Winter Watch: Time to Take Stock

It was perhaps fitting last week that the inaugural edition of Winter Watch going to print should coincide with the arrival of snow across many parts of Britain, albeit we now find ourselves with one less meeting to report on after the cold snap brought terminal consequences for a certain all-weather track in Nottinghamshire.

Consider yourself lucky if you spent that particular Monday evening in the warmth of home, cup of tea in hand ready to find out what this Winter Watch was all about. Meanwhile, all of those involved with putting on the nine-race card at Southwell battled on manfully through gradually worsening conditions to see it through to its conclusion, before another three inches of snow overnight forced the abandonment of Tuesday's fixture.

That reduced the number of all-weather meetings staged in Britain last week to 10, including Saturday's cards at Newcastle and Wolverhampton where Storm Bert and its extreme weather posed further challenges for the jockeys, stable staff and many others who come together to give us Flat racing in this country roughly 350 days of the year.

Now, we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of the November break, eight rare and thoroughly deserved days for all of those mentioned above to hopefully rack up some air miles, instead of hours in the car travelling the length and breadth of Britain.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this week's two meetings at Dundalk, but you can appreciate that there won't be a Winter Watch next week with no other Flat racing to speak of in these parts until Wolverhampton kicks us off again on Monday, December 2.

In the meantime, now feels like as good time as any to express our gratitude to everyone in the industry who will continue to put in the hard yards this winter, whatever the elements might have to throw at them. This week is no exception, with horses up and down the country still needing to be fed, mucked out and exercised.

Whether it's the care and love shown to their horses by the stable staff, or the dedication and skill shown by the jockeys, we're blessed to follow a sport that has so much to be proud of. It's something that we should never lose sight of, nor the importance of giving our devoted workforce some much-needed respite.

Rising Stars Round-Up

Speaking of a devoted workforce, Tom Frary and Sean Cronin of Cafe Racing will remain hard at work over the coming weeks and months in the search for more 'TDN Rising Stars' in Europe, the latest of which appeared at Wolverhampton on Thursday when Shadwell's Falakeyah (GB) ran out an impressive winner of the first division of the fillies' maiden over an extended mile.

There's no point me copying Tom's homework, with his summary of the performance available here, but the gist is that Falakeyah won by five and a half lengths in the style of a filly with a huge future, in keeping with her blue-blooded pedigree. The daughter of New Bay (GB) is out of the unraced War Front mare Alaflaak who, in turn, is out of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Lahudood (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}). Lahudood's other offspring include the Listed winner Aghareed (Kingmambo), who is perhaps best known as the dam of Baaeed (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who was beaten just once in 11 career starts, notably winning six Group 1 races. For good measure, he is a full-brother to the G1 Coronation Cup and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Hukum (Ire), who raced for the same trainer as Falekeyah in Owen Burrows.

Incidentally, Falakeyah is the second all-weather winner to have earned 'TDN Rising Star' status in recent weeks after Princess Zahra Aga Khan's Mandanaba (Fr) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), who impressed when making a winning debut at Chantilly on November 12.

Last winter six horses were nominated as 'TDN Rising Stars' in Europe when winning on the all-weather between the months of November and April. As well as the subsequent G1 2,000 Guineas and G1 Sussex Stakes hero Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), they included the Karl Burke-trained Night Raider (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who is now unbeaten in four starts on the all-weather following his victory in the Listed Golden Rose Stakes at Newcastle on November 16. He's very much a sprinter going places and another example of what we're looking for this winter, even if it didn't work out for him on turf during the summer.

Eye-catcher! Falakeyah is impressive on debut as she powers home at @WolvesRaces for @JimCrowley1978 and @OwenBurrowsRace… pic.twitter.com/GVBG3rGh4B

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 21, 2024

Brooklyn One To Follow For Boughey

Like Falakeyah, Brooklyn (Ire) kicked off his career in the best possible fashion when winning a seven-furlong novice at Newcastle on Friday, forging clear in the closing stages to land the spoils by three and three-quarter lengths.

