And then there was one. I started following major UK owner-breeders nearly 50 years ago and over that period have watched them drop-off one by one (Holiday, Astor, Rotherwick, Joel and Ballymacoll being the key ones). So I am left now with The Royal Stud.
As in previous years I will start off before discussing the Queen’s 2018 horses by signalling the change that has taken place in the stud over the last 10 years. The following 2yos are all out of mares that were not resident in the stud 10 years ago. With The Queen having 25 own-bred 2yos this year, which is a high number for her, the fact that nearly half are new is significant. I doubt within its history the stud has seen such change. The question is now will it deliver? To be seen as delivering it must achieve more group successes: they will have to come in the next 2-4 years.
Eightsome Reel c Ifraaj – Set to Music ( from Aga Khan’s Petite Etoile family: first foal in training; Bell)
Space Walk c Galileo – Memory ( purchased mare: dam of Recorder and Call to Mind; Haggas)
Calculation c Dubawi – Estimate (Aga Khan family {originally Boussac}: first foal; Stoute)
Raffle c Ifraaj – Raymi Coya ( brought-in mare; needs to show something; Haggas)
Bottom Line f Dansili – Key Point ( Aga family of Kalanisi: needs to justify being in the stud, not yet placed with a trainer)
Bovaglie f Paco Boy – Abergeldie (from Darley family but mare now sold; not yet placed with a trainer)
Shrewdness f Lawman – Shama (Aga family of Shergar: first foal; not yet placed with a trainer)
Starry f Lope de Vega – Aurore ( Wildenstein family: mare needs to justify place in stud; Balding)
Topical c Toronado – Star Value ( Aga Khan family: 4th living foal yet none have reached the track yet; Hannon)
Flarepath f Exceed and Excel – Fiery Sunset (from Juddmonte family of El Gran Senor,first foal; Haggas)
Desert Caravan c Oasis Dream – Sequence (Aga Khan family of Sinndar {originally Boussac}; 3rd living foal but mare yet to have runner; Haggas )
Puzzle c Paco Boy – Appleton Drove (daughter of purchased mare: this mare now sold though half- sister,Diploma, is retained; Hughes )
Few would doubt that it is not just the Queen and her team striving harder than ever in the next few years to give her a Derby winner. Darley, Juddmonte and the Aga Khan have been foremost in this effort but it’s likely Coolmore have played some part. One interesting development for this year has been the addition of John Gosden to the Royal trainer roster: more of that later.
So what has the Queen got this year? Well before I discuss her team for this year a nice surprise has been the entering of her maiden colt Humbolt Current for the 2000G. In 50 years I cannot recall a Royal colt being entered for the Guineas (fillies yes, but colts no) but Haggas’s colt has found himself in the list of entries. His form is fairly bare as in his only start he was 2nd to his stable companion in an October Yarmouth maiden. That day he was badly away and just about last at halfway. He ran on well and finished a promising second to his stablemate (subsequently sold for an enormous amount and now with Varian).. The third home won his maiden next time out but the winner did not reappear so there’s little to go on. His trainer, Haggas, rarely wastes a classic entry so must be of interest unless it was Warren and family who pushed for the entry. Anyway he’ll have to win his seasonal start and if it’s a maiden at Newmarket or Newbury then he’ll have to win it very well. As regards his breeding then it’s slightly worrying for me that I can recall his first five dams (where did all that time go?) . The sixth dam was a mare called Lyrical who resided in the Royal Stud for just a few years in the ‘70s. In that time she presented the Queen with a distinctly useful, tough gelding called Rhyme Royal, who won a handful of races and finished 2nd in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes. She also got a Busted filly called Contralto (who won twice) , and in turn she had a Kris filly called Soprano (who won 2 listed races and was 3rd in the Coronation Stakes). Her Shirley Heights daughter Zenith was not up that class but won once , but when bred to Alzao produced a lightly-raced filly called Spinning Top who won her maiden and then ran 2nd in the Lupe stakes (her last race). Her Dr Fong filly Humdrum was a fair handicapper and won 4 races. At stud she has had 3 runners so far and the first 2 have both won. The first foal Husbandry (by Paco Boy) looked distinctly useful but died soon after winning his maiden. So the family is a good winning family but not recently a classic family. However go back to Lyrical’s grand-dam and her son Scottish Union won the Leger as well as finishing 2nd in the other classics. Humbolt Current is well-named being by Fastnet Rock and looks ready made to be a miler though could stay 10f. His seasonal debut is eagerly awaited. There is a Humdrum 2yo colt (by Exceed and Excel) called Regular with Bell.
