contesting maiden or novice events over 5f or 6f in the next few weeks.
Blessed with rather less speed is MAHANAKHON POWER, but after a sluggish start in our colours he’s beginning to get there. A big, gross son of Gleneagles, he has taken a long time to get fit, but there have been glimmers of promise in his last two runs, most recently when fourth of nine at Lingfield last Saturday night.
That was over an extended 11f, and the likelihood is he’ll be exploring longer distances again from now on, in keeping with his stout pedigree (his dam stayed all day). He’s no world-beater but hopefully he’ll continue to build for Mick and find a small race or two. He’s declared to run again at Yarmouth tomorrow (Wednesday) where we expect a good show in the first time visor under Luke Morris.
WARRIOR BRAVE has been a real success story since we bought him privately from Ireland some ten months ago, winning three of his five starts in our colours. The most recent victory, which came at Goodwood just a few days after the last newsletter, was smooth and particularly pleasing. Patient tactics seem to suit him, and Tom Marquand carried out his instructions to the letter, settling Warrior Brave in last place in a small field and delivering him with a strong burst that took him to the front inside the final furlong.
Warrior Brave has not been out since then but he’s been ticking over nicely en route to the 5f handicap at Royal Ascot, which has long been his main target for the first half of the season. The race we had in mind for him in between was at Windsor in May, but, when that was abandoned due to waterlogging after he was declared, the decision was made to sit tight and protect his mark. He has two options this weekend and will likely run in the listed race at Sandown prior to his Royal Ascot engagement on Friday.
Given his style of racing, a strongly-run 5f on a stiff track like Ascot should be right up Warrior Brave’s street, and he’ll hopefully go there with a sporting chance in what’s likely to be a warm contest. Timeform rate him 99 at present, and he has the potential to better that given the right circumstances.
There’s no major news on LIBERATION POINT or RAASEL, both being given time off before returning to action from July onwards. We feel the big and backward Liberation Point will be at his best on easy ground so saving him for an autumn campaign made sense. Raasel just needed a rest after three quick runs at the start of the year. If Mick can get him right he’s undoubtedly leniently treated now off 73.
Incidentally, with FENIX and BLUE HERO having moved on to pastures new, we’ll be looking to re-stock over the next few months, and shares in the new recruits will again be available, so if anyone would like to get involved with The Horse Watchers simply contact us via the website.
SUMMER MEMORIES
The long days of summer lend themselves ideally to a trip to the races, and one of the most memorable from our point of view came at Pontefract in July 2018. Mick had four runners on the card, including our flag-bearer Big Country and a new recruit for us in the shape of the twice-raced three-year-old Future Score. The sun shone, there was a big, family-oriented crowd, and the atmosphere was terrific.
Mick’s first representative, the game pacesetter Michele Strogoff, set the ball rolling with an all-the-way success under Silvestre De Sousa, and BIG COUNTRY’s turn was next, in the six-runner Listed Pomfret Stakes.
Pontefract looked different from usual that afternoon, with the outside of the track appearing brown and parched, presumably as the result of some uneven watering, and when we walked the course beforehand it was our opinion that the ground on the outer was considerably quicker than the remainder.
After a brief discussion, it was decided to advise Silvestre to make a beeline for the outside rail on Big Country, even if that meant going it alone for the entirety of the race. In the paddock, our jockey seemed surprised by the suggestion, shrugged his shoulders, and exited stage left to join his horse. Encouragingly, however, he zig-zagged to post, checking out the ground on both parts of the track.
As the field hit the first bend, it was clear there was a big difference of opinion between the jockeys. Three of them, including Silvestre, sent their mounts the scenic route on the brown turf, leaving the other three close to the inside rail on the green. By the time the field turned for home it was apparent that the trio of wide runners had got the better of the argument, and they ended up filling the first three places, well clear of the others, with Big Country battling on typically gamely for a half-length success. Great fun.
There was just time for a glass or two before FUTURE SCORE made his first - and, it would turn out, only - appearance in our colours in the novice event over the same course and distance two races later. A well-bred son of Cape Cross, he hadn’t achieved much in two outings for Saeed Bin Suroor, but he was a good looker and we’d picked him up for 8,000 guineas just six weeks earlier to race him in partnership with Craig Buckingham.
Now Future Score had done fewer gallops than it would normally take to bring a horse to full fitness, but Mick was pleased with him and thought he was ready for a run. Silvestre’s instructions were to ride him considerately, with the long-term future of the horse in mind.
After being hampered early on, Future Score recovered so well that he found himself in front after a furlong or so, and on the first bend Silvestre again headed for the parched turf, racing widest of all but this time followed by the whole field. Entering the straight he’d been headed, but as his stamina kicked in up the final hill he found extra to nose ahead again in the shadow of the post.
Owning racehorses can at times be frustrating, underwhelming, disappointing, but this was clearly a moment to savour. Mick had worked the oracle again, this time with a horse with hardly any previous form. With a smart and stout pedigree, Future Score soon attracted the attention of an agent for owners keen to race him in Australia, and we sold him privately. He did his new connections proud, winning a further five races including the Cranbourne Cup, worth a cool 400,000 Australian dollars.