The similarities with the Shadwell filly don't end there, either, as he's by Darley's Night Of Thunder (Ire), another son of Dubawi (Ire) making a big impression at stud, and the distaff side of his pedigree is littered with some star names of recent years. His dam, the winning Dansili (GB) mare Black Ruby (Ire), is a half-sister to a pair of Group 1 winners by Galileo (Ire) in the Fillies' Mile scorer Together Forever (Ire)–the dam of a certain City Of Troy (Justify)–and Oaks heroine Forever Together (Ire), as well as the G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Lord Shanakill (Speightstown).

Bred by Vimal and Gillian Khosla, who raced Black Ruby, a daughter of their outstanding broodmare Green Room (Theatrical {Ire}), Brooklyn was offered by Ballylinch Stud at Book 1 of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale where he was bought by Arthur Hoyeau, on behalf of the Windfield Partners, for €175,000.

Clearly, he's a colt who has needed a bit of time, having been described as “very backwards” by trainer George Boughey back in April, but the penny has certainly dropped now judged on the manner of his Newcastle success, looking a thorough professional on his way to justifying odds-on favouritism. He's bred to be suited by at least a mile–Black Ruby gained her sole career win over a mile and a quarter–and there should be good races to be won with him as a three-year-old.

A word, too, for Brooklyn's jockey Billy Loughnane, the teenage sensation who revealed in a post on X on Tuesday that he's using his time off to travel to Australia where he'll be based for the next few months. A double on that Newcastle card took his tally of winners in Britain this year to 162, a remarkable haul for a rider in just his second full season with a licence.

Champion Performance at Lingfield

Lambourn trainer Ed Walker is nearing the end of what is already the best season of his training career, numerically, since he saddled his first runner exactly 14 years ago today [Wednesday], with his tally of 72 winners in Britain surpassing his previous best total of 66 in both 2021 and 2023.

A deserved Group 1 win for Makarova (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) in the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp was no doubt the highlight, while another notable theme this year has been the success Walker has enjoyed with his two-year-olds, having saddled 22 winners from 108 such runners in Britain at a 20% strike rate.

The G2 Lowther Stakes winner Celandine (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is the undoubted pick of that bunch, though a horse like Noble Champion (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) could pose stiffer competition next year after he became the latest juvenile winner from Kingsdown Stables with an emphatic victory in a seven-furlong novice at Lingfield on Thursday.

A 500,000gns purchase at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, having first sold at Park Paddocks for 140,000gns at the December Foal Sale, Noble Champion had shown plenty of ability on his debut at Newmarket earlier in the month, travelling as well as any before appearing to get tired in the closing stages, and he showed the benefit of that run with a smooth performance from the front at Lingfield. After hanging right on the home turn, the most striking feature of his success was the turn of foot he then displayed once back on an even keel, drawing right away from his rivals to win by five and a half lengths.

There was more than a bit of Pogo (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}) in that performance and if he proves anything like as talented as his half-brother, who counts the G2 Challenge Stakes among his eight career victories, then his connections should have plenty of fun days ahead with this colt.

Owners Tbt Racing Limited certainly seem intent on making a splash, anyway. They returned to Book 1 this year to buy a Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly for 900,000gns and a Kingman (GB) filly for 750,000gns, among others, giving Walker cause for optimism that his two-year-old team for 2025 could prove a force to be reckoned with once again.

Easy as you like! The 500,000 gns purchase Noble Champion gets off the mark in style for @edwalkerracing and @HectorCrouch… pic.twitter.com/2rb6MhQvQc

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 21, 2024

Beckett Bandwagon Rolls On

Speaking of powerful two-year-old squads, no trainer has sent out more individual winners from that age group in Britain this year than Ralph Beckett, who has had 43 different juveniles from his yard win at least one race, compared to 39 for Karl Burke, his closest pursuer.

