Seven Days: Kings and Queens of the Heath 

It's a heady time of year to be on Newmarket Heath of a Saturday morning. You can tell by the convoy of smart cars when one of the big strings is about to arrive at the Al Bahathri, with Guineas weekend providing the perfect opportunity for owners to watch their horses work. 

This past Saturday, either 2,000 Guineas day, Kentucky Derby day, or Coronation Day, depending on your persuasion, was no exception. With the car park double-stacked and trainers and jockeys all about, Joe Foley, waiting for the off with Steve Parkin and Danny Tudhope, exclaimed, “It's just like being at The Yard”, in reference to Newmarket's famous watering hole not far from Tattersalls. 

The Gosden string swept by, with Teddy Grimthorpe on hand to watch Imad Al Sagar's Classic heroine Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in action, and they were followed by Sir Michael Stoute's team from Freemason Lodge. Philip Robinson and Richard Brown were in attendance, guaranteeing the appearance of reigning Derby hero Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), with Kevin Bradshaw in the saddle, Sarah Denniff at his side, as the countdown continues to his much-awaited comeback. 

The previous evening, Stoute has been a special guest at a reception at the National Horse Racing Museum to mark his induction into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, along with Sea The Stars (Ire). The latter's owner and co-breeder Christopher Tsui had flown in from Hong Kong for the event, and his trainer John Oxx from Ireland. In the hands of the excellent Lydia Hislop, the interviews at the ceremony were both revealing and emotional.

Earlier on at the Rowley Mile, Stoute and Sea The Stars had combined to provide a maiden success for Infinite Cosmos (Ire), a market springer for the Oaks, which may just come a stroke too soon following the unfortunate abandonment of Sandown's meeting a week earlier, at which she had been set to make her seasonal resumption.

Stoute, ever the master of the slow burn with his Classic prospects, would not be pressed on the matter of the likelihood of Epsom for the elegant chestnut filly. As the great owner-breeders of yore fade into the past, it would be a poignant marker for Infinite Cosmos to contest a Classic this year, running in memory of her late breeder Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Interviewed after the race, the trainer's mouth twitched a little, which may just have been irritation at the reporters' questions, or may, in a more fanciful light, be a flicker of evidence of the regard in which he holds the long-striding filly who represents connections who have provided his stable with such names as Crystal Ocean (GB) and Notnowcato (GB). We look forward to seeing her next in the G3 Tattersalls Musidora S. at York on May 17, which was confirmed as her next start to TDN on Monday.

There was less twitching and more active wriggling and fidgeting by the time Stoute was put under an actual spotlight in the Museum and grilled by Hislop, who thanked him profusely for not running away from her, as he is wont to do when faced by a microphone at the races.

The horses may speak for themselves there, but when Stoute is pressed to speak on their behalf, remembering which of them he loved the best, he is reluctant to choose from a swathe of greats but eventually leans on those global gallopers, Singspiel (Ire) and Pilsudski (Ire). Quite a response from the man who trained Shergar (Ire), but Stoute is rarely predictable.

“Because they raced until they were five-year-olds,” he explained. “And they were international horses, they had a wonderful record. Their constitutions were tremendous, their temperaments. They were just lovely horses to have.”

Of course the irony with Stoute is that the less he says, the more people want to know what he thinks. Like his favoured jockey, Ryan Moore, he is clearly uncomfortable in the media glare. His deliberate pauses before answering and mid-sentence are unlikely to be because he is at a loss for words; more probably because he knows how readily words can be pounced upon and misinterpreted. Clearly, however, at 77, he has lost none of his appetite for training. In an industry so preoccupied with viewing racehorses as commodities rather than than the living works in progress that they all are at their tender ages, to hear Stoute's few words was heartening.

“I think you're got to love horses,” he told Hislop. “They are fascinating, so it's intriguing work. But the staff are so important, and relationships with the staff are so important. So I find that quite fascinating, getting their opinions.

“It's all team work. The rider has to contribute a great deal and the people that feed him early in the morning. I'm not trying to be immodest. It's interesting, if you love horses and you love racing.”