We went our separate ways at the end of an unforgettable afternoon, but not before Mick and Silvestre had teamed up one final time, with Classic Pursuit, to win the lucky last and make it four out of four.
April Newsletter
The Hampshire-based trainer Bill Wightman, who sent out over 700 winners including two King George VI Chases, called his autobiography Months Of Misery, Moments of Bliss. It’s a phrase that will strike a chord with many trainers, owners and punters.
The Hampshire-based trainer Bill Wightman, who sent out over 700 winners including two King George VI Chases, called his autobiography Months Of Misery, Moments of Bliss. It’s a phrase that will strike a chord with many trainers, owners and punters.
The first three months of 2021 were quiet for The Horse Watchers with relatively few runners and just one winner in the shape of Warrior Brave, but with turf racing beginning to step up a gear there should be a lot more activity from now on. And hopefully there will be one or two moments of bliss along the way.
We’ll begin this round-up with our two-year-old SCALDED. As is the case with most babies, there have been one or two teething problems in his development but also clear indications of promise. The odd little cough, some bruising and soreness in a foot, a brief spike in his temperature - all minor ailments as he learns his job. He’d been coming along nicely until another minor recent setback but hopefully won’t be long in getting to the track. Dave’s 2yo’s have started well and he’s hopeful this year’s batch will turn out to be the best he’s had so there remains plenty to look forward to for all we may not have him out as early as initially hoped
Easter Monday saw our new three-year-old recruit RHOSCOLYN make his reappearance in a warmish 7f handicap at Wolverhampton, and although he didn’t beat a rival there were plenty of positives to be taken from his performance. Nearly all of Dave’s horses have been needing their first run of the season and Rhoscolyn gave the impression he “blew up” after leading until the home turn. He seemed to have several of his rivals on the stretch at halfway but eventually paid for his exertions and Silvestre De Sousa sensibly looked after him in the closing stages.
What was encouraging was the zest Rhoscolyn showed until he started tiring and we expect him to come on for the outing, his first since wind surgery. Silvestre was upbeat about Rhoscolyn’s prospects after the race and reported that he seemed to be having no problems with his breathing, so the initial signs are that his operation has been a success.The performance also added weight to the theory that Rhoscolyn will prove best over 6f or an easy 7f. With that in mind he was sent to Yarmouth for a 6f handicap but was withdrawn having broken through the stalls. A quick stalls test was arranged and passed which allows him to take his chance at Lingfield tomorrow (Tues April 26) in a 7f handicap.
Incidentally, that Wolverhampton race could be one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
The winner ZWELELA is a progressive filly who has improved her Timeform rating with every outing this year and she won so smoothly that there’s a chance she can complete a hat-trick. Runner-up CHORITZO, highly tried on his last two starts as a two-year-old, looks an improved model this season and ran a cracker on his reappearance under the talented Mark Crehan. He shouldn’t be long in going one better. Third-placed DARK ZEAS is still a maiden but this well-bred son of Dark Angel could be placed to advantage in similar company by Phil Kirby.
Twenty-four hours later, at Pontefract, TUKHOOM began his career with The Horse Watchers, and there were some similarities with Rhoscolyn’s run the previous day. Tukhoom has been around the block a few times, with 57 runs under his belt, but he retains all his enthusiasm at the age of eight and we think he’ll win a race or two this season. He’s since been to Catterick where he failed to beat a rival and may take a short while to find his form but he continues to drop in the weights.
WARRIOR BRAVE remains a three-year-old of potential. His most recent run was in a 5f classified stakes at Nottingham and he was meeting several of his rivals there on worse terms than in a handicap.
As it happened he performed right up to his best (Timeform have him running to 91) despite not getting the rub of the green, bumped leaving the stalls which meant he ended up on a wing with little cover, tending to edge left when he was pushed along then hampered inside the final furlong. In spite of all that, he was still beaten under two lengths.
Three-year-old sprinters don’t lack for opportunity at this time of year and it’s not difficult to identify suitable targets for Warrior Brave. The Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap over 5f at Royal Ascot remains at the forefront of our thoughts but it’s not his only option over the next few months and he may run a couple of times more before June. Plenty went wrong for him at Nottingham and his next outing could easily unlock another chunk of improvement. He holds entries later this week at Goodwood and Newmarket and is likely to be take up one of those engagements.
There ought to be races in BLUE HERO too, but so far his supporters have endured more downs than ups. He doesn’t help himself by pulling hard in his races, and getting him down to the start proved a problem on his most recent outing at Newcastle. When he was badly hampered leaving the stalls that evening the game was up before he’d even covered a furlong.
Blue Hero showed he was capable of going close off his current mark when a narrowly-beaten fourth on his fourth start for us, and he’s falling in the weights with each run. To test the idea quirky courses suit quirky horses we’re sending Blue Hero to Brighton tomorrow (April 26) in the hope they go a good gallop in an apprentice riders race and he can make a late challenge under stable apprentice Theodore Lad.
RAASEL is having a break. He made a promising first appearance for us when going close in a novice at Chelmsford in January but hasn’t built on it in two runs since. At Lingfield next time he blew the start completely and was last throughout, while at Newcastle on his latest outing he didn’t find much after travelling well until halfway.
