Ferguson Riding High Into Del Mar After First Group 1 Win

NEWMARKET, UK–There's grey, cloud-stuffed sky hanging over Newmarket as the mild autumn is bustled along by an impatient winter. Exactly a week ago, it felt like spring was still in the air in Paris as a sun-dappled day saw second-season trainer James Ferguson announce his presence in the international stage with a first Group 1 winner.

The diminutive El Bodegon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) passed almost literally under the noses of observers on the paddock rails who mostly had eyes for his bigger, stronger rivals, but the little colt has the heart to match his talent and continued his upward climb to the top rank of European juveniles with a bold, front-running win in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. 

Fergsuon's former boss Charlie Appleby, in line to be Britain's champion trainer for the first time this year, had the favourite, Goldspur (Ire) ((Dubawi {Ire}), but he and his jockey William Buick were on this occasion happy to settle for third as they slapped their old colleague on the back in the winner's enclosure, knowing just what such a victory means to a young trainer.

This Saturday morning, Ferguson is back in his regular groove of training the horses at his Exeter Road stable, overseeing some stalls practice for an inexperienced juvenile ridden by his younger brother Alex, and happily chatting to TDN in between bouts of activity. Come Friday, however, he will be back in the sun, this time at Del Mar, to saddle Qatar Racing's Wise En Scene (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), who will become his first runner at the Breeders' Cup in the GI Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“I was absolutely gobsmacked to be honest,” says the usually eloquent Ferguson as he reflects on El Bodegon's breakthrough triumph. “I get a bit carried away and I'd cheer home a 0-55 at Catterick, but this time I couldn't even speak. I thought Ioritz Mendizabal gave him a great ride. He was very confident even though it wasn't the plan to go forward, but from that draw he just found himself there.”

Mendizabal has been the go-to jockey in France for Aidan O'Brien while Covid restrictions have prevented him from sending his own riders from Ireland, and he has been involved in some notable wins for the Ballydoyle team, not least two Classics on St Mark's Basilica (Fr). But the Basque-born jockey was only too keen to renew his acquaintance with El Bodegon following their win in the G3 Prix de Conde at Chantilly at the end of September, and at Saint-Cloud, O'Brien had to settle for second with Peter Brant's Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), ridden by Christophe Soumillon.

“It was a plan ever since he ran at Chantilly and Ioritz got off and said 'you've got to run him in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud',” Ferguson continues. “It had already been in the back of our minds if we won, but it cemented the idea in our minds as obviously Ioritz knows the tracks well [in France]. But even when he won the Prix de Conde I don't think he actually realised how tough the horse is and how well he really stays.”

It is certainly unusual to see a son of Kodiac staying on so well over 10 furlongs in testing conditions, but then El Bodegon is no ordinary Kodiac. Neither was his full-brother, Godolphin's treble Group 1 winner Best Solution (Ire). The siblings, bred by Cecil and Martin McCracken, hail from a stout family which includes the St Leger winner Brian Boru (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Derby and Arc winner Workforce (GB) (King's Best).

He adds of the colt, “He's come out of the race really well. He's the kind of horse that you could run again the next day if you wanted to but that will obviously be him done for the season now. I'll probably keep him on the go just very lightly as he can get very fresh but he's exciting for next year.”

Ferguson, whose father John was the former bloodstock advisor and main buyer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation, turned 32 the day after saddling his first Group 1 winner. Obviously having family ties within the game is an advantage which will helped him compile a strong line-up at his Newmarket stable, which he rents from Willie Musson. But it would be wrong to conclude that Ferguson's connections have been the key to his success. 

The trainer has served a lengthy apprenticeship, spending two years as pupil assistant to Sir Mark Prescott, who suffers neither fools nor shirkers. He also had a stint in America and a lengthy period working under Appleby at Moulton Paddocks, during which time he successfully oversaw that stable's runners in Australia. Following his time with Godolphin he was also assistant trainer to Brian Meehan for a year at Manton before setting out on his own.

His approach to his own operation clearly revolves around including his generally young team as much as possible. Alex Ferguson is one of his key work riders, Freddie Morley is his assistant, and Katie Thurtle, an experienced horsewoman with an instantly likeable disposition, looks after the office and owner liaison. 

