2020 David O'Meara Stable Tour featuring Escobar, Lord Glitters and Dick Datchery

Our Friends in the North - David O'Meara

Stable Star: Lord Glitters

Horse to Follow: Dick Datchery

Handicapper to Follow: Blonde Warrior

Stable Tour

Agincourt

She’s a lovely filly. We had a similar type to her last year called Perfection. I would plan to take a similar route to the one I took with her. I’d ideally start her at Lingfield in May in a Group 3, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Arbalet

He looks great. I was planning on running him in the Victoria Cup as he has form at Ascot but obviously things are very much up in the air at the moment. I think he’s a smart horse and I’m hoping he can show it for us on the track.

Arecibo

He has loads of ability and hopefully he’ll have grown up a little bit this season. He went through his races great for the first 95%. It’s just that last 5% where he sometimes flattered to deceive. He’s matured and he could do well this year.

Baltic Baron

He was getting ready for the Lincoln and he’s had a small wind op which should help him. He has a bit of a habit of finishing second but he’s matured and the Clipper Logistics race at York would be a starting target.

Betsey Trotter

She had a great season last year. She looks great and her big target would be to get some black type into her.

Blonde Warrior

He’s come to the yard having previously been with Hugo Palmer. I think he’s quite classy and could be well enough handicapped.

Cold Stare

He’s very ground dependant. He is very, very good when the ground is bottomless, bordering on unraceable. He likes Haydock where he does well and we’ll look at the big sprints for him including the Ayr Gold Cup.

Dick Datchery

I think he’ll come on plenty from his two-year-old campaign. He looks really well at the moment and I’m looking forward to getting started with him.

Elector

He's a nice horse I acquired from Sir Michael Stoute. He’s training away nicely but there are no firm plans as to where we will start him off.

Escobar

He had a great year last year bolting up at York and then winning the Balmoral Stakes at Ascot. He’s up to 111 which makes him one of the best horses in the yard. He tends to need a couple of runs before he really gets going.

Fastman

He picked up an injury after his final run last year. He’s back in training now and we’ll just wait and see with him.

Gulliver

Another very likeable horse. He won the Coral Sprint Cup for us at York last year and he deserved it. He ran well enough in Qatar, in a race that wouldn’t have totally suited him. He’s totally likeable and genuine and I’m looking forward to getting him back out again.

Hortzadar

We got a couple of nice wins out of him last year. His best trip is seven furlongs to a mile and I don’t think that he will get any further. He looks fantastic and I think he could have improved. I’m not sure where we’ll see him first.

Intisaab

He’s not getting any younger but he loves a fast pace and quick ground. We might just need to campaign him a level lower than the really competitive handicaps.

King Of Tonga

He did really well and won at Newmarket last season on heavy ground which surprised me as I wasn’t sure that he would act on that ground. He’s done well over the winter and looks well.

Leodis Dream

He had a really good season last year, winning four races in total. His family improve with age and we could look at the Epsom Dash.

Lord Glitters

He’s been a wonderful horse for us over the last few years and given us some fantastic days. The plan would be the Queen Anne Stakes once again at Royal Ascot.

Makawee

She’s a classy filly and I think she is still improving. I think she can be very competitive in races around a mile and a half and further. It would be great to get a bit of black type.

Markazi

I think we ran him over too far last season. His best trip is seven furlongs to a mile, no further. Anything over a mile he struggled to get home over. He just found the extended mile at York beyond him last year finishing second a couple of times. He’s a fantastic looking horse and I think we can win a decent prize with him over seven furlongs to a mile going around a bend.

Orbaan

He's a lightly-raced horse who was deemed good enough to run in the Sussex Stakes a few years ago. He was out of his depth in there and had a history of being quirky in France but up to now his preparation with us has gone very well. We were looking at the Lincoln with him.

Rumble Inthejungle

We’re really excited to have him in the yard. He’s rated 102 so we might start him in a handicap. He reminds me a lot of Move In Time and I’d be hoping he can progress back into pattern company this season.

Shelir

We had a couple of hiccups with him at the beginning of the year, but he’s training nicely now. I’m not totally sure what his best trip is yet. We’ll look at races around a mile and take it from there. He’s a lovely horse.

So Beloved

He’s back again for another go. He’s been a great horse for the yard and although he doesn’t win many he has won a lot of prize money of the years. We’ll be looking at those big handicaps over seven furlongs for him.

Three Saints Bay

He’s nice horse whose optimum conditions are seven furlongs, in a small field around a bend. We’ll be looking at some conditions races for him.

Tinandali

He was previously with Dermot Weld and is highly rated with a mark of 100. I don’t know if that’s a touch high at the moment, we’ll have to wait and see. We might start him over a mile, although I think he might get a touch further.

Waarif

Is a really tough horse who invariably gives his running. He surprised me running so well in the Balmoral last season as I think he prefers running around a bend. He’s very versatile and always pays his way each season.

Watchable

He’s 10 years old now but still retains all his old enthusiasm. He’s had a good campaign over the winter on the all-weather and we’ll keep him fairly busy through the summer. He doesn’t do much at home, as we let him save it from the racetrack.

Young Fire

He won at Wolverhampton in February which was good. He’s rated 91 and ideally wants some give in the ground, so we’ll give him a little bit of a break and wait until the backend of the summer.

More in the 'Our Friends in the North' series

• Richard Fahey Stable Tour
• Mark Johnston Stable Tour
• Jedd O'Keeffe Stable Tour
• Kevin Ryan Stable Tour
• John Quinn Stable Tour
• Karl Burke Stable Tour
• Michael Dods Stable Tour
• Tim Easterby Stable Tour
• Brian Ellison Stable Tour
• Ben Haslam Stable Tour
• Phil Makin Stable Tour