Mick felt that something muscular might be troubling him (the vets are happy that his old suspensory injury isn’t a factor) and that he just needs some rest, so he’ll be turned out for a month and we’ll start afresh with him from June. If that does the trick he’s well handicapped off a mark of 73.
We’re taking our time with the other two horses in our ownership at Mick’s, and hoping that the patient approach that has served us well in the past pays off again. SAAHEQ, for example, took the best part of a year between being bought and pleasing Mick enough to be ready to run, but when he did see the racecourse again he rattled off a quick double at Doncaster and Sandown.
LIBERATION POINT has the potential to be one of the best horses we’ve owned but he’s big and backward and just needs more time. He was in full training early in the year but Mick wasn’t 100% happy with how he was moving so he’s back on the easy list.
His only run last year for Richard Fahey, on heavy ground at Pontefract, was full of promise, and if he can put his niggly problems behind him he could well prove useful. Some cut in the ground could be important for him, and if we get a clear run he could thrive for an autumn campaign.
It was always the plan to bring MAHANAKHON POWER along steadily and he’s slowly moving through the gears at home. “Slowly” is an appropriate word where this horse is concerned - stamina rather than speed is his chief asset - but he’s pleasing Mick and we’re hopeful he’ll have a productive season in handicaps over 1m4f plus.
Mahanakhon Power has only been in full training since mid-February. He seems perfectly sound and has a good attitude. Like Liberation Point, it’s possible he’ll be best with some give in the ground so with a lack of rain around we decided to get his season started on the all-weather at Chelmsford last week. He blew up badly and will be much better for the run, and possibly another, but with a long season ahead we’ve still got lots to look forward to - patience is a virtue remember!
Getting back on the turf puts a spring in everyone’s step, but one last thought on the winter. Mick took the All-Weather Champion Trainer honours for a fourth consecutive season and a fifth time in all, with 59 victories, his highest ever total. A brilliant achievement for the whole team, especially considering the relative lack of big-money investment in the yard. Here’s hoping for another stack of winners on grass over the coming months.
January Newsletter
It’s only right to begin this newsletter with BIG COUNTRY. The most successful horse we’ve been involved with, he won seven races and nearly £250,000 in prize-money and he raced with great enthusiasm throughout his 40-race career.
Among numerous highlights along the way were a Rosebery Handicap success at Kempton, a close second in the John Smith’s Cup at York, an all-the-way Zetland Gold Cup win and a game victory in the Listed Pomfret Stakes at Pontefract.
After a spell at Jamie Osborne’s, during which he became a stable favourite there as well, he was back enjoying life at Mick’s, and his final success at Chelmsford in December was an authoritative one under Luke Morris. His debut for us had been a romp in a maiden at Wolverhampton in February 2017 and his last race took place on the same course on Boxing Day. Big Country had a heart attack when bounding along in front and died instantly.
The plan for him to spend a long retirement at Mick’s yard when his racing days were over won’t happen now, but he’ll never be forgotten. He led a happy life and gave us all a tremendous amount of pleasure.
On a very different note, a new career is about to begin. Since the last newsletter, our yearling has become a two-year-old and he’s also acquired a name. SCALDED, a son of Hot Streak out of Beldale Memory, is continuing to please at Dave’s and the hope is that he’ll be running in the first few weeks of the Flat season proper.
Scalded is certainly bred to be quick. His sire, who was trained by Kevin Ryan, won the Cornwallis Stakes at two and the Temple Stakes at three, both over 5f, while his dam won her first two races as a two-year-old for Clive Cox, both also over the minimum trip. There will be more news on Scalded’s development in the next newsletter.
Remaining at Dave’s, things are moving along smoothly with RHOSCOLYN. He was bought at the end of October, but it was always the plan to adopt a softly-softly approach with this strong, muscular son of Territories, and he didn’t start on the road to fitness until the beginning of January.
He's doing steady canters at the moment and will have his palate fired in a few weeks’ time, after which he’ll gradually move into a full work routine. We see him as a six- or easy seven-furlong horse at this stage but nothing’s set in stone. By the start of the turf season he should be ready to go.
Several of our string have been in action on the all-weather over the last few weeks, and there were positives and negatives to be taken from BLUE HERO’s two runs at the beginning of the month.
First time out at Wolverhampton, he shaped well in finishing a length second to the odds-on favourite in a handicap over the extended mile. We wanted him to get some cover so he was dropped out last of the five runners and as a result wasn’t ideally positioned when the pace picked up, but he stuck on well and was gaining on the winner at the line.
It was disappointing, therefore, that Blue Hero could finish only a well-held fourth of five at Southwell next time. There are several possible excuses - the run might have come too soon, just six days after Wolverhampton; the Fibresand surface was particularly deep that day and some horses didn’t act on it; and more positive tactics may also have been against Blue Hero.
He’s been pleasing at home since and is likely to head to Newcastle later this week with Danny Tudhope provisionally booked to ride.
Initially we were slightly underwhelmed by WARRIOR BRAVE’s half-length defeat at Wolverhampton between Christmas and New Year but the suspicion is he bumped into a really smart one in the shape of Jim Goldie’s Water Of Leith. The pair were giving weight to all their rivals and pulled well clear in a race run at a sound pace.
