He’s Mustard: The Champion Hurdle Contender Carrying Big Dreams for the Fowlers’ Small Stable

Sometime in the next few days there will likely be footage of a convoy of vast wagons carrying Gordon Elliott's army of horses from Co Meath to Cheltenham. Ten minutes down the road from Elliott's stable, a single two-box will pull out of the drive at Rahinston to make that same journey. On board will be Colonel Mustard (Fr), an outsider for the Champion Hurdle but very much the star of Lorna Fowler's string of 15 jumpers. 

Of all the Festival races, the Champion Hurdle has been hogging the headlines of the last week as we awaited news of the likely defection of odds-on favourite Constitution Hill (GB). He's now out, his stable-mate Iberico Lord (Fr) is in, State Man (Fr) is the new favourite and the brilliant young mare Lossiemouth (Fr) may or may not stand her ground against her own sex this year. We'll see.

What is certain, however, is that, with fair winds and following seas, Colonel Mustard will be belatedly fulfilling what now looks to have been a cunning plan. Nine years ago it was probably more just a pipe dream for two old school friends to buy a backward-looking Flat horse at the foal sales and try to turn him into a top-class jumper. One of that duo is Fowler's husband, Harry, the Goffs UK bloodstock manager who still part-owns Colonel Mustard with the man now best known for rejuvenating the Tote, Alex Frost. They were joined in the partnership in the early days of the horse's racing career by Pete Davies.

“I was joking with Frosty and said, 'Let's find a horse to run in the 2022 Champion Hurdle' when we were traipsing around the foal sale in 2015,” says Harry, casting his mind back to the first time he saw the son of Makfi (GB). “It was a bit of a fantasy really, but Matt Coleman came across this horse and we all agreed. No one wanted him in the sales ring – big, backward foal, German staying pedigree, wasn't what the market was looking for. He was a bit out of place in the December sales.

“And lo and behold, we broke him in, and I rode him as a two-year-old and straight away he'd lob around the sand with the greatest of ease. I thought, 'Oh, we've got one here. He could be all right.' He told us straight away. And then he took a long time to mature, with a few niggles and growing pains, and he didn't run until he was five.”

Coleman, Frost and Fowler weren't far off, though. Colonel Mustard won a Punchestown bumper at five and was second to Echoes In Rain (Fr) in the G1 Champion Novice Hurdle at 40/1 to close his debut season. Subsequent placings in smart company at Ascot and Leopardstown, behind Jonbon (Fr) and Sir Gerhard (Ire), saw him make it to the Cheltenham Festival in 2022, but for the County Hurdle rather than the Champion. The form of that race now reads very well indeed, as he was third, just three lengths behind State Man, the subsequent winner of eight Grade 1 races whom he will meet again on Tuesday. 

You have to make him feel like he's the king and
that he's the most important person in the world.

Colonel Mustard's progression has been the old-fashioned route of a trainer bringing a horse through the ranks without shopping at the boutique ready-made jumper sales. At such auctions, the price tags are usually at least 10 times the 20,000gns it took to buy the backward Makfi (GB) foal. It is a way that both Lorna and Harry Fowler would have witnessed first hand in their formative years as the children respectively of National Hunt training and riding stalwarts Sue and Johnny Bradburne and John and Lady Jennifer 'Chich' Fowler.

Lorna grew up in Scotland and is unique in being the only person to have ridden a winner at the Cheltenham Festival for Sir Henry Cecil thanks to landing the St Patrick's Day Derby – a charity race for amateurs – aboard the Niarchos family's Plato (Jpn). Her brother is the former jump jockey Mark Bradburne. Having a runner in her own name in one of the championship races takes it to another level, however.

“It means a huge amount,” she says. “In a funny way, I perhaps don't appreciate it as much as I should because I'm always thinking about the next plan with him and what to do, so you're not looking from the outside in. But the amount of people that know Colonel Mustard – he's the horse the children talk about all the time. 

