Topping the fantastic achievements of last year will take some doing for trainer Roger Varian but with a team packed full of potential, the Classic-winning handler looks well placed to tackle the challenge head-on.
After finishing a personal best fourth in the 2023 Flat trainers’ championship, the Newmarket handler goes into this year full of optimism that he can at least match those efforts, if not better them, with the exciting team at his disposal.
Last year’s Champion Stakes hero King Of Steel will once again fly the flag for the team, while hopes are high that Charyn can climb the grades after an impressive comeback win in the Listed Doncaster Mile Stakes.
Add to that a number of exciting three year olds with bright futures, together with the acquisition of James Doyle as the team’s number one rider, and it is easy to see why there is plenty of excitement building at Carlburg Stables.
Varian said: “I thought it was a good year, on reflection. We finished fourth in the trainers championship, which is our highest ever position, and we came up with some big results.
“It was nice to win the Nassau Stakes with Al Husn for Shadwell and Sheika Hissa, who have been big supporters of mine.
“It was good to see Eldar Eldarov confirm his ability from his three year old season when he won the Irish St Leger.
“King Of Steel winning the Champion Stakes was one of my best moments in racing. We were directly involved in it, but I think everyone on the course felt the atmosphere and the energy.
“That was a real special moment for horse racing, and to be directly involved in it is a memory I will hold onto forever.
“We’ve a strong team and a lovely group of owners. I’m pretty happy with where we are at.
“James Doyle’s first job is with Wathnan Racing, but we will have access to him when he is available to owners who don’t have retained jockeys. He is a great man to have on board, to go alongside the other jockeys we will use this season.”
Accumulate
“He is a nice colt that I’m probably going to train for the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot as he is on a mark of 93. He will have a run in May then go straight to the Britannia. We have always rated him, and he has done well over the winter. I’m torn whether to go down the stakes route, or sticking to handicaps for now. I think off his mark it is probably right to stick to handicaps, and we will feel our way and hope that he can develop into a really nice horse.”
Al Musmak
“He was solid last year and did nothing wrong. He boasts some very good form. He could run in the Craven Stakes on the way to the 2000 Guineas, or he could go straight to the 2000 Guineas. We will then discover his season after that. His run in the Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot, and in the Royal Lodge at Newmarket, might say is he going to be top draw, and he is going to have to prove it if he is. However, he rubbed shoulders with some very good two year olds and didn’t disgrace himself. He was very good when he won at Haydock. He is a big horse that should improve, and I think he is an exciting three year old. He won at Haydock going away over a mile, and I think there is every chance he will stay a mile and a quarter, but I don’t know if he is guaranteed to stay a mile and a half. He is in the Prix du Jockey Club, and the Derby. He is deserving of some big entries, but we will just have to feel our way from the 2000 Guineas onwards. I would hope there is a nice race in him somewhere along the line.”
Boiling Point
“He is a nice horse and he will start off in the conditions race over seven furlongs at the Craven Meeting. He holds entries in both the French and English 2000 Guineas. The owner also has Rosallion, and the route we go might depend on how he goes. The King Charles II Stakes, which is the seven furlong Listed race on Guineas weekend at Newmarket, could be an option. We could then look at either the Jersey Stakes, or the St James’s Palace Stakes, depending on how we perform, and what we look deserving of. He is a pretty smart horse, and he has done very well. I’m looking forward to him. I took away a lot from his run in the Tattersalls Stakes. He ran a lovely race to be second on debut. His second race I made the mistake of stepping him up to a mile, and the ground was sticky. He then went and won at Thirsk by five lengths, and he beat two quite nice horses that day, but a Thirsk maiden winner going into a Group Three at Newmarket in the autumn was a big step up. He nearly won it, and he ran up to what we thought he was. That form is strong as the winner (Alyanaabi) was second in the Dewhurst."
Botanical
“He is not an easy horse to train. He is a bit delicate, but he is talented. He likes soft ground, and I think he will win a nice prize at some point but I’m just not sure when that will be. He was in the Lincoln, but he just didn’t bloom. His work was good, but his condition to me didn’t look like a winner so we have given him a bit of time.”