The form is backed up by a solid time (Timeform had the winner running to 92 and the timefigure is just 2lb below the form rating). We were also left feeling that Warrior Brave may be better suited by a more patient ride and that view was supported by an impressive win at Lingfield on Sunday. Initially a shade keen, Warrior Brave soon switched off behind the leader and Ali hung onto him for as long as he could prior to quickening to the lead a furlong out. Idle once in front, Warrior Brave finished with plenty left to give but still won in the fastest time of the day and clocked a Timeform timefigure of 94. He’ll be up to a mark in the 90’s once reassessed and is getting better but will benefit from not being rushed so we’re shelving the initial plan of AW Finals Day and will instead map out his campaign to aim at the 5f 3yo handicap at Royal Ascot.
FENIX has had us scratching our heads. A relatively cheap purchase at 6,000 guineas, she has worked more than satisfactorily since arriving at Mick’s and she initially struck us as a middle-distance performer. Having found little on her first start in our colours we steadily dropped her back in trip given the speed she’s sown on the track and at home but it’s made little difference and we have to conclude Fenix’s attitude is holding her back. She’ll be sold at the Tattersalls Sale next month.
We took a punt in buying RAASEL at the sales last August because he had a suspensory issue, but he’s been brought along very steadily and - touch wood - seems perfectly sound at the moment. He was promising in two outings for Marcus Tregoning as a two-year-old and if all goes to plan he’ll soon be contesting good-quality sprint handicaps.
Sometimes lengthy discussions and debates are required to try to establish a horse’s ideal distance requirements, but they shouldn’t be needed in the case of Raasel, who looks and runs like a 5f performer through and through. Initially disappointed that he met with defeat on his first run for us at Chelmsford last week, we’re much happier having let the dust settle and reviewed the race in more detail and think we still have a promising sprinter on our hands. Given he’s been off a long time prior to this run, Raasel won’t be rushed into his next start.
LIBERATION POINT also continues to make steady progress towards the track and is likely to start off his career in the black and orange silks next month with a race at Newcastle his likely target.
Mick has taken things gently with him since he arrived from Richard Fahey’s, but in the last couple of weeks Liberation Point’s work has moved up several notches. Jonny, who rides him regularly at home, draws comparisons with Pearl Nation, a real favourite of ours from a few years back. Like Pearl, he’s a big, gross horse who takes plenty of work, and both of them have a power-packed galloping style.
Liberation Point is from the family of the smart stayer Torcedor and the four-time Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats, so it’s hoped he can progress as his stamina is drawn out this year and the race at Newcastle should provide a suitable foundation for what will hopefully be a productive campaign.
And finally, there’s very not much news on MAHANAKHON POWER at the moment. He’s had his feet up for a couple of months but is due into Mick’s yard soon. Depending on how quickly he gains full fitness, he could have a run on the all-weather before the turf racing starts again, but the main aim for him will be middle-distance staying handicaps on the grass. More about him next time.
In the meantime, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve agreed a sponsorship deal with Timeform for 2021. The Horse Watchers have strong historical links with Timeform, three of us having worked there for a combined total of several decades! The Timeform logo will appear on our silks and there will be regular news and features about our horses on the Timeform website at timeform.com
JANUARY MEMORIES
Over the years, much of the action concerning our horses in January has revolved around Southwell. When the Fibresand there is replaced by Tapeta later this year, it will mark the end of an era for trainers, owners and punters who specialised in getting to grips with the unique demands provided by a surface that some horses loved and others loathed.
When we bought Mithqaal in August 2016, part of the reason was that he looked an ideal type to cash in on the programme of winnable races at Southwell during the winter months. His sire, Speightstown, was a noted source of Fibresand winners, and we’d had plenty of success with another of his sons, Pearl Nation, who had won three of his first four races on the surface in our ownership.
If Mithqaal had been slow to come to hand at Mick’s we’d have waited until the all-weather season to unleash him, but by the end of August he was working the house down. We took him to Southwell for a racecourse gallop in mid-September and he gave his workmate 30lb and a sound beating.
Ten days later he snuck into Newmarket’s Silver Cambridgeshire at the bottom of the weights and won it in clear-cut style under Danny Brock. The perfect start in our colours.
Initially Mithqaal didn’t build on that success. A below-par run at York next time possibly came too soon after Newmarket and after two more defeats at Chelmsford we decided to freshen him up with a short break. We knew Southwell would suit him, so that was the place to send him to revive his fortunes once he'd recharged his batteries.
A maximum field of 14 was declared for the feature event over 7f on the track’s pre-Christmas card, but Mithqaal went off the well-backed 11-4 favourite and bolted up, relishing the Fibresand every bit as well as we’d hoped. Moreover, in clocking just 36.5 seconds for the last three furlongs, he put up one of the best time performances of the winter. The form looked particularly strong for the time of year.
Mithqaal’s next race pretty much picked itself. He was clearly in his element at Southwell and there was a handicap there over a mile in the second week of January. He went off a well-backed 4-6 favourite and won comfortably once more.
Thereafter our problem with Mithqaal concerned lack of opportunity. Most of Southwell’s programme caters for low-grade horses, but with an official rating in the mid-90s Mithqaal was now ineligible for the vast majority of races on his favoured surface. When we were approached by an agent on behalf of an American owner, therefore, we didn’t have to think long before accepting the offer, and Mithqaal was sold privately to continue his career in the States.