Miss Cartesian (Ire) was winner number 43 when making a successful debut in a six-furlong filles' novice on Monday of last week, ultimately winning by three quarters of a length with a bit to spare, despite having taken a while to get the hang of things. In pure form terms, she didn't achieve anything out of the ordinary, but it was a promising start to her career, nonetheless, with enough there in her pedigree to suggest she has the potential to prove a bit above average. Bred by Milestream Stud, who sold her for €50,000 at Book 1 of the Orby Yearling Sale, the daughter of Kodiac (GB) is the second foal out of a Pivotal (GB) half-sister to the 1,000 Guineas heroine Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and the five-time Group 1 winner and sire Modern Games (Ire).

On the same card at Wolverhampton, run in similarly foul conditions to those we saw around 80 miles away at Southwell, Good Banter (Ire) (Calyx {GB}) also deserves a mention after he gained his second win from three career starts with another professional performance in the six-furlong novice. Bought for €70,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, he gave 7lb and a comprehensive beating to a newcomer trained by, you guessed it, Ralph Beckett, making all to win by a length and three-quarters.

Good Banter is in equally capable hands with Clive Cox, especially when it comes to this type of horse. He could be one to quickly climb the ranks in three-year-old sprint handicaps for Paul and Clare Rooney, who enjoyed some good days with a similar type this year in James's Delight (Ire) (Invincible Army {Ire}), the Listed winner who pushed his rating from 88 to 110.

Dundalk Debrief

It wasn't to be for Dancing Teapot (Ire) (Camelot {GB})–one of our 'Winners In Waiting' in the first installment of Winter Watch–when she returned to Dundalk for the first division of the one-mile fillies' maiden on Friday. Once again she found one too good in the Adrian Murray-trained Carolina Jetstream (GB) (Pinatubo {Ire}), though it was still another promising run, running to a level which should be good enough for her to win a similar event before too long.

The second division of that fillies' maiden perhaps wasn't quite so strong as the first, but credit to Mick Halford and Tracey Collins, for whom Empress Artemis (Ire) was their third juvenile winner of the year and first to win on debut. Michael Enright's homebred also added her name to the growing number of two-year-olds winners in 2024 for Mehmas (Ire), with his unprecedented tally now up to 66. Incidentally, the filly who broke the world record for him at Wolverhampton earlier this month, Naughty Eyes (Ire), has been catalogued to sell at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale since we discussed her in these pages last week.

As for the final talking point from Friday's card at Dundalk, Juddmonte homebred Purview (GB) (Kingman {GB}) looked very much one to follow when winning the one-mile maiden on his debut for Dermot Weld, staying on well in the straight to land the spoils by two and three-quarter lengths. As you'd expect from one in those silks, he's impeccably bred as a son of the Listed scorer Variable (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who, in turn, is out of the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Proportional (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}).

It's been a quiet enough year for Weld since the retirement of his Oaks heroine Ezeliya (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), and Purview was only his third two-year-old winner of the season after Hazdann (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Swelter (GB) (Kingman {GB}), both of whom have been off the track since maiden wins in the summer.

Weld has never been one to overface his horses at two, though, and he'll be hoping that his patient approach with this trio pays dividends in 2025, certainly in the case of Hazdann, who beat the subsequent G2 Champions Juvenile Stakes winner Green Impact (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) when getting off the mark at the Curragh on Irish Derby weekend.

An impressive debut by Purview in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden with Chris Hayes onboard for the Dermot Weld team! 🚀@IrishEBF_ | @DundalkStadium pic.twitter.com/ABxiL9qlip

— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) November 22, 2024

Winner In Waiting

Safe Idea (GB)
Cracksman (GB)–Bright Flash (GB), by Dutch Art (GB)
The second division of the fillies' maiden run at Wolverhampton on Thursday didn't have a horse to take it apart like Falakeyah did the first, but it should still throw up plenty of winners, with Charlie Johnston's Safe Idea arguably shaping like the best horse in the race, despite finishing only fourth. In a slowly-run race she came from much further back than the three who beat her and it was a huge run under the circumstances to be beaten only two lengths at the line, especially as her SP of 40-1 suggests expectations were low. She will stay further and is one to look out for next time.