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The Horse Watchers | Martin Dixon analysis
Martin Dixon of the Horse Watchers provides an update on four horses the team picked up at Tattersalls last week, plus highlights others who will be returning to the track shortly.
Recent additions to the team
FOREST CAPER
14,000 guineas; joining David O'Meara
He was a very expensively bought yearling [420,000 guineas] and caught our attention on pedigree as he's out of a mare who has produced five black-type performers, with Forest of Dean, English Oak and State Occasion being the most notable of them. The mare, Forest Crown, has been a serial producer of smart horses.
He was nearly ready to get started for Sir Michael Stoute last spring but he fractured a pelvis which has now healed. We're going to have to be reasonably patient with him, but he's a lovely, good-looking horse, as you'd expect for one with his pedigree and price tag as a yearling. He's a complete unknown quantity but we really liked him at the sale and the fact he'd fractured a pelvis in the past didn't concern us or David [O'Meara, trainer] as an ongoing worry.
He's bred to be a late-developing horse anyway, he was never going to be a precocious two-year-old, and we thought it was an opportunity to pick up a well-bred, good-looking horse who could be anything at this stage. David will take his time and be patient with him, and hopefully we have a lot to look forward to with him next year.
RIBBLE VIBE
8,000 guineas; joining David O'Meara
We picked him up for 8,000 guineas which for an 89-rated three-year-old by Sea The Stars and a half-brother to Ribchester seems like a low price. He hasn't run since the spring and there has obviously been a setback or two that has stopped him running since April, but on vet's advice we felt like there was nothing to be too concerned about going forward.
When he won his maiden as a two-year-old on debut last year, he beat horses into second and third who have both subsequently been placed at Group level, so the form is strong and he won it like a good horse. He obviously didn't meet expectations in his two starts in the spring but he is a very lightly raced and well-bred horse we were surprised we were able to get for the price.
He won't be running in the winter as when Dave gets these horses from France, as a rule, he likes to give them time to acclimatise and get into their routine.
WAR HOWL
20,000 guineas, joining Mick Appleby
He had one really strong piece of form when he finished third to Shadow of Light on the July Course at Newmarket. That was an excellent run as Shadow of Light went on to be the champion juvenile and the runner-up, who War Howl should probably have beaten on the day but was hampered, was Realign who is trained by William Haggas and was third in the Convivial Maiden at York.
That piece of form is the run that really took our eye. He didn't go on from that but he's a big two-year-old who might benefit from a bit of time. He has the scope to progress physically into a nice three-year-old, and his pedigree - by Bated Breath out of a Camelot mare - makes us think he's not just a precocious two-year-old.
He might benefit from being given a bit of time. He's gone to Mick [Appleby] and is having a month out of training and will be coming in just before Christmas and building towards running at some point in February or March time.
DASH GORDON
4,000 guineas, joining Mick Appleby
He's only rated 50 but he won his most recent start at Newcastle back at five furlongs. We felt like he showed lots of speed to win that race quite impressively and he beat an in-form horse, so for the grade of race it was a good, dominant performance and one which suggests he's capable of winning plenty more.
We picked him up for 4,000 guineas, he's not had a lot of racing and he's got an impressive recent win on his record which makes us think he's got the potential to improve for his mark. We won't be running him immediately - he'll be given a bit of time to settle into Mick's yard - and he'll be running from January. We think there will be a lot of opportunities for him on the all-weather in the new year.
One we were interested in
OZARK DAZE
We were quite keen on him and it will be interesting to monitor his progress. We did like him and we're interested but Jack Davison bought him. He's out of a staying mare who developed well as she got older, and he's shown quite a consistent level of form in some good maiden races in Ireland. He often impressed with how he travelled through his race and felt like there still might be some upside in him, but we didn't manage to get him.
Moving on
ZEALOT
He had that fantastic winter period when he won seven of his nine races during the all-weather season in 2022/23. He was a hallmark of what we're trying to achieve when we buy horses with the progress he made and prize money he won. He never quite got back to that level but this season he was running consistently and getting lots of places on the board without getting his head in front. He's moved on and hopefully he'll be a success for his new connections.
ZOZIMUS
We'd had him for a couple of years and he was a bit frustrating and difficult to win with for quite a long time but he won a couple of nice races at Pontefract in the summer. But he was a good, fun horse to own who ran at some nice tracks and ran some good races at the likes of York and Newmarket. It was good we got those couple of wins on the board with him.
Ready to run soon
ROYAL ZABEEL
He's probably two to three weeks off a run and should be making his debut for us at some point in November. He's moving well and working well and should be ready to be competitive in an all-weather handicap.
SANAT
He's been in the yard for a few weeks now. He hasn't started his fast work yet but is cantering away nicely and seems like an easy and straightforward horse to deal with. He'll be starting fast work within the next couple of weeks and will probably be ready to run in late-December or early-January.
SYMBOL OF LIGHT
He's in full work and not quite ready to run yet but we are going to consider a race at Kempton on November 20 which he finished third in last season. That may well be the place we get him started and after that there are a couple of races for him at Chelmsford in January. He's not far off a run.
COOPERATION
He might run at Wolverhampton next Monday. He's looking in good form and is ready to get started. He'll be aimed at the all-weather bonus series.
HEATHEN
He seems to have benefited from having the summer off and I'd be hopeful he can have a strong all-weather season. He probably needed a proper break as he was on the go through the summer and winter last year. He's very effective on the all-weather tracks, his wins have been at Newcastle, Wolverhampton and Southwell, and the break he's had through the summer will hopefully have been beneficial. He has a very good record fresh and should be ready in a couple of weeks.
WALSINGHAM
He's been declared at Newcastle on Friday. He's very much ready for the step up to a mile and a quarter and is running off the same mark as when an eye-catching third at Pontefract on his penultimate start. We were a bit disappointed at Redcar that he couldn't make more of a race of it, but the winner was too fast for him. He's a brother to Duke de Sessa who won the Caulfield Cup over a mile and a half recently and we think on breeding, and how he's been shaping, that he's going to be a better horse up in distance.
Reflections from Kempton on Monday
RHOSCOLYN
Rhoscolyn ran creditably switching to the all-weather from a high mark. We were pleased with his run but he found seven furlongs on an all-weather surface a bit sharp for him and they just quickened away from him. He's had another really good season with two wins, with the highlight being at Epsom on Oaks day. He'll now have his winter break and have a similar campaign next season. Soft ground over seven furlongs or a mile is very much his bag and when he gets that again I'm sure we'll have another good year with him.
PENZANCE
We were happy with him. It looked like he would benefit from the outing more than we expected going into it. He hadn't been super busy through the summer and had a good blow afterwards so that will hopefully bring him forward for what should be a busier all-weather campaign. We wouldn't be afraid of trying him at a mile and a half again, but we know he's fully effective at ten furlongs so we have options and there's a nice programme for him. He has an entry in a mile-and-a-quarter handicap at Chelmsford on Saturday so we will be monitoring declarations.
SONNERIE POWER
He was a bit too keen. We're going to change the noseband on him to a cross noseband which will hopefully help him settle better. There will be much less competitive handicaps that he can contest and he might benefit from a bit more time before his next run. He'll probably be out in December and in a lower grade of handicap.
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