We didn’t have Mithqaal for long but he packed plenty into a few months in our ownership. Besides winning the Silver Cambridgeshire, he was unbeaten at Southwell and if the fixture list had provided more openings for horses of his ability he’d have continued plying his trade there for longer. As it was, the money generated from his sale was reinvested into the likes of Saaheq and The Great Wall.
December Newsletter
LIMBERING UP
With six of our nine horses still limbering up before returning to action, the first half of December resembles the calm before the storm. There’s plenty of news to pass on, but it probably won’t be until March or April next year that we have a full-strength squad running regularly. Here’s what’s been happening in the last month.
Pride of place undoubtedly goes to WARRIOR BRAVE, and his story demonstrates clearly that a month can be a long time in horseracing. Mick had been patient with him after his arrival from Ireland at the end of August - even more so than might normally be expected with a new recruit - and following a gelding operation at the start of October the horse still hadn’t done a strong gallop when last month’s newsletter was written.
Warrior Brave did his first proper piece of work in mid-November, and perfectly satisfactory it was too. His second spin up Mick’s gallop suggested he was thriving, and encouraged us to enter him in a five-furlong novice event at Wolverhampton a week later. His third gallop the following Wednesday, alongside the reliable work horse Barrington, implied we had a serious racehorse on our hands.
We approached the Wolverhampton race with optimism, then, whilst knowing that with only three gallops under his belt Warrior Brave was entitled to come on for the outing. As it turned out, fitness was never an issue. In a race run at a sound pace set by the free-going Amor De Mi Vida, Warrior Brave tanked along in second place, led early in the straight and didn’t need to be hard ridden by Ali Rawlinson to quicken clear. Nothing else landed a blow.
On occasions like these, post-race excitement and joy gradually give way to measured analysis. The strength of Warrior Brave’s performance was underlined by a solid Timeform timefigure of 86, bang up to the level of his form rating on the day. He’s been given a few extra pounds by Timeform’s handicapper to take into account the ease of his victory, so his rating is currently 90p, the ‘p’ denoting the likelihood of improvement to come. That suggests he’s a useful sprinter in the making at the very least.
Initially the plan was for Warrior Brave to return to Wolverhampton the following week for a Fast Track Qualifier, but after some consideration we decided to bypass that engagement as he would have been meeting some of the opposition on worse terms than in a handicap. We’re in no rush for him to reach the ceiling of his ability. He’ll wait for either a six-furlong novice back at Wolverhampton or head to a handicap at Lingfield just before Christmas, and if all goes to plan there he’ll probably run once more early in 2021 before targeting Finals Day back at Lingfield on Good Friday.
Incidentally, Warrior Brave’s form in Ireland has a very solid look to it, with the maiden in which he finished fourth at The Curragh in July having worked out especially well. The three horses that beat him that day have all won since, and so have the sixth, seventh, eighth, tenth, twelfth and thirteenth!
Warrior Brave is a two-year-old with his best days ahead of him, but, at the other end of the age scale, old favourite BIG COUNTRY, who is rising eight, still retains plenty of enthusiasm.
Mick isn’t hard on him at home these days, preferring to give him strong canters rather than fast pieces of work, but the horse seems his usual zesty self and made a pleasing return for us over eleven furlongs at Kempton towards the end of November.
Looking in tremendous shape beforehand, he raced freely close to the pace, briefly looked like winning when he led two out (and touched 1.8 in-running on Betfair), but had nothing left to give when tackled inside the final furlong and faded into fourth.
Several post-race conclusions were drawn. Likely to be less buzzy with that outing behind him, he’ll probably come on for the run, his first in three months. We’re also inclined to think a mile and three furlongs is the limit of his stamina. He’s been declared to run over a mile and a quarter at Chelmsford on Thursday evening and should go well again.
Big Country will keep running through the winter as long as he’s enjoying himself, and a race like the Lincoln Trial over an extended mile at Wolverhampton, which he won in 2018, could be on the agenda again in March.
Hopes were high that FENIX, running in our colours for the first time, would give a good account of herself in a ten-furlong handicap at Chelmsford on December 3rd. She’d been working encouragingly and the feeling was that she wasn’t overburdened off a mark of 59.
Strictly speaking, then, being beaten eighteen lengths into sixth was disappointing, but there are reasons for thinking she shaped a fair bit better than the bare result. For a start, she probably used up too much energy in setting a good pace, having the vast majority of her rivals under pressure entering the final half-mile (when she went as low as 1.65 on Betfair) before getting very tired in the straight. Running into the teeth of a gale in driving rain arguably didn’t help either.
The likelihood is she’ll be ridden with more restraint next time, and we’re hopeful she’ll finish off her race much better. She has a number of options for her next outing, with Lingfield on December 13th and Wolverhampton on the 19th just two possibilities over the next few weeks.
LIBERATION POINT is gradually working his way back to full fitness. This promising twice-raced son of Iffraaj could be ready to run between Christmas and New Year, and we’ll aim to find a maiden for him to begin with. BLUE HERO, who was gelded soon after we bought him in October, is cantering, and if all goes well he’ll make his reappearance early in January, when he’ll have the option of maidens or handicaps.
