Royal Stud 2022

[Bustino74]

A bit early but I'm not attempting any analysis at this stage. It's just that The Queen has her first runner tomorrow at Southwell. Last year Spring is Sprung was her first 2yo winner and looked to have some chance at Royal Ascot, where the colt ran unaccountably badly. No excuses were given but the colt left Bell soon after and did not return until November/December, since when he's been a regular on the gallops.
Spring is Sprung is the third foal of the sprinter Kinematic. The first two colt foals (both by Cable Bay) have both gained black type, the best being Kings Lynn who similarly has had a disrupted career. In many respects Spring is Sprung (by Oasis Dream) is better bred. Can he get an important year for The Queen off to a good start?
Balding, who trains Kings Lynn, has the 2yo this year by Recorder called Juryman. The yearling is a filly by Cable Bay.

 

[Bustino74]

Spring is Sprung in January. Won well, I'm sure he can go on from this.

 

[Bustino74]

Spring is Sprung in January. Won well, I'm sure he can go on from this.

After this win I rather thought he'd be put away for the turf season but no, he's entered for next Thursday at Southwell. He won off 81 and his next race will be off 87 which is a literal reading of his last run, with no extras thrown in for the second horse having shown any improvement. He could have been let off lightly.
Spring is Sprung is the 3rd foal of Kinematic, whose previous foals both have black type. The 4th foal Juryman (by Recorder) has already gone into training with Balding, who also trains Kinematic's best foal, Kings Lynn. I'd imagine Juryman is seen as an early type.

I'd always imagined that most yearlings went into training in November/December when most stables have got rid of their unwanted horses and those fillies ready for the paddocks. A quick look at the BHA site shows you when named horses go into training (and indeed switch trainers) in GB. It shows that I'd imagined wrong as in the case of the Royal horses only about 25% of them have so far been sent to their trainers. Again I can only think these are the early types. So here are some of the others who've already gone to their trainers:-

Quiet Life (f by Oasis Dream and closely related to Spring is Sprung) to Cox
Garner (c by Recorder) to Charlton
Candle of Hope (f by Cable Bay and half-sister to 2 winners) to Hughes
Constitution (c by Churchill) to Balding
Playback (c by Recorder and half-brother to Tactical) to Hannon
Silver Pageant (f by Iffraaj and half-sister to winner Silver Screen) to Bell
Crosstitch (c by Recorder and first foal) to Bell

You'll notice 4 of these fresh 2yos are by Recorder, whom ran and won for The Queen. Despite being by Galileo he was an early type, declared to run in May though eventually making his debut in early July. He only ran as a 2yo, wining twice including the Acomb. He stands in France and was used several times by the Royal Stud in his first seasons at stud. He was a FSS last year and didn't do too badly. Most of his horses ran in France where his produce won a bit of of money, if not a lot of races. The Queen has two maiden 3yos. You'll also notice (according to the BHA site) that so far Stoute, Haggas and Gosden have not been assigned inmates.
Can't help feeling Candle of Hope is well-named. She is out of the only remaining Feola (family of Nashwan etc.) mare in the Royal Stud, and her name is Good Hope. As well as this 2yo filly she has a yearling filly by Saxon Warrior and is due to Sea the Moon. More on all these 2yos (and of course the older horses) later.

Yesterday saw the victory of Pied Piper and SBC has said what needs to be said. Pied Piper's sibling 3yo is the the once-raced, winning full-sister Fresh Fancy, who is trained by Charlton. Pied Piper is the first foal of the winning mare Pure Fantasy, so the mare has got off to a good start. She has a 2yo filly by Australia (called Barrier) and a yearling filly by Le Havre: she may produce a foal to Ulysses this year. From the same family as Reach for the Moon she has become a valuable broodmare. What is more, she is productive with 4 shots and 4 goals (live foals).
Must say I was slightly surprised that Pied Piper won yesterday as his flat form showed he needed hock-deep going to win. His Punchestown win backed that up, as it was again on heavy ground, yet yesterday was goodish ground. It just illustrates that some horses change a great deal once you put an obstacle in their way.