“I can't stress enough that James Ferguson Racing isn't just James Ferguson, it's the whole team,” says the man whose name is on the gate. 

“Dad has always been a big part of this team. Even though he doesn't live in Newmarket he keeps up to date with everything that's going on and manages a few horses in the yard. He's been a tremendous help and to draw on his experience–and he's been doing this an awful long time–has been hugely beneficial to me.”

The immediately obvious benefit is that John Ferguson bought El Bodegon for his owners the Nas Syndicate and Tony O'Callaghan (who stands his sire at Tally-Ho Stud) for 70,000gns. Five years earlier he had also bought the subsequent G1 Caulfield Cup winner Best Solution for Sheikh Mohammed for 90,000gns.

James Ferguson adds, “He's a big part of it and it's very handy when you have someone with his experience buying your yearlings because you're minimising your risk in order to get a good one.”

Mise En Scene, on the other hand, was bred at Tweenhills Stud by The Gadfly Partnership before being kept to race in the Qatar Racing silks. A winner on debut in July, she leapt straight into Pattern company the following month when winning the G3 Prestige S. at Goodwood and most recently finished fourth in the G1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket.

“Mise En Scene showed a lot of ability early,” Ferguson says. “She wasn't necessarily forward but she always had an aura of class. I didn't actually have many fillies so she ended up working with colts and she always gave you the feeling that she was going up the canter quite easily, whereas El Bodegon was quite different. El Bodegon would sort of only just do what you asked him, but she is desperate to please.”

He continues, “She had a racecourse gallop at Chelmsford before she ran so we went to Haydock knowing that we had a good 2-year-old on our hands but obviously you never quite know. When she went to Goodwood the massive step up in class was obviously a question mark but I was confident enough that she would go and do us proud. I didn't really want to run in a novice and I was working backwards from the Fillies' Mile so in my mind it was either go to the Prestige or the May Hill at Doncaster, and I didn't want to step up to a mile straight away. As a team, with Qatar Racing, we decided on the Prestige. 

“When you look at Mise En Scene she looks like a 3-year-old so we felt that she wasn't a horse you'd want to be giving lots of runs to at two. We knew that we'd have three or maybe four runs this year, so Del Mar will be her fourth. It's very exciting.”

Mise En Scene touched down safely in California on Friday evening in the experienced care of Alison West. Her trainer will join her on Monday. 

He says, “She's going there a fit horse so there's not a lot that needs to be done. I've worked in America for Eoin Harty but that was at Saratoga. I've never actually been to Del Mar so I don't know the backstretch situation but Alison used to work for Sir Mark Prescott and she took Marsha to Del Mar so she knows what she's doing.”

Could lightning strike twice within two weeks for the young trainer? There's certainly no lack of confidence in the camp, but the mood is also sensibly measured. 

Ferguson says of the filly rivalling El Bodegon for the title of stable star, “Mise En Scene is quite relaxed and she wasn't disgraced at all in the Fillies' Mile. I very much came out of the race feeling that she was the one to take out of it–whether it was the track, or a little bit of trouble in running, there was nothing lost and actually the benefit of her situation is that she is very lightly raced and she is going to Del Mar a fairly fresh filly.”

He adds, “We're very lucky to be in this position and we want to be known as people that if we are given the right horses we can do a good job with them. We are also very grateful to Sheikh Fahad and the Qatar team to put such such faith in us so soon after starting out. It would be great to go to Del Mar and get a big win for them but obviously we've got to stay grounded and enjoy the moments when they come. We know they are very hard to come by.”

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The Weekly Wrap: While The Light Lasts

Last orders are being called for the European Flat turf season. Cheltenham and Aintree have been knocking loudly on the door but there are still some important scores to settle on the level, and in Paris, where this correspondent was fortunate enough to be billeted this weekend, the major Group 1 action was conducted in a blaze of life-affirming autumnal glory that may almost sustain us until the spring.

The four Group 1 races around the world on Saturday, in England, France and Australia, went to the offspring of Irish-based stallions, with State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) getting the ball rolling in the Cox Plate.