The many long-serving members of staff at Freemason Lodge speak volumes as to the two-way loyalty of those involved at the Stoute stable, top to bottom. 

The Understated Oxx

From one of the most cherished members of the British racing fraternity, the microphone was passed to John Oxx, for whom the same comments apply in Ireland. Standing alongside him was Christopher Tsui, who, as an 11-year-old boy, watched his parents' horse Urban Sea win the Arc. Though that occasion was memorable enough in itself, who there that day could even have imagined the legacy that mare would leave, both for her owners and for the Thoroughbred breed? To the wider world, it could be argued that her greatest gift was Galileo (Ire). To the Tsui family, it was another of her sons, Sea The Stars.

When Christopher Tsui was asked by Hislop when John Oxx had first let on that Sea The Stars was something special, he replied, “John is very careful. So I think it was after he won the Guineas.”

As the laughter died down, Oxx added in his own defence, “You have to manage owners' expectations, so if you set the bar too high to begin with, there's only one way, and that's down. Mind you, I could have been rash in my early assessments and he wouldn't have let you down.”

But his sensible caution, which one imagines would be echoed by Stoute, was evident again when he said, “The most commonly asked question for me was 'When did you know he was a great horse?' Each race is a new test, and until you've won the next one you can never be sure.”

In the Footsteps of Frankel

For John Oxx and Christopher Tsui, the dream season for Sea The Stars was only really beginning this week 14 years ago when he won the 2,000 Guineas. This year, the King's procession after the Coronation reached Buckingham Palace just ahead of the off for the first race on 2,000 Guineas day, precision timing of which Her Late Majesty would surely have approved. 

On a momentous day for the Balding family, Clare was perhaps able to conclude her royal commentating duties for the BBC in time to switch on ITV Racing to watch her brother Andrew land the third British Classic of his career. 

Claiming a fifth victory in the 2,000 Guineas for Juddmonte Farms, Chaldean (GB) was the first of son of Frankel (GB) to emulate his sire's jaw-dropping performance on the Rowley Mile 12 years ago, and happily this came on the first occasion that Prince Saud, son of the late Prince Khalid Abdullah, had visited a British racecourse.

With such a powerful stallion roster and broodmare band at its disposal, the Juddmonte name doesn't appear on the buyers' lists at sales too often, but when it does, those charged with making the purchases don't often get it wrong. Arrogate was one such example in recent years, and Chaldean, whose Guineas success came four days shy of his actual third birthday, can be added alongside him.

The chestnut colt is the product of Whitsbury Manor Stud's breeding programme, and his dam Suelita (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) has been making a determined bid for blue hen status of late, with five of her six offspring having earned black type, including the Group 2 winner Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).

Whitsbury Manor also featured as the breeder over the weekend of the Listed Charles II S. winner Shouldvebeenaring (GB) and easy juvenile debutant winner Elite Status (GB), both by resident stallion Havana Grey (GB). 

Despite this great run, the stud's director Ed Harper was still doing a very convincing Eeyore impression at Newmarket, claiming ahead of the race that Chaldean had little chance. Perhaps he was just taking a leaf out of the John Oxx book of expectation management, and we are happy to report that, despite the teeming rain that had persisted throughout Saturday afternoon, Harper was more Tigger-like after the Guineas. 

A Delight of Derby Winners

Many more people had that Tigger bounce to their step by Sunday, when sunshine brought an altogether more upbeat feel to proceedings at Newmarket. 

From the vision of Desert Crown's more substantial four-year-old frame on Saturday morning, we were treated to the sight of the second of three Derby winners currently remaining in training when the magnificent beast that is Adayar (Ire) stepped into the parade ring. Frankel had his fingerprints all over Newmarket's group contests, with his Irish Derby and St Leger winner Hurricane Lane (Ire) having made a return to the winner's enclosure after Friday's G2 Jockey Club S., followed by his old mucker Adayar in the rescheduled G3 Gordon Richards S. on Sunday. 

Royal Ascot for the Prince of Wales's S. Is the most likely target for the latter, who will surely relish better ground but did everything required to get his career back on track after his narrow defeat by Bay Bridge (GB) in the Champion S. during a season in which he appeared only twice. 

