David Menuisier Stable Tour: Guide to his 2025 team

The momentum that David Menuisier has generated in his career is reflected in his largest ever string of around 90 horses for the 2025 Flat season.

That is quite a leap considering that for much of last season there were 55 horses in his Pulborough stables in West Sussex where Guy Harwood trained greats like Dancing Brave, Kalaglow, Roussillon and Warning in the 1980s.

Thirty one domestics winners and over £1.3m in prize money were both career-bests and it could have been even better had Tamfana not been an unlucky fourth in the 1,000 Guineas.

She still managed to bag a group one prize – the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket – while Menuisier secured Classic success abroad with Devil’s Point in the German 2,000 Guineas.

They both return alongside Sunway, the 2024 Irish Derby runner-up and St Leger third, with all likely to have international campaigns.

Menuisier’s patience has paid dividends and he will not be rushing over 40 two-year-olds in his care which include two owned by ex-Leeds United and Brighton & Hove Albion footballer Georginio Rutter.

‘‘I never really followed football but now I watch every match,’’ Menuisier joked.

ASHARIBA

She won four of her six races last year, culminating in a 10-furlong fillies’ handicap at Newmarket in October. She doesn’t want the ground too quick, she wants it soft side of good down to heavy.

‘‘She is a strong filly. She has done well physically. We have minded her because she is so big, a huge horse. She will probably start at Goodwood’s first meeting as long as the ground is not too quick. There is a 0-98 handicap over 1m 2f and then we will be in pursuit of black type because she deserves it. She has a really good pedigree as well.

CITY OF DELIGHT

Another one who won four times last season. I thought there was more to come from him off his handicap mark of 83 and he showed that when winning a 10-furlong handicap at Doncaster’s Lincoln meeting.

We will try to go for the Epsom route with him. We will see if he handles the track, starting in the City & Suburban Handicap and then either the handicap on Oaks day or the Northern Dancer Handicap on Derby day because I think he will stay further.

He used to hang right so I am not sure he will handle Epsom but he has not hung in his last few races. If he does well enough, why not go to Royal Ascot?’

DEVIL’S POINT

He won the German 2,000 Guineas at Cologne in May last year and subsequently picked up a little injury. We have given him time to recover, and he has only just been ridden again in the last week of March.

‘‘He will not start his season until later in the Summer but I am convinced that on the right day he can put his head in front in a group one race. That will be the aim and then find him somewhere to go and stand as a stallion.

ETERNAL BLESSING

She is a very well-bred three-year-old filly. Her only run was on heavy ground at Ascot against a strong field. William (Buick) rode her and she was very green and shell-shocked by the whole experience. We can draw a line through that run. She is a backward filly who keeps on growing so I think she will be more effective in the second half of the year. Her pedigree is so good that you have to give her a chance.

GOLDEN OCEAN

She is an exciting recruit for us from Ireland where she won her final two starts last year. She is a big filly and beautifully bred with her dam being Golden Lilac, winner of the 2011 Poules D’Essai Des Pouliches and Prix de Diane.

They have respected her and given her bags of time to develop which is why I am hopeful she might just keep improving.

She will probably start at a mile but may stay a little further, although she is not guaranteed to stay much further than a mile and two furlongs. We haven’t pressed any buttons but she is a great prospect and if she handles quicker ground she could be one for Royal Ascot. She can hopefully get to black type level.

JANEY MACKERS

I don’t have too many exciting three-year-olds but am glad to have her. We don’t know how good the maiden she won at Doncaster was but she won in really good style.

I know Oisin (Murphy) likes her very much. I don’t know if she is a Group One filly in the making so we will run her in a trial. We have decided to go for the Prix de la Grotte at Longchamp over a mile where she will meet some of the best French fillies.

Then we will know what sort of level she is at and whether she is quick enough for a mile. We should know where to go after that.

LA FLEUR PETRUS

She was with Charlie Johnston last season and I bought her at the Horses In Training sale. She is an interesting filly with a lot of scope. Hopefully, we can get a tune out of her. She is not the easiest and you can see that in her races so we have spent the whole Winter trying to get her to settle and relax.

We have been very pleased with her so. Fingers crossed, she is definitely capable of winning races.

LAURA BAY

Won at Newbury and Sandown last season, she keeps on improving. She doesn’t want the ground too soft or too firm. She is likely to start at Newbury on April 12 over a mile and a quarter.

I am not sure she will stay further. She didn’t quite get 1m 4f last year but we might try again this year. I don’t think she will stay in handicaps, we will be hunting for some black type because she is related to Cauis Chorister and by a great stallion in New Bay.

She is also very close to the heart of owner Clive Washbourn because she has been named after his wife. She is a real sentimental filly.

MASTER BUILDER

Won at Haydock last season and was third in the Melrose Handicap at York before finishing unplaced in the November Handicap at Doncaster. When I looked at him in the paddock that day I thought it was probably one run too many. He was clearly over the top, walking about kicking. He was not happy.

