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Royal Patronage Camp Leaning Toward The Derby

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who won the G3 Acomb S. and G2 Royal Lodge S. in succession in August and September, respectively, has developed well this winter and is likely to try the G1 Cazoo Derby route, according to co-trainer Charlie Johnston. Eighth in the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. on Oct. 23 where he picked up an injury, the bay has been recuperating, but looks more of a “mile-and-a-quarter-plus” horse to Johnston and his co-trainer father Mark. Originally, the training duo had pencilled in a start in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas for the colt.

“We've had lots of excited Highclere owners coming here at regular intervals to see Royal Patronage, who seems to have wintered very well, but it is still very much the early days of his preparation for the season ahead,” said Charlie Johnston. “We won't see him before the Guineas at the absolute earliest and I think we're starting now to lean towards the route of starting in the [G2] Dante [S.] with a Derby run in mind. He's certainly the flagbearer [for the yard] in the 3-year-old division.

“It always sticks in my head that dad has always said the best trial for the Derby is the Guineas and I think, probably going into the winter, we thought we had that as the favourite place for him to start this year.

“Only when we start to do some faster work with him in March will we get a better handle on what distance is going to be optimum for him this season but looking at him, the physical shape and size of the horse now, he's starting to scream a mile-and-a-quarter-plus.”

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Mishriff on Track For Saudi Cup Title Defence

Prince Faisal's 2021 $20-million Saudi Cup hero Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) is in excellent form ahead of his defence of his crown in the 2022 edition, the first time the race has been accorded Group 1 status. The John and Thady Gosden runner took the G1 Sheema Classic at Meydan last March, and was third in Sandown's G1 Eclipse S. July. Second to Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on July 24, he bounced back to win the G1 Juddmonte International S. a month later. In his final 2021 start, the 5-year-old was fourth in the G1 Champion S. at Ascot on Oct. 16.

“He's a year older and a little bigger, but he's been training well up to the race so far so let's hope it continues like that,” said co-trainer Thady Gosden. “It's more of a challenge being the middle of winter over here. We've been lucky to avoid the snow so far, but it has been cold and frosty. It's more straightforward in a warmer climate, but we're lucky it hasn't been too cold here.

“We'll get the Saudi hurdle out of the way and then there are two possible races on World Cup night, the Sheema Classic and the [G1 Dubai] World Cup itself and I'm sure Prince Faisal will know which he'd like to go for.

“Then we've got a long season here so there's a few bridges to cross before we start thinking of the Breeders' Cup.”

Another Gosden runner pointed to the Saudi Cup meeting at the end of February is dual Group 1 winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). The winner of the 2020 G1 Prince of Wales's S. has not been seen in action since he captured the G1 Dubai Turf at the end of March and is aiming for the Neom Cup on the Saudi Cup undercard.

“Lord North had a bit of an issue and because he's a horse of such calibre we've given him all the time he needs, but he's back training well now and hopefully he gets to the Neom,” said Gosden. “He's bouncing around the place and he's pretty determined to get out there. It looks a tough field and Pyledriver ran exceptionally well in Hong Kong, but he's back to his old self.”

The G1 Coronation Cup winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), who ran a heroic second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase in December, is also training with an eye toward a start in the Neom Cup. His trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick sent the 5-year-old entire out for a spin over the Kempton all-weather prior to leaving for Saudi Arabia.

“We took him to Kempton today to let him have a blow over the surface to cover a distance of ground,” Muir said. “It was just to literally get him away from home for something different and a change of scenery, to perk him up and keep him in good shape.

“The horse is in great shape. It wasn't one of those gallops you want to put a gun to his head and say 'go'. It was just to let us cover the distance.

“Martin [Dywer] rode him and when he got off he said, after riding in races there over the winter, it felt like he broke the track record.”

The La Pyle Partnership colourbearer was under consideration for the Saudi Cup itself, but connections ultimately opted for the Neom Cup on turf.

“We had a long conversation, the owners and myself, and we are aiming to go from here to the Sheema Classic in Dubai,” Muir explained. “We felt to drop him back to a mile-one on dirt and then go back up to a mile and four would be giving different signals. We know a mile and a quarter on turf is fine so we thought we'd do that and then go onto the next target.”

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Alkumait Part of a New Sponsorship Agreement With The Curragh

New Castlefield Stud stallion Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) is part of a new sponsorship agreement with The Curragh. The two-race package includes the first 2-year-old race of the new Flat Racing season on Mar. 26 and a 10-furlong maiden for 3-year-olds and up on Apr. 10. Both races will be an important part of launching and marketing the stallion's career. The G2 Mill Reef S. winner was purchased by Capital Bloodstock to stand at Castlefield Stud in County Kilkenny after his Mill Reef win. In addition, the breeder of the winner of the “Alkumait standing at Castlefield Stud with a €100,000 Bonus 2yo EBF Maiden” will be presented with a free nomination to the stallion. There is also a €100,000 bonus that will be awarded for the connections associated with his first black-type winner in 2025, with the breeder receiving 50%, the trainer 25% and the owner 25%.

