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.
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.