I’ll look at the rest of the Royal Squad by looking at her families.
First off is the Queen’s oldest family and her best. It is the family of Feola, and so the family of Hypericum, Aureole and Highclere and of course Hamdan’s best family of Nashwan etc. I’m strongly of the opinion that this family has had second pick of sires for much of the last 15 years and that this has been a mistake. However things appear to be looking up. This year there is only one 3yo, an unraced filly called Witching Time (by Dubawi out of the useful mare Caraboss) who is with Haggas. There are 3 2yos, the first being a full-sister to Witching Time called Clarion (as yet to be placed with a trainer). Caraboss has an Oasis Dream half-sister in the stud called Dawn Glory and a Cape Cross full-sister called Good Hope. Both of them have Sharmadal 2yos, the former a filly called Break of Day (with Haggas) and the latter a colt called Youthful (with Bell). A lot depends on these 4 unraced horses. Though Bell is a reasonable trainer he cannot be said to get the best of the Royal horses, so I would favour Break of Day for the future.
The 2nd most established family in the Royal Stud is what I would call the Amicable family, a mare who found her way into the Royal Stud in the ‘60s. The family has produced a lot of good and sometimes very good horses but no great horses. There is one 6yo and that is Fabricate, who seemed to gain a new lease of life once dropped in distance to 10f in 2017, winning a Group 3 after winning a good handicap at Glorious Goodwood. He should win races this year. His trainer Bell also has a 4yo gelding from this family called Merlin, who is the first foal of the useful filly Momentary. Merlin (by Oasis Dream) won 3 races as a 3yo and looks capable of winning more. Stoute has his unraced Redoutes Choice 3yo sister called Sharp Practice, and also has a Kingman 2yo colt called Sovereign Grant. Momentary looks a mare of which much is hoped as she has an Australia yearling filly and is due to foal to Dubawi. Her runners this year are awaited.
From the same Amicable family Stoute has one Royal 4yo, Frontispiece, who has won twice but appeared a little weak as a 3yo. He will have to step up this year. His year younger sister, Any Little Rhyme is with Bell and looks a ready-made winner at 8-10f. There is a Sea the Stars half-sister to these two called Poetic Gift, who is yet to be placed. Stoute has another member of this family, effectively a cousin to the above 3, called Sextant (by Sea the Stars). There were whispers about him as a 2yo but he was eventually unraced. Still entered for the Derby he hopefully will make his debut early in the season. One to watch I think, while his 2yo half-sister Equal Sum (Paco Boy) is likely to be an early 2yo with Hannon. Another 3yo from this large Royal family is Balding’s Natural History (by Nathaniel) who is out of Film Script who won the Lingfield Oaks Trial and has bred a couple of useful horses. He ran once as a 2yo and performed quite well. I can see him scoring in a 12f maiden at somewhere like Salisbury or Newbury and then go on to better things. There is a 2yo half-sister called Special Edition (by Toronado) who is yet to be placed with a trainer. Charlton has an unraced 3yo filly called Fleeting View (by Sixties Icon) who is a half-sister to the useful Mustard but will need 12f+. Her2yo half-brother, Metaphor (Motivator), is with Bell and should be seen this season.
Other 2yo members of the Amicable family are a colt Invictus Spirit (by Frankel), with Stoute; another colt West Newton (by Kitten’s Joy), with Charlton; and finally the yet to be placed filly Sightseeing (a first foal by New Approach). I make that 16 horses from this family in training (or possibly in training) this year, which is a large proportion of the Royal Squad.