If you write that off, he had a fantastic season. The horse couldn’t put one foot in front of the other as a two-year-old but thrived through the Winter and had a great season.

There is no reason he can’t resume where he left off. He will probably start in the Great Metropolitan at Epsom and might go to Royal Ascot if the ground was not too quick. But we will keep our eye on the main prize which is the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap at York in August.

METAVERSE

He is an interesting horse who won over 7f at Newmarket in July. He is impossible to judge in the morning because he is the laziest horse you have ever seen. He can hardly canter!

He had a good Winter and was seventh on his comeback at Doncaster. I can easily see him keeping on improving. The goal is to get him in the Victoria Cup.

We could then move him up to a mile. He struggled to settle last year. As much as he does too little in the morning, he does too much in the afternoon. But if we can get him to relax he would improve again.

PANTHERA

She raced mainly in France last year because she is French-bred and eligible for all the bonuses. She is not the easiest to train because she has quite a lot of temperament.

She won her maiden at Clairefontaine by a fair way. Christophe Soumillon rode her there and she gave him a good feel which is why we then tried her at Listed level. She was placed so the plan is now to win and then maybe aim at the Prix Royallieu at Longchamp in October. She could start at Goodwood at the first meeting in May.

PROMETHEAN

He was quite unlucky a few times last year so he is due a win to break his maiden and he is certainly capable. Last year on his final run at Doncaster in October, he lost the plot before the race.

That is why we decided to geld him to give him half a chance. We trained his half-sister, Ottilien. She was a bit similar but was placed in the Prix Royallieu.

I think a mile is his minimum distance and he should 1m 2f and 1m 4f in time but he needs to do things the right way. He is still a baby despite being four-years-old and has low mileage with good potential.

He ran well on his seasonal debut in the Spring Mile at Doncaster when seventh after being stopped in his run a couple of times.

SCOTLAND

A potentially nice three-year-old colt by Frankel. It took him a while to come to hand but he is definitely improving and he is a beast of a horse who makes his debut over ten furlongs at Newmarket on Wednesday. He is a horse to follow.

SIRONA

She won at Listed level last year and the aim this season is to win a group three level or higher. If she is as competitive as she was last year, she will find her own way through the season. There is a chance we could take her to America to try to be competitive in one of those grade one filly races over a mile. She goes on any ground and is quite versatile. She is likely to start at Goodwood in the Conqueror Stakes, a fillies only race at the first meeting in May over one mile.

SUNWAY

If it wasn’t for Aidan O’Brien he would have been the star in Europe last year! He was always there in defeat finishing second to Los Angeles in the Irish Derby and third to Jan Bruegel and Illinois in the St Leger as well as fourth in the King George and 10th in the Arc.

He looks as good as he was last year. He finished third in the John Porter at Newbury on Saturday and going into that race the logical route afterwards was the Jockey Club Stakes and Coronation Cup.

Then we can decide whether we want to go to Ascot again or Saint-Cloud for the Grand Prix. There is also the option to have a go at some American races in the Autumn. I think America would suit him really well.

He is probably a tad below the very best but horses improve.

TAMFANA

She had a good year in 2024, especially at the end. When she was beaten in the 1,000 Guineas it was not her fault and then she ran blinders when third in the Prix de Diane and fourth in the Grand Prix de Paris.

It came right when she won the Atalanta Stakes at Sandown and the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket and she was only beaten by proper stars in Charyn and Facteur Cheval in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot only two weeks later.

She has had a good Winter and looks stronger than last year. I am not sure where she will start or what is the main target but we will definitely look at all the group ones between a mile and a mile and a quarter in Europe.

She could even go further afield. Why not have a look at the Breeders’ Cup at the end of the year?

How she fares against horses like Haatem and Rosallion will decide if we stay fillies only or takes on all ages and all sexes. We have options but it is hard to map out at this stage of the year.

TOIMY SON

If he is the same form as last year, and nothing tells me he is not, he should be competitive in all those big handicaps again. He is not ground dependant. He finished 12th in the Lincoln and his targets include the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot and the Golden Mile at Glorious Goodwood which he won last year.

TRIBAL CHIEF

He won four times last season and is in really good form. He can still be competitive off his handicap mark and could potentially tackle black-type races at some stage.

He does not want the ground too quick. He is definitely smart and keeps on improving and reappears at Newmarket on Thursday.

ZOUKY

She is new to us and her previous trainer did well with her. Sometimes horses and people benefit from a change of scenery. That is why she came to me. The aim will be to get black type. She seems a straightforward filly. She will start as small as we can. I have a race in mind at Nottingham at the end of April.

Also in the series:

• Andrew Balding
• Ralph Beckett
• Jack Channon
• Harry Charlton
• John & Thady Gosden
• Richard Hannon
• Aidan O'Brien
• Roger Varian

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