An American Dream: The Return To Royal Ascot, the first installment of a video series in the lead up to Royal Ascot, was launched by Great British Racing International (GBRI) and Ascot Racecourse on Wednesday morning.
The series documents the journey of US-based syndicate operator Harlan Malter, as he tries to turn the dream of returning to Royal Ascot with a horse sired by his 2018 G1 King's Stand S. runner-turned-stallion Bucchero (Kantharos) into reality. In the first video installment, Malter reflects on his personal reasons for his ambitions, as well as his experience of watching the horse carry the Ironhorse Racing silks to place fifth at the Royal Meeting in 2018. He also explains his plans for purchasing an offspring of Bucchero that can be trained in the UK, as well as one day producing a homebred out of Improvise (Fr) (Iffraaj {GB}), a filly purchased from the dispersal of Queen Elizabeth II's horses at Tattersalls last November who is now racing for Ironhorse Racing in America.
Since this first episode was filmed, Malter has also secured a 2-year-old by Bucchero that he plans to aim at the Royal Palm Juvenile S. at Gulfstream Park on May 13, the winner of which will earn an automatic entry into one of Royal Ascot's six 2-year-old races. The colt, purchased for $70,000 at the OBS March Sale, will be trained by Joe Orseno.
Malter said, “Our first tangible step [of the plan] was to head over to Tattersalls this winter to try to acquire a quality European mare to eventually breed to Bucchero. After finding that in Improvise, I was thrilled when GBRI reached out to help me and follow along in this dream. The next step in the process was to find a ready to race 2-year-old Bucchero this year who hopefully we found in the colt we purchased last week.
“The last step will be to head over to Royal Ascot in June and firm up our plans with a UK trainer and together look for a yearling prospect in the fall to send right over to Newmarket to begin preparation for a 2-year-old campaign in the UK.
“In a game that is often dominated by a small group at the top, horse racing is one of the few sports that lets anyone take a shot at glory. The process, the challenge and the people we surround ourselves within this sport is why all of us wouldn't think of living a day without these amazing horses in our lives.”
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