‘We’ve Always Dreamt of Winning the Derby’: Alan Cooper on Passenger

The Niarchos Family has had no shortage of Classic success over the years, including at Epsom, where they won a memorably emotional Oaks with the Sir Henry Cecil-trained Light Shift (Kingmambo), but there is to date one omission from their roll call of big-race wins.

“We've always dreamt of winning the Derby. We haven't yet, but let's hope that Saturday can go the right way,” Alan Cooper, the operation's racing manager, told TDN on Wednesday. 

That dream could become reality if Passenger continues to show the level of improvement that persuaded the Niarchoses to supplement the colt for the Betfred Derby. Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Passenger has an extra special element to him in that his sire, the dual Group 1 winner Ulysses (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), is also a Niarchos homebred and was trained by Stoute, while his female family traces back through the Niarchos operation for five generations.

Passenger was first seen in action in public during the Craven meeting at Newmarket, where he impressed plenty of onlookers with his three-length victory in the Wood Ditton Maiden over a mile. He then stepped straight into group company at York for the G2 Dante S., a race won last year by his stable-mate and subsequent Derby winner Desert Crown (GB) ((Nathaniel {Ire}), who was also making just his appearance on a racecourse at the time. Denied a clear run at a crucial stage in the Dante, Passenger eventually burst clear to finish a running-on third behind The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and White Birch (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}), both of whom he will meet again at Epsom. 

“He's a horse who probably surprised us a little bit in the Wood Ditton and he has just matured, physically and mentally, since his first racecourse experience,” Cooper said.

“The Dante was a very good education with hindsight. He didn't win but he learnt a lot from it. It's a great compliment to Michael and his team that we are getting him to Epsom.”

He added, “He's by our homebred stallion and the female family has been in the Niarchos family since the early 1980s, going back to Misinskie, who was trained by Peter Walwyn. Then the mare went over to be bred in America and had her breeding career over there.”

Bred by Will Farish III, Misinskie, by Nijinsky, features as the fifth dam of Passenger. Her daughter Ajman (Woodman) was bred under the Niarchoses' Flaxman Holdings banner but raced for Shadwell, who then bred Passenger's third dam El Laoob (Red Ransom). This branch of the family returned to the Niarchos fold when Passenger's grand-dam Pachattack (Pulpit) appeared at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale of 2011 with plenty of black type to her name and was bought for $1.2 million.

Also seeking a first Derby win is Charlie Johnston in his first season with a training licence in his own name since his father Mark stepped back. The trainer is likely to saddle two for the race, and there is a particular poignancy to one of those runners as Dubai Mile (Ire), owned by Ahmad Al Shaikh, is from the sole crop of the late Roaring Lion, who was himself third in the Derby won by Masar (Ire). 

The Group 1-winning juvenile was bought for €20,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale from his breeder Lady Chryss O'Reilly and most recently finished fifth in the 2,000 Guineas. 

“There's no horse in this race that we know is better than ours, on ratings we're right there with them all,” said Johnston. “He's a Group 1 winner who ran a good trial over an inadequate trip in the Guineas, so in that sense I think we've got a rock-solid profile.

“The fact he was a €20,000 yearling and a bit more unfashionable probably explains why he's 14-1 rather than 4-1. There's nothing in there that scares me or we have 7lb to find with. If he improves for the trip, which we all expect he will, then he goes there with a good chance.”

Johnston is also represented by the 100/1 outsider Dear My Friend (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) for Middleham Park Racing.

“He's our first runner in the Derby and we are going into it with our eyes wide open,” said Mike Prince of Middleham Park Racing. “He was well beaten in the Dante but we think the step up in trip will suit him.

“There'll be a few horses in the race who don't stay, there'll be a few horses in the race who don't handle the track and there'll be a few horses in the race who don't handle the occasion – hopefully we'll be there trying to pick up some of the pieces. There's good place money down to sixth and [the owners are] all delighted that we're rolling the dice.”

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Starspangledbanner’s Barnwell Boy Surges To TDN Rising Stardom At Goodwood

Jane Newett's Barnwell Boy (GB) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}–Frilly {GB}, by Frankel {GB}) became the latest juvenile to stake a claim for Royal Ascot with a taking debut success in Friday's William Hill/British EBF Novice S. over six furlongs at Goodwood. The contest has become a useful yardstick having thrown high-class winners in the past, with Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) annexing the 2017 renewal and Royal Scotsman (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) winning last year's edition.

Barnwell Boy, a Charlie Johnston trainee, broke sharply and seized an immediate lead. Holding sway throughout, the 5-1 chance was nudged along passing the quarter-mile marker and surged clear, despite drifting left, under mild coaxing inside the final furlong to easily outclass Packard (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) by an impressive 4 1/2 lengths. He is the fourth TDN Rising Star for Starspangledbanner, whose honour roll includes multiple Group 1-placed sprinter Flotus (Ire).

“He's not very big, but he's pretty sharp and was ready to go,” said Mark Johnston. “We didn't know what to expect first-time-out as we didn't know what we were up against. Oisin [Murphy] came in and said he's very fast and that he was quite impressed. I suppose, on pedigree, he's not one we'd have thought as an out-and-out five-furlong horse. We'll have to go home and maybe think that way now. With any 2-year-old winner at this time of year, you always have to be thinking is this a [Royal] Ascot, or not. Maybe we'll be thinking about the [Listed] Windsor Castle now.”

Barnwell Boy is the first of two foals produced by an unraced daughter of three-time G3 Summer S. victrix Ladies Are Forever (GB) (Monsieur Bond {Ire}), herself a full-sister to dual G1 Haydock Sprint Cup third Hoof It (GB). The January-foaled homebred chestnut is a half-brother to a weanling filly by Kingman (GB).