Godolphin's excellent day continued when Mawj (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) doggedly repelled the favourite Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {FR}) in the 1,000 Guineas to give Saeed Bin Suroor his first Group 1 win in Britain in a decade and a first major success for Oisin Murphy since his comeback from a 14-month suspension.

Murphy was excellent, too, on Classic prospect Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion), who was one of two stakes winners over the weekend for David Howden, whose eponymous company had stepped in to sponsor the entire undercard at Newmarket, backing up QIPCO's sponsorship of both Guineas races. 

“That was a magical moment,” shouted Howden to David Redvers, with whom he bred Running Lion from the Dansili (GB) mare Bella Nouf (GB).

A man not short of enthusiasm, he told the crowd of journalists, “Amazing. It's so wonderful to see her win today. She's such a special horse, being by Roaring Lion, who had a very special place in our hearts. Today, for me, that's as good as it gets.”

Explaining the relationship a little further, Redvers added, “Bella Nouf was one of the first mares we bought together. When we bought her I had to take a big loan because I came to the conclusion that we had to buy some nice mares to support Roaring Lion. David came in as a partner in several, and I think he's probably got 25 horses in total now.

“Isn't it weird the way it happens? Originally, he bought a day on the gallops at the school my sister's children go to and his children went to. I rang him recently and said there was the opportunity to sponsor the whole undercard here, and he's never said no to me–though I usually have to take a leg in something.

“He's been incredibly lucky but I think it's a bit like his business, where he gets enthusiastic people around him who are investors in the business in exactly the same way as I am with the horses.”

Redvers is understandably emotional when it comes to the late Roaring Lion, who died after covering for only one season at Tweenhills, and who was trained, like Running Lion, at the Gosdens' Clarehaven Stables. 

“I went and stood at the back of the lift on the way down [from the grandstand]. I didn't want to have anyone around me,” he said in the winner's enclosure.

“I also have to stress that this is all down to Sheikh Fahad. If he hadn't bought Roaring Lion, and stood Roaring Lion, and sponsored this meeting through QIPCO, then we wouldn't have any part of it either. David gets on really well with Sheikh Fahad and they have shares together in several horses. It's a happy marriage. Unless you are running your own country, to play in this game at a decent level you need to have partnerships. It's a much better sport when you're sharing the fun, and it's a much easier sport when you're sharing the downside.”

He added, “You pick out horses in your life. That's the great thing about this game. My career started with a filly called Lady Rebecca, and then Dunaden changed it beyond recognition, and Roaring Lion changed it again. Now we have Running Lion. That's the reason we do it, for horses like this.”

Time to Heed the Warnings

Whether we call it a sport, a business, or an industry, many people involved with horse racing will share the sentiments expressed above by Redvers. We all hope for that good horse to come along, and we love the ones who are not so good just the same. 

However, as events at the signature meetings of Churchill Downs and Aintree have shown in recent weeks, we must never rest when it comes to doing the very best for the horses in our care. This has to start at the top and be upheld throughout, and if horsemen and women cannot get behind reforms to the sport made in the best interests of the creatures on whom many of us base our life's work, then they have no business being in the business. 

On a personal note, I know of almost no happier feeling than standing on Newmarket Heath, training morning or racing afternoon, with the sun on my face and the drumming of horses' hooves in my ears. How to reconcile this near-lifelong love with the portrayal of the sport on mainstream platforms outside racing is a question I am finding harder to answer. And it's not just ill-informed protest groups being given uncontested airtime in the build-up to the Grand National. 

Consider these lines, from the Washington Post on the day the Kentucky Derby was run at a Churchill Downs reeling from the fall-out from the fatalities of five horses during the previous week: “Thoroughbred horse racing is to drug abuse as the Fourth of July is to beer and hot dogs. Win or die.”

Or these, from the New York Times the next day, after another two horses were euthanised on the Derby undercard: “It is the horses that are feeding everyone in a multibillion-dollar industry. It is the humans who are letting them down.”

For most participants within the sport, abusing horses with so-called performance-enhancing drugs is unthinkable, but that's not enough. It must become abhorrent to all. Now is not the time for complacency or obstinance or cheating. If we want this great love affair to continue, now is the time for a public display of commitment.