The next group of horses are from what I would call the later Royal mares. Lyrical has already been discussed. The other mare which can be placed in this category is Medley, who’s a daughter of a mare The Queen acquired in the ‘80s. So far she has had 3 foals run and all three have won. This year she has a Henrythenavigator 2yo gelding with Balding called Compass. Obviously much is expected of Medley’s daughter Light Music as her first covering is Frankel. Light Music looked a very good 2yo in 2016 but didn’t follow it up as a 3yo.
The next (and final) group of mares are what I would refer to as the Bought/Brought-In mares of the last 10 years. From this group is another 4yo in training and that is the Galileo colt Call to Mind, who is out of that good 2yo (but impossible 3yo) Memory . She has so far had 3 foals to race and all have been listed class or better. Call to Mind’s older brother Recorder looked a really promising 2yo but was injured and never ran again. Call to Mind did not run as a 2yo but after winning on his debut in april (8f) he did not win again until late august in the March Stakes (14f). His next start saw him narrowly beaten in the Group 2 Prix Chaudeney by Ice Breeze who went on to win the Prix Royal Oak. Call to Mind is a promising stayer and is likely to start in something like the Sagaro or Henry II Stakes and if all goes well could go for the Gold Cup. Whether he will fully stay 20f remains to be seen, but his last 2 starts were his best. There is no Memory 3yo as Learn by Heart (Frankel) was sold at the end of his 2yo career. This year’s 2yo is a full-brother to Call to Mind called Space Walk and is with Haggas. I’m expecting him to be more like Recorder. Memory is seeing the crème de la crème of sires and has a yearling filly by Dubawi before returning to Galileo (obviously hoping for a filly). This is the year for these colts to show she is worthy of that attention.
If the Queen has a Derby horse this year then it is the Dansili colt Elector. This Stoute-trained colt won his only race at Ascot, when relatively unfancied. The form is very ordinary, but there was much to like about his resolute, hands and heels victory. He will have to improve a great deal but maybe a 10f listed race in April at Newmarket or Newbury could show if this colt has more about him. He is the third foal of Enticement (purchased in 2006 and a listed winner at 2 and 3) The best foal so far was the Dubawi filly Diploma (who is due to foal to Deep Impact this year) who was probably better than her 3 wins up to 10f, including a listed win. Unsurprisingly Enticement has visited Dubawi 3 times since Elector was born. What should have been this year’s 2yo probably died as a foal but there is a yearling colt to follow Elector.
Most fuss of this year’s 2yos will probably be made of the Dubawi colt Calculation. He is trained by Stoute and is the first foal of the Queen’s most recent Group 1 winner Estimate. She ran only once as a 2yo and didn’t win her maiden until May of her 3yo campaign. It would be a nice surprise if Calculation was a more forward colt but it’s likely he’ll be at his best as a 3/4yo and best over a distance of ground. Of the other 2yo in the Brought-in category (all listed at the start of this article) it is Flarepath I like the look of. She is the first foal of a Galileo mare (the Queen’s first) called Fiery Sunset who is from a good Juddmonte family which also made its name in the colours of Robert Sangster and Charles St George. By Exceed and Excel I can see this filly being one to expect making her debut late-summer and being the type to score this year. Flarepath has a Kingman yearling full-sister. At this stage another filly I’d like to mention is another first foal called Shrewdness (by Lawman). This filly is out of the giant mare Shama who was by Danehill dancer out of a mare from the Aga Khan’s Shergar family. Unlikely to be an early type (she is yet to be placed with a trainer), she will be a filly of some interest because Shama looked highly promising as a 2yo and early in her 3yo career.
The final category of Royal horses is those not bred by the Royal Stud, and this is where Gosden comes in. He has been allotted two colts bred by Darley, one by Sharmadal and the other by Teofilo. Whether this appointment is a Warren action (Stoute is getting no younger) or at the recommendation of Sheikh Mohammed may never be known. Last years 2yos in this category were no great shakes. Two who did not run as 2yos are of interest. The first is Stoute’s Desert Caravan, who is a full-sister to Darley’s most productive donation to the Royal ranks in Dartmouth. She will need 10f at least. Another filly I think will win a race is Bell’s Sailing Home who is by Sharmadal out of a German Monsun mare. There are 2 more 2yos from the Darley outfit with Stoute and Haggas: but more of these and all the other 2yos as the season progresses.