“And I think where he's been so special is he's brought us to the big stage so many times, which is a huge deal for a yard this size. You need to do the very best for him, and you need to do as well as you can with him. He's an exceptional horse in this yard, but in a big yard he'd be one of many. In a way it gives you a lot more scope to think outside the box because you want to make him stand out.”

The 'Ginger Ninja', as he is known at home, does indeed stand out as he bowls around Fowler's expansive sand oval at Rahinston under Diego Rodrigues. It's not just because he is the sole chestnut out at exercise, and he's not even the most physically imposing in the yard, but Colonel Mustard does just have a look of feeling rather pleased with himself. 

Lorna Fowler on the Rahinston gallops | Emma Berry

 

“You have to make him feel like he's the king and that he's the most important person in the world,” says his trainer. “And that's pretty easy around here, because he is pretty important. But that for him is important. He's a very bright horse. And when you have very intelligent horses, it can work two ways. If you get them on side, they'll work it out and they'll do anything for you.”

Reflecting on Colonel Mustard's first Festival appearance she adds, “He ran a huge race and he loved it. He loves the big stage. There are some horses that come alive on it.

“In a way he has campaigned himself. You have big plans at the beginning of the season and nothing goes exactly according to plan. But every year, for some reason by the time I get into the new year, the pieces fall into place.

“You always let the horses tell you. You also have to be very respectful of what the owners want. It's very important, and quite rightly. They want days out, they want to enjoy the horse, and I think he's done very well on that score so far.”

Few could argue with that assertion. To Cheltenham, Aintree, Punchestown, Leopardstown, Ascot, Ayr and Newbury, Colonel Mustard has taken his happy band of followers to some of the best jumps courses in Britain and Ireland, most recently finishing second in Wincanton's G2 Kingwell Hurdle, a traditional Champion Hurdle trial. Though his nine runner-up finishes may have left them thinking 'if only' at times, one can but admire his consistency. In 19 starts he has finished in the first three on 15 occasions.

Rahinston's training yard and stud was set up by John Fowler, the brother of Jessica Harrington, on the 700-acre estate which has been home to generations of the family for two centuries. Following his death in 2008, his wife Chich took on the role of trainer until her passing in 2013. Their son and daughter-in-law have continued the business, bringing about significant rejuvenation to the racing and breeding operations which are run in tandem. Alex Frost, who owns Ladyswood Stud in England, has been a staunch backer of their plans.

“He's been phenomenal,” admits Harry. “He wanted to get involved in racehorses more and I remember saying to him shortly after my mother died, 'We can do the equine stuff here if you want to get involved.' And he said, 'Yeah, let's give it a go.'

“He was already involved in a horse in training here when Dad was alive. And then obviously he got further stuck in after that. He said, 'Anything you fancy, I'll come in with you.' We bought a few horses along the way. A few didn't work out, but we bought the dam of Don Poli (Fr) before he was a big name, and that sort of launched us really.”

Lorna adds of Frost, “You'll never meet anybody who has such a genuinely enthusiastic passion for the sport. It's also important to note that he's bringing that to the Tote. It's such a massive undertaking but he's doing this for the good of racing. And for somebody to be doing that right now in this industry is massive. I think that in itself is pretty amazing.”

The Fowlers are a formidable couple in their breadth of experience, with Lorna's eloquence in talking about her role offering a reminder of her former job as a presenter on Racing UK. It is an oft-heard lament that the big yards are getting bigger while smaller trainers struggle to pick up business. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the Irish National Hunt scene, which is dominated by the super stables of Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins in particular. Lorna takes a pragmatic view of the situation.

It's not just about how good a trainer you are. You have to go out, you have
to get the owners, you have to get the right people involved.

“I think that National Hunt has become more professional and I think everybody has to take that into account and to up their game,” she says. “I'm a small trainer and I'm a very small fish in a big pond. And I think those that have made it have done so because, not only are they excellent trainers, but they're excellent business people, excellent at surrounding themselves with the right people.