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Hall-of-Famers and Returning Heroes

NEWMARKET, UK–With a line-up that included Hurricane Lane (Ire), Global Storm (Ire) and West Wind Blows (Ire), the G2 Jockey Club S. was ushered in, appropriately, with a deep rumble of thunder and crack of lightning. The threatened storm didn't amount to much, and by the time Hurricane Lane had blasted away from his rivals to cinch an important comeback victory by six lengths, the sky was brightening as much as the mood of Charlie Appleby.

The trainer was visibly relieved to have his 2021 dual Classic winner back in the top spot, perhaps even more so after his stable-mate  Native Trail (GB) hadn't quite sparkled earlier on in the G2 Bet365 Mile. 

“When you have a horse that has given us, and the team, what he has given us, of course you feel for them,” said Appleby. “You want them to do it and you want them to carry on. We will see if he is a Hardwicke horse in the summer, if the ground comes right. I always said I wanted to work back from an Arc. That might be a bit bold, but we will see.”

Appleby had already struck early in the opening race of the QIPCO Guineas Festival. Hopefully, the King and Queen Consort will have been so wrapped up in preparations for the coronation that they may not have noticed that the one horse to beat their highly promising colt Circle Of Fire (GB) was co-bred by their racing manager John Warren's Highclere Stud.

In fact, the Listed Newmarket S., provided a one-two for the Haras d'Etreham stallion Almanzor (Fr) when Godolphin's Castle Way (GB) led home the royal runner. The winner is a half-brother to the champion miler Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who is now ensconced at Darley's Dalham Hall Stud.

Ever the professional, Warren first addressed the matter of the staying-on run from the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Circle Of Fire in his post-race debrief, with a hint that he may head to Royal Ascot for the G2 King Edward VII S.

“He looks as of he will go up another gear if he goes over another couple of furlongs,” Warren said. “Ryan [Moore] thought that they went steady early on and probably thought that if they'd gone a bit quicker earlier on it would have suited him even better.

“It's annoying that [the abandonment of] Sandown has knocked us out timing-wise, so we'll have to get our heads around that, but without even talking to Michael yet he looks to me like he'll be a lovely horse for Ascot, and the owners will be able to attend, which will be nice.”

He added, “The most important thing is that he's with a trainer who will be able to get a proper handle on where we are going to pitch, but Ryan was impressed with him and there were some pretty nice horses in that race as a benchmark. He's out of a Galileo mare so it won't be a surprise if he will want a few furlongs more.”

Turning to Castle Way, the sixth foal of the Nayef mare Beach Frolic (GB) who was sold for 2.2 million gns in the year her current three-year-old colt was foaled, Warren was understandably similarly impressed. Castle Way himself, who was bred by Highclere in partnership with Floors Stud, was a 425,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling in the year that his illustrious half-sibling stormed to success in the G1 St James's Palace S. and G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois.

He said, “That was tremendous. We were excited about that. He was a beautiful yearling and made a good price as a yearling. She's been a wonderful mare and the family has done us proud. I am pleased that Coolmore have the mother now, which is great.”

Warren also added that Highclere Stud is now home to three foals from the first crop of Palace Pier.

“I have to say we are really impressed,” he noted. “Of course it's too early to say that, you can't judge it by just a few, but the first three that we've seen we've been mightily impressed with. Palace Pier was such a a tremendous horse and his brother looks a proper horse, too. It's very exciting.”

The Highclere team was celebrating again later in the day when the George Boughey-trained Soprano (Ire) was tuned to perfection to post a pretty sparkling win on debut in the juvenile fillies' maiden.

Shouldvebeenaring (GB) became the third Stakes winner for Havana Grey (GB) this year, and as his owners in the Middleham Park Racing syndicate collected their trophy, the colt's breeder Ed Harper watched on. It could be a big weekend for the Whitsbury Manor Stud team as not only did they breed Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), current third-favourite for the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas, but Havana Grey will be represented by his first Classic runner in Sunday's 1,000 Guineas when the G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Mammas Girl (GB) returns to Newmarket. 