I can’t wait for the season to start and proper racing starts at Newmarket in April. Hopefully it will be a good year for The Queen.
As in previous years I will start off before discussing the Queen’s 2018 horses by signalling the change that has taken place in the stud over the last 10 years. The following 2yos are all out of mares that were not resident in the stud 10 years ago. With The Queen having 25 own-bred 2yos this year, which is a high number for her, the fact that nearly half are new is significant. I doubt within its history the stud has seen such change. The question is now will it deliver? To be seen as delivering it must achieve more group successes: they will have to come in the next 2-4 years.
Eightsome Reel c Ifraaj – Set to Music ( from Aga Khan’s Petite Etoile family: first foal in training; Bell)
Space Walk c Galileo – Memory ( purchased mare: dam of Recorder and Call to Mind; Haggas)
Calculation c Dubawi – Estimate (Aga Khan family {originally Boussac}: first foal; Stoute)
Raffle c Ifraaj – Raymi Coya ( brought-in mare; needs to show something; Haggas)
Bottom Line f Dansili – Key Point ( Aga family of Kalanisi: needs to justify being in the stud, not yet placed with a trainer)
Bovaglie f Paco Boy – Abergeldie (from Darley family but mare now sold; not yet placed with a trainer)
Shrewdness f Lawman – Shama (Aga family of Shergar: first foal; not yet placed with a trainer)
Starry f Lope de Vega – Aurore ( Wildenstein family: mare needs to justify place in stud; Balding)
Topical c Toronado – Star Value ( Aga Khan family: 4th living foal yet none have reached the track yet; Hannon)
Flarepath f Exceed and Excel – Fiery Sunset (from Juddmonte family of El Gran Senor,first foal; Haggas)
Desert Caravan c Oasis Dream – Sequence (Aga Khan family of Sinndar {originally Boussac}; 3rd living foal but mare yet to have runner; Haggas )
Puzzle c Paco Boy – Appleton Drove (daughter of purchased mare: this mare now sold though half- sister,Diploma, is retained; Hughes )
Few would doubt that it is not just the Queen and her team striving harder than ever in the next few years to give her a Derby winner. Darley, Juddmonte and the Aga Khan have been foremost in this effort but it’s likely Coolmore have played some part. One interesting development for this year has been the addition of John Gosden to the Royal trainer roster: more of that later.
So what has the Queen got this year? Well before I discuss her team for this year a nice surprise has been the entering of her maiden colt Humbolt Current for the 2000G. In 50 years I cannot recall a Royal colt being entered for the Guineas (fillies yes, but colts no) but Haggas’s colt has found himself in the list of entries. His form is fairly bare as in his only start he was 2nd to his stable companion in an October Yarmouth maiden. That day he was badly away and just about last at halfway. He ran on well and finished a promising second to his stablemate (subsequently sold for an enormous amount and now with Varian).. The third home won his maiden next time out but the winner did not reappear so there’s little to go on. His trainer, Haggas, rarely wastes a classic entry so must be of interest unless it was Warren and family who pushed for the entry. Anyway he’ll have to win his seasonal start and if it’s a maiden at Newmarket or Newbury then he’ll have to win it very well. As regards his breeding then it’s slightly worrying for me that I can recall his first five dams (where did all that time go?) . The sixth dam was a mare called Lyrical who resided in the Royal Stud for just a few years in the ‘70s. In that time she presented the Queen with a distinctly useful, tough gelding called Rhyme Royal, who won a handful of races and finished 2nd in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes. She also got a Busted filly called Contralto (who won twice) , and in turn she had a Kris filly called Soprano (who won 2 listed races and was 3rd in the Coronation Stakes). Her Shirley Heights daughter Zenith was not up that class but won once , but when bred to Alzao produced a lightly-raced filly called Spinning Top who won her maiden and then ran 2nd in the Lupe stakes (her last race). Her Dr Fong filly Humdrum was a fair handicapper and won 4 races. At stud she has had 3 runners so far and the first 2 have both won. The first foal Husbandry (by Paco Boy) looked distinctly useful but died soon after winning his maiden. So the family is a good winning family but not recently a classic family. However go back to Lyrical’s grand-dam and her son Scottish Union won the Leger as well as finishing 2nd in the other classics. Humbolt Current is well-named being by Fastnet Rock and looks ready made to be a miler though could stay 10f. His seasonal debut is eagerly awaited. There is a Humdrum 2yo colt (by Exceed and Excel) called Regular with Bell.
