By Brian Sheerin
David Marnane has warned that MRC International, the syndicate behind Tuesday's impressive Tipperary scorer Lady Tilbury (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), are only just getting started and have much more to look forward to than the Royal Ascot-bound speedster.
Lady Tilbury is just the type you need for the Queen Mary S., according to Marnane, who revealed that of the 19 juveniles that the recently-formed syndicate own, some of the best have yet to grace the track.
No stranger to success at the royal meeting having managed Dandy Boy (Ity) (Danetime) to Wokingham S. glory in 2012 and Settle For Bay (Fr) (Rio De La Plata) to Royal Hunt Cup success in 2018, Marnane has high hopes for Lady Tilbury in the G2 Queen Mary S. and hopes the new syndicate can expand.
“We've liked her all along and she's a typical one of ours who has stepped up with every run,” he told TDN Europe on Wednesday. “She hasn't finished improving and she was impressive at Tipperary.
“I think she learned a lot there and it didn't seem to knock her sideways. Fingers crossed, she looks an ideal Queen Mary type. She has plenty of gears, hits the line well, has a good temperament and likes fast ground.”
Along with the help of agent Amy Marnane, daughter of renowned breeze-up handler Con Marnane, the trainer picked up 19 yearlings on behalf of MRC International, an ownership group that comprises people from all around the globe.
Marnane explained, “It's a good concept and we've a good team. Amy was instrumental in recruiting the yearlings. She was there with us at every sale. We mapped out what we wanted and we bought well. Amy is a great judge and has a great eye. She has seen a lot of fast horses in her time.
“Lady Tilbury didn't cost much [18,000gns]. I am mad about the sire and Amy liked her a lot. She's one of 19 2-year-olds that we have. You have to buy a few to give yourself a chance and we think there's a few more to get excited by. She's one of only a few 2-year-old types so there's lots to look forward to hopefully.”
He added, “Contrary to belief, we are a very small yard and only train 25 horses. We've trained a couple of Royal Ascot winners and, when I went through all the good horses we had here, they came to the yard unraced. We wanted to see what was the best way of getting good horses into the yard and buying them as yearlings seems to work best for us.”
Lady Tilbury is a general 16-1 chance for Queen Mary glory and Marnane is hoping the rapidly-progressive filly can shine on the biggest stage for her enthusiastic owners.
He said, “I have been guilty that, when I find a couple of good horses, I tend to leave the yearling sales for a year, two years and sometimes even three years, but you can't do that. You need to go every year and the plan for this syndicate is to reinvest in the autumn.
“The main objective of this syndicate is to have fun–we were racing out in Meydan together and some of the members are from all over the world–and we will be going in again at the yearling sales later this year.”
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