Ralph Beckett Stable Tour: 2025 team

When it comes to trainer’s in Britain possessing a team with proven talent mixed with exciting horses yet to reach their full potential then look no further than Ralph Beckett.

End of season exploits from Bluestocking in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp and Starlust in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar transformed what had been a solid 2024 campaign into a sensational one.

Bluestocking might have moved on to pastures new to take up broodmare duties, but everywhere you look at Kimpton Down Stables it is brimming with quality to suggest the 2025 season will be equally exciting as the last.

A total of 12 entries in this year’s Betfred Derby tells its own tale as to the quality of horse the Classic winning handler has at his disposal.

And with a crop of exciting three year olds joined by the likes of 2024 Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me and stable stalwarts Kinross and Starlust everything points to another season filled full of success for Beckett and his ever expanding equine team.

Beckett said: “It has been an aim to concentrate on quality over everything else and we are honing that every year.

“None of us expected any of that to happen in the Arc. Bluestocking ended up being a well backed second favourite on the day, but we didn’t go into the weekend thinking we would win. But the rain in the morning helped significantly as did a terrific draw. She really thrived for going to the Vermeille and coming back to the Arc.

“Starlust just loves travelling. They went ballistic through the first quarter of a mile in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and that set it up for him.

“There were plenty of others backing them up, including You Got To Me, whose win in the Irish Oaks was huge and she put in a big run in the Yorkshire Oaks. She has got a pedigree that suggests she will be better this season.

“As for the two year olds we had any number of maiden winners going into this year and hopefully a couple will step forward. I think that we’ve been sent a lot of nice two year olds so that is great. Hopefully the ball will keep rolling.”

And is not just equine talent that Beckett will be nurturing with promising apprentice jockey Jack Dace, son of trainer Luke Dace, joining his roster of riders to call upon this season.

Beckett added: “George Baker approached me to take him and he was an old ally of ours back in the day so it felt like a good fit.

“We’ve not had an apprentice for a while, but he rides well and he impressed in his trial here.

“He will learn plenty here from Rossa Ryan, Hector Crouch, Eddie Greatrex and Richard Kingscote. He has got plenty of advice coming his way as his dad is a good guy.

“He will have plenty of help from lots of places. He will live here, and work here, and we will do the best for him.”

AMILOC

He kind of surprised us, but he is from a good family, however the mare has found it difficult to get in foal. I hope he will be one for a Royal Ascot handicap. He is a tough lad. He flipped in the stalls at York in a conditions race right at the end of the season. He would have been favourite if he hadn't done that so has got to do a stalls test. We never thought of him as being complicated, but he was just in the stalls a long time that day at York.

ANNIVERSARY

Although he is already gelded he is a nice horse. Hopefully he will end up being a horse for the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot. He will stay well. He over-achieved at two, but he probably should have won that smart nursery at Newmarket. He just got a bit lonely in front and he paddled around. Jim Boyle’s horse off a light weight had something to aim at and ran him down. I think he is on the right side of the handicapper and I like the horse.

AUREL

He is German bred and the German Derby could be the way to go with him. He has a good way of going and puts plenty in during the mornings. He is training well and he has come forward physically over the winter. We were very surprised on his debut. We were astonished as he kind of did it on his own. If you watch the race back I don’t think Eddie (Greatrex) hits him. He just threw the reins at him to finish the race out, and he did. We are pleased with him.

BOLO NEIGHS

He is a smashing little horse. He is a bonny, hardy horse. He did a tibia when he was second on his second start and that is why there was a big gap between that run and his third run and that is why things panned out how they did. He had that prep run then went to Ireland for the sales race. I probably should have run him in the Cornwallis and not the Rockingham.

He won’t be particularly early to come to hand, but he will do well. I think six furlongs is his optimum. He is rated 99 at the moment. I will work out if he is good enough for a Commonwealth Cup or whether we have to leave him slightly below that level. It is not that big of a jump he has to make to be a Commonwealth Cup horse.

BRAVE MISSION

I like him and I thought it was a good effort on his last start. I hope he will be in those mile to a mile and a quarter three year old only handicaps going through to Royal Ascot. We will probably start him over a mile then we will work out where we go. He could be a Britannia horse or one for the Golden Gates Handicap. I think from what we have seen at home he has done well from two to three and there is mileage in him.

BRIGHT TIMES AHEAD

She is a filly that we always had a big opinion of. She wasn’t the most robust and she was quite immature. We sat and watched her win her maiden at Newmarket while I was in Del Mar with her owner and that went down quite well. She is pretty talented and I think she will get a mile and a half, but I’ve got to prove that. If she does stay then we are in business. I think she is going to have to go into a mile and a quarter Oaks trial and work our way from there, however the Michael Seely Memorial Stakes at York might be a possibility as well.