 

[Sir Barney Chuckles]

Garner sounds interesting will certainly look out for him under the new banner of 'Roger and Harry'. Mr Charlton now trained his last runner under solely his name having gone down the 'Thady' route from just over a week ago. First winner for the pair last evening at Kempton Park.

Still can't believe that they haven't made a stallion of Tactical. I'm know that I'm in the minority for saying that but his CV would appeal to so many breeders - precocious enough to be a Royal Ascot winner at 2, classy enough to be a Group 2 winning juvenile and then he proved he had trained on by winning a Listed race at 3.

Time is proving they made a right royal (no pun intended) mistake in not keeping Pied Piper and sending him hurdling. Cor blimey its not as though the old girl doesn't know a half decent NH trainer now is it...

 

[Bustino74]

Garner sounds interesting will certainly look out for him under the new banner of 'Roger and Harry'. Mr Charlton now trained his last runner under solely his name having gone down the 'Thady' route from just over a week ago. First winner for the pair last evening at Kempton Park.

Still can't believe that they haven't made a stallion of Tactical. I'm know that I'm in the minority for saying that but his CV would appeal to so many breeders - precocious enough to be a Royal Ascot winner at 2, classy enough to be a Group 2 winning juvenile and then he proved he had trained on by winning a Listed race at 3.

Time is proving they made a right royal (no pun intended) mistake in not keeping Pied Piper and sending him hurdling. Cor blimey its not as though the old girl doesn't know a half decent NH trainer now is it...

Not sure about Garner, because I'm not a fan of the mare. She's one of the failing Feola mares and has now been sold, so he's her last foal. No doubt he'll turn out to be a champion as mum's been sold. There's a 3yo called Clear Day, who looks ordinary. The Charltons have also been sent a new Royal 3yo just a few weeks back. He's called Chancery Lane and is again by Recorder out of a decent mare called Queen's Prize (herself out of Daring Aim, so an inspired piece of naming by HM). This mare has had 3 foals before him, all runners and all winners including the useful Award Scheme. I think Chancery Lane is likely to be a better prospect than Garner.
As regards Tactical we were both wrong, as I thought he'd be gelded. As it was he kept his nuts and Balding says he just didn't get his going last year. I also think he needs the right distance. Maybe if he gets a couple of group wins he could go to stud. His 3yo brother is a maiden called Tack, who should get off the mark this season.

 

[Bustino74]

I’ve always wondered about the pecking order of the Royal trainers. Who gets first choice of the new yearlings or who gets assigned the best yearlings?
Stoute was appointed a Royal trainer in 1999. From then until a few years ago he was the leading Royal trainer and probably had his greatest day with the victory of Estimate in the Ascot Gold Cup in 2014. In 2013 Haggas started training a few Royal horses. He’s done well (relatively) and by 2018 it was difficult to gauge who the Queen’s leading trainer was. In 2019 Gosden joined the roster and made that estimation even more difficult. In 2020 and 2021 from the numbers you’d have to say Haggas had assumed the position of the leading royal trainer.
Lower down the table were/are a number of other trainers. Hannon (who has seen the number of horses he’s been sent much reduced in recent years), Charlton (who like Hannon has been a trainer for sometime and gets a regular 1-2 2yos every year), Balding and Bell (who at one time seemed the best bet for the leading role but hasn’t quite achieved it). They’ve now been joined by Hughes and the Cox.

Andrew Balding is an interesting case. His father, Ian, was a long-time Royal trainer, as when he took over the reins at Kingsclere in the early ‘60s from his father in law the stable already had several Royal inmates. In 1988/9 he began to lose his position as a Royal trainer after valiantly taking Dick Hern’s side in the Carnarvon sacking debacle. To do what he did took courage: he was a Royal trainer and the man appointed to succeed Hern was his own brother-in-law William Hastings-Bass (later Lord Huntingdon). Within a few years he was no longer training for The Queen. Happily, and fortunately for everyone, he did continue to train a few horses for The Queen Mother (who apparently was disgusted by the treatment of Hern by Carnarvon): both on the flat and over the jumps. In 2003 he retired and son Andrew took over and by then The Queen had a new racing manager as Carnarvon had died.
Even though that Racing manager was the son-in-law of Carnarvon a few Royal horses started finding their way back to Kingsclere: nothing big and nothing special but there was a change (I almost imagine this could have happened because of the death of Carnarvon and that her misplaced loyalty to him was now paid).