I’ll look at the rest of the Royal Squad by looking at her families.
First off is the Queen’s oldest family and her best. It is the family of Feola, and so the family of Hypericum, Aureole and Highclere and of course Hamdan’s best family of Nashwan etc. I’m strongly of the opinion that this family has had second pick of sires for much of the last 15 years and that this has been a mistake. However things appear to be looking up. This year there is only one 3yo, an unraced filly called Witching Time (by Dubawi out of the useful mare Caraboss) who is with Haggas. There are 3 2yos, the first being a full-sister to Witching Time called Clarion (as yet to be placed with a trainer). Caraboss has an Oasis Dream half-sister in the stud called Dawn Glory and a Cape Cross full-sister called Good Hope. Both of them have Sharmadal 2yos, the former a filly called Break of Day (with Haggas) and the latter a colt called Youthful (with Bell). A lot depends on these 4 unraced horses. Though Bell is a reasonable trainer he cannot be said to get the best of the Royal horses, so I would favour Break of Day for the future.
The 2nd most established family in the Royal Stud is what I would call the Amicable family, a mare who found her way into the Royal Stud in the ‘60s. The family has produced a lot of good and sometimes very good horses but no great horses. There is one 6yo and that is Fabricate, who seemed to gain a new lease of life once dropped in distance to 10f in 2017, winning a Group 3 after winning a good handicap at Glorious Goodwood. He should win races this year. His trainer Bell also has a 4yo gelding from this family called Merlin, who is the first foal of the useful filly Momentary. Merlin (by Oasis Dream) won 3 races as a 3yo and looks capable of winning more. Stoute has his unraced Redoutes Choice 3yo sister called Sharp Practice, and also has a Kingman 2yo colt called Sovereign Grant. Momentary looks a mare of which much is hoped as she has an Australia yearling filly and is due to foal to Dubawi. Her runners this year are awaited.
From the same Amicable family Stoute has one Royal 4yo, Frontispiece, who has won twice but appeared a little weak as a 3yo. He will have to step up this year. His year younger sister, Any Little Rhyme is with Bell and looks a ready-made winner at 8-10f. There is a Sea the Stars half-sister to these two called Poetic Gift, who is yet to be placed. Stoute has another member of this family, effectively a cousin to the above 3, called Sextant (by Sea the Stars). There were whispers about him as a 2yo but he was eventually unraced. Still entered for the Derby he hopefully will make his debut early in the season. One to watch I think, while his 2yo half-sister Equal Sum (Paco Boy) is likely to be an early 2yo with Hannon. Another 3yo from this large Royal family is Balding’s Natural History (by Nathaniel) who is out of Film Script who won the Lingfield Oaks Trial and has bred a couple of useful horses. He ran once as a 2yo and performed quite well. I can see him scoring in a 12f maiden at somewhere like Salisbury or Newbury and then go on to better things. There is a 2yo half-sister called Special Edition (by Toronado) who is yet to be placed with a trainer. Charlton has an unraced 3yo filly called Fleeting View (by Sixties Icon) who is a half-sister to the useful Mustard but will need 12f+. Her2yo half-brother, Metaphor (Motivator), is with Bell and should be seen this season.
Other 2yo members of the Amicable family are a colt Invictus Spirit (by Frankel), with Stoute; another colt West Newton (by Kitten’s Joy), with Charlton; and finally the yet to be placed filly Sightseeing (a first foal by New Approach). I make that 16 horses from this family in training (or possibly in training) this year, which is a large proportion of the Royal Squad.
The next group of horses are from what I would call the later Royal mares. Lyrical has already been discussed. The other mare which can be placed in this category is Medley, who’s a daughter of a mare The Queen acquired in the ‘80s. So far she has had 3 foals run and all three have won. This year she has a Henrythenavigator 2yo gelding with Balding called Compass. Obviously much is expected of Medley’s daughter Light Music as her first covering is Frankel. Light Music looked a very good 2yo in 2016 but didn’t follow it up as a 3yo.
