Martin Dixon of The Horse Watchers provides an update after a flying start to the month for the ownership group featuring wins for Royal Zabeel, Symbol of Light, Stella Hogan, Penzance and Westernesse.
Royal Zabeel
There were a few higher-rated ones in the Listed race at Wolverhampton but we decided that, given the progress he'd been making and the form he was in, we'd give it a shot. We were optimistic he'd run really well but winning was the icing on the cake. He's now been pushed up to a BHA rating of 111 which makes him one of the best horses we've ever had, and he's still very much going the right way.
He's having a bit of a freshen up now as there isn't a definitive plan for him, but he won't run again through this all-weather season and we're looking at turf options for him in April and May.
We're weighing up whether to drop him back to six furlongs and seeing if he can be effective at that trip on the turf. We could wait a bit longer as there's the John of Gaunt Stakes, which is a Group 3 race over seven furlongs, at Haydock at the back-end of May. Or we could run him in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket's Craven meeting over six and experiment whether he'll be as effective over six furlongs on the grass.
As he's done so much improving on the all-weather you can't be absolutely adamant that he'll replicate it on turf, but he's won on it before. When he was running on the grass he was a colt, wasn't with Mick Appleby and was at a completely different time of his career when he maybe wasn't ready to show the sort of form he is now. It's hard to know until you give it a go, but the fact he won his maiden so easily on the turf gives you optimism. But you don't know until you try, so that's what we'll be doing.
Symbol of Light
He's been fantastic. Julie [Camacho] and Steve [Brown] have done a really good job at getting him in peak condition this season and he's done exactly what we hoped he would. We bought him mindful of some of the nicer all-weather handicaps and he's managed to win a couple of them. He's done his job and he's only a few starts in for us.
All being well he'll head to Newcastle for the mile handicap on All-Weather Finals Day. We haven't thought any further ahead than that, but that's the obvious place for him to go. He's going to have a big weight to carry but he's certainly earned a crack at it.
Stella Hogan
She's done really well at her level. We paid only £6,000 for her and she was bought to hopefully progress and have a nice all-weather season, and she's done exactly that.
She has her quirks and needs a fast pace to aim at to be at her best - she got that at Chelmsford when she won with her head in her chest in the end. We turned her out quickly and maybe the run came a bit soon for her but, also, it was a small field and they didn't go a rattling pace like they had the week before. She still ran creditably to finish third.
She'll be out again in two to three weeks in another all-weather handicap. The way that she won at Chelmsford would give you optimism that she's not finished just yet. She's reliant on getting a fast pace to aim at and horses coming back as she doesn't quicken off a steady gallop.
Penzance
It was great to get him back looking at his best as he went a little bit off the boil towards the back-end of last year and was ready for a break.
Ali Rawlinson does a lot of work with him at home and on the track - he rides him all the time - and he felt that when Penzance came off his break at Lingfield that he was a little rusty, for all he ran well.
That perked Penzance right up and put him in the frame of mind for racing and we saw that sharpness back at Chelmsford. Ali gave him a very good, well-judged front-running ride, so he had advantages on the day, but he is a horse that puts himself in those positions because he's very straightforward with how he goes about it and you can ride him however suits the race.
He'll go back to the Easter Classic on All-Weather Finals Day, which has always been the target race for him this season. He was second in it off a similar rating last year, so we know he's got the capability of going there and running really well again. Hopefully we can go one better than last year.
Sanat
He won at Southwell in February and the tongue tie seemed to make a fair bit of difference. He seemed to relax a lot better and breathe better with the tongue tie, and that allowed him to deliver and finish off his race in the way we hoped he would. He's on the right path now.
He met with a small setback after that race so has had a few quieter weeks, but he's back in full swing now and will be aimed at races in mid-late April. There's a quite valuable five-furlong handicap at Southwell in the back-end of April he could go for, but there are also some options on turf as well.
He won well at Southwell and I think he's capable of improving again.
Westernesse
He got a small hairline fracture last year when he ran at Ayr. He's all recovered now and it was good to see him sticking his head down at Newcastle, battling for a win. We'd started to question just how much he wanted it, but that was probably related to his injury more than anything else.
We've never had plain sailing with him because he had a setback the previous season when he was just coming into form, and last year he had the hairline fracture. This is probably going to be his first season with us, touch wood, that we can get him racing consistently. I'd like to think there will be improvement in him.
The handicapper put him up to 78. On Good Friday at Chelmsford there's a one mile 0-78, which is a £35,000 race, so he'll very likely go there for a nice prize pot.
Coming up
War Howl
War Howl goes to Newcastle next week in a seven-furlong three-year-old handicap. He's ready to go and has done a lot of work at home. He's as fit as they'll get him at home and his work's been good, but he's a big, heavy horse so it's possible that he'll need his first run. But he's very much ready to go and get started.
Heathen
Heathen looks fantastic. We've worked him out in terms of needing time between his races. He's had a good break since he won at Wolverhampton last month and looks a million dollars - he's holding his weight a lot better than when he was kept busier last year.
He will be running on Good Friday either in the two-mile final at Newcastle or in a mile-and-six-furlong handicap at Chelmsford. He seems in really good form and has been thriving this winter. The way he won his two races this winter when fresh was very impressive.
Rhoscolyn
He's done a couple of bits of work away from home and should be ready to run again in April. He's started in a conditions race at Thirsk before and that will be under consideration again to get him going.
He starts the season with a rating of 100 because he had a good back-end last year, so he's at a point in the handicap that it won't be easy for him, but we'll largely be keeping him to soft-ground handicaps. He's always delivered in the last few seasons so there's no reason to think he won't again at some point during the year.
Hornsea Bay
He's coming along really well. He's not had any hold-ups this spring and has been in the yard right the way through the winter. He's done a couple of bits of work away from the yard and seems to have done well physically from two to three. They're very pleased with him.
He'll be going somewhere in April, but we don't know where yet. Whatever he does there will tell us where to go next.
Cancelled
She had a run on the all-weather in January but wasn't thriving at the time as she hadn't been in her new yard that long and was only just ready to run, so I wouldn't read too much into that.
She's had a long time since then to come into herself and they seem to be very happy with her at the [O'Neill] yard and she's done lots of schooling. She'll be well schooled up when she runs in a maiden or novice hurdle.
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