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Mark Howard's Dark Horses for 2024: Horses to follow on the Flat

By Mark Howard

Horse Racing

Mon April 15, 2024 · 7M ago

Mark Howard, Racing TV pundit and author of Ahead On The Flat, highlights a sextet of interesting dark horses for the Flat this season.

Friendly face to keep on side

Bred to be smart, FRIENDLY SOUL is a homebred Kingman filly belonging to George Strawbridge.

She is a half-sister to Group 1 Prix du Cadran winner Call The Wind and Group 1 Prix Rothschild scorer With You, plus Group 1 Prix de L’Opera winner We Are.

Entered in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly (June 16), Friendly Soul is viewed as a ten furlongs filly in the making by her trainer John Gosden. A big scopey filly, she missed her intended debut at Lingfield in early December after getting worked up in the stalls and incurred a cut.

Having passed a stalls test soon afterwards, Friendly Soul returned to the track at Kempton a fortnight later and made a successful start to her career with a cosy half length win [replay below]. Drawn in stall 8, she was handy throughout under Robert Havlin before taking charge with over a furlong to run.

Pushed out to secure a half length win from stable companion Izipizi, the form looks solid with the fifth, eighth and ninth (twice) winning since.

Significantly, John Gosden was in attendance at the Sunbury track for her first racecourse appearance – at 6.30pm on the December 20.

Friendly Soul is expected to reappear in a conditions event or an Oaks trial over ten furlongs in the spring. If she follows in the hoofprints of Call The Wind (by Frankel), there is every chance she will stay a mile and a half.

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Unraced Mars to light up the year?

The unraced MISSION TO MARS is Sir Michael Stoute’s sole entry in the 2024 Betfred Derby, a race the master of Freemason Lodge has won six times, including with the ill-fated Desert Crown, who was also owned by Saeed Suhail, two years ago.

A colt by Sea The Stars, who was acquired for 500,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, he is a half-brother to the 105 rated Kingmax who was third in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2022 for Amo Racing and David Loughnane.

Reported to have had soundness issues last year, he is talented and has impressed in his homework. Provided Mission To Mars has a clear run, he is considered a Pattern horse in the making and very much one to look out for on his racecourse debut, which is likely to be over ten furlongs in the spring.

Sir Michael Stoute

Rode could tread familiar path

William Haggas has a splendid record in the prestigious Melrose Stakes at York’s Ebor Festival (August 24) in recent years with Guarantee (2012), Hamish (2019) and Soulcombe (2022) capturing the prize for Somerville Lodge.

The Yorkshireman is already thinking in terms of the one mile six event for the once raced RAHEEN RODE who shaped with an abundance of promise on his sole outing at Lingfield in November [replay below].

From the family of Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Behkabad, the son of Golden Horn lined up in a ten furlongs maiden at the Surrey track and was ridden by Epsom Derby winning jockey Richard Kingscote. Slowly away and green early on, the penny dropped in the homestraight and Raheen Rode was spotted making good late headway in third behind the more experienced winner Alacrity (rated 76).

Two years earlier, the Haggas trained Nathanael Greene filled the same position before going on to establish himself as a useful middle distance/staying prospect winning a valuable three year old handicap at Haydock and finishing fourth in the Northumberland Plate last year.

Raheen Rode appears to be cut from the same cloth as his former stablemate and can develop into an 85-plus staying three year old handicapper this year.

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Sea to believe

Entered in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly (June 16) and Irish Oaks, the beautifully bred SEA JUST IN TIME is a name to remember for 2024.

The unraced daughter of Sea The Stars is a full-sister to two former residents of Somerville Lodge, namely Sea On Time and Truthful. The pair won five races between them earning official ratings of 100 and 95 respectively. Both fillies won over a mile and a half and their younger sibling is expected to shine over ten and twelve furlongs this year.

Described as a neat filly, the daughter of Sea The Stars will make her first appearance in the spring holding entries over a mile at Newmarket on Wednesday – the stable’s Irish Oaks winner Sea of Class finished second in the same fillies maiden in 2018 - and in the ten furlongs fillies’ maiden at Newbury (April 19).

William Haggas won the latter event with his subsequent Epsom Oaks winner Dancing Rain in 2011 and Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Vow twelve months later. The contest has also been won by future Pattern winners Eswarah (2005), Folk Opera (2007), Islington (2002), Lah Ti Dar (2018) and Star Catcher (2019). Sea Just In Time is a filly with a big future and her racecourse debut is one to look forward to.

Two more to note...

Roger Varian describes the Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd owned colt SPETSES as the best looking horse in Carlburg Stables.

A gorgeous son of Get Stormy, his dam was Group 3 placed and finished fourth in the Listed Sandringham Handicap at Royal Ascot for Willie McCreery eight years ago.

Given time to develop and mature as a two year old, connections are set to reap the rewards this season, if his looks are anything to go by.

Dancing Star was a smart mare for owner Jeff Smith and trainer Andrew Balding winning six races and earning total prize-money of £332,743. A Stewards’ Cup winner as a three year old, the daughter of Aqlaam won the Group 3 Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster a couple of seasons later.

She is the mother of STORM STAR, a Night of Thunder colt, who has done well physically from two to three strengthening up and is set to make up for lost time this year. Trips around seven furlongs are expected to be to his taste.

Mark Howard’s Ahead On The Flat is available to purchase via www.mhpublications.co.uk. The book includes stable interviews with Charlie Appleby, Andrew Balding, Ralph Beckett, Ed Bethell, Karl Burke, Tim Easterby, William Haggas and Roger Varian, plus 30 unraced three year olds to follow. AOTF is £10.99 including P&P.

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