CALLA LAGOON

He is a tough lad. He has a bit of a round action so he will need some juice in the ground. I like the way he went through the Silver Tankard. He surprised me a bit at Ascot as I’m not sure we felt we would win going into the race. I thought he would need it again. He was very professional that day as he had to run through a tight gap and in the end he won pretty well.

He is a forward going sort of horse. We will probably go for a Derby trial with him and work it out from there. He could go to Sandown, but I don’t think Chester would be a danger to him either as I think he would handle it around there. The question will be how far will he get as on his pedigree there is a question mark. I think 10 furlongs might end up being his maxim, but we will see.

CATHEDRAL

I think she will probably go straight to the 1000 Guineas. She is in good form and is training well, but she is just a little bit behind in her coat. When she first came here from the breeze-ups she was a very sick filly so we had to send her away and she was in a field for six weeks. She was impressive at Lingfield, but then I think we made too much use of her in the Oh So Sharp Stakes. I think if we had hung on to her a bit more she would have probably won.

She is a tough girl and she should improve significantly this year I would think. It doesn’t really worry me going straight to a 1000 Guineas with her. Being a breeze-up filly they have got a slightly different profile and she has quite a lot of experience under her belt for a filly that has only had two starts.

CHANTILLY LACE

She is a good filly I think and I’ve always had a high opinion of her based on her homework. “I’m not sure it was much of a race she won, but she could do nothing more than win. She has grown exponentially over the winter. We will see how things develop, but she is a big girl now. I don’t have a strong view where we will start yet, but I think she will stay. She is behind in her coat so I’ve not really gone looking for her. I’m still waiting for her to come to me. I think she will end up competing in pattern races as she is bred for it. I’ve just got to wait for her a little bit.

DOHA

Doha did well last season winning the Kensington Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot before winning a Listed race over at Saint–Cloud later in the season. Although it failed to happen for her in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day, hopefully she can get her head in front in a Group race this season. She is training well at the moment, but she is one that always takes a little while to come to hand. She has an entry in the Middleton Stakes and I would be keen to take her to York for that if she is ready for it.

GREY’S MONUMENT

It is all about the ground with Grey’s Monument. Over seven furlongs on the right ground he will get it done. It was great for his owner last year when he won the Listed race up Redcar while he was also impressive when he scooted clear in the handicap he won at Ascot. He is just a genuine, hard knocking horse that always does his best. If we place him right then he will go and do it again. He should be up to winning another Listed race again if we stick to the right ground and trip with him.

FEIGNING MADNESS

We have got him back in for another partnership and hopefully we can get him in some of those nice mile and a half races and even possibly mile six contests. He has got quite a lot to prove in a sense. We know he has got a lot of ability, but where he has got to prove it is that he can hold it all together. A lot of it is what is going on between his ears. If we can get that to work, and get him to do it on his terms, he will give us plenty of action. Races like the John Porter and Aston Park are the sort of races we want to be looking at with him.

I AM I SAID

He was a big surprise when he won on debut. He worked it out for himself in the race. He hadn’t really shown that at home plus he had an away day as well. We hadn’t spotted it. Normally it would stand out on an away day, but sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the best ones don’t show up on that first away day. He has done well over the winter and is quite forward. He has done a couple of pieces of work, just easy stuff. He will run in a Derby trial in five or six weeks time and he will be ready for one.

KINROSS

He is back in and is going again. I thought the Chipchase was a good place to start him last year, but if it turned up wet at Royal Ascot then he could go for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. His year will be framed around the Lennox Stakes, City Of York, Park Stakes and Foret again in all probability. We’ve also popped him in the Lockinge. He was only beaten three quarters of a length in a so it isn’t like he doesn’t get a mile. We might be a little bit more open minded as to where we go this year. He is moving well and training well.

As much as anything else it is about looking after him as he will pay us back if we look after him. On the figures Timeform had him running right up to his best at Doncaster in the Park Stakes. He was beaten by a very good filly in the Foret and he was drawn slightly away from it in the Champions Sprint, but he had been at it a while then I suppose. Hopefully he can continue operating at that level as an eight year old as we think he retains all his enthusiasm.

LORD MELBOURNE

He picked up a problem in the November Handicap and he has been off all winter. He won’t be ready until the second half of the season. Ground is important to him. I would love to go a little bit further with him to try and see if we could get him into an Ebor as that is what I thought at the end of last year. With him having that problem that is still a possibility, but we will see how that all develops.

