Our Friends in Newmarket: David Simcock Stable Tour featuring Desert Encounter and Spanish Mission
Oli Bell's series of Newmarket Stables Tours continues with David Simcock who has some serious ammunition for the months ahead.
Our Friends in Newmarket - David Simcock
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- Stable star: Desert Encounter
- Horse to follow: Nigel Nott
- Handicapper to follow: Carlos Felix
Older horses
Almania
A new horse to us who arrived from Sir Michael Stoute’s over the winter. He’s a progressive stayer who’s had it quite tough, racing off marks of 95-plus through the summer and acquitted himself well. With his pedigree you’d hope he’ll progressive from three to four and he’s one we quite like.
Ardiente
A new filly to us. She was bought at the December Sales and showed progressive form, beaten just over two-and-a-half lengths in a Listed race in France on her final start. She was given an aggressive ride that day and has trained well this spring. She’s in foal to Advertise and we’ll go down the black type route with her.
Bless Him
Had a chequered career, winning the Britannia at three then an awful season as a four-year-old but came back well at the end of last year. He posted a career-best at Ascot, a track that suits him better than anywhere else, beating Lord North. He’s had a hard life and nearly died twice needing two colic surgeries. It probably took him to the end of his five-year-old season to get his confidence back but he will now step up to pattern company. Let’s hope he takes the transition.
Clap Your Hands
He was progressive on the all-weather this winter and is now racing from a mark in the low 90s. Physically he’s done very well and will be aimed at the staying handicaps and is hopefully a horse who has something left.
Desert Encounter
Not much you can say about him. We’ve placed him quite well to win two Canadian Internationals and the only problem with that is he carries a Group One penalty for the first half of the season. He struggles with that in Europe but from July onwards that penalty disappears and last year he won three Group Threes before following up in Canada. That race will be very much the plan and life is pretty tough for him until July.
Durston
Highly progressive three-year-old over middle distances last year, we thought he’d win at Goodwood and just got touched off by a horse who went on to finish second in the St Leger in Sir Ron Priestley. We were really disappointed with him at Newbury on his final start but he finished second to two horses in Technician and Morando who are mud lovers and slogged it out better than him. He was travelling better than anything two out and we think the conditions were just too testing for him and he didn’t quite see out the one mile five furlongs that day. We’ll push him back to a mile-and-a-half and he looks to have got a bit quicker. Hopefully he’ll progress again.
Nigel Nott
I was disappointed he didn’t win his final start from a mark of 84 but he looks progressive and is another late-developer who we think is at the right end of the handicap. He’s one to follow.
Omnivega
He’s been a late maturing horse who did well over the winter, winning a maiden and a handicap. He’s now rated 85 and from a good staying family. He looks to be getting the hang of things. I’d like to think he’ll keep progressing and be seen to good effect back on turf.
Prejudice
Came to me from Luca Cumani at the end of his two-year-old career and is tricky to say the least. He was very coltish and badly behaved in all three of his races, his mind wasn’t on the job. He was gelded in the autumn and the gelding stats for sons of Dubawi look very good. With decent form and a mark of 85, we’d like to think there will be races to be won with him.
Raakib Alhawa
We’ve always thought a lot of him but he never looked great last year, I was never happy with him. We trained probably with speed in mind when we should have been looking at going further. He had good form, a good win in a Listed race at Windsor and then probably found the ground and stiff track too much for him on his final start in a Group Three. I'd like to think he'll improve from three to four.
Smart Champion
Won well at Newcastle over a stiff two miles and is what I call an extreme stayer. He probably wants two-and-a-half miles on fast ground. He’s slow but stays forever and will hopefully be seen to good effect in decent handicaps from a mark in the late 80s.
Spanish Mission
He was absolutely primed for the Dubai Gold Cup having needed his prep race very badly and we were confident of a big run. He was progressive last year and won the Bahrain Trophy very well before a good third in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood. He was only beaten half-a-length there, giving away a penalty. He won the $1m Jockey Club Derby at Belmont and is a horse we like who stays well. He’ll be campaigned domestically and abroad and is a lovely horse to have around.
Universal Order
Highly progressive last year, going from marks in the 70s to 95 after a good win at Yarmouth. He was gelded and went to Dubai and won very well in a competitive handicap over a mile-and-a-half. He was then beaten two-and-a-half lengths when eight pounds wrong in the weights in another race there. He has a Listed penalty but I wouldn’t be surprised in the next couple of years if he turns out to be a pretty talented middle-distance horse.
Three-year-olds
Carlos Felix
He was an expensive purchase and is a Lope De Vega half-brother to Here Comes When. He’s had a good winter and has a mark of 78 which should be very workable. Hopefully we’ll go through the ranks with him, he’ll find his feet and there are races to be won. He’ll end up being a nice horse one day.
Folk Dance
Only ran twice. Ran OK at Newmarket first time when not beaten far and we were disappointed to be beaten at Chelmsford next time but anything can happen there. It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and is like Marmite to horses. She's had a good winter, looks to have improved and we’ll look at a novice and she’ll find her feet through the season and one day end up being quite good.
Mohican Heights
He came to us in June and has done very well physically. He won the Stonehenge Stakes, a race I consider for stayers, over a mile at two and was very strong at the end of that race. He'll want all of a mile-and-a-half but has a bit of class with it, a good cruising speed. He’s a horse that if we can go to a Derby trial we'll do that. He's nice and good to have around.
Mount Fiji
He's once-raced, winning a four-runner maiden on the all-weather at Lingfield. The form is pretty unspectacular but the style in which he did it was quite impressive. He's a big striding horse and he’ll improve for the first run. I'm not quite sure what his best trip is going to be but he’s quite a relaxed horse and we’ll stick to ten furlongs for now. We can work back or forwards from there and he’s a nice horse, now owned by Qatar Racing. One for the future.
Oriental Mystique
Very promising at Newmarket first time when given a nice introduction and then went to Kempton where she was much more streetwise and won like a stayer. She’s out of Madame Chiang so should get a mile-and-a-half really well and is by a very exciting stallion in Kingman. She’ll appreciate a bit of juice in the ground like her mum and we’ll go down the trial route. She’s an attractive filly, trains well, and hopefully has a chance.
Rovaniemi
Attractive horse who carries loads of condition and is a hard to get fit and keep the weight off. He won his maiden well at Lingfield on his second start and looks a miler. He’s not short of speed and will probably start off in a novice before going down the handicap route. We like him.
Tiger Crusade
Has a similar profile, won his maiden on his second race and is a six or seven furlong horse. He’s not short of speed and has a great attitude and again we’ll start in a novice before handicaps and see where we are with him.
More in the Our Friends in Newmarket series
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