Evan Arkwright, Racing and Sponsorship Manager, commented, “We are delighted to play an important role in the promotion of such an exciting new sire and the two year race in particular is a perfect fit to promote a racehorse who was such a high class juvenile.”

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Robust Start To Bumper Goffs February Sale

KILDARE, Ireland–A dreich day may have tried its hardest to dampen the spirits, but there was an altogether warmer feel to proceedings in the ring as the sales season sparked into action in Ireland with a bumper mixed catalogue at Goffs.

Extended to three days, with around 600 horses slated to sell, it is tricky to make direct comparisons with smaller and Covid-interrupted sales of previous years, but a healthy median of €10,000, average of €20,235, and turnover of €2,124,700 from 105 horses sold (64%) should be regarded as a decent start to a sale which cleared a little over €4 million in two days just before the pandemic struck two years ago.

Roughly half the horses catalogued for the February Sale have just become yearlings, and a full session of the class of 2021 will be offered on Wednesday, but of those taking their turn during the opening day, it was an AQPS 4-year-old hurdler who topped the list at €150,000.

The Irish-based racing syndicate All About Sunday is making a first foray into the UK and will be represented by the wild card 27B, a Great Pretender (Ire) gelding named Invincible Power (Fr).

“He will be trained by Donald McCain and will be our first horse in training in England,” said All About Sunday founder Darren McGrath. “He seems to have a great temperament, he's a really relaxed horse, with size and scope. His form in France is pretty good and everyone is chasing the French horses.”

Following two placed starts in the French provinces, the Pascal Noue-bred relation to Grade 1-winning hurdler Cilaos Emery (Fr) (Califet {Fr}) was consigned to Goffs by Derryluskin Stud and will now head to Cheshire to join the in-form McCain stable, which was the first to reach the 100-winner mark this jumps season.

A 2-year-old son of Teofilo (Ire) (lot 99) from Shadwell's Derrinstown Stud draft headed the Flat-bred offerings, and the grandson of the dual Grade I winner Fleet Indian (Indian Charlie) will be heading to Jim Bolger's Coolcullen stable after being knocked down to his grand-daughter Clare Manning's Boherguy Stud for €135,000. As the breeder and trainer of Teofilo, Bolger is of course no stranger to the stallion, and he has bred and/or trained six of Teofilo's 22 Group 1 winners. His latest acquisition, out of the dual winner Fleeting Smile (Distorted Humour), has plenty of well-credentialed relations, including American champion 2-year-old Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and his fellow Grade I winner Flagstaff (Speightstown), both of whom are out of a half-sister to Fleeting Smile.

A Shadwell-bred Teofilo 2-year-old was on the shopping list of Patrick Prendergast, who went to €80,000 for lot 52, a daughter of the Group 3 and Listed-placed Reyaadah (GB) (Tamayuz {GB}) who is already a stakes producer via her Listed-placed daughter Tamreer (GB) (New Approach {GB}).

As the yearlings took to the ring, it was a member of the first crop of Ballylinch Stud's Waldgeist (GB) (lot 160) who commanded the highest price, with the son of the dual Listed winner Modeeroch (Ire) (Mozart) fetching €85,000 when sold to Ronald Rauscher. The agent confirmed that the Ballylinch-bred youngster, from the family of champion 2-year-old Belardo (Ire), had been bought to race for a German owner.

Weanlings by the Arc winner fared well at the Goffs November Sale, with nine sold for an average a little in excess of €54,000. Another two sold on Tuesday, the second (lot 122) being a half-brother to Group 3 winners Burnt Sugar (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Brown Sugar (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), who was bought for €50,000 by David Cox of Baroda Stud.

Saudi Arabia's Najd Stud has made quite an impact when buying horses with form but it got in on the action a little earlier with the purchase of lot 186, a yearling colt by Dark Angel (Ire) from the G3 Prix d'Aumale-placed Pleasemetoo (Ire) (Vale Of York {Ire}), for €82,000. This time around Boherguy Stud was on the other side of the transaction as consignor on behalf of Godolphin.

Ross Doyle conducted the bidding in the company of Najd Stud's Saud Al Qahtani and said after signing for the colt out of the half-sister to Group 3 winners Siyoushake (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Skyward (Fr) (Camelot {GB}), “He'll continue to be raised in Ireland and will probably go into training here. He's been bought to race and he's a good strong colt by a stallion who does it everywhere and from a very good family.”

The team from Tally-Ho Stud stepped in to buy the half-brother to G1 Matron S. winner Champers Elysees (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}) by their promising young stallion Cotai Glory (GB) for €70,000. Lot 118, was consigned by Railstown Stud on behalf of breeder Archway Stud and is out of La Cuvee (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), who returned to Elzaam in 2021.

The sale gets underway an hour earlier on Wednesday at 10am.

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