If that is a push we have got things like the November Handicap again. The real angle with him is that he is such a straightforward horse to ride that you can put an apprentice on him. He will be a very good spot for an apprentice again. Jack Dace starts here with us in the middle of the month having had his trial here and he will be a good ride for him.

MATAURI BAY

He had a horrendous trip to France so you can put a line through that run. We sort of ended up having to run him rather than thinking it was a good idea. Hector (Crouch) looked after him when it wasn’t going to happen and he came out of it well. He has been training well this spring. I haven’t worked out where we will go with him yet. He isn’t a horse that would need a lot of work. He is a good horse and I do think he has done well from two to three physically. He is a very light framed horse that doesn’t weigh a great deal. I think he is longer and scopey than he was. I wasn’t sure that was going to happen, but it has.

OXFORD COMMA

She should do well again this year. She probably had just had enough when I ran her at the back end of the season. The ground is important to her, but she stays very well. I hope the Lillie Langtry and Park Hill Stakes is the route I hope to go with her. The ground is important for her. The Bronte Cup could well be a good place to start her off in at York. I felt I had to step her up in grade at the end of last season. She is a real stayer and her pedigree is stamina laden and she could easily stay two and a half miles.

PERFECT YOUR CRAFT

She is a nice filly that has plenty of scope. I’m not sure it was a great race she won, but she did it off not much practice. She should do well this year, but she will probably always need a bit of juice in the ground. I imagine we will start her off in an Oaks trial. She is a straightforward filly and we should be starting her off in a Oaks trial.

PINHOLE

He hadn’t really shown it home between arriving from Freemason Lodge and running so I was a little bit surprised he got it done quite the way he did at Southwell. I just wanted to see if we could win a maiden with him. Once they have been up the Rowley Mile you never really worry about them needing more experience as it teaches them so much there and it clearly had. I know Quadrilateral showed a lot of boot, but he really does look like he is going to stay. He is in the Derby and he has got a pedigree to match and he has got the temperament as well. He is a well balanced horse so he has got everything in the right place. He is just not a horse that is obvious at home so we will see how we go.

PRIDE OF ARRAS

He is a talented horse, but he had a small issue after he won his maiden so that is why he didn’t appear again. He should do much better this year. We will see how it pans out for him, but he is a talented horse. I’m not sure where we will start him. We might go for a novice first to give him more experience opposed to pitching him into a stakes race. I would say we will head for a novice event first then work our way up.

PRINCE OF THE SEAS

He kind of surprised me as I never had a big opinion of him. There was a lot of discussion whether he should be kept as a three year old, but I’ve been really pleased with him over the winter. The way he has gone this spring I’m glad we have kept him. I just thought I had underestimated him based on his racecourse performances. I think he is a horse who will do well this year. Do I think he is a stakes horse at the moment, probably not, but he might go through the grades handicap wise.

PUSH THE LIMIT

He kind of surprised me last year. He has a staying pedigree, but I always thought he was quite an immature horse. He is a lean long horse that is well balanced. He should stay really well, but I will see how his work is on the grass then make a decision about him. My gut is saying that he is going to stay. He could fall into the same category as Starzintheireyes later on in the season.

QIRAT

He was a little bit behind in his coat and he would have preferred more in the Lincoln,but that isn’t why we didn’t run him. I would have run him on that ground, but at the five day stage it was clear he wasn’t going to make it. I hope he will make the Spring Cup at Newbury, which I see they are running around a bend this year, and that will suit him as well. It is possible he could take the step out of handicap company at some point. He has always been a slightly quirky individual. I think we think he is a bit more straightforward this year, psychologically. All the form book says he needs a strong gallop to aim at so it might be that big field handicaps are always going to suit him slightly better. I still think there is a good handicap in him off this mark.

SANDTRAP

She is a talented filly, but she has had a small hold up. She is quite behind in her coat so I’m not sure when she is going to appear. She is doing well and is healthy and it will all fall into place. It is a funny situation with her as physically she looks like she is going to stay and her style of running suggests she is going to stay, but it is quite a fast pedigree she has. I’ve got to get her over this small issue before we work out quite which route to take with her.

SAQQARA SANDS

She is a sweet filly. I think the Fred Darling will come too soon for her. She is a bit like Tabiti and I kind of see her in that bracket. She is in the German 1000 Guineas as well. I don’t think she wants soft ground, even though she was second in the Radley Stakes on it. I will find another Listed race for her depending on how she is working and how we feel at the time. She feels to me that she could be one for the Eternal Stakes at Carlisle in July. That feels like a really good spot for her. I don’t have her in the same bracket as Cathedral yet, but she may end up in it. At the moment that is really where I would have her.