“And I think what you have to do is say, 'Right, do I want that or not?' And you have to make the effort to get it. It's not just about how good a trainer you are. You have to go out, you have to get the owners, you have to get the right people involved, but the small trainers have to work out what they want. 

“Having said that, yes, it's very difficult because you are pushing against battalions. But at the same time that small trainer needs to say 'What else do I need to do to try and achieve that?' I've got to try harder if I want that.”

She continues, “The one disappointing thing is that there's a lot of people that have licenses, but they're perceived as pre-trainers to feed into the bigger yards. And I think that's a shame. Now, some people are really happy to do that because they get great income from it, but I personally don't find that a very healthy angle for the sport, this concept of pre-training and then there being just a handful of big trainers.”

It is not hard to envisage the Fowler operation growing in stature in years to come. For a start, Rahinston is a magical place. A step back in time in many ways, but for the family members running it now, all eyes are firmly on its future, including those of the Fowlers' young children, Rosie and Johnny.

“The children enjoy everything about this place and they're very much part of it,” says Lorna during a break between her first and second lots, with Harry having just returned from his feeding round of the mares and young horses about the place. “My focus is the training because that's what I enjoy, but I also know the business. I've got to keep that separate, but our business has to survive and we have to make everything work. Pete Davis has some fabulous broodmares here now and some young stock coming through that are very exciting for him.

“Harry has Goffs, so that gives him his sanity away from his wife and here. But I think you just have to make it work. What do they say? 'If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.' That's how it works.

“Here, like anything in life, it's still a work in progress. It's a big place and we need to maximise its scope and potential from every point of view.”

Despite both her own late parents and in-laws having run their own training businesses, Lorna insists that this wasn't necessarily Plan A for her, even though she is plainly a natural. 

“I always said I wouldn't train. I remember after Harry's mother died and I was talking to our head man Dermot Fagan and I said, 'We'll be down to just a couple of horses and we'll rent out the land for tillage and whatever.' And he said, 'Yeah, yeah.' And anyway, here we are,” she says.

“My mother never said 'Don't do it.' For Mark and I growing up, we were very lucky as a family, the same with Harry, that we had that shared interest with our parents. That's something I'm hugely appreciative of, because it was just really special. It was incredible. And I think that my parents, if they knew we were having a runner in the Champion Hurdle, oh my God, they would just be beside themselves.”

Her husband, with not quite the same level of eloquence, agrees and says of his own parents, “They'd love it. I could imagine them saying, 'What the f*** are you going to the Champion Hurdle for, you mad bastards?'”

 

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Ascot and Tote Sign Five-Year Agreement to Improve Pool Betting

A five-year agreement aimed at strengthening and growing pool betting in the UK was signed by Ascot Racecourse and the Tote on Thursday.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, the agreement ensures all pool bets placed on racing from Ascot Racecourse will continue to support liquidity in the UK pool which has been operated by the UK Tote Group since October 2019. The “Bet with Ascot” brand is included under this umbrella of bets as long as the bets are placed on the Tote website, through bookmakers and third-party partners on course.

This agreement also dovetails with the initiative that assists Ascot with being central to the World Pool since it began at Royal Ascot in 2019. Tote operators from 28 countries currently commingle pools which are hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).

Alastair Warwick, chief executive of Ascot Racecourse, said, “We are delighted have a new agreement in place with the Tote which will allow us to build on what has been achieved domestically and internationally over the last four years. As one of the original architects of World Pool, alongside the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Tote, we are excited to support the further development of World Pool to ensure both racing fans and the sport benefit from it. We will ensure that Ascot's top-class racing continues to be at the forefront of British racing's efforts to see that the sport is watched and bet on by a growing domestic and global audience.”

Alex Frost, chief executive of the UK Tote Group, added, “The Tote is immensely proud to be a partner of Ascot Racecourse which hosts some of the most prestigious racedays in the sporting calendar. This new agreement ensures Ascot Racecourse and the Tote are perfectly positioned to work together to achieve a strong UK Pool, alongside the continued development of World Pool, which are crucial elements to the future financial sustainability of the sport.”