Balding had a few winners and seemed capable of getting ordinary horses to get their heads in front. By about 2015 it was noticeable that rather than one 2yo each year he was getting two. The last few years that has accelerated and it’s become 3 or 4 2yos with the better bred Royal horses beginning to appear in his list. He’s done well with horses like Kings Lynn and Tactical, who are both from lesser families.
In a previous post I pointed out he’d been sent two 2022 2yos and that they’d arrived in his stable in late November. Now in early February he’s been sent two more. They are:-
Barrier (f by Australia out of Pure Fantasy) and;
Reminder (f by Dubawi out of Memory).
Barrier is the third foal of Pure Fantasy, and a half-sister to the two winners Pied Piper and Fresh Fancy. Though, with this pedigree, she’s unlikely to be an early 2yo I’d be disappointed if she didn’t appear early Autumn and show something of the ability of her siblings. The reason I’m listing these training placements is because there are reasons horses enter training at different times but the overriding reason these are early is that they are ready for training.
Reminder is the eighth foal out of Memory. The first 4 won. The first foal was Recorder who appeared very useful but was injured. His full-brother Call to Mind is probably the record money winner for the Queen, having won the Belmont cup. Sadly he was destroyed after breaking down in his next race. His brother Space Walk looked a useful stayer in the making but was similarly put down. Reminder’s dam was a top 2yo. Recorder and her 3rd foal, Learn by Heart, both won as 2yos so there’s every chance Reminder could debut and win as a 2yo.
Carrier and Reminder are from much better families than Balding was getting 5 years ago. This trainer now appears at or near the top table of Royal trainers. Personally I think Andrew is a much better trainer than his father, who was very good. At the same time I think Ian Balding is/was one of the finest gentlemen to walk the Turf.

As the new 2yos are revealed, it will be noticeable that there are plenty of often stoutly bred 2yo fillies (perhaps 18). If the Queen is to win a classic I’d think the 2023 Oaks would be a great possibility.

By the way, Spring is Sprung couldn't have been more disappointing.

 

[Bustino74]

At this time of year the early season French Group 1 entries are published and the Queen has a few entries. But beware, she had two entries last year who both flopped in their only runs last season.
French 2000G Saga
French 1000G Mellow Yellow
Prix de Jockey Club Reach for the Moon, Saga
Prix de Diane Mellow Yellow

Saga is an Invincible Spirit colt out of a Machiavellian mare. He’s Godolphin bred but comes from the family of Petite Etoile (and so therefore Zarkava). Gosden trained, he ran 3 times as a 2yo finishing 2nd to two Godolphin colts twice (Modern Games and Corebus: both very useful) and then won easily from the subsequent easy Newbury winner Koy Koy. Though entered for bigger races, he did not contest them and was put away for the Winter. He looks made for 8f but could get further. as his granddam was 3rd in the Irish St Leger.
Mellow Yellow is trained by Haggas and is a Dubawi filly out of (surprisingly) a Jeremy mare who was well up to Group standard at 7-8f. Mellow Yellow ran twice, being beaten by a fellow newcomer FTO. She then won in a driving finish at Newmarket but it was reported she was lame after the race. The horse she beat went on to win her next start easily. Again this should be horse suited to 8 to 10f. She looks a big, rangy filly who could improve considerably this year.
Reach for the Moon we know about. After his Solario win he looked very smart colt who would be contesting Classic races this season. However his final run was disappointing and soon after he sustained an injury which ruled him out of the late Autumn trials. He only has to improve half as much as a 3yo as his full-brother Chalk Stream did (32lb) to be a contender. Apparently he’s already been spotted in steady work on the gallops.

Meanwhile a few more 2yos have entered training:-
Love Affairs (f by Showcasing: Godolphin bred tracing back to Cumani’s Free Guest) with Cox

Blue Missile (f by Galileo and half-sister to the disappointing Dukedom);
Clear Thinking (f by Dubawi out of top-class Aussie mare);
Market Value (f by Siyouni out of Estimate) all with Haggas.