SEACRUISER

He is a very nice horse and I like the way he goes. He will definitely appear in a Derby trial as things stand. His work has been good and with that pedigree you would expect plenty of improvement. I thought it was a good effort at Newmarket, which was perhaps against the curve in the sense that Sea The Stars doesn’t have too many two year old winners. If we got a maiden win into him at two he was always going to have to run in a Derby trial at three so that is what we will do.

SEA TO SKY

I think she is probably a Listed class filly, but she has done very well from two to three so I might be wrong. She is training well and is a tough girl. I think a mile will be her trip and I don’t think she will get much further. It was a good effort for her to finish third in the Radley Stakes. Her brother needed juice in the ground and so the fact it was soft in the Radley Stakes would maybe indicate that is as good as she is, but we will see.

SING US A SONG

He is one that will stay really well as he is a very laid back horse for a Camelot. He only does enough, but he could also be a horse for the King George V Stakes as I think he is another one that is on the right side of the handicapper. He could start in the London Gold Cup at Newbury as I think that would be a good spot for him. He is a tough horse so those big field handicaps will suit him.

He has got a good attitude. He just did enough at Goodwood as he needs something to aim at. He was quite fiery initially as a two year old which is why we ran him so early as I wanted to get his back down a little bit. Eddie Greatrex gave him a good introduction on the July Course then it all fell into place and he then worked out what he was there for quite quickly. He should do well this season.

SIR DINADAN

He is a lovely big powerful horse. He will stay very well and he is likely to run in a Derby trial somewhere, but I’ve not worked out which one yet. Ground might be an issue as he hits the ground quite hard. I wouldn’t mind going around Chester with him at all having gone around Pontefract and given the way he travelled there. He went around Pontefract better than I expected him to. The Classic Trial at Sandown could suit him as well. They would be the two most likely trials. He is a difficult horse to read as he doesn’t always show up in the mornings. It took him three starts to get off the mark as he was a slow learner. I do think he will stay very well.

SKELLET

We could possibly go to the Dahlia first time out with her or the Middleton. I like the idea of the Dahlia. I always felt she would get a mile and a quarter well, and she did when she got run down in the last 20 yards at Chantilly that day. It was one of those ones where nothing really went right for us last year in terms of herself or her racecourse campaign. It was really frustrating as she took forever to come to hand in the spring which is why she didn’t make her debut until the Irish 1000 Guineas. I was just always slightly on the back foot with her. She is a big framed filly, who again is taking a while to come to hand.

This is her year if I can get all my ducks in a row. It was great to see her win the Listed race at Sandown Park on her final start and it was important that she did for her owners. Once that happened it was a relief as it meant I didn’t have to run her again. I was looking after her by not running her again. I was doing it on her terms rather than mine. She is a stakes winning sister to a Group One winner and that is always going to be there so we can campaign her in a way that will suit her.

SMOKEN

She surprised me all year. We thought she was a maiden winner, but we didn’t envisage her winning a stakes race at two although I’m not sure how strong of a race it was. Although she was well backed I didn’t think we were that confident going into the race. She travelled really well through the race then paddled a bit coming out of the dip, but I still thought it was a big effort despite her short price. She will appear in one of those Oaks trials in the first half of May whichever one we feel fits best. The Musidora at York might be the way we go with her.

SQUARE D’ALBONI

He is a gelding so we have to campaign him with that in mind. He is another that will stay well and with the French premiums it means we will have a few of those races on the radar as well. Physically he has done well from two to three as he was quite a weak horse last year, but he has really bulked up. His form has wired out well as the horse he beat into fourth (Tajlina) in the Prix Isonomy has come out and won a Group Three which is good. He is a horse that I really like, but as he was a rig we had to geld him.

STANHOPE GARDENS

He is another lovely horse. He has a terrific attitude to life in general. He hit the front and I think the rail helped the winner in the Autumn Stakes. That form is now very strong with Delacroix coming out and winning the Ballysax Stakes. He could run in the 2000 Guineas, and I wouldn’t rule that out, but he won’t be ready before then. It would be a toss up between the 2000 Guineas or the Dante. I’ve not galloped him yet. He has been a little bit behind in his coat, but he is a horse that puts in plenty every morning. It is not about fast work with him as he is not a horse that needs a lot of work so that helps me out.

