ON THE TRACK
The last few weeks have brought plenty of highs as we reached the end of the season. Most notable has been Spycatcher’s phenomenal winning streak. On the 28th of October, he landed the Group 3 Prix de Seine-et-Oise on French soil at Chantilly. He displayed a total show of class as he tracked the leader until the 2f marker, at which point jockey Pierre-Louis Jamin asked for more. Spycatcher gamely responded, accelerating away to hit the line an impressive four and a half lengths in front.
He didn’t stop there. Next time out, he followed up with a spectacular victory in the Wentworth Stakes (Listed) at Doncaster on heavy ground only 12 days later, once again going clear to win by 2¾ lengths ahead of his nearest rival, Zoum Zoum (Ralph Beckett). What a way to finish the season how he started with a Listed win at Doncaster! Give this horse the ground he likes and he shows up every time.
Spycatcher has consistently provided his owners with fantastic racing at the highest level. His last 21 races have been at Listed or Group level, winning or finishing in the placings in 12 of them.
One owner who has attended 37 of his 40 runs is Paul Brookes. Please click here for a truly wonderful account of his journey as an owner with Spycatcher at Highclere.
Among our two-year-olds, Tryst got off the mark with a professional performance at Wolverhampton, cruising to victory by 2 lengths. This filly has shown marked improvement with each run, and to go one better this time out and finish her season with a win at the third attempt bodes well for an exciting three-year-old career. George is delighted with her; as a daughter of Sottsass, she will no doubt mature and return a stronger model next year. We look forward to next season with bated breath!
Royalist followed suit, securing an impressive 8½-length victory at Bath to join our band of winning two-year-olds this season. It was rewarding to see the ability he had shown at home translate to the racetrack. He made all and went clear in the hands of Finley Marsh, who gave a classy ride to hit the line going away.
Another standout two-year-old of late has been Angel Gabriel. Unfortunately, he sustained a minor injury at the start of the season, which delayed his debut on the track. He has certainly been worth the wait, and in truth, the time off allowed him to mature and return a stronger model. This was reinforced when he finished runner-up on his first two starts. He has progressed with every run and looks set to make a third appearance over 7f next time out. I am confident it will not be long before we see this colt in the winner’s enclosure. Exciting times ahead!
The National Hunt season is well underway, and our jumpers have been performing brilliantly on the track. The most notable performances have come from Carlenrig and Cooltobecareless, both trained by Dan Skelton. Although two very different types, they both impressed on debut.
Cooltobecareless
Carlenrig
Cooltobecareless was unlucky to bump into one at Chepstow in October, finishing runner-up. Another half furlong and it could have been a different result. He was also fairly green, so there will be plenty of improvement to come. All being well, we hope to see him back out later this month at Ascot for a Listed bumper.
Carlenrig has made both Dan and Harry—who rode him—very excited. He showed buckets of ability on debut at Chepstow when finishing second earlier this month. For a big horse, he handled the conditions well. Dan had planned to use the race as a prep run to help get him fitter, but he travelled from last through to contest the lead, finishing a respectable second on his hurdle debut. There will be further improvement to come from this horse, who continues to please Dan at home. His next target is a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Cheltenham on the 13th of December, which is very exciting.
In other news, our yearlings have all been making great strides through their pre-training process. They are a seriously exciting crop of horses. Please click here to read about how they are progressing at this stage.