The horse guards | Martin Dixon analysis

Recent additions to the team

FOREST HAIRDRESSER

14,000 guineas; joining David O’Meara

He was a very expensively purchased yearling (420,000 guineas) and caught our attention on the pedigree as he is out of a mare that has produced five black-type achievers, the most notable of which are Forest of Dean, English Oak and State Occasion. The mare, Forest Crown, is a serial producer of smart horses.

He was almost ready to start working for Sir Michael Stoute last spring, but he broke a pelvis that has now healed. We will have to be quite patient with him, but he is a sweet and handsome horse, as you would expect with his pedigree and price tag as a yearling. He is a complete unknown quantity, but we really liked him at the sale and the fact that he had a fractured pelvis in the past is not an ongoing concern for us or David (O’Meara, trainer).

He was bred as a late-developing horse anyway, he was never going to be a precocious two-year-old, and we thought this was an opportunity to pick up a well-bred, good-looking horse that could be anything in this area. phase. David will take his time and be patient with him, and hopefully we will 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 seems a low price for a three-year-old by Sea The Stars rated 89 and a half-brother by Ribchester. He hasn’t run since the spring and there have obviously been a few setbacks that have prevented him from running since April, but on the vet’s advice we felt there was nothing to worry about.

When he won on debut last year as a two-year-old, he beat horses to second and third place, both of which have subsequently been placed at group level. So the form is strong and he won like a good horse. He clearly didn’t live up to expectations in his two starts in the spring, but he is a very lightly raced and well bred horse, we were surprised we could get him for the price.

He won’t be running in the winter because Dave gets these horses from France and generally likes to give them time to acclimatize and get into their routine.

WAR HOWL

20,000 guineas, with Mick Appleby

He had a very strong display 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 became junior champions and the runner-up, who should probably have beaten War Howl on the day but was stymied, was Realign, who is trained by William Haggas and came third in the Convivial. Virgo in York.

That bit of form is the run that really stood out to us. He hasn’t progressed to that, but he’s a big two-year-old who could use some time. He has the potential to physically grow into a fun 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.

Maybe he would benefit from being given some time. He went to Mick (Appleby) and had no training for a month. It will arrive just before Christmas and start running sometime in February or March.

DASH GORDON

4,000 guineas, with Mick Appleby

He is only rated 50 but won his most recent start at Newcastle at five furlongs. We felt he showed a lot of speed to win that race impressively and he beat an in-form horse, so for the level of racing it was a good, dominant performance and one that suggests he is capable of much more more to win.

We picked him up for 4,000 guineas, he hasn’t raced much and he has an impressive recent win to his name, which makes us think he has the potential to improve his level. We won’t chase him away straight away – he will be given some time to settle in Mick’s garden – and he will start running from January. We think there will be many opportunities for him on the all-weather in the new year.

One we were interested in

OZARK DAZE

We were very excited about him and it will be interesting to follow his progress. We liked it and we’re interested, but Jack Davison bought it. He is out of a staying mare who developed well with age, and he has shown quite a consistent level of form in some good early races in Ireland. He often impressed with the way he traveled through his race and felt like there might still be something positive in him, but we weren’t able to get him.

To proceed

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 try to achieve when we buy horses, with the progress he made and the prize money he won. He never quite returned to that level, but this season he ran consistently and gained a lot of places on the board without putting his head first. He has moved on and hopefully he will be a success for his new connections.

ZOZIMUS

We had it for a few years and it was a bit frustrating and difficult to win with for a long time, but it won some nice races at Pontefract in the summer. But he was a good, fun horse to own who ran on some nice tracks and had some good races at places like York and Newmarket. It was good that we had those few wins with him on the board.

Ready to run soon

ROYAL ZABEEL

He will probably be out for two to three weeks and should make his debut for us sometime in November. He moves and works well and should be ready to be competitive in an all-weather handicap.

SANAT

It has been in the garden for a few weeks. He has not yet started his fast work, but canters away nicely and seems to be an easy and uncomplicated horse to handle. He will begin speed work in the coming weeks and will likely be ready to run in late December or early January.

SYMBOL OF LIGHT

He is very busy and not quite ready to ride yet, but we will consider a race at Kempton on November 20, where he finished third last season. That might be where we get him started and then there are a few races for him in Chelmsford in January. He’s not far from a flight.

COOPERATION

He may run to Wolverhampton next Monday. It looks good and is ready to get started. He will be focused on the all-weather bonus series.

pagan

He seems to have benefited from the summer off and I’m hopeful he can have a strong all-weather season. He probably needed a good break since he was on the road summer and winter last year. He is very effective on the all-weather circuits, his wins have been at Newcastle, Wolverhampton and Southwell, and the break he has had over the summer will hopefully have been useful. He has a very good track record and should be ready in a few weeks.

WALSINGHAM

He was announced in Newcastle on Friday. He’s all set to step up to a mile and a quarter, running from the same mark as when he took an eye-catching third place at Pontefract on his penultimate start. We were a little disappointed at Redcar that he couldn’t make it more of a race, but the winner was too fast for him. He is a brother of Duke de Sessa who recently won the Caulfield Cup over a mile and a half and we think with the breeding and how he is developing he will become a better horse by a distance.

Reflections from Kempton on Monday

RHOSCOLINE

Rhoscolyn creditably switched from a high mark to all-weather. We were happy with his run but he found seven furlongs on an all-weather surface a bit sharp for him and they just got away from him quicker. He has had another very good season with two wins, highlighted by Epsom on Oaks Day. He is now on his winter break and will have a similar season next season. Soft ground over seven furlongs or a mile is very much his thing and if he gets that again I’m sure we’ll have another good year with him.

PENZANCE

We were happy with him. It seemed like he would benefit more from the outing than we expected. He wasn’t that busy all summer and then took a big knock, so that will hopefully put him forward for what should be a busier all-weather campaign. We wouldn’t be afraid to try him again at a mile, but we know he is fully effective at ten furlongs so we have options and there is a nice program for him. He has an entry in a mile-and-a-quarter handicap at Chelmsford on Saturday, so we’ll keep an eye on the declarations.

SONNERY POWER

He was a little too enthusiastic. We are going to replace his noseband with a crossed noseband, which will hopefully help him settle in better. There will be far fewer competitive handicaps for him to contest and he could benefit from a little more time before his next run. He will probably be out in December and have a lower handicap.

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