STARLUST

He is back again and his programme will be framed around the Nunthorpe, Prix de l’Abbaye and the Breeders’ Cup once again. He really thrives on travelling so I hope he ends up back in America. I would say he looks after himself a little bit. He is not ungeniune, but things have to go his way which is why I think he proved to be effective at York. We got sucked into a strong pace out in Hong Kong and I don’t think we rode him the right way around. I felt going into the race he was in very good shape so I was surprised that he didn’t run well, but he got sucked in from that draw to be ridden more positively than was ideal for him. He looks to retain plenty of enthusiasm so hopefully he can have another good campaign again.

STARZINTHEIREYES

He has got a small issue and won’t appear until the second half of the season which is disappointing. Despite who he is by (Starspangledbanner) I think he is a stayer in the making. I would imagine he won’t appear until around the July Meeting at Newmarket or something like that and we will then work our way into the autumn. Something like a Bahrain Trophy is what we could start him in and he could possibly be a St Leger horse. He outstayed them in the Zetland Stakes so you would think that is a realistic aim. You don’t look at him and think stayer, but his way of running would suggest he is. I thought they went hard in the Zetland and he went better to the line than anything else. His profile suggests that further than a mile and half would be where he will be best suited.

STOP THE CAVALRY

She is a sweet filly, but she has never been that physically robust and that is why she has been a bit stop start. She should do well this season, but she does need juice in the ground. She has already got a bit of black type, but I think she is capable of winning a stakes race as I think she has got that in her. I think we will campaign her between a mile and a mile and a quarter. I don’t see us changing that too much. I know she won over six furlongs at Chester, but that was because the ground was there and I needed to get a run into her. On pedigree she should get a mile and a quarter.

TABITI

She is a funny one. I don’t think it was a great Dick Poole she won down at Salisbury and she might be one for a German 1000 Guineas. She is in good form so I’m pretty hopeful she will turn up in the Fred Darling. I didn’t think there were a lot of excuses when she was beaten on her last start in the Fillies’ Mile. I think it was a very good Fillies’ Mile so I suspect that will be going a little bit under that level. Having won on the July Course, and been to Salisbury as well, I don’t think the track was an excuse. She is a Group Three winner already. If we can get her up in grade that would be terrific, but we will see how it pans out. I think she will get the mile.

THAT’S AMORE

She is a hardy filly. We have had plenty of New Bay’s and you know where you are with them in a sense. I was really pleased with how professional she was at Newbury as I think it would have benefitted her going around a bend that day. She will show up in an Oaks trial as she should stay. She is a sister to Persica, who I think stays pretty well. We will start her in a mile and a quarter Listed trial and work our way from there with her. She is a little bit behind in her coat so the next month is important to her.

YOU GOT TO ME

She is back for more which is great and you would hope she will be a flagbearer for the team. Physically she has done very well and she looks very well. She had her break, but she didn’t really thrive as she is better off in training. She is probably going to come to hand a bit quicker than what I planned on. She is a high achiever and Bluestocking didn’t have her profile at three. She was a big achiever and You Got To Me has a pedigree to suggest she will be better this year.

She will have a Coronation Cup entry and I think that would be a good place to start her and she will probably go there first up. I suspect we will give her an away day before that. If that didn’t work out then you have got the Lancashire Oaks and if you are going the right way again you go to the King George and so on.

The pattern have made it tougher this year as they have moved the Prix Vermeille and Prix Niel back so there is now only two and a half weeks between the Yorkshire Oaks and the Vermeille so for a four year old filly that is problematic, but we will have to deal it with it.

It may impact how we campaign her. If we are thinking we are going to run her twice quickly we might have to factor that in during the first half of the year, but I like the idea of the Coronation Cup first up as she handled the track well in the Oaks. I wonder in retrospect if she bounced in the Oaks given she put so much in at Lingfield. She travelled very well, but didn’t finish off in the Oaks.

ZOUM ZOUM

He is another one where ground is important to him, but going back to six furlongs should suit him very well. I think probably as he is getting stronger, and older, that like his mother he will get quicker. She started at seven then dropped back to six furlongs. I suspect as things become easier for him that because he is a strong travelling horse six furlongs is probably going to be his optimum trip.

I would be keen to go a Wokingham and Stewards’ Cup route then see if we can go up in grade. I don’t think it is going to be much of a leap for him to stakes level if it pans out. It was a good effort in the Jersey Stakes and the Greenham so it is not as if we are far away. He just saw a bit too much light in the Wentworth Stakes on his last start, but he ran to a big figure in the handicap there on his previous start.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.