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Seven Days: The Sophomore Kings

We've a while to wait before any firm conclusions can be drawn about this year's crop of first-season stallions, though Darley's Blue Point (Ire) and Ballyhane Stud's Soldier's Call (GB) are pulling ever clearer in what has developed into something of a duel at the half-way stage of the Flat season. In the Coolmore camp, Calyx (GB) was the first to strike with a group winner when Persian Dreamer won Friday's G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. 

As an aside, one wonders how much the clamour to run two-year-olds at Royal Ascot affects some decent juvenile races that follow in the wake of that meeting. At Ascot the six juvenile contests drew a total of 117 runners, while the four Group 2 two-year-old races in England and France in the last week attracted just 27.

When it comes to the current batch of second-crop stallions, it is notable that a number of them in both Europe and America have featured among this year's Classics. Cracksman (GB) has the best three-year-old colt in France, if not in Europe, in the Prix du Jockey Club winner Ace Impact (Fr). Havana Grey (GB) may not have sired a Classic winner yet but he is streaking ahead with stakes winners, the latest being the G2 Kingdom of Bahrain July S. winner Jasour (GB).

Five years ago, Justify and Good Magic finished first and second in the Kentucky Derby, but the latter is now a Kentucky Derby-winning sire thanks to the exploits of his first-crop son Mage. Justify, however, has since seized the limelight, both in his native country, where he stands at Coolmore's Ashford Stud, and in Europe.

Last weekend he was responsible for two head-turning juvenile group winners, first at Newmarket, where the beautifully made City Of Troy stepped up on his impressive Curragh maiden win to post an emphatic success in the Bet365 Superlative S. for the Ballydoyle team. Rain-softened conditions from a torrential day on Friday may have exacerbated the winning margin but there was no disputing the scintillating manner of his performance.

You don't need to take my word for that, however. On Monday morning, Timeform revealed its rating for City Of Troy, whose dam Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was a smart juvenile herself as the winner of the G1 Fillies' Mile. The son of Justify was duly given a mark of 119p, the highest ever awarded to a winner of the Superlative, and six pounds higher than that of Master Of The Seas (Ire), who went on to be beaten a short-head by Poetic Flare (Ire) in the following year's 2,000 Guineas (and indeed returned at the age of five to win Saturday's G2 Summer Mile by four lengths).

On Sunday, the Justify bandwagon rolled on as his daughter Ramatuelle continued her fine season which opened on April 11 when she became the first juvenile winner of the year for her fast-rising trainer Christopher Head. The G2 Prix Robert Papin was added to her earlier win in the G3 Prix du Bois and, as night follows day,   a start in the G1 Sumbe Prix Morny on Aug. 20 is now very much the obvious target. The Deauville juvenile highlight is a race that has seen horses from this Scat Daddy sire-line play a major role in recent years, with Scat Daddy's son and daughter, No Nay Never and Lady Aurelia, triumphing in 2013 and 2016 respectively, while No Nay Never's son Blackbeard (Ire) won last year. 

Justify, a member of Scat Daddy's penultimate crop, won solely on dirt in America, and he has been represented on that surface by last month's GI Woody Stephens S. winner Arabian Lion. Back on Belmont's turf track, however, his purple patch continued with the win last weekend of the Glen Hill Farm-bred Aspen Grove (Ire) in the GI Belmont Oaks. Trained by Fozzy Stack, she races for Glen Hill's Craig Bernick in partnership with Sue Magnier, and was a Group 3 winner in Ireland last season but disappointed when last in the Irish 1,000 Guineas prior to shipping to New York. We can look forward to her resumption in the Saratoga Oaks. It is also worth noting that Justify is leading the first-season sires' table in Australia, where he has the G2 Riesling S. winner Learning To Fly (Aus).