MAHANAKHON POWER was always going to have a proper break before returning in 2021. He’s been gelded and we’re looking forward to sendng him over longer distances than he’s tackled thus far. Another we’re adopting a patient approach with is RAASEL, who has just begun doing steady canters and won’t be seen until next year. If he stands training he could be an exciting prospect for good-quality sprints.
Finally, our two horses trained in North Yorkshire by David O’Meara are ticking along nicely. RHOSCOLYN, who was bought from Charlie Hills in October, has been gelded and will be brought along steadily, with decent handicaps over seven furlongs and a mile the plan for him in 2021. And our as-yet unnamed yearling colt by Hot Streak is continuing to learn the ropes. Chestnut with white markings, he looks every inch a sprinter - strong and muscular. He seems straightforward in temperament, moves nicely, and was in the first batch of yearlings broken in at Dave’s. As we move into the New Year, the yard’s two-year-olds will start doing a bit more each week, so expect more detailed reports on the youngest member of our squad in future newsletters.
LAST SHARE REMAINING
There’s been plenty of interest in joining The Horse Watchers since we made our purchases at the Autumn Horses In Training Sales and we have just one share available for sale at the moment.
There’s one 10% share available in RHOSCOLYN in training with David O'Meara at a cost of £3275 followed by monthly payments of £275 pcm from January.
He’s having a quiet time of things at David’s yard at the moment but will be brought back into exercise from the new year in the hope of being ready for the start of the Flat season. He will have wind surgery before he makes his first start for us and we’re looking forward to the 2021 campaign with what we believe is a well-handicapped horse.
OTHER NEWS
We’re pleased to have joined the Racehorse Syndicates Association, which should bring benefits to all our shareholders. Among the advantages of RSA membership is an increased allocation of badges, which will be useful on popular race days next year. For more information, see https://www.racehorsesyndicates.org/benefits/
We’re looking forward to getting involved in next year’s inaugural Racing League too, with Mick and Dave forming part of a team which also includes the highly successful northern yards of Paul Midgley and Michael Dods. Under the rules of the competition, there will be thirty-six races spread over six weeks, all of them handicaps. Every team will have a runner in each race, so there’ll be a guaranteed field of twelve in each contest, carrying a purse of £50,000. The competition begins at Newcastle on July 29th. More details here: https://www.racingleague.uk/
DECEMBER MEMORIES
There’s traditionally a meeting at Southwell between Christmas and New Year, and in 2017 it was circled in the calendar as the starting point for our newest recruit at the time, a big slab of a three-year-old named The Great Wall.
A son of the Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini, The Great Wall had been bought from Michael O’Callaghan in October of that year, having run three times in Ireland. With a dirt-based American pedigree, he looked the sort who could thrive on the all-weather, and exactly the type of horse Mick had excelled with in the past.
A series of encouraging pieces of work in the run-up to Christmas meant that hopes for The Great Wall were growing, and when the entries for the Southwell race, a seven-furlong maiden, came through and the potential opposition looked decidedly thin, the optimism was turning into confidence.
What followed was described by Timeform as “one of the most one-sided races you’ll ever see.” The Great Wall, sent off the 2/5 favourite, was bounced out of the stalls in front by our regular jockey Andrew Mullen and didn’t see another rival, stretching clear on the bridle in the straight to win by nineteen lengths.
At that point, the sky seemed the limit for The Great Wall, but his vast frame contributed to one or two physical problems and he was never the easiest of horses to keep sound.
After a couple of underwhelming efforts in defeat, he had an operation to remove bone chips from a knee. Soon he was working impressively again, and he should have won a good-quality seven-furlong handicap at York in May 2018, just doing too much in front and caught in the dying strides.
The Great Wall did win over six furlongs at Hamilton on his next outing before the physical ailments returned. In some ways he was a case of “what might have been”, and his full potential remained unfulfilled, but the image of him stretching clear of his rivals on a grey December day at Southwell is one of most enduring memories of our time as racehorse owners.
November Newsletter
THE STORY OF THE SALES
A full-strength squad of Chris, Martin, Matt, Mick and Dave assembled at Newmarket in the last week of October for the Tattersalls Horses-In-Training Sale, and, from an initial catalogue of 1617 lots, a hundred or so potential purchases were earmarked for closer investigation.
That number was reduced by some withdrawals in the days leading up to the sale, the most high-profile from our point of view being Michael Bell’s INVEIGLE, who was near the top of our list before he blew his cover by winning impressively at Chelmsford just two days before the sale began. He’ll now stay with Michael Bell and looks like a horse with lots of potential going into his 3yo season.
Having viewed several dozen horses in the flesh, we were able to whittle down the number of possible buys still further, so that by the time bidding started we had a pretty good idea of the lots we were interested in and of how much we were prepared to pay for them.
Lot 126, KINGSHOLM, was on our radar, but he’d won at Wolverhampton seven days before going through the ring, which helped nudge his price just over our budget. James Fanshawe went to 40,000 guineas to hold on to him, and it’s not hard to see this compact son of Tagula winning more sprint handicaps next year.
