Winter Warmers Part One: Britain

[Wandering Eyes]

In the first of a series, Tom Frary looks back at the standout British-trained juveniles of last season and considers who will be most prominent during their key Classic season.

I was listening to the BBC World Service the other day and the programme in question was about unpredictability, with an established fund manager explaining how they operated in such a volatile, changing environment. “It’s touchy-feely,” he confided to the reporter and that struck a chord. I think the same synonym can be applied to the torchlight search during this darkened section of the year for the boutique Thoroughbreds of the forthcoming season.

Of course, all will point to 2018’s benchmark performer, the chief of the ‘TDN Rising Stars’, Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), as the peak of the pyramid. Rightly so, as this latest and best product of the increasingly remarkable Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) was head and shoulders above his peers throughout a busy two-month period. It is not so much guess-work where this vibrant runner is concerned, as he’s already passed the age-old test of the Dewhurst with honours, over the same strip as the Guineas on ground which was way too fast for him. That was as good a performance in that examination as I’ve seen since Frankel (GB) in 2010, and if he isn’t out of the same kind of category I’ll be amazed. Dar Re Mi is becoming one of those legendary broodmares and it’s as if each mating with the gilt-edged Dubawi is raising the bar. He has everything and I’m sure after he wins the Guineas he’ll stay a mile and a half too. His sister Lah Ti Dar (GB) found the St Leger too sharp in September and Too Darn Hot could even be Triple Crown material, as he is the right type of intelligent racehorse who can adapt quickly and he has plenty in hand on his contemporaries.

Aside from 2019’s “good thing”, another ‘TDN Rising Star’ who is sure to make a considerable impact is Shadwell’s Jash (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who just succumbed to fellow ‘TDN Rising Star’ Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never) in a proper renewal of the Middle Park. Jash is a top-class sprinter in the making and he was simply brilliant at Salisbury the time before the Middle Park. Connections are keen to have a tilt at the seven-furlong Greenham, so the Guineas is on their minds and with the top-class Hibaayeb (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) and her daughter Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the family it is understandable. However, the Commonwealth Cup seems more his bag and it would be no surprise to see him excel there and reverse 2-year-old form with Ten Sovereigns.

Another with speed as his forte is ‘TDN Rising Star’ Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who went to the sidelines soon after upstaging Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in the Coventry at Royal Ascot. There were shades of Dawn Approach (Ire) in that ‘lone ranger’ performance, but the Juddmonte homebred is from a precocious family and it is a concern to me that both Helleborine (GB) (Observatory) and Fair Eva (GB) (Frankel {GB}) failed to build on excellent juvenile performances. Kingman’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Sangarius (GB) looks to have more distance to run to these eyes, hailing from the dynasty of Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) and belonging to that unrivalled nursery of Sir Michael Stoute’s. Although he was well beaten in the Dewhurst, some of Freemason Lodge’s great runners of the past were similarly tried without distinction in the leading juvenile contests as much for the education as the bare result. His dynamic debut performance in a novice contest on Newmarket’s July Course was one of my enduring memories of last season and I fully expect him to ultimately prove the second-best horse to emerge from the Dewhurst in time.

Godolphin’s epic 2018 season was just the beginning, with ‘TDN Rising Star’ Quorto (Ire) another Dubawi set to hit the heights and carry on the operation’s new wave. His efforts in the Superlative and the Vincent O’Brien National S. mimicked those of his sire’s and the son of the Oaks-placed Volume (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) could be the one to provide the true line to how good Too Darn Hot truly is next term. Charlie Appleby also has two other ‘TDN Rising Star’ sons of that standard-bearer in the Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l’Elevage scorer Al Hilalee (GB), a son of the classy Ambivalent (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}) who is open to any amount of improvement, and the impressive Nottingham maiden winner Space Blues (Ire), who is out of the G2 Challenge S. winner Miss Lucifer (Fr) (Noverre). Saeed bin Suroor also has a golden ticket in Royal Marine (Ire) (Raven’s Pass), who oozes class. At Doncaster on his second start, he performed heroics to beat subsequent ‘TDN Rising Star’ Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), and he carried on the momentum when collecting the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc day. His trainer has proven he retains all of his guile and ability with the likes of Farhh (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) and Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) throughout a recent quiet spell in his initially explosive career, and Royal Marine is a colt who can continue his resurgence.

Where the “touchy-feely” stuff comes in concerns the darker types and there is one who excites in the William Haggas-trained colt Skardu (GB) (Shamardal). Sent off at 33-1 for his debut in a seven-furlong maiden at Newmarket in September, Abdulla Al Khalifa’s homebred chestnut performed heroics to come from a compromising position and win with authority. He is a son of Diala (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) who interestingly was tried in the 1000 Guineas by this yard off a similar maiden win. The same stable has the filly Rainbow Heart (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}), Sunderland Holding’s daughter of the G2 Prix de Royallieu winner Sea of Heartbreak (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) who was an eight-length scorer over the same track and trip in October to earn ‘TDN Rising Star’ status.

Where the fillies were concerned, the Gredleys’ Pretty Pollyanna (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) retains pole position among the Brits in a category overwhelmed by the Irish with her scintillating success in the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. at Newmarket’s July meeting leaving a burn on the collective memory. The relative of the high-class User Friendly (GB) threatens to stay the Guineas trip well on pedigree and was coming back at the end of the Fillies’ Mile.

Despite her defeat in the G3 Princess Margaret S., the Ed Walker-trained Royal Intervention (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) remains a fascinating prospect, with the half-sister to Gorella (Fr) (Grape Tree Road {GB}) having previously excelled in Newmarket’s Listed Empress S.

Ralph Beckett has some smart fillies once again and Dancing Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) cut a real dash when off the mark at Doncaster on debut in October, while Roger Charlton has a live prospect in Andrew Rosen’s Fashion’s Star (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). She took a seven-furlong Newbury conditions event on her sole start, which is often a pointer to bigger things, and as a descendant of the G1 Preis der Diana heroine Next Gina (Ger) (Perugino) could turn out to be a genuine Oaks contender.

Our next Winter Warmers installment will reflect on the top juveniles in Ireland in 2018.

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