 

[Bustino74]

2022 Derby entries out (2023 already out) and the Queen has 3 entered. Reach for the Moon is not a surprise. More surprising is the thrice raced Educator (by Deep Impact) who was obviously thought a lot of last year but only got his head in front on his 3rd start. Even more surprising is the entry of the unraced General Idea (a Galileo colt out of a top-class Aussie mare). Both he and Educator are trained by Haggas but as forumites know an unraced 2yo is highly unlikely to win The Derby. So expect an early start from him in April.

 

[Bustino74]

The Queen has her second runner of the year with the debut of the unraced 3yo Gold Belt at lowly Wolverhampton. Trained by Bell, according to the BHA website she didn't enter training until October/November. She is by Golden Horn out of a mare called Hypoteneuse. People who read this thread will know Gold Belt's half-brother Sextant, who earned black-type and won 5 races. Hypoteneuse also had a useful 2yo called Math's Prize (by Royal Applause).

Hypoteneuse is a full-sister to Flight of Fancy and also Golden Stream (the dam of Reach the Moon and Chalk Stream). An interesting filly, I'd hope for a forward display by her.

 

[OddDog]

The Queen has her second runner of the year with the debut of the unraced 3yo Gold Belt at lowly Wolverhampton. Trained by Bell, according to the BHA website she didn't enter training until October/November. She is by Golden Horn out of a mare called Hypoteneuse. People who read this thread will know Gold Belt's half-brother Sextant, who earned black-type and won 5 races. Hypoteneuse also had a useful 2yo called Math's Prize (by Royal Applause).

Hypoteneuse is a full-sister to Flight of Fancy and also Golden Stream (the dam of Reach the Moon and Chalk Stream). An interesting filly, I'd hope for a forward display by her.

Interesting angle Bustino - hopefully the sines are good

 

[Bustino74]

Not much of a display by Gold Belt. She started very slowly, then ran green often pulling hard. As an introduction to racing it wasn't a great advertisement.

When you look at her pedigree and compare it with that of Reach for the Moon (and Chalk Stream) then they have 3 grandparents in common (Cape Cross, Sadler's Wells and Phantom Gold). Their dams are full-sisters and their sires are both by Cape Cross. The differences are Urban Sea versus Fleche d'Or, the sires' dams. Is that the defining the difference in class of these two horses? I think you can only say perhaps. It seems sensible to try another son of Cape Cross as they have done with Hypoteneuse, just in case their is a positive nick. What we do know is that Sea the Stars was a more precocious racehorse than Golden Horn. Sea the Stars won a Group 2 as a 2yo, while Golden Horn won his maiden. Sea the Stars won the 2000G first time out as a 3yo while Golden Horn surprised many with his improvement on his first start as a 3yo.

Maybe Gold Belt will do better. Meanwhile Golden Stream has had a similar tune played with her as last year she was covered by Sea the Stars' son Sea the Moon. The foal will be interesting to see. However the main thing is that Golden Stream healthily produces a healthy foal. They might also like a filly as they don't have a daughter of Golden Stream (as it's not certain her 2yo filly, unnamed, is still alive).

Interesting angle Bustino - hopefully the sines are good

You've gone off at a tangent there Oddy.

 

[Bustino74]

The Guineas entries are published and the sole entry is Saga in the 2000G. Obviously Reach for the Moon Will go for a conventional Gosden Derby preparation.

meanwhile a couple more 2yos have been allocated. Both are already 2023 Derby entries..
Slipofthepen by Night of Thunder goes to Gosden
Desert Hero by Sea the Stars goes to Haggas

 

[Bustino74]

A few more words about the latest two allocations. Slipofthepen is out of the Danehill Dancer mare Free Verse. She was a 3-times winner when trained by Hannon. She is out of a useful mare called Fictitious (by Machiavellian) who's a full sister to Phantom Gold (dam of Oaks 2nd Flight of Fancy, Golden Stream and others). Free Verse started well as a broodmare with Frontispiece but has been disappointing since. She did have a winner last year with Bookmark and her 3yo, Yarralumla, looked to have ability and hopefully will win this year. Free Verse is half-sister to Pure Fantasy (by Fastnet Rock) who is the dam of Pied Piper and Fresh Fancy (now a 3yo and a winner of her only start as a 2yo).
Desert Hero is out of an unraced mare called Desert Breeze (by Dubawi) who's a full-sister to Dartmouth. This colt was a 2yo winner, decent 3yo and the successful 4yo/5yo winning the John Porter, Ormonde Stakes, Hardwicke Stakes and Yorkshire Cup. Desert Breeze is from the A Wildenstein family, though she herself was Godolphin-bred.