On the heels of Kingsholm was another Qatar Racing-owned horse in the form of RUNNING BACK, for whom we made an early bid only to see him sold elsewhere for 17,000 guineas. Our initial budget for him would’ve got him at the price he made, but we revised our valuation after seeing him at the sales and taking a view he lacked physical scope. There followed several other lots we were interested in but had to pass over for various reasons: some received mixed reports from our vet, while others proved far too popular. Lot 323, ASIAAF, for example, looked a filly of some potential and was firmly in our sights, but as we expected, we didn’t have anything like the 165,000 guineas required to secure her.
We didn’t have to wait much longer before entering the fray, however. BLUE HERO, a two-year-old son of Air Force Blue, appealed to us as a good-looking, fluent-moving colt, and we bought him out of Michael Bell’s yard for 20,000 guineas. He’d already finished third on three occasions, showing his effectiveness on fibresand and tapeta, and Mick will be more than hopeful of winning a race or two with him over the winter. He’ll be gelded straight away and will hopefully be running before the end of the year.
We were all quite keen on lot 366, CALEDONIAN CRUSADE, a progressive middle-distance handicapper trained by David Simcock, but we weren’t alone in that, and he eventually changed hands for 68,000 guineas.
Towards the end of proceedings on day one, we also signed for FENIX, who’d shown clear signs of ability in four outings for Jamie Osborne. This three-year-old filly by the quality sire Lope De Vega looked a bargain at 6,000 guineas, and with a useful dam’s side of her pedigree she’ll be worth a fair bit more than that if she can lose her maiden tag over the coming months. The likelihood is she’ll be the first of those purchased to hit the track in our colours.
Day two dawned with a fresh set of possible acquisitions, and it wasn’t long before one of our main hopes for the week came into view. Lot 488, RHOSCOLYN, a two-year-old trained by Charlie Hills, had shaped well on his first couple of outings before scooting up in a maiden at Haydock in August, and since then nothing had gone right for him. He was hampered at York, seemed not to stay at Newcastle, raced in isolation at Newbury and got bogged down in the mud back at Haydock.
As a result his mark has slipped and he looks just the type to do well in handicaps next year. The hammer came down on him at 23,000 guineas, and we’d have been prepared to have paid more. His price was seemingly limited by the declaration he’s been heard to make a noise but our vet has taken the view that minor wind surgery (cauterisation of the palate) will have the desired effect and we’re delighted to have him in the squad for a value price. Dave will train him at his base near York and he’s an exciting prospect.
The next major item on the shopping list was lot 560, LIBERATION POINT. This well-bred son of Iffraaj had cost €160,000 as a yearling, and after two promising runs for Richard Fahey we thought he’d be rather too expensive for our “mid-range” budget. But the sales can throw up surprises.
Liberation Point had passed our vet’s examination with flying colours, and a video recap of his most recent run at Pontefract, where he’d been the only horse to threaten a useful Sir Michael Stoute-trained winner, just served to increase our enthusiasm for the three-year-old. We’re hopeful he’ll prove to be a real snip at 16,000 guineas. He heads straight to Mick Appleby and will start his life with us on the AW over the next couple of months, probably in a novice but we’ll also assess handicap options from his mark of 77.
Lot 570, BELLATRIXSA, ticked plenty of boxes, looking an unexposed filly over a distance of ground, but she was another to win in the days before the sale, which pushed her price out of our range. She went for 80,000 guineas, seemingly to join Venetia Williams, and it would be no surprise if she were to make into a useful jumper.
Some might say that aiming to improve a horse previously trained by Aidan O’Brien would be asking for trouble, but PARTY SEASON, a choicely-bred son of American Pharoah who’d cost a cool million dollars as a yearling, was next in the shop window. He’d laboured on soft and heavy ground on his first two outings, but his pedigree is very much on all-weather one, and sure enough he’d won in good style when switched to the polytrack at Dundalk.
We’d have loved to have sent him to Mick to run in the best all-weather races in Britain during the winter, but we also guessed he’d be out of our range financially. Still, O’brien horses don’t always make what you think they will and he was worth “following in” but unfortunately we were right about our pockets not being deep enough, as Party Season changed hands for 160,000 guineas, apparently to race in America, where he may well be winning graded races in due course.
The main focus of interest on the third day was lot 939, MAHANAKHON POWER, hard to pronounce but open to improvement. With a pedigree absolutely packed with stamina, he looked unexposed over a mile and a half plus and was high on our list at the start of the week. But would he prove too popular with other buyers?
Happily, in this instance, we got the horse we wanted for a very fair 24,000 guineas, and he’ll be one to look forward to in handicaps next year.
At that point our business was essentially done for the week, but we’ll be keeping an eye in the future on lot 981, RICKSEN, who had shaped nicely in three starts for Iain Jardine. There should be better to come from him for his new trainer Mark Loughnane, and he could turn out to have been well bought at 26,000 guineas. He’ll race in the colours of Laurence Bellman who we wish the best of luck with his new recruit.
Sales season is also the point of the year we say goodbye to horses we’ve had on our books and recent weeks have seen two of our less successful projects moved on. PERUVIAN LILY is a filly who’d showed plenty at home after we bought her in Ireland last year but was a disappointment on the track. We gave her a good break and brought her back in September but the result wasn’t any better so we drew stumps and sold her on. She was sold for just £2,000 at Doncaster and will continue her career abroad.
