John Dance takes Oli Bell through his main hopes for the new season

Flag-bearer: Hareem Queen

Three-year-old to follow: Continental

Handicapper to follow: Astro Jakk

Older horses

Astro Jakk

He came to prominence over the winter. We’d always had quite a high opinion of him once he got running and maybe it took us a few goes to get to the bottom of him and work out his right trip and what we needed to get the best out of him.

He won a handicap last time out quite comfortably by about four lengths off a mark of 85 and he’d be one for five and six furlong sprint handicaps. He has the potential to see his rating rise quite a bit yet.

Cosmic Law

He gave us one of our best days in racing when hacking up in the Woodcote at Epsom as a two-year-old. It was an exhilarating performance, fantastic to see, and I was very proud to own a horse winning a race with so much heritage, so emphatically.

He’s rated in the high 90s at the minute and didn’t have the easiest of three-year-old careers last season, only having four starts. We think he’s probably a seven furlongs horse and when we tried six the ground came up quick which would have been against him.

He just came out of the Stewards’ Cup with a little niggle which pretty much wrote off the rest of his season. He’s wintered well and is in great shape and again we might be ground dependent for the next couple of months but is one we’re looking forward to seeing running this year.

Fool For You

She gave us a great day last year when winning the Gosforth Park Cup at Newcastle, a race which as a local family was on our bucket list. I didn’t think she stood a chance as I was worried the slow all-weather surface that day would count against her.

Her previous efforts suggested she barely got home over five furlongs and needs fast ground and yet again I was proven completely wrong! She surprised me that day and impressed PJ McDonald more that in any previous race. Having been held up she showed cracking turn of foot and although he’d said to himself – when you think it’s time to go on her count to three, and then go – he still felt he went too soon.

I know Richard (Fahey) is lining her up for a crack at the same race this year and fingers crossed she’s one to follow in all-weather sprint handicaps as she’s given the impression she’s more effective on that surface than turf.

Hareem Queen

She’s probably our flag-bearer now having won a Listed race last time out at the back-end of February, the Hever Stakes at Lingfield. The plan after that might have been to test her stamina in the Sprint on All-Weather Finals day which obviously was cancelled.

It wasn’t necessarily something we thought was ideal but it looked a good stepping stone to some Group races in the spring. We’ve revised the plan for her going forward. We would probably have given her a summer break as she isn’t really a fast ground horse and wants a bit of give underfoot but if the Palace House Stakes does happen that might be ideal for her. It would be a step up to Group Three company and five-and-a-half furlongs could be the perfect trip.

She might be one we keep in training next year too. She has a great pedigree but if she doesn’t get a full opportunity this year, we could just like to have a crack at a full season with her.

Three-year-olds

Bound For Heaven

A Gleneagles filly with Karl Burke who won a novice on her second start. She’s not necessarily the biggest but isn’t small either and could step up in trip. God willing she’ll be half decent for the year ahead.

Continental

It must have been nearly a year ago now but on The Opening Show one of the viewers asked me for a horse to follow for 2019. I gave them this filly and obviously, as is often the case when I identify a single horse, it proved the kiss of death!

She’s not seen the racetrack but is a lovely Acclamation filly with Jedd O’Keeffe. She showed early to mid-May last year that she had a lot of quality and hopefully ability and she was giving the signs of being four to six weeks from a run when she just went weak on us.

Physically she was never quite ready to run so we turned her out and gave her a nice winter break. She went back into training early as the plan would have been to try and get going with her as soon as the turf season started as from what she’d shown last year there was the potential she could go onto good things.

We wanted to get a feel for how much ability she had before the big-race entries started closing but we’ve now had to wait even longer. Thankfully she’s been doing plenty of work at home, plenty with very good sprinters too, and has worked well. We certainly haven’t lost any faith in her and are at least as excited as we were at this time last year.

I’d love to have a great horse with Jedd, he and his family and the whole yard there are a joy to work with and deserve a good horse. This is an exciting filly and probably the horse Jess and I are most excited about for 2020.

Dark Regard

With Mark Johnston and in our seventh year of owning horses became our first ever one to complete a hat-trick, winning a novice then two handicaps. She came close to racking up a four-timer too. We’ve never teed up horses for handicap plots but she improved during that period and is another to look forward to when the turf gets going.

Light Sugar

With Richard Fahey and an unraced daughter of Showcasing that we bred ourselves. She’s out of a mare called Ivory Gala and a half-sister to Red Galileo. She’s a real power-packed sort. She’s big, has lots of substance to her, and neither her family nor build ever suggested she was going to be an early sort.

She’s a cracking looking filly who hasn’t had the gun to her head yet. She would have been ready to run just about when lockdown started. We’re borderline getting excited about her within reason and we’re looking forward to getting her started.

Lovers Cry

Another with Richard Fahey and has run twice so far. Very green on debut, we stepped her up in trip for her second start and she finished a very promising second. Again, she’s a filly when we step up in trip and the penny drops a little more she could be decent. She’s a big, scopey, beautiful daughter of Cityscape. I have a soft spot for her. Fingers crossed she progresses a little.