The final Royal 2023 Derby entry is Circle of Fire. He's an Almanzor colt who's yet to be allocated to a trainer.

 

[Bustino74]

At times like these racing seems an irrelevance, and it is. The Queen/Royal Stud may also seem an irrelevance to many but historically she was one of leading owner-breeders in the ‘50s and near the top in the ‘70s. In the 1950s she was leading owner in 1954 and 1957, while only a small amount short of being leading owner in 1958 (the year in which she bred her first Classic winner). In the ‘60s the Royal Stud went into decline, but she at least managed to win an Eclipse and have a very good colt in Hopeful Venture. The 1970s saw a return to form when she had two fillies winning her 4 Classics. Since then, pickings have been slim but last year saw a flicker of hope for the future. It will be reassuring to see that improvement sustained this season.

When Horses in Training arrived last week I was expecting to get a clearer view of the Queen’s line-up, but it wasn’t to be (readers of this thread will have more information).

4yos+

The quality of the Queen’s older horses looks reasonable this year. Balding has two, the most important of which seems to be the 5yo gelding Kings Lynn. He has only won 3 races but has been very consistent and probably ran his best race at Royal Ascot last year when very unlucky in the Kings Stand Stakes (he finished 3rd in the Wokingham 4 days later). In 2021 he won 2 races the second of which was a Group 3. He can be a leading force in Group 2 and Group 3 events this year and may start at the Newmarket Craven meeting. Balding’s 2nd horse is the 4yo colt Tactical, who as a 2yo won a Group 2 event. He started 2021 in great form winning the Free Handicap on good to firm ground but hardly encountered fast ground again. With luck he’ll get his ground more often this year and will add to his victories and will likely start at 7f somewhere. He has also had a wind operation, so that may help.

Haggas had the much-improved Chalk Stream in his stable. In a surprise move he has been transferred to Chris Waller in Australia. He started off 2021 with a BHA rating of only 71 yet finished the year with a rating of 102 after winning 4 races and finishing 2nd in a Group 3. He looks to be effective 10f but also looks capable of staying 14f. He has already run in an Australian 12f Group 3 in which he finished 3rd. I’m sure he’ll win races in Australia, especially if he gets firm ground. Perhaps a tilt at the Melbourne Cup is planned.

The final 4yo is Stoute’s Just Fine. He’s probably the weakest of the older horses having won only twice, as a 2yo and again as a 3yo over 10f. He may act as a lead-horse for some of the Queen’s 3yos, even if they are in other stables.

3yos

2021 saw The Queen have a good number of 2yo winners, 10, compared with previous years. Gosden houses 2 of the highest rated. First up is Reach for the Moon, who won twice as a 2yo., including the Group 3 Solario Stakes. He then ran a disappointing 2nd in the Champagne Stakes, soon after which he was injured on the gallops and retired for the season. His BHA performance rating is 113, which leaves him some way short of Group 1 standard. He needs to put the injury and the Champagne defeat behind him. His target will be the Derby and he will need to improve like his full-brother Chalk Stream. His initial target is likely to be Dante, as that is usually favoured by Gosden. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had an opener at Newmarket.
Gosden’s second colt is an Invincible Spirit colt called Saga, who in his first two races was unfortunate to come up against Modern Games and then Corebus. It didn’t do him any harm as on his 3rd start he comfortably beat a good colt of Balding’s, who subsequently won a fair maiden at Newbury by 6 lengths. He’s been given entries for both the English and French Guineas as well as the Prix de Jockey Club. Again he needs to show improvement but he could easily do that. He could turn up in the Craven or Greenham.
Gosden’s final 3yo is Dukedom, who looked promising first time out but then ran a series of disappointing. He’s been gelded and as the first foal of a useful racefilly the aim mist be to get a win out of him. I see his future over 7f.