Harper admitted that Havana Grey had been inundated with applications with breeders this season.

“We've tried to keep him to around 160 mares,” he said. “I must say that [head of bloodstock] Joe Callan has done a really good job managing the horse.”

Harper also confirmed that Chaldean's dam, the multiple stakes producer Suelita (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), has recently been covered again by Frankel.

On Friday evening at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, Sir Michael Stoute and Sea The Stars (Ire) were officially inducted into the QIPCO British Horseracing Hall of Fame. Their worthiness for such an honour could be in no doubt, but it was emphatically underlined when Stoute took the Nyetimber Fillies' Maiden with the eye-catching Infinite Cosmos (Ire), a daughter of Sea The Stars bred by the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, and whose Classic lines are as obvious in her elegant physique as on her page.

 

 

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‘He’s Just Bombproof’: View From the Stoute Stable as Desert Crown Nears Return

In the modern era, only Aidan O'Brien has trained more Derby winners than Sir Michael Stoute. The latter became almost instantly synonymous with the great race, and indeed woven into Derby folklore, when he first won it back in 1981. Few will need reminding that that was with Shergar (Ire), the horse whose infamy threatens to overshadow his brilliance, especially as the years wear on and the number of people who were there to witness Shergar's superiority first hand decreases.

Forty-one years later, and with the not insignificant names of Shahrastani, Kris Kin, North Light (Ire), and Workforce (GB) creating stepping stones to bridge that gap, Stoute was back at Epsom with Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). The colt's rise to the Classic roll of honour had been swift: November maiden victory as a juvenile, straight to the G2 Dante S. six months later, thence to the Derby itself. Few trainers would be so assured in their assessment of the nascent ability of a young colt to have taken such a bold path, but then few have the legion of experience accrued by Stoute in his half century with a training licence. 

Fifty not out: the cricket-mad trainer would probably approve of that statistic, and Desert Crown became his sixth Derby winner 50 years and 37 days after Stoute had saddled his first ever winner (at Newmarket). But his remarkable innings is not defined solely by success at Epsom, where he has also sent out the Oaks winners Fair Salinia (GB) and Unite (Ire), as well as five winners of the Coronation Cup, including the brilliant Singspiel (Ire), a forerunner of the globetrotting superstars that are more commonplace these days.

While later-maturing, classy middle-distance horses have long been a hallmark of the Stoute stable, so has the longevity of the key personnel involved at his Freemason Lodge yard. Stoute's two most recent assistant trainers, Owen Burrows and James Horton, are now training in their own right, and into the latter's shoes has stepped James Savage, but not before a lengthy stint which has incorporated almost every role therein.

“I was apprenticed to Mark Tompkins and Jeremy Noseda and I just could tell I wasn't a very good jockey,” says Savage, who joined Stoute in 1999 and whose no-nonsense modesty is typified in this one statement. “I just thought, if I'm not going to be a jockey, then I want to go somewhere that I can build a career and work through the ranks.

“I was a stable lad here for many years, a work rider, then second head lad, learning from some really good experienced people. And then the travelling job came up and I went to so many places all over the world. When my daughter was two, the head lad option came up at [Stoute's former second yard] Beech Hurst. Then when James Horton moved on to train for John Dance the assistant trainer's job became available.”

He adds, “The boss likes to promote from within, I think as much to reward loyalty, and there was no change to anything when I became assistant because I've been here for so long, and if I don't know how the yard runs now, then I've been walking around with my eyes shut. So it was natural progression really.”

Going from a maiden to the Dante to the Derby is a very hard thing to do, but we were never concerned because he had the mentality to deal with it

Loyalty is a word which Savage returns to regularly when speaking about the man known as “the boss”. It can be equally applied to Desert Crown's owner Saeed Suhail, a longstanding patron of the stable, but with good reason. Desert Crown was Suhail's second Derby winner after Kris Kin. He also owned King's Best, one of five 2,000 Guineas winners trained by Stoute, the top sprinter Dream Of Dreams (Ire), and dual Group 1 winner Poet's Word (Ire) among a significant list of Pattern winners. All connected with the Stoute stable are now hoping that the luck can hold for Suhail as the bid to return Desert Crown to the races increases in tempo. So how is he?