Mighty Spirit

She was our star two-year-old last year. I think she’d earned £60,000 in prize-money before she even won a race! She was turned over at very short odds in a conditions race at Musselburgh and in a fillies’ conditions race at Beverley. She wasn’t beaten far and by very good fillies but having finished second in a Listed race on her second start and third in the Weatherbys Super Sprint, we were desperate to get that victory against her name.

It took nine attempts and we ended up at Catterick in another novice and on borderline heavy ground, taking on all sorts of conditions that wouldn’t suit her but thankfully managed to cross the line in first place. She’s rated in the low to mid-90s, probably as a result of her near-misses in what turned out to be good races.

She’s not the biggest and was very early last year so there are no guarantees she is going to train on but at home she isn’t showing any negative signs yet. We won’t know until she gets to the track but in the short-term at least I think Richard Fahey will be looking at the big sprint handicaps with her. We’ll see how her first couple of runs go and take it from there.

Two-year-olds

I've chosen one two-year-old from each trainer we have them with - as I didn't want to jinx anyone by picking theirs!

Clansman

A Nathaniel home-bred with Jedd O’Keeffe. His dam is Pearl Dance, from a long line of famous George Strawbridge families, and he’s a half-brother to three black type winners including the highly rated Sparkling Beam. He’s an absolutely stunning horse who has lots to learn. He’s going to be a backwards, late developer as an individual but he’s stunning and god willing will be a nice horse. He looks like he should be.

Disco Beat

A son of Pearl Secret with John Quinn. He’s a beautiful bay colour, there’s no chestnut to him at all. He’s a big stamp of a horse who wouldn’t be one you picked out in as a yearling for a May debut but he might not be a million miles from a run providing the final stages of training don’t set him back a bit. He’s shown a bit of promise and there have been a lot of comments from jockeys about what an incredible mover he is. When you watch him go up the gallops he seems to take one stride for every three of his stablemates. He's poetry in motion visually, but there’s substance to go with the style too. Another we’re very exited to see this year.

Discoteque

A beautiful Acclamation filly, really power-packed, graceful and striking to the eye. Within about 30 seconds of the hammer coming down and us actually buying her I got a message from Charlie Hills saying ‘Roll on Royal Ascot!’

I assumed it was his hand going up to say he wanted this one and I did have an agreement with him that I’d send him one or two as the result of a failed drunken bet! He really likes her. I spoke to him at the weekend and in an ordinary world she might be ready for the end of this month. Obviously we’ll have to see what the revised programme looks like but she isn’t one you’ll have to wait too long for.

Freak Out

He won’t be long in running and is a Kodiac colt in training with Declan Carroll. Arguably it’s a surprise he’s so forward and ready but he goes well at home. He’s quite scopey, he’s not one you’d think is a two-year-old and that’s it. He’s stood out at home and is a gorgeous individual.

Get Funky

Another son of Pearl Secret. He hasn’t made it to Tom Dascombe's yet but will be with him soon if racing looks like firing up. Like his sire he’ll probably get one or two runs a two-year-old but he is very big, very tall and very reminiscent of the dad. He’s probably the most obvious Pearl Secret we have in fairness. We have quite a lot in training but not as many flashy chestnuts as you might have expected.

He’s right up that street and out of a mare called Vroum Vroum who is a half-sister to The Tin Man and Deacon Blues. The latter was one of Compton Place’s best sons and he was the sire of Pearl Secret so this fellow is quite closely related to him. If he’s a fraction as good as him, well that would be fantastic.

Rhythm Master

A Dark Angel colt with Richard Fahey who is showing lots of good signs at home. He is one that we absolutely fell in love with at the sales and had to battle hard to secure but hopefully the bravery will be rewarded.

Tiki Fire

Named after a drunken night out in a Tiki bar in Doncaster following the abandonment of the Vertem Futurity! One of the cocktails was called Tiki Fire and we thought it was a very good name for a horse.

I liked the name so we waited for a horse we fell in love with before using it. This filly is a queen. She’s by first-season sire Awtaad and with Karl Burke. She’s slightly different to Laurens physically, at least for now.

She's not butch but very elegant and classy and what reminds me of Laurens is her graceful persona and the little air she has about her. If lightning can strike twice that would be amazing. Even if she's three-quarters as good as that filly she’d be great.

This is probably the filly I’m most exited about among the two-year-old crop this year and that’s quite a big call as they're very nice.

Tousserok

An Iffraaj colt and a half brother to the Cheveley Park third from last year, Tropbeau. She’s a Group Two winner as well and he’s one of a few promising juveniles we have with Mark Johnston and is giving the right signs at this point. He wouldn’t be a slap-bang early type in an ordinary season but may not be a million miles away from running when the two-year-old races get going. He’s given the odd signal of being half alright.

More in the series...

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