Haggas has two Derby colts amongst his 5 3yos. Top of the pile, at the moment, is the Deep Impact colt Educator. As a 2yo he had some impressive entries but then ran a disappointing debut run. His follow-up was much better when 2nd at Goodwood. He then won his maiden at Haydock, finishing resolutely (the second did not entirely frank the form on his subsequent run). However, he’s an extremely strong and good-looking colt and he may ihave improved significantly over the winter. I’d expect him to start in April with the hope he’ll prove up to Group standard. Though entered in the Derby his full-sister Portfolio seemed at her best over 10f and he may not quite get the trip.
Haggas’s second Derby (entry) colt is the unraced Galileo colt, General Idea. If the Derby entry is serious then he needs to get on with it and they are, as he’s entered in two races on Saturday. His dam is a top-class Australian filly called Sweet Idea who was well up to Group 1 standard. General Idea’s full-sister Companionship looked very promising as a 2yo but didn’t seem to train on, hopefully General Idea will be a lot better.
Haggas has The Queen’s best 3yo filly, Mellow Yellow. By Dubawi out of a Jeremy (the top sire at Cheltenham last week!) mare she won on her second start as a 2yo (albeit finishing lame). She’s entered in the two French fillies’ classics (the 1000G entries are not out yet) and she’s likely to start in a trial somewhere. She could be a top filly. He has another unraced 3yo filly called Perfect Alibi, who is by the recently deceased Le Havre out of a mare called Daphne, who did well as a 3yo and 4yo and got to listed level. Hopefully she’ll be seen in April/May in a maiden somewhere. Haggas’s 3yos are completed with the ordinary looking Clear Day.

Balding had no winning 2yos last year so has 4 maiden 3yos. The most interesting is probably Imminent (Dubawi), who is an unraced full-sister to Educator’s dam, Diploma. If she’s like her sister she’ll improve as a 3yo and hopefully she’ll win something over 10f. Balding also has Tactical’s half-brother Tack, who ran with some promise on his second start. He should be able to win over 7-8f. Of his other two 3yos, Punctuation’s half-brother, Duty Bound (Kingman), showed enough to suggest he'll win a race while Distant Light (Fastnet Rock) needs to improve a good deal to do so. She is a half-sister to the very useful Light Refrain.

Charlton has three 3yos and by far the most interesting is Fresh Fancy (New Approach). She won her only race as a 2yo and looked to have a lot of promise. Being a full-sister to Pied Piper she should stay 10f plus. Her initial entries will be instructive. Charlton ran Wink of an Eye’s full-sister Discretion (Dubawi) once last year and she showed some promise. Hopefully she can improve as much as her brother did as a 3yo (he won 4 races on the trot). The final 3yo is the gelding Chancery Lane (Recorder) who only entered training as a 3yo, so either had problems or was very backward. He’s out of a solid mare called Queen’s Prize.

Bell has four 3yos and the most interesting is Improvise. She’s an Iffraaj daughter of the good racemare Set to Music, who Bell trained to win 5 races and to finish second in the Park Hill. Improvise just scraped home on her second start (over 8f). If she can be like her dam or her full-brother Eightsome Rell (2nd at Royal Ascot) she can go somewhere. Bell has the two times winning Spring is Sprung, who unfortunately seems inconsistent. Maybe they should geld him as has been done to his half-brother Kings Lynn. Loudspeaker (Recorder) looks capable at least of winning his maiden. He’s a half-brother to the Queen’s Prize and the useful, if wayward, Bold Sniper. He should get 12f and it will be interesting to see how Recorder’s offspring do as 3yos as he never got the chance to run after his Acomb win. Bell’s quartet is made up by Gold Belt (Golden Horn) who needs to do a lot better.

It is strange to be reviewing Michael Stoute so far down this list. He has two 3yos, neither of whom inspire confidence. Both are unraced and are the gelding Naval College (by Dartmouth) and the colt Kiteflyer (by Iffraaj). Let’s hope the master trainer can conjure wins with this pair.