We have of course seen plenty of examples of what members of this sire-line can do on the grass, and in fact Aspen Grove's close relative is the G1 Moyglare Stud S. victrix Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy), who is a half-sister to the filly's dam Data Dependent (More Than Ready), who raced solely on turf.

Ramatuelle's dam Raven's Lady, whose sire Raven's Pass featured as the broodmare sire of two of the three group winners at Chantilly on Sunday, was also a turf runner who won the G2 Goldene Peitsche and G3 Summer S. for Marco Botti before being transferred to the US.

Unsurprisingly, Justify's European feats have not gone unnoticed by the team at Ashford Stud, particularly as both City Of Troy and Ramatuelle were raised there. Coolmore's Adrian Mansergh Wallace said on Monday, “City Of Troy getting seven furlongs so comfortably early on as a two-year-old bodes very well for him being effective over a mile as a three-year-old.

“Versatility is what this business is all about. If you look through his best runners so far, Arabian Lion is out of a Distorted Humor mare, Aspen Grove is out of a More Than Ready mare, Learning To Fly is out of a Fastnet Rock mare, City Of Troy is obviously out of a Galileo mare, and Verifying is out of a Repent mare. I think the fact they they are winning on all surfaces will only add to his legacy, and that was something that was very apparent with Scat Daddy, who was probably the best stallion we've ever stood here at Coolmore America.

“The line that is most synonymous with our farm here is the Storm Bird line and now we are very privileged to be standing the sixth and seventh generation of that line. It was noted for horses with precocious, two-year-old speed, but who trained on and got the Classic distances, as Justify obviously did in winning the Triple Crown.”

He added, “He's going to be leading freshman sire in Australia, he was one of the leading freshman sires up here last year in a strong group, and he's well on his way to perhaps being the leading second-crop sire up here. Hopefully the European runners will keep coming, but having Arabian Lion win a race as prestigious as the Woody Stephens on Belmont day is also very encouraging, then our own Verifying was second in the Blue Grass and won the Indiana Derby, and that keeps the dirt aspect of his career open.”

Take Note of Seabhac

Another son of Scat Daddy who entered the stallion ranks at the same time but with far less fanfare than Justify is Seabhac, and he should not be overlooked. He won the GIII Pilgrim S. on turf as a juvenile and joined Larissa Kneip's Haras de Saint Arnoult in 2019, with 58 foals resulting from that first crop.

Kneip sadly died last year but, ever the enthusiast in her varied roles in the business, it is easy to imagine that she would have taken great pride in Seabhac's success so far this year. Leading the way among his offspring is the G2 German 2,000 Guineas winner Angers (Fr), and his success was followed by that of Rue Boissonade (Fr) in Friday's G2 Prix de Malleret. The Mikel Delzangles-trained filly was bred by Kneip in partnership with United Breeders and was one of five group winners out of Galileo mares in Europe in the last week including the aforementioned Persian Dreamer and City Of Troy, and the G1 July Cup winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Fr}).

Seabhac, whose name is pronounced 'Shoke' and means hawk in Gaelic, has subsequently been moved to Haras du Taillis, where he stands alongside Fantastic Moon (GB), though this Group 3-winning son of Dalakhani (Ire) should not be confused with this year's German Derby winner of the same name but different suffix.

Diamond Days

There was plenty to enjoy both at Newmarket's July meeting and in France over the last week, and no horse was given a greater reception, even in the ceaseless rain, than Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}). It is always a joy to see Classic winners remain in training past the age of three, but Nashwa's owner/breeder Imad Al Sagar could have been forgiven if he had started to wonder if he had done the right thing after his burly filly suffered two defeats in her first two starts of the year. 

Nashwa, however, simply saved her best for top-class company on her home track where she returned to a mile for the first time since April of last year, and she blitzed her rivals to win the G1 Tattersalls Falmouth S. For the Gosden team by five lengths. 

