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.