“Our head girl, Sarah Denniff, who manages Desert Crown really well, commented the other day about how he's developed through his back and strengthened up,” says Savage. “He's really developing behind the saddle where he was just a little weak last year. Going from a maiden to the Dante to the Derby is a very hard thing to do, but we were never concerned because he had the mentality to deal with it.”

He continues, “He's just bombproof. You go to the Derby and the first thing you think of is, 'How's the horse going to handle it?' We've been to a few now and some of them have taken it really well and some of them have just looked a bit edgy. You just knew he was going to go there and be professional.”

A minor foot injury in July meant that the Derby was the last we saw of Desert Crown, but he is back cantering in Newmarket after recuperating nearby at Sheikh Mohammed's Dalham Hall Stud.

“He was extremely well managed up at Dalham Hall during his rehab,” notes Savage. “It was as beneficial for his mind as it was for him physically. It's a long time to be just on a horse-walker or hand-led in a yard where horses are being trained and everything's happening, buzzing along. There, he had turnout, hand-walking and just a change of scenery really.

“Because of the time he had off, the build-up to his work has been in a slower manner than for a horse that's just had six weeks downtime from a season. It's been long and slow, but we're at half-speed work now, and he's in good condition.

“You can't make too many plans. You have to take it race by race, but the boss likes to start a horse like that at Sandown. The Gordon Richards will come too soon, but the Brigadier Gerard is an option and would tell us where we are after his first race.”

Stoute does indeed like Sandown as a starting point, and it was in that Group 3 contest last year that many of us first woke up to the abundant talent of Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}), who later in the year gilded the season for his trainer when beating Adayar (Ire) and Baaeed (GB) in the G1 QIPCO Champion S. Now five, he, too, remains in training for his breeder James Wigan and Ballylinch Stud.

“Everything is a hundred per cent, so we've just got to mind him,” Savage reports. “We went into the Champion Stakes quietly thinking we could beat Baaeed. We knew that Bay Bridge could be ridden positively and take the race to him early to really try and draw it out of him. Baaeed was the best turf horse in the world last year, and rightly so, but we were confident that day that we had Bay Bridge absolutely spot on.”

He adds, “We could probably look at something like the Gordon Richards at Sandown on April 28 to get him going. Unfortunately he would have a seven-pound penalty, so the boss is just thinking carefully.”

The stable is also home to Bay Bridge's three-year old half-sister by Territories (Ire), named Stormy Sea (GB), with a juvenile colt, Lucky Hour (GB) (Time Test {GB}), on the way in. Their dam Hayonna (GB) (Multiplex {GB}) foaled a full-brother to Bay Bridge on February 5.

Nostrum is a huge horse and he surprised us how he was handling his work early on

Desert Crown and Bay Bridge will naturally be at the forefront of the stable's older-horse division, along with Cheveley Park Stud's five-year-old mare Potapova (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who Savage says is “training really well.” Among the Classic generation, Juddmonte's Nostrum (GB) (Kingman {GB}), must come in for strong consideration following his win in the G3 Somerville Tattersall S. and subsequent third, 16 days later, in the G1 Dewhurst behind another exciting Juddmonte colt, Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

“He's a huge horse and he surprised us how he was handling his work early on,” says Savage of Nostrum. “He found it all very easy so we pressed on a bit more and he was fairly impressive first time out at Sandown. Like the two horses we were just talking about, he's got this bombproof mentality; nothing stresses him.

“We wanted to go to Doncaster, which would have given us a longer gap to the Dewhurst, but we just weren't completely happy with his scope so we were forced to go to Newmarket, which left the gap between the two races quite short. We were very happy with the run in the Dewhurst and I think it'll work out to be a very good race because I think the winner's very smart. But we've got a nice, clean run now and we'll see where we go. He's training well.”

While Nostrum, who made his debut in July, was an earlier sort than Desert Crown, Savage says that Stoute remains resolute in not wishing to test his youngsters before they are ready, despite the increasing clamour in racing generally for early success.

