Winter Watch: From Wuthering Heights to All-Weather Hotshots

[Wandering Eyes]

Following a busy weekend of racing in the Middle East between Doha and Riyadh, Emma Berry will be bringing her popular Seven Days column back from its winter hibernation for a one-off edition this week, providing a helpful summary for those lucky few whose Valentine's Day obligations took them away from the racing on Saturday in favour of a cinema trip to see Wuthering Heights. Really, only me?

Anyway, you can rest assured that Margot Robbie hasn't prevented your Winter Watch columnist from keeping an eagle eye on the all-weather action in Britain, Ireland and France since the most recent edition went to print a fortnight ago.

For this instalment, we've once again highlighted five notable performances on the all-weather – ranked in reverse order – that most definitely make for better watching than the latest adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel.

5. Warriors Whisper – Deauville, February 7

Three fillies fetched a seven-figure sum at the Arqana August Yearling Sale of 2024, most notably Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica), who topped the sale at €1.7 million and looked every bit money well spent when ending an unbeaten juvenile campaign with her first Group 1 success in the Prix Marcel Boussac.

Then there was Skydance (Night Of Thunder), a filly from the same family as Diamond Necklace who also showed a high level of form at two, despite failing to get off the mark in five starts. Last seen finishing fifth (beaten less than four lengths) behind another Ballydoyle champion, Precise (Starspangledbanner), in the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, the €1-million purchase was also third in the G2 Airlie Stud Stakes and second in the G3 Silver Flash Stakes.

Completing the trio of millionaires at Arqana was Warriors Whisper (Lope De Vega), who showed black-type potential of her own when making a belated debut at Deauville on February 7. Admittedly, she made hard work there of justifying odds-on favouritism, beating Shelzawa (Zelzal) by just a short-neck, but there was plenty to like about the manner in which she dug deep to edge the verdict, having travelled smoothly into contention. The runner-up also had the benefit of a previous run, having finished second on her debut at Pornichet the previous month.

Trained by Carlos and Yann Lerner for Victorious Racing, Warriors Whisper has a pedigree befitting one with her €1-million price tag. She is out of the G3 Park Express Stakes winner Normandel (Le Havre), a half-sister to the G1 Grand Prix de Paris scorer Mont Ormel (Air Chief Marshall). Normandel is also a full-sister to La Pyle, the dam of the G1 Coronation Cup and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes hero Pyledriver (Harbour Watch).

The Lerners and Victorious Racing will be hoping that this filly has better luck as a three-year-old than We'll Defend (Zelzal), who earned 'TDN Rising Star' status when making a successful debut on the all-weather at Chantilly in March last year. Unfortunately, We'll Defend hasn't been seen on a racecourse since, so here's hoping Warriors Whisper gets the opportunity to fulfil her obvious potential as a middle-distance filly in 2026.

4. Star Strewn – Dundalk, February 11

TDN Europe's very own Brian Sheerin and Adam Potts of BBA Ireland find themselves in illustrious company on this list, alongside the likes of the Aga Khan Studs, Godolphin and Victorious Racing as owners who have unleashed a promising winner on the all-weather in recent days.

Star Strewn (Starman) is the filly in question for Sheerin and Potts, a stylish winner of the seven-furlong maiden run at Dundalk on Wednesday. Starting out for Adrian McGuinness following a couple of solid efforts in defeat last autumn when trained by Cormac Farrell, Star Strewn was always ideally placed in the hands of jockey Adam Caffrey, shadowing every move of the long-time leader, He's Holding Court (Magna Grecia), before moving to the front at the top of the straight. From there she soon established a clear advantage which she never looked likely to relinquish, ultimately reaching the line with 2 1/2 lengths to spare over her closest pursuer, Glitter And Glory (Lucky Vega).

A €50,000 purchase at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-up Sale, having previously sold for €20,000 at Book 2 of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, Star Strewn is out of the unraced Bernardini mare Marian Halcombe, a half-sister to the G1 Middle Park Stakes third Huntdown (Elusive Quality), as well as Falling Petals (Raven's Pass), the dam of the dual Group 1 winner Saffron Beach (New Bay), and Continua (Elusive Quality), the dam of the high-class sprinter and sire Cotai Glory.

This victory also saw Star Strewn become yet another first-crop winner for Tally-Ho Stud's Starman, with McGuinness confirming afterwards that this filly will now try to emulate the likes of Venetian Sun and Lady Iman by making an impact in Pattern company.

“I definitely think she's a black-type filly – there is no doubt,” McGuinness told Racing TV. “We'll put her away and bring her back for the turf later on. We don't want to go handicapping as she's better than that. It's great to have a filly like this. She's going to strengthen up really well, and we might even talk about a Guineas trial later on in the year.”

3. Edaja – Chantilly, February 12

Can the team at the Aga Khan Studs possibly continue the remarkable run of results it enjoyed in 2025? It will likely be some time before we get a definitive answer to that question, but things are off to an encouraging start thanks to Edaja (Siyouni), who became the first winner of 2026 in the famous green and red silks when making a successful debut at Chantilly on Thursday.