Cell Sa Beela
“She won the October Stakes on her final start last season and she is a nice filly to be kept in training. She will start in the Chartwell Stakes at Lingfield next month. She is a Listed winner with a very good pedigree, and if we can get a Group race win with her then that would be fabulous. She was very unlucky in running a couple of times last year, including in the Distaff at Sandown Park as she got stuck on the rail and didn’t get any sort of run. I thought she would at least get placed that day. She will get better as she gets older."
Charyn
“We had the race at Doncaster in mind for him for a long time as it was a good opportunity to drop a level. We wanted to get another win next to his name so we could build his season off the back of it, so that, as a plan, went perfectly. He ran consistently within about four lengths of Paddington last year. His Irish 2000 Guineas run was very good, and his St James’s Palace run was very good and another 20 yards and he would have been second. He needs to improve two or three lengths on his best performances last year to win a Group One, so it is not impossible, but it is not guaranteed until you see him in better company. Physically he has done well over the winter. He won with a lot of authority at Doncaster, and you can mark him down as an exciting horse to contest those big mile races throughout the year. I can’t say I expected him to win that well as he is a laid back horse at home, and he is not flashy in his work.
"We are very much looking at the Group Two bet365 Mile at Sandown first before the Lockinge. He is in great form, and I think he thrives off racing as he has got a good constitution. The win at Doncaster should do his confidence the world of good, and we will now see how he gets on going back up in grade.”
Defiance
“He won well on debut and I kind of threw him in the deep end in the Royal Lodge, but he didn’t disgrace himself. I think he is good enough for a Derby Trial. He is rated 103 off the back of two runs so that tells its own story. He is not a big horse, but he is a complete horse. We could have taken a softer approach after his first run, and he is a horse that still has novice options open to him. He is one to look forward to.”
Elmalka
“She is bred to be good and she put up a good speed figure winning at Southwell, but I don't know what the form is worth. The people who look at times, and sectionals, say it was a good performance. She could run in the Fred Darling if we are happy with her. She is in the French 1000 Guineas, while there is the Michael Seely Memorial Stakes at York as well, but I’m training her for the Fred Darling first.”
Ejaabiyah
“She is bred to be good as she is by Frankel out of a Golden Slipper winner. She won well on her only start at Kempton Park. It would be foolish to predict how good she could be off the back of that run, but we hope she can be quite good. "She has an entry in the 1000 Guineas, but she won’t go down that route. She is likely to go for an Oaks Trial. She has been slow to come to hand, but she has just started to turn the corner and look nice now.”
Indalo
“He will probably go to a novice at the end of April and then see where we go. He runs in the colours of the Varian Racing syndicate, and he looks a nice horse for them. The syndicate is something we feel is a responsibility to get more owners into the game. I don’t know how good he is, but I don’t think it was a bad race he won at Newcastle. I think he is a sleeper as I think quietly he is a nice horse.”
Imperial Quarter
“I think she is a stakes class filly, although I don’t know what grade she is. I think she will carry on the good line of Ambivalent. She is a half sister to Teona, and her mum was a Group One winner. She is a late bloomer and I think she will do well this season. It was a nothing race she won at Carlisle, but she is a nice filly. I think a mile and a quarter is her trip. We ran her over a mile and a half in a Listed race at Newmarket on her final start, but personally I don’t think that is her trip. I’d put a line through that race as she probably wasn’t ready to take on the colts having won a small race at Carlisle. It was a big step up, but she didn’t disgrace herself.”
King Of Steel
“Before winning the Champion Stakes he had won the King Edward VII Stakes, been second in the Derby, third in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes. He is a genuine Group One horse and we hope that we can make him a multiple Group One winner. The two races I’m looking at starting him in are either the Tattersalls Gold Cup or the Brigadier Gerard Stakes, but no decision has been made yet. They are only three days apart so you can train him for that same window. He has an entry in the Coronation Cup as he deserves to be in all the big middle distance races, but that wouldn’t be plan A. I think plan A is to have a run in May then go for the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. I wouldn’t say he wouldn’t run a mile and a half again as I’m sure he will have entries in the King George, and he will probably have to go into the Arc, but we will see where the year takes us. His first big assignment will be the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, with a run beforehand. He did exceptionally well over the winter. He went back to Ireland for a good period, and he came back in looking fantastic. He is lightly raced, and he is a big horse, so physically you would like to think he would have got stronger. Whether that equates to improvement, we will have to see, but I’m very happy with him.”