A combination of travel difficulties and the stringent new veterinary checks means that there are fewer European horses in town for the key races in Melbourne this spring but that didn't stop Moonee Valley's flagship race going to the sole international challenger, trained by Jospeh O'Brien, who has already lifted the Melbourne Cup twice in his relatively short career.

Bred at Tinnakill House by Dermot Cantillon and Meta Osborne, the 3-year-old State Of Rest has already clocked up more airmiles than many of his older stable-mates and it was perhaps a bold move to take him to New York for the GI Saratoga Derby off the back of one third-place finish this season in a listed race at the Curragh. But it was one that paid off handsomely for his owners in the Teme Valley Racing syndicate. He had the Belmont Derby winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) behind him that day in fourth and 77 days later he returned on the other side of the world to cause a bit of a stir in the Cox Plate. 

It was a great day for Irish racing, as not only was he bred and trained in the country, but State Of Play was ridden by one-time journeyman jump jockey Johnny Allen who has carved out a great career for himself on the Flat in Australia.

In his post-race interview conducted after a prolonged enquiry into possible interference between State Of Play and runner-up Anamoe (Aus), Allen remembered his former boss, the late Joe Crowley, who was also the grandfather of Joseph O'Brien.

“I'm sure if he's looking down from above he'd have a smile on his face,” said Allen, before adding, “There were too many Paddys in [the enquiry] and the boys were saying they couldn't understand us.”

Sweet Success For Sansgter

Ten years after Joseph O'Brien rode Camelot (GB) to victory in the then-Racing Post Trophy for his father, Aidan O'Brien was in the limelight again at Doncaster when sending out his tenth winner of the renamed Vertem Futurity, appropriately enough with a son of Camelot, Luxembourg (Ire).

In many ways Luxembourg weaves some old and new strands of the Coolmore/Ballydoyle empire neatly together. The colt, who is now 9/2 favourite for next year's Derby, was bred by Ben Sangster, whose father Robert bred Luxembourg's great grandsire Sadler's Wells. Both man and horse have played such significant roles in the development of Coolmore. 

Luxembourg carries the colours of one of the syndicate's newer members, Georg von Opel, who races under the Westerberg banner, and whose significant investment in bloodstock in recent years is certainly deserving of a colt with such promise. 

The same can be said for the likeable and reserved Ben Sangster. Not one to blow his own horn, he can certainly permit himself a quiet smile of satisfaction following a successful autumn on the track and in the ring. At Goffs in late September, Sansgter sold Luxembourg's full-brother for a sale-topping €1.2 million. Three days later at Newmarket he enjoyed a Group 1 victory as an owner in partnership with his wife Lucy, son Ollie, and James Wigan when Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), trained by Sangster's step-sister Jane Chapple-Hyam, won the Sun Chariot. Bought by Liam Norris as a foal for 55,000gns as an intended pinhook, Saffron Beach was never really supposed to run for the partners, but a foot issue scuppered her appearance at the yearling sales. Bad luck turns to good luck.

Now Sangster can spend the winter dreaming of becoming the breeder of a Derby winner, having already notched one Epsom Classic in this regard with the Oaks heroine Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

Jane Chapple-Hyam is likely to be high on Ballylinch Stud's Christmas card list after this season for not only has she provided resident stallion New Bay with his first Group 1 winner in Saffron Beach, but last week she sent out an exciting youngster from his second crop in Claymore (Fr), a €5,000 yearling purchase-turned-£10,000 breezer who stormed the Rowley Mile for a four-length novice victory over Godolphin favourite Noble Order (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) on Wednesday.

It was a good week for New Bay with four new juvenile winners, while his G2 Champagne S. winner Bayside Boy (Ire)–another in the Teme Valley Racing ownership–finished third in the G1 Vertem Futurity after filling the same spot in the G1 Dewhurst S.

A Day To Remember For Ferguson…

Marc Chan's Angel Bleu (Fr), bred by Pan Sutong at Ecurie Des Monceaux, has been highly tried this season but has answered almost every call. Having made three starts for two wins before Royal Ascot, the son of Dark Angel (Ire) was perhaps a touch unlucky in the G2 Coventry S when finding himself short of room as he attempted to make his run, and he has thrived since then. Runner-up on his next start at Ascot in the listed Pat Eddery S., he bounced out three days later to take the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood in soft sound and has relished even more testing conditions when taking back-to-back Group 1s in France. Three weeks after his Prix Jean-Luc Lagardare victory he battled home to take the Criterium International by a head from Coolmore's Ancient Rome (War Front).

