With a string of horses that almost every yard in the country would love to possess, John and Thady Gosden appear well placed to defend their trainers’ championship title with a team bursting at the seams with proven quality and plenty of potential stars lurking within.
The powerhouse Newmarket father-and-son team enjoyed a season to savour in 2023 with numerous Group One highlights capped off by a first trainers’ title together since taking out a joint-trainers licence in 2021.
And while the pair’s two year old team is still coming together, early plans for a number of their established top-level performers, and potential Classic contenders, are beginning to take shape ahead of what promises to be another exciting season on the turf.
Thady Gosden said: “It was a huge team effort last season, and fortunately as a stable, we ended up at the top of the table, which obviously is not easy to do, but everyone did a fantastic job throughout the year. Everyone seems to be in high spirits for this season.
"There were some good performances last season. Soul Sister winning the Oaks was good in the first half of the season then beyond that at York having Mostahdaf winning the Juddmonte International and Nashwa finishing second was great.
"We have been fortunate this year that some of the owners, and owner/breeders, have made the very sporting decision to keep a number of top-class older horses in training here at Clarehaven.
“We have an exciting team of older horses, and it is great for racing in general that they will get to see the likes of Inspiral, Nashwa, Emily Upjohn and Courage Mon Ami back for another season and let them race on."
Arrest
“He ran a great race on his final start last season to finish second in the St Leger on very testing ground.
“He appears to have had a good winter, and he has been training well through the spring. All being well he is being targeted at the John Porter Stakes over a mile and a half at Newbury on Saturday.
“He is one that has got good form between a mile and a half and a mile six. He will be aimed at a lot of those nice races over those trips when the ground is suitable for him.
“He went off favourite for the Derby, but it was in the heat of the summer, and it was very good ground that day, and he is a horse that enjoys getting his toe into the ground.”
Courage Mon Ami
“He had an unconventional route to the Ascot Gold Cup last season going from handicap company at Goodwood straight into a Group One at Ascot, but he showed he was a horse with a great deal of ability, and lots of natural talent.
“The Goodwood Cup was an unusually run race, then he ran a great race coming second in the Lonsdale Cup.
“Things might not have quite gone right for him in his two races after the Gold Cup, but he has done very well over the winter and looks very well.
“He will be targeted once again at trying to win the Ascot Gold Cup. There is the Yorkshire Cup, and the Sagaro Stakes, before the Gold Cup, and we will see what kind of form he is in, and what route suits him best.
“Staying horses often improve as they mature, and he is a good horse. He had a late start to his career as he didn’t race until later on in his three year old season , but he has matured well over the winter like we hoped he would.”
Eben Shaddad
“He won his maiden well on the July Course, then he was third in the Tattersalls Stakes, then he took another big step forward to be in the Dewhurst Stakes.
“He is a straight forward horse that has filled out through the winter. He is a horse that could start out in the Greenham, Craven or the conditions race on the first day of the Craven meeting.
“He is by Calyx, although he is out of a Galileo mare, and they produce stamina. The family, and his pedigree, suggest he should get the mile, and he showed great form over seven furlongs last season.
“He improved every race last season, and while he is still relatively inexperienced, you would like to think he can go the right way.
“He has the right profile to go for a trial and then we can decide afterwards if he goes to either the English or French 2000 Guineas.”
Emily Upjohn
“She ran a great race in the Sheema Classic, but it is always tricky when you are slowly away as from the gate you are straight into the bend at the top of the straight.
“There was a steady pace, but she ran on well down the straight and she wasn’t far away at the finish.
“She knows Epsom well. She was just denied in the Oaks two years ago, but then went back last year to win the Coronation Cup last season, and it would be the natural place to start her here again.
“She is a big, rangy filly that has shaped up well over the winter. She has already had a fantastic career and hopefully this season we can add another nice win or two next to her name.”
Epictetus
“He won the Blue Riband over a mile and a quarter at Epsom on his first start last season, but then showed his versatility dropped back to a mile when winning the Group Three Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood.
“He had a busy enough season last year, but he has done well for another winter on his back, and seems in good order with himself.
“The Group Two bet365 Mile at Sandown Park is a good early season target for him, but he could step back up in trip as the season goes on.
“The stiff mile should suit him at Sandown Park, but he is a horse with plenty of natural speed, as he has shown, and he is a horse that is relatively versatile as regards to track and trip, as he has won at Epsom and Goodwood, which are unconventional tracks.”
Free Wind
“It was great to see her owner George Strawbridge keep her in training this year as she is now a six year old. She was a very close second in the Yorkshire Oaks last season, and she is a mare that is unlucky not to be a Group One winner yet.
“She has a great attitude towards her racing and we will be trying to make her a Group One winner if we can.
“The Yorkshire Oaks I imagine will very much be a target later in the season as she obviously likes the track at York as she won the Middleton Stakes at the beginning of last season.
“It is a possibility she goes back to the Middleton Stakes again, but there are also options over a mile and half to get her season going.”
God’s Window
“He won his maiden well then he was stepped up straight into Group One company at Doncaster. He was a bit slow away, which is not uncommon on their second run, when they are inexperienced.