Another horse who has had his final start in the black and orange is STONE MASON. We’ll always remember him as having a huge amount of ability but not a great deal of willingness to show it! A gorgeous-looking son of Pivotal, he excited us with his work on the gallops but rarely displayed it on the track. That said, his demolition job at Chelmsford in September was an enjoyable night. He went through the ring at Newmarket for 9,000 guineas, a loss of £3000 on our purchase price just over a year earlier – if only he’d wanted it more! Still, thanks to Stone Mason, a frustrating horse but a winner and they’ll always be special to us.
AVAILABLE SHARES
Several of the shares in our new team have already sold out and we’d like to thank all of our new shareholders and welcome them to The Horse Watchers Team. Special thanks go to Laurence Bellman and Christian Cranfield who have taken shares in all of the new recruits – hopefully we can reward the support of all our new backers with plenty of winners in the months ahead.
If you would like to join us then there’s still the opportunity to do so as a limited number of 10% shares remain available in both FENIX and RHOSCOLYN. We’re confident both horses will progress and win races and feel that both were bought at value prices. If you’d like more information on the horses and the cost of the shares please visit www.thehorsewatchers.com/horses.
OTHER NEWS
With the sales taking centre stage, things have been quieter than usual on the racing front, but we still have several horses waiting in the wings. Closest to a run is old favourite BIG COUNTRY, who has a host of possible engagements over the next few weeks. It’s only two years since he was second in the Churchill Stakes at Lingfield, with subsequent multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Addeybb in third, and while he’s undoubtedly deteriorated a bit since then we think he can still be competitive off his current handicap mark. He could be set for Kempton later this month but has other options available to him.
WARRIOR BRAVE, who was bought privately from Ireland at the end of August, is building up steadily to peak fitness at Mick’s. He won’t be rushed, and we’re hopeful he can win a sprint maiden before moving up the handicap ladder. He’s bred to be useful over five or six furlongs, being by Henry Candy’s Diamond Jubilee and Sprint Cup winner Twilight Son out of a mare who won six times over sprint distances for Rod Millman. He should hit the track in December.
RAASEL has had a good rest since being purchased in August, as was always the plan, but he’s recently entered training and will be built up very steadily. He won’t run this year and we’ll take our time but if all goes well with him he’ll be an exciting prospect for useful sprints in 2021. Watch this space.
And finally, our unnamed yearling by Hot Streak, in training with Dave, has been making his first tentative steps on the road to becoming a racehorse. He was ridden for the first time in early October and has already had a look at the Willow Farm gallops, he seems very laid back and will be cantering by Christmas.
NOVEMBER MEMORIES
In each newsletter we’ll be matching a memory to a month, and November’s belongs to TWO JABS.
The majority of horses we’ve been involved with have raced only on the Flat, but Two Jabs was bought with the intention of campaigning him as a dual-purpose performer. He’d kicked off his career for Mark Brisbourne by winning a bumper at Huntingdon, but when we bought him in September 2015 he’d had 13 runs on the Flat and had yet to try hurdling.
Two Jabs settled in smoothly to Mick’s regime, and by the end of October we were getting excited about having a horse we could regularly switch between codes. With late-season testing ground prevalent on the turf tracks, we decided to aim Two Jabs at a mile-and-a-half handicap on Kempton’s polytrack in mid-November.
In what looked a competitive race he was nibbled at in the betting and sent off at odds of 13-2. Andrew “Midge” Mullen was partnering most of Mick’s horses at the time and gave Two Jabs a peach of a ride, getting plenty of cover in midfield, switching him for a run two out and putting in a power-packed drive to get him up inside the last fifty yards. The perfect start.
Novice hurdling was still the plan for Two Jabs and his schooling at Mick’s had been perfectly satisfactory, so a deputation of owners headed off to Market Rasen two months later, full of hope. There was a howling gale and the rain was horizontal. We wished Jamie Moore the best of luck and repaired to the stand.
For the first hundred yards everything went smoothly. Then Two Jabs put on the brakes and barely had enough momentum to get over the first hurdle. The same thing happened at the second flight, and by halfway he was tailed off. Perhaps this was why his previous trainer had never run him over obstacles? We didn’t ask Two Jabs to jump again.
Happily, the horse suffered no ill effects whatsoever. Back on the Flat, he returned to Kempton in March and showed real tenacity to win once more, making the running and rallying bravely to get up on the line. He subsequently made the frame in three competitive handicaps at York that summer.
Two Jabs gave us a lot of fun. He’ll be fondly remembered for the closing stages at Kempton and for the early stages at Market Rasen.
Welcome to our Website!
Welcome to our new website.
We are The Horse Watchers. A successful racehorse ownership syndicate described by the Racing Post as “established shrewd recruiters of horses”.
We’re on the lookout for new additions to our string at the upcoming Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale.
And this year we will be offering shares in our new purchases.
Please take the time to look around our website to find out more about us and what we offer. Details of available shares will soon be on the Horses section of the site while you can also sign up to our free monthly newsletter and receive this information by email.
We hope you enjoy the site and that some of you are joining us in the winners enclosure soon!
All the best
The Horse Watchers