Hughes has one 3yo in the shape of Intelligentsia (Exceed and Excel). She made a really good impression when winning her maiden at Newbury but then finished last at Salisbury when favourite. Apparently, she could not handle the undulations of that track, but hopefully with a flat surface she can fulfil the promise of her first run. She is likely to start at 6f but could easily stay 8f.

Finally, ‘new to the Royal Roster’ Clive Cox has two 3yos. They ran late in the season and both showed promise. Silver Screen (Lope de Vega) is the penultimate foal of her dam Silver Mirage and improved steadily with each run finally winning her maiden at Wolverhampton. Her future is in handicaps but she showed the right qualities last year. Though Silver Mirage only won over 6f as a 3yo, Silver Screen could stay a bit further. Yarralumla (Australia) also ran 3 times as a 2yo but the best she could manage was 2nd in a Kempton maiden to what looked a useful Varian 2yo. If anything I liked Yarralumla more than Silver Screen, so I can see her winning her maiden and going on from there. She should be effective at 10f but may stay further. Her dam, Free Verse, is a half-sister to Pied Piper’s and Fresh Fancy’s dam.
Hannon has no 3yos.

So an interesting lot of 3yos. Hopefully they’ll win many races for The Queen and that one or tow will come out of the pack and bring her a lot of joy.

Won’t say much on the 2yos now (will keep updating as they go into training) and at this juncture will just say that I expect these to be the most forward:-
Crosstitch (by Recorder) with Bell,
Juryman (Recorder) with Balding,
Love Affairs (Showcasing) with Cox, and
Playback (Recorder) with Hannon.

More later.

 

[Bustino74]

Unsurprisingly Spring is Sprung was gelded a month ago. With luck he'll be more consistent now.
Bell has also received another 2yo, Keen Melody. This filly is by Le Havre out of Set To Music, so a half-sister to the winning full-sisters Eightsome Reel and Improvise, both of which he also trained/trains. Set to Music is now 14 years old but has had only 3 of her foals see a racecourse. She needs a (more productive) daughter and both Improvise and Keen Melody could fit the bill. Set to Music does have a Galileo yearling filly and has been sent to Almanzor.

Haggas's General Idea has an assigned jockey for Staturday's Doncaster maiden and with all the 'big' jockeys at Meydan Steve Donohoe gets a chance to ride a Royal winner. I can remember the very tough Gunner B winning this maiden before going on to greater things (Prince of Wales, Eclipse and very good NH sire).

 

[Bustino74]

General Idea declared but with Fallon now aboard..

 

[Bustino74]

General Idea declared but with Fallon now aboard..

Not a lost cause but easily beaten by the favourite. General Idea looks an attractive colt and perhaps this will bring him on. Perhaps he'll turn up at Newbury in a maiden in April.

 

[Bustino74]

Stoute gets two 2yos allocated

Circle of Fire, colt by Almanzor out of Galileo mare Fiery Sunset. This mare comes from the family of El Gran Senor (and many others). This mare's first two foals won but since has been disappointing.
Theme Park, colt by Lope de Vega out of Dansili mare Queen's Prize. This mare's first three foals won (Award Sceme, by Siyouni, was useful) and her 4th foal is an unraced gelding (Chancery Lane) with Charlton.

Circle of Fire is entered for the 2023 Derby.

 

[Bustino74]

Clive Cox must be pleasing someone as he's now been allocated his third 2yo. He's been sent a 'brought-in' colt called Spanish Serenade, who's by Lope de Vega out of a Shirocco mare called Pink Rose. This mare is the daughter of a Prix de Diane winner, Caerlina, who was a very useful 2yo and 3rd in the French 1000G.
That means Cox has 5 Royal horses.

 

[OddDog]

Clive Cox must be pleasing someone as he's now been allocated his third 2yo. He's been sent a 'brought-in' colt called Spanish Serenade, who's by Lope de Vega out of a Shirocco mare called Pink Rose. This mare is the daughter of a Prix de Diane winner, Caerlina, who was a very useful 2yo and 3rd in the French 1000G.
That means Cox has 5 Royal horses.

Is there a headline somewhere about the Queen liking Cox?