One of 14 newcomers going to post for that one-mile contest, Edaja raced enthusiastically in mid-division for much of the race, before making steady headway in the straight to get to the girths of stablemate Morgana Gold (Too Darn Hot) entering the final furlong. Responding well to the urgings of jockey Clement Lecoeuvre, she was ultimately well on top at the line, landing the spoils by 1 1/2 lengths in decisive fashion.

The homebred Edaja is the second winner from as many runners out of the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational winner and G2 Prix de Malleret and G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris second Edisa (Kitten's Joy). Edisa, in turn, is out of the G2 Prix de Royallieu winner Ebiyza (Rock Of Gibraltar), whose other notable progeny include the G2 Prix Corrida and G2 Prix de Pomone heroine Ebaiyra (Distorted Humor). Ebaiyra was also placed at the top level on three occasions, including when runner-up in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

Certainly, Edaja is bred to stay middle-distances, though the speed she demonstrated at Chantilly suggests her connections don't need to be in any rush to step her up in trip. She's in the best of hands with Francis-Henri Graffard, a master of his craft when it comes to placing his horses, and it will be no surprise if he finds another winnable opportunity for her on the all-weather in the coming weeks before she steps up in grade.

2. Al Rateel – Cagnes-sur-Mer, February 15

Jerome Reynier endured another near miss in Riyadh on Saturday with his star sprinter Lazzat (Territories), who filled the runner-up spot for the third time in his last four starts when narrowly outpointed by Reef Runner (The Big Beast) in the $2-million G2 1351 Turf Sprint.

Closer to home, Reynier was back among the winners at Cagnes-sur-Mer on Sunday when Al Rateel (Violence) maintained her unbeaten record in impressive fashion, fully confirming the promise of her debut at the same venue five weeks earlier – form which had already worked out well with the runner-up, Aspire (Zarak), and fourth, Queen Mekhtaal (Mekhtaal), both winning next-time-out.

On Sunday, Al Rateel switched to the all-weather for a one-mile conditions event against faced five other previous winners, none of whom could lay a glove on her as she dominated from start to finish. Still cruising at the head of affairs as the field turned into the straight, she gradually went through the gears from there and powered through the line for a three-length success, recording the fastest sectional for the final furlong of any horse in the race.

Most recently sold for 100,000gns at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-up Sale, Al Rateel had previously changed hands twice at Keeneland, first for $70,000 as a foal and then for $20,000 as a yearling. She is one of six winners from seven runners out of the Listed Shakespeare Caress Stakes third Zermatt (Tiznow), who was also fourth in the GII Thoroughbred Club Of America Stakes for the Todd Pletcher barn. Zermatt, in turn, is out of the GIII Tempted Stakes third Sisti's Pride (Forestry), from the family of Chad Brown's multiple Grade I winner Rushing Fall (More Than Ready).

Already a winner on both turf and the all-weather, Al Rateel could hardly have made a more promising start to her career and her scope for more improvement suggests she ought to be competitive in Pattern company when the situation demands it.

1. Shabab Al Ahli – Southwell, February 5

Charlie Appleby is still operating at a 100% strike-rate on British soil in 2026, with the recent victories of Shabab Al Ahli (Frankel) and Into The Light (Dubawi) making it three from three for the team at Moulton Paddocks after that of 'TDN Rising Star' Palladas (Lope De Vega) at Kempton last month.

Into The Light showed more than a bit of promise when making a winning debut in Saturday's 10-furlong maiden at Lingfield, but the performance produced by Shabab Al Ahli at Southwell the previous week was certainly a notch above in terms of the wow factor, identifying him as yet another high-class prospect for the Appleby team.

Shabab Al Ahli did it in the manner of a thorough stayer, lengthening right away from his three rivals in a novice staged over 11 furlongs of the Nottinghamshire track. After moving to the front entering the final two furlongs, he proceeded to turn the screw on his chief market rival, Asia Force (Frankel), in no uncertain terms, to the extent that he was fully 8 1/2 lengths clear of the Karl Burke trainee at the line.

In terms of distance, Shabab Al Ahli is likely to take after his Group-winning half-brothers, Kemari (Dubawi) and Klondike (Galileo). Kemari enjoyed his career highlight when winning the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot over a mile and six furlongs, while Klondike was a Listed winner over the same distance, before later landing the G3 Prix de Reux over an extended mile and a half. Their dam, the G3 St Simon Stakes heroine Koora (Pivotal), a half-sister to the St Leger-winning sire Milan, is also responsible for the G3 Lester Piggott Stakes third Chorus (Kingman) from only five runners.

It's little wonder that Shabab Al Ahli was in high demand when he featured as part of the Fittocks Stud draft at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, eventually being knocked down to Godolphin for 500,000gns. He seems sure to progress and win more races as his stamina is drawn out further.

The post Winter Watch: From Wuthering Heights to All-Weather Hotshots appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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