Angel Bleu's trainer Ralph Beckett indicated at Saint-Cloud on Saturday that a return to France may well be on the cards for the youngster for the Poule d'Essai des Poulains next spring.

It was another good day weekend for the Brits in Paris with all three Group 1 contests falling to cross-Channel raiders. For James Ferguson, only in his second season of training, it was a day he will never forget as the diminutive El Bodegon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) led his rivals a merry dance when making all in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud to give his trainer a first Group 1 success.

Bred by Cecil and Martin McCracken, the tenacious El Bodegon joins his full-brother Best Solution (Ire) in being something of an outlier among Kodiac's stock as a colt who clearly relishes a decent trip. Those reserves of stamina are doubtless drawn from his dam's side, as he has Eva Luna (Alleged) as his third dam, with her offspring including the St Leger winner Brian Boru (GB) (Sadler's Wells) and his full-sister Soviet Moon (Ire), who is the dam of Derby and Arc winner Workforce (GB) (King's Best).

Best Solution, who was second in a strong renewal of the same race in 2016, which was won by subsequent Arc winner Waldgeist (GB), with fellow subsequent Group 1 winners Capri (Ire), Wings Of Eagles (Fr) and Rekindling (GB) behind him, became a stalwart of the Godolphin operation, landing two Group 1 races over a mile and a half in Germany en route to winning the Caulfield Cup. He is now standing at Gestut Auenquelle alongside Soldier Hollow (GB).

“Pretty incredible,” was how Ferguson described his first Group 1 winner as El Bodegon returned to the winner's enclosure. “We love the horse and we planned this as his next race after his previous win in France, but to be ahead with a furlong to go wasn't really part of my plan. I thought he would have to work very hard but he has obviously improved with every run and he takes travelling very well.”

He added, “This horse is not overly big but he has a lot of presence and it's very exciting to wonder what we might have for next year. You have to aim high when you have a horse like this.”

Prior to starting out on his own, Ferguson, who turned 32 on Sunday, served time as a pupil assistant to Sir Mark Prescott and also as assistant to Charlie Appleby at Godolphin.  Touchingly, Appleby, along with William Buick and Godolphin's managing director Hugh Anderson, were among the first to embrace their former colleague at Saint-Cloud after their Godolphin representative Goldspur (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) finished third to El Bodegon.

And Also For Hornby…

The weekend's action in France also provided a memorable couple of days for Ralph Beckett and Rob Hornby. Beckett posted a Group 1 double when the Julian Richmond-Watson homebred Scope (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) landed the Prix Royal-Oak 24 hours after the victory of Angel Bleu at Saint-Cloud. 

The win was extra special for Hornby as it was his first Group 1 success on his first ride at Longchamp. The jockey, who was sidelined last December with a serious shoulder injury after a nasty fall at Wolverhampton, had clearly done his homework, however, and was spotted out walking the track before racing. 

He said, “It's unbelievable. I'm just delighted for everyone involved and for the whole team–it's been a Group 1 double on Saturday and Sunday.

“He had to dig deep off the elbow. They came at him on either side, but he just stuck his neck out; he's really thriving. I'd like to think that there's more to come next year. If it all keeps going the right way we could have a very exciting horse to look forward to.”

Hornby continued, “I'm very grateful to Mr Beckett for the opportunity and to everyone who has supported me the whole way through–Andrew Balding, who I was apprenticed to, and Jonny Portman, there are so many people to mention. My agent works very hard, we all work hard, so when it pays off on days like this it's very special.”

Last year's Prix Royal-Oak runner-up Valia (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) returned for a second attempt, finishing sixth this time around having won the G2 Prix Radio FG at the track back in July. The 4-year-old Aga Khan-bred filly also provided a footnote in history as the final Group 1 runner for her illustrious trainer Alain de Royer Dupre, who retires at the end of the season and has notably been training for the Aga Khan for 40 years. He will be succeeded at Aiglemont by his former assistant Francis Graffard.

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