Extra glory was to come for Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud when Nashwa's half-brother Louganini (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}), a treble winner in England, added to his tally with a victory at Ta'if in Saudi Arabia. Then on Sunday, the Blue Diamond-bred Araminta (GB) (Gleaneagles {Ire}) won the G3 Prix Chloe at Chantilly for Henry Candy, who mooted the possibility of the three-year-old filly heading next to Glorious Goodwood and the G1 Nassau S., in which Nashwa will attempt to defend her title. 

Bought as a yearling from Tattersalls for 82,000gns, Araminta hails from a family which has been successful for various members of the Rothschild family over the decades, most recently for Lady (Serena) Rothschild, who died in 2019, prompting a dispersal of her Waddesdon Stud stock. It was from there that Araminta's dam, the Group 3 and treble Listed-winning sprinter Mince (GB) (Medicean {GB}), was purchased by Blue Diamond Stud. Sadly she produced just the one foal for the breeder as she died the following year at the age of 12.

Araminta's co-owner Alex Frost, CEO of the Tote, posed the question as to whether there has been a more veteran trainer-and-jockey combination to land a group race than Henry Candy and Gerald Mosse at 78 and 56 respectively. We think that prize may go to Jim Bolger and Kevin Manning with Poetic Flare but, nevertheless, it was noteworthy teamwork by the highly respected duo. Candy also saddled the July Cup runner-up Run To Freedom (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) during a memorable weekend for his stable. We'll hear more about that horse's conqueror, Shaquille, in tomorrow's TDN.

As for Araminta, she is owned by a partnership consisting of Frost, his fellow owner-breeder Andrew Stone of St Albans Bloodstock, and old friend Alex Acloque, who is a grandson of the noted Classic-winning breeder Lord Howard de Walden.

“It's just wonderful for Henry and for everybody, especially considering she only made her first start in April,” Frost told TDN. “This is the third Group 3 winner we've had and by some considerable way she was the most expensive.”

Araminta, who has been beaten only once in four starts when third in the Listed Conqueror Fillies' S. at Goodwood, subsequently returned to the Sussex track to win the Listed Height Of Fashion S. before heading to France.

“The way she races you would be mad keen to go to a mile and a half with her but it doesn't make any sense on paper, though Gleneagles does seem to be imparting plenty of stamina to his offspring,” said Frost, who owns Ladyswood Stud in Gloucestershire.

He added of the partnership, “Alex is an absolute racing nut and he has always been involved in horses with me, and Andrew got involved in this filly. The idea was to buy a broodmare together but we kept getting priced out of the broodmare market so we thought we'd have to try to make one, which can often be an expensive mistake. But so far, so good.

“We all live very close to each other. Andrew is a good mate and a Tote investor, and he's always been very supportive. Alex I've known since I was six or seven; we grew up together.”

Frost and his father have been long-term supporters of Henry Candy's stable at Kingstone Warren. He said of the trainer, “Henry understands every inch of a horse. That's what it's all about really, the total appreciation of an animal. He's a trainer who goes to see his horses every night, day, morning, feels every leg. There's nothing he wouldn't know about each horse.

“We were very tempted to push to run her at two but he said, 'She'll tell us when'. What I love about her is that she does nothing at home and it's only when she gets to the racecourse that she gets really stuck in. I always think that's a sign of a good horse.”

Juddmonte Sires to the Fore

Juddmonte Farms celebrated a Grade 1 winner at Saratoga in the Diana S. with the former Roger Charlton-trained Whitebeam (GB) (Caravaggio), and the operation's stallions Frankel (GB) and Kingman (GB) were also each represented by Group 1 winners in the past week. 

The aforementioned Nashwa claimed her third and became the eighth Group 1 winner for Frankel this year, while Kingman's Feed The Flame (GB) delivered on his early promise this season with victory in the Grand Prix de Paris on just his fourth start. He continued a fine year for his co-breeder and vendor Ecurie des Monceaux, which is also co-owner of Ramatuelle, and raised and sold the treble Group 1 winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) for the Wildenstein family's Dayton Investments. Incidentally, both Feed The Flame and Paddington are out of mares by Montjeu (Ire). To add a cherry on top of this good run, Monceaux also bred Shaquille's sire, Charm Spirit (also from a Montjeu mare).