The next (and final) group of mares are what I would refer to as the Bought/Brought-In mares of the last 10 years. From this group is another 4yo in training and that is the Galileo colt Call to Mind, who is out of that good 2yo (but impossible 3yo) Memory . She has so far had 3 foals to race and all have been listed class or better. Call to Mind’s older brother Recorder looked a really promising 2yo but was injured and never ran again. Call to Mind did not run as a 2yo but after winning on his debut in april (8f) he did not win again until late august in the March Stakes (14f). His next start saw him narrowly beaten in the Group 2 Prix Chaudeney by Ice Breeze who went on to win the Prix Royal Oak. Call to Mind is a promising stayer and is likely to start in something like the Sagaro or Henry II Stakes and if all goes well could go for the Gold Cup. Whether he will fully stay 20f remains to be seen, but his last 2 starts were his best. There is no Memory 3yo as Learn by Heart (Frankel) was sold at the end of his 2yo career. This year’s 2yo is a full-brother to Call to Mind called Space Walk and is with Haggas. I’m expecting him to be more like Recorder. Memory is seeing the crème de la crème of sires and has a yearling filly by Dubawi before returning to Galileo (obviously hoping for a filly). This is the year for these colts to show she is worthy of that attention.
If the Queen has a Derby horse this year then it is the Dansili colt Elector. This Stoute-trained colt won his only race at Ascot, when relatively unfancied. The form is very ordinary, but there was much to like about his resolute, hands and heels victory. He will have to improve a great deal but maybe a 10f listed race in April at Newmarket or Newbury could show if this colt has more about him. He is the third foal of Enticement (purchased in 2006 and a listed winner at 2 and 3) The best foal so far was the Dubawi filly Diploma (who is due to foal to Deep Impact this year) who was probably better than her 3 wins up to 10f, including a listed win. Unsurprisingly Enticement has visited Dubawi 3 times since Elector was born. What should have been this year’s 2yo probably died as a foal but there is a yearling colt to follow Elector.
Most fuss of this year’s 2yos will probably be made of the Dubawi colt Calculation. He is trained by Stoute and is the first foal of the Queen’s most recent Group 1 winner Estimate. She ran only once as a 2yo and didn’t win her maiden until May of her 3yo campaign. It would be a nice surprise if Calculation was a more forward colt but it’s likely he’ll be at his best as a 3/4yo and best over a distance of ground. Of the other 2yo in the Brought-in category (all listed at the start of this article) it is Flarepath I like the look of. She is the first foal of a Galileo mare (the Queen’s first) called Fiery Sunset who is from a good Juddmonte family which also made its name in the colours of Robert Sangster and Charles St George. By Exceed and Excel I can see this filly being one to expect making her debut late-summer and being the type to score this year. Flarepath has a Kingman yearling full-sister. At this stage another filly I’d like to mention is another first foal called Shrewdness (by Lawman). This filly is out of the giant mare Shama who was by Danehill dancer out of a mare from the Aga Khan’s Shergar family. Unlikely to be an early type (she is yet to be placed with a trainer), she will be a filly of some interest because Shama looked highly promising as a 2yo and early in her 3yo career.
The final category of Royal horses is those not bred by the Royal Stud, and this is where Gosden comes in. He has been allotted two colts bred by Darley, one by Sharmadal and the other by Teofilo. Whether this appointment is a Warren action (Stoute is getting no younger) or at the recommendation of Sheikh Mohammed may never be known. Last years 2yos in this category were no great shakes. Two who did not run as 2yos are of interest. The first is Stoute’s Desert Caravan, who is a full-sister to Darley’s most productive donation to the Royal ranks in Dartmouth. She will need 10f at least. Another filly I think will win a race is Bell’s Sailing Home who is by Sharmadal out of a German Monsun mare. There are 2 more 2yos from the Darley outfit with Stoute and Haggas: but more of these and all the other 2yos as the season progresses.
I can’t wait for the season to start and proper racing starts at Newmarket in April. Hopefully it will be a good year for The Queen.