Matsuri
“I really like him. I think he is a colt we can run in a Derby trial and then go from there. He will have some big entries. I might start him off in the Blue Riband at Epsom. We will see how he runs in something like that before deciding if we go again, and also how he comes out of it. I like that it is a good gap to Epsom, and you don’t have to run again before then, but you have time if you wish to. He works well, and he is bred to be good. However, there are horses in big yards up and down the country that trainers would say the same about. He has only won an all-weather maiden around Kempton Park, but he ran well on his debut at Salisbury. He might not want the ground too soft as he ran well at Salisbury, but I wonder if the ground just held him up a bit. The form of his win has recently been boosted with the runner-up winning which is always pleasing to see."
Ornellaia
“She is already Group One placed, but she needs to improve to be a genuine Group One filly, She has only run the four times, however she looks smart and we will see how we go. She looks well able to win a stakes race, but we will have to see how far up the ladder she can go. The team that had her last year did a good job with her. I’m very grateful to be given a filly like her to train. She is in the promising bracket.”
Perotto
“He is a nice horse to have around. He paid his way last year and he will have a similar campaign this year. All those sorts of races like the Hunt Cup will appeal to him. A mile is his trip, and he is hardy. He needs everything to go his way, and it will work sometimes, and won’t work other times. If he wins another race or two like he did last year then we will be happy, but he is a valuable member of the team."
Qazaq
“He is a lovely horse that will probably run in a novice towards the end of the month. He will then go to Heron Stakes at Sandown. He will test his ability in that to see if he is good enough for the St James’s Palace Stakes. His mum (Qabala) was third in the Guineas, and he is by a good stallion in Kingman. He goes well, and there is every reason to have faith in him at the moment. He only had one start last season, but that is all we felt he needed at that stage of his career."
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Sakheer
“He is training really well. He is a sort of forgotten horse, but I don’t mind that as I don’t want to set any expectations. He had a setback after Royal Ascot, and we couldn’t really train him after that, but he has had a lot of time off. He needs to rediscover that potential as a two year old, but looking at him train I’ve every belief that he will. I’m going to start his season in the Listed Cathedral Stakes at Salisbury, and we hope that is a springboard into the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. He ran very well in the 2000 Guineas. It was very soft ground, and the mile was a question mark, and he was on the wrong side of the action. He made a big move from the three furlong pole to one and half furlongs out which impressed a lot of people, but he didn’t sustain it. Royal Ascot we will have to draw a line through, but we are certainly keeping the faith and looking forward to him.”
True Cyan
“She is a nice filly. I don’t know what the form of her maiden race is worth, but she looked the winner at half way, and I like what she did out of the dip. There were plenty of fillies from big stables, and owners, so I can’t believe it was a bad race, and she won it well. She is going to go to the Nell Gwyn and that will tell us a little bit as to whether she is a 1000 Guineas prospect or whether we need to take a step back and start again. We don’t know how good she is. She won like a good filly the first day, and we will take her to the trial and go from there.
“I think she will get a mile the way she won, but she is not bred to get beyond a mile as she is by No Nay Never, out of Realtra, who we trained and her best trip was seven furlongs.”
Zenjabeela
“She will run in the Conqueror Stakes, which is a Listed fillies’ race over a mile at Goodwood in early May. She holds an entry in the Irish 1000 Guineas. I think she is of stakes ability, but I don’t know quite at what level she will slot in. I will be disappointed if she wasn’t a black type filly. The Rockfel Stakes was a mess of a race, and the Fillies’ Mile winner only just got by us. The first two got five lengths on the field after the first furlong, and it was game over, so I don’t think we can judge her on that performance. I would be hopeful of her taking a step forward this season."
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