There was also a welcome return for another Kingman three-year-old, Nostrum (GB), a one-time 2,000 Guineas fancy who made a successful belated seasonal return in the Listed Sir Henry Cecil S. and will surely be back in group company before long. 

But it was two longstanding Juddmonte names, Oasis Dream (GB) and the late Dansili (GB), who combined in the pedigree of arguably the most notable performer of the week. The Gestut Fahrhof-bred Quinault (Ger) has been a revelation this year since joining the stable of Stuart Williams from Godolphin, and the three-year-old has now won six handicaps on the bounce, starting on a rating of 59, and claiming his most recent success on the July Course off a mark of 90. An expensive purchase at the Craven Breeze-up Sale for 310,000gns, Quinault returned to the same ring a little over six months later to fetch 25,000gns to TJE Racing. He has proved worthy of every penny of that outlay at the Horses-in-Training Sale, with his earnings now closing in on £150,000 and a shot at stakes company clearly not beyond the realms of possibility. 

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World Pool Season Expands Internationally

World Pool, the largest commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), will expand to 25 fixtures in 2023, with some of the new additions the Lightning S. Day in Australia (Feb. 18), The Saudi Cup (Feb. 25), and Irish Derby Day (July 2).

Provisional World Pool events will be hosted on the following days in 2023:

  • 28: Met Day – Kenilworth Racecourse, South Africa
  • 18: Black Caviar Lightning Race Day – Flemington Racecourse, Australia
  • 25: Saudi Cup – King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 4: Super Saturday – Meydan Racecourse, Dubai
  • 25: Dubai World Cup – Meydan Racecourse, Dubai
  • May 20: Lockinge S. Day – Newbury Racecourse, UK
  • July 2: Irish Derby Day – the Curragh, Ireland
  • July 2: Deutsches Derby Day – Hamburg-Horn, German

The World Pool Moment of the Year has been extended to all global World Pool meetings and will reward stable staff with a total of over HK$1 million (approx. £103,000) in prizes, as well as a VIP trip to Hong Kong, thanks to additional funding from the HKJC, UK Tote Group, Racecourse Media Group (RMG) and Ascot Racecourse. For more information, please visit the World Pool website for more.

Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director Wagering Products of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “We were absolutely thrilled with the results from our 21 World Pool meetings in 2022 and are excited to be extending that offering to 25 days this year.

“Having Australia and Saudi Arabia on the fixture list of 2023 World Pool meetings is another important step in the globalisation of World Pool, while adding some high-profile British and Irish meetings to the schedule is another exciting advancement.

“To complement our expanding list of World Pool meetings are the Moment of the Day and Moment of the Year initiatives, which for the first time will reward winning stable staff from all countries hosting World Pool races.

“Last year's launch of the competition in the UK and Ireland was met with great feedback from yards across the region and we look forward to opening that up to our World Pool days in South Africa, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.”

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said, “We are looking forward to another World Pool season which now extends its reach across eight countries worldwide. For the UK and Ireland, it is welcome to see new additions to this year's schedule, with two races from Newbury's Lockinge Day added, along with Irish Derby Day, taking World Pool events hosted in the UK and Ireland to a total of 18.

“The ambitions for a global wagering platform are already being realised with over 20 pool betting operators now part of World Pool. Last year alone, the UK and Ireland saw record turnover of £521 million across 17 World Pool events, showcasing the best of our racing to a global audience, ensuring an improved value proposition for our own wagering customers and creating a more sustainable funding mechanism for horseracing in the future, with additional income for our racecourse partners.

“Our continued thanks go to our partners the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and in collaboration with RMG and Ascot, we are delighted to see Moment of the Day and Moment of the Year now extended to include all countries hosting World Pool races.”

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