“He has done well through the off season, and he has been pleasing us with his training this spring.
“We are looking to start him at the Craven Meeting in the Feilden Stakes. He is well entered up, but we will see how he goes at Newmarket then make a plan with his owner as to which route to go from there.”
Gregory
“He went to the Queen’s Vase after winning the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes last season. We thought he would like the step up in trip in the Queen’s Vase, and he won that well from the front. His final run of the season was in the St Leger, where the ground was not to his liking. “He came out of that well, and he has had a good break since then. I’m not sure where we will end up starting him, but he is another that holds a Yorkshire Cup entry.
“I think he is a horse that is versatile in terms of trip. I think we could run him over trips from a mile and a half upwards, but cup races would be a natural place to take him.”
Inspiral
“She had a brilliant year last year topping it off by winning the Filly and Mare Turf at the Breeders’ Cup in thrilling fashion. She didn’t have the ideal trip around, but she showed a blistering turn off foot up the home straight.
“Off the back of that victory, and what she did over here through the season, she went on to win an Eclipse award, which for a European horse is a rare achievement.
“The Lockinge is the natural place for her to start her season off, and she has done very well over the winter.
“The mile and a quarter at Santa Anita is a lot faster mile and a quarter than what we have here, and it was on top of the ground. She has shown what she is capable of over a mile, and we will start her off back over that trip before seeing where the season takes us.
“She is a year older, but she is her usual self and has her same usual enthusiasm for it, and she seems to be in very good order.”
Laurel
“She ran a great race on the Sun Chariot at the end of the season before last and then started back last year winning the Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes at Kempton Park.
“She then ran a bit below par in the Lockinge, where after that she had a setback, but she seems in great order now.
“She has been off the track a while now, and she has an entry in the Lockinge, but that might come a bit too soon.
“She is a filly that we expect to be running in top class mile races this year, and she might possibly get the mile and a quarter as well. The obvious early season target for her is the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.”
Lautrec
“He is exceptionally bred as he is a half brother to Magna Grecia and St Mark’s Basilica, and he won his first, and only start, at the back end of last year up at Newcastle [replay below].
“He holds an entry in the Feilden Stakes and he has a Dante entry as well. He has always shown up to be a talented colt.
“He is still very inexperienced having just had that one start, but he is the type of colt we expect to progress nicely this season.”
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Middle Earth
“He won the Noel Murless Stakes well over a mile and three quarters at Ascot on his final start last season, and he is another exciting prospect this season.
“He is a lightly raced four year old and his form ties in well with the likes of Arrest and Gregory from last season. You would like to think with natural progression he will be able to improve upped back up to Group race company this season.
“Even though he won over a mile and three quarters on his final start last season he is another that is versatile regarding trip. He has shown he has enough speed that he could be dropped back to a mile and a half if we want to go that route.”
Nashwa
“It was frustrating that she was drawn 16 out of 16 in the Dubai Turf as it doesn’t leave you with many options. Hollie (Doyle) managed to get a fantastic position on her, but as you expect she had to use a lot of steam early to get a good position from that draw.
“She quickened well into the straight, but using that much energy early took a toll on her. It was frustrating to be drawn where she was, but all in all she put in a very good performance. “It was interesting to see how she was able to quicken off a strong pace into the straight. She is a brilliant filly over 10 furlongs, but she has won Group One races over that trip, and a mile. “The Middleton Stakes is a race for older fillies over a mile and a quarter at York, and it could be a good place to start her season over here.
“She came back from Dubai a couple of weeks ago, and we will have to see how she is, but it is a possibility we go there.”
Regal Jubilee
“She won the Montrose Fillies’ Stakes at the Rowley Mile last season on testing conditions. She is a filly that is deservedly being aimed at a 1000 Guineas trial. She ran a great race on deep ground at the Rowley Mile, but I think she is versatile as regards to ground as she won her novice well on good ground. As it stands the thinking is to take her to the Nell Gwyn as she is already a Listed winner at the track.”
Sweet William
“He improved with every start last season. He was a close second in the Ebor then he stepped into Group Two company for the first time to be a great second in the Doncaster Cup behind Trueshan, who is a top class stayer.
“He is a horse that we are looking forward to pitching back in at Group race company this season. He is a very talented horse and he has obviously demonstrated that he belongs in top class staying races. Hopefully he can find some more improvement this season and take the next step forward.”
Trawlerman
“He is a horse that gives 110 per cent every day as we saw in the Dubai Gold Cup, where he was headed and then came back at them at the finish, similar to how he won the Ebor in 2022 and the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day last season.
“He is a horse with a great deal of determination. Kieran (Shoemark) gave a brilliant ride in Dubai from where he was drawn in stall 16. He won the Long Distance Cup over two miles at Ascot and he is a horse that you wouldn’t see the extra half-a-mile in the Ascot Gold Cup being an issue for him.
“There are plenty of cup races throughout the season, and I imagine he will be taking part in plenty of them.
“He is by Golden Horn, and they seem to handle most ground. He won on deep ground at Ascot at the back end of last season, then he run a good race on quick ground in Dubai.”
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