1st-Goodwood, £15,000, Nov, 5-26, 2yo, 6fT, 1:10.09, gd.
BARNWELL BOY (GB), c, 2, by Starspangledbanner (Aus)
1st Dam: Frilly (GB), by Frankel (GB)
2nd Dam: Ladies Are Forever (GB), by Monsieur Bond (Ire)
3rd Dam: Forever Bond (GB), by Danetime (Ire)
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, £7,851. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O/B-Jane Newett (GB); T-Charlie Johnston; J-Oisin Murphy.

 

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Dubai Mile Put Through His Paces Over The Rowley Mile

Group 1 winner Dubai Mile (Ire) (Roaring Lion) galloped over the Rowley Mile in Newmarket on Wednesday. The Ahmad Al Shaikh silksbearer is being primed for a possible start in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas over this course on May 6.

Trained by Charlie Johnston, the 3-year-old was originally pencilled in for the G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dante S. at York in mid-May, but connections are weighing the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud hero's chances in the run-up to the G1 Betfred Derby on June 3.

“We've been having a debate internally all spring really regarding what is the best route for this horse,” said Johnston. “We're pretty confident his optimum trip this year will be a mile and a half plus and you can see in his work there that he's not travelling hard on the bridle behind the other horse. He's a very laid-back horse who is behind the bridle and his last furlong is his best furlong.

“But, having won a Group 1 as a 2-year-old, your route to the Derby is narrowed down quite dramatically. You either have to have to step down in grade or you have to go to the Guineas. From an early point it's been either Guineas-Derby or Dante-Derby. The way they're in the calendar this year running in all three is pretty unrealistic.

“I've spent most of the spring leaning on the side that he should be going Dante-Derby, but Ahmad is always keen to take on a challenge and take the ambitious route–and when you've got a Group 1-winning 2-year-old, the reality is winning the Dante is not going to add anything to this horse's stallion profile, whereas finishing third in the Guineas would be a big asset to him.”

The chestnut won at second asking over a mile at Windsor last August and added an all-weather mile contest at Kempton later that month. Second over the Guineas course and distance in the G2 Royal Lodge S. in September behind Thursday's G3 bet365 Craven S. entry The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), the son of Beach Bunny (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) thrived in the heavy going at Saint-Cloud in his top-level score a month later.

Johnston added, “We're all well aware that this horse is being trained and going to be campaigned as a top-class mile-and-a-half horse, it's just what we do in the early season to get him there.

“I'd love a soft ground Guineas, then he really would be a player because we know he handles testing conditions, and one asset you can never take for granted here is he's run over the course and distance. Danny says you don't even notice the dip on him, he just floats down it and out the other side. The Guineas is not a race you go into as a prep race, but if he was running in many ways it would be a prep race for the Derby.”

Also taking a spin over the course on Wednesday was the Charlie Hills-trained two-for-two Circero's Gift (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) with Kieran Shoemark at the controls. The Rosehill Racing-owned colt worked in company with stablemate Saratoga Gold (GB) (Mayson {GB}) under Michael Hills, however, his participation in the Newmarket Classic is not definite. He won both his Newbury debut last autumn, and a Wolverhampton all-weather affair on Mar. 30.

“He worked well and had a nice little blow afterwards as well actually, so it was just what we wanted I think,” said Hills. “He's obviously had two starts and two wins and we're just trying to feel our way really and see exactly where we are and find out a bit more about him. Today he behaved great, had a nice bit of work and did what we asked him.

“We didn't really want to run in a trial and put three quick races into him. It's going to be a long season, so we'll just try to keep him as fresh as we can.

“We'll see how the week unfolds with the trials and make a decision next week. There is a conditions race at Goodwood around the same weekend as the Guineas, so that could be another route to take, but I'm pretty open-minded at the moment.

“He's a nice horse and there's only one Guineas, isn't there? If we decide against it you've got Goodwood and the Dante at York and the [G3] Hampton Court [S.] at Royal Ascot, something like that. I think I could see him stepping him up in trip later in the year.”

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Subjectivist Headed Directly To The Gold Cup

A winner of the 2021 G1 Gold Cup at Ascot, Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) will point to the 2023 edition without another prep race, trainer Charlie Johnston revealed on Wednesday.

Raced by Dr. Jim Walker, the 6-year-old entire has returned to the races after sustaining a tendon injury later in 2021. Unplaced in the G3 Red Sea Turf H. in Riyadh at the end of February, he was much improved when third in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan on Mar. 25. He won that Meydan contest in 2021. The G3 Sagaro S. and the G2 Yorkshire Cup later in the spring were under consideration for the Johnston trainee.

“We've had a bit of debate about Sagaros and Yorkshire Cups and things, but the plan now for him, all being well and should we be able to get him there, is to go straight to Ascot,” said Johnston.

“With that in mind he's just swimming and on the water walker at the moment and having an easy couple of weeks before we try to build him back up for the Gold Cup.

“We have a big, black cloud hanging over us every day now since his tendon injury and how long is a piece of string really, we don't know how many bullets are left in the gun for us to fire and with that in mind we don't really want to waste any in races like a Sagaro.

“He's going to be campaigned in the three or four races that we really want to win and, touch wood, he has taken two races in a four-week window quite well.

“But once you've had a tendon injury, that is always something that is hanging over you to some degree and as a result we are only going to go into battle when it matters and the next time that will be, will be the Ascot Gold Cup.”

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