“That's not something that we feel any pressure to do,” he says. “Generally the horses we get sent by our owners are horses that are not precocious anyway. You get the odd one, and we do try if they've got a precocious pedigree to get them there, but we certainly don't ask them to run before they can walk as such. 

James Savage and Infinite Cosmos

“Our two-year olds are now just starting to do a little bit more work, say two [canters] on Warren Hill at the weekend, and some of them might just have to back off and some of them might go forward, but they'll tell you.”

In the case of Desert Crown, Ryan Moore had as much of a say in regard to his debut as the horse himself.

“Ryan rode him work and there was one turf meeting left at Nottingham, and I remember saying we could get him out at Kempton,” Savage recalls. “Ryan said, 'Run this horse on the turf.' I remember thinking it would be fairly soft but we ran him, he went to the front and he was running green, so Richard [Kingscote] just had to keep him straight and concentrating, but he went again on that ground.”

With Moore, Kingscote, and jockey-turned-bloodstock agent Ted Durcan all riding work regularly for Stoute, he does not lack good feedback.

“They're such a valuable part of the team,” Savage says. “We try and get the boys on everything in the spring, and Ryan will come in every day when he's available, Ted's here most days, and we try and switch all their rides so we get a bit of feedback on more or less everything in the yard before we step up the fast work. But their opinions are very valuable, especially with the two-year olds when you're trying to get somewhere, to back off or go forward, maybe run here, not there.”

While Savage's time with Stoute has spanned four of the six Derby winners, he has also looked after two Derby place-getters, Tartan Bearer (Ire) and Golan (Ire). Both were homebreds for the much-missed Ballymacoll Stud. Golan also won the 2,000 Guineas and returned at four to land the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.

“When you think of Ballymacoll, it makes you realise how many owner-breeders unfortunately aren't with us any more. Even smaller breeders like John Greetham, such great horses they gave us over the years,” he says.

Another owner-breeder who will be sorely missing from Stoute's list is Sir Eveleyn de Rothschild, who died last November at the age of 91. His Southcourt Stud bloodlines, which have been seen to great effect for Freemason Lodge through such top-class horses as Crystal Ocean (GB) and Notnowcato (GB), live on at the stable through two fillies, Crystal Caprice (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Infinite Cosmos (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who were held back from last year's partial dispersal by Sir Evelyn's sons.

The three-year-old Infinite Cosmos has raced just once, when beaten a short-head at Doncaster last October, but she is clearly one who is putting a spring in Savage's step each morning. “I'm very excited about her,” he says, giving away rather more than the boss might be inclined to do. “I think she could be quite special and make up into a stakes horse.”

Having had Golan in his care at the start of his tenure as a stable lad, Savage is enjoying the prospect of Nostrum's season ahead in his far more senior position.

“It's very exciting having a Guineas horse in the yard,” he says. “And obviously getting Desert Crown and Bay Bridge back on the track and making plans for them is also very exciting. It's nice on a Tuesday looking at the early-closing entries and picking out Group 1s in France and Ireland and so on.”

And along with those equine legends over two decades and counting, what has it been like working for a trainer who can certainly be put in the legendary bracket?

Savage thinks carefully about his reply. It is clearly not that he is agonising over saying what might be seen as 'the right thing', rather that he wants to be sure that he is doing Stoute justice from his almost unique view of the stable's inner workings.

“Words are used quite loosely, but he's a bit of a genius really when it comes to training racehorses, isn't he? A horse might go around the round gallop once as a two-year-old and he can see something that will probably come to fruition in 12 months' time. He visualises the development and where a horse could end up,” he says.

“I always thought it would be a good job as a jockey to ride for him, as good a job as it is for me to be his assistant because he doesn't tie you down to things. You do what you think he wants you to do and you're always rewarded with back-up and loyalty. He's an incredibly easy person to work for, and I would think the jockeys would probably say the same thing, too.”

Savage adds, “He has his way of letting horses do things naturally; mature naturally. Hence his success for all these years. He's very patient, with horses and people. He's still as hungry as ever and I think getting so many nice two-year-olds this year from owners that have been longstanding and loyal is very positive.”

 

 

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