The Listed success of ROMAN MIST and some exciting debut performances from some potentially smart two-year-olds lit up the month of May at Saxon Gate.
Our five-year-old mare made a perfect start, scoring on her stable debut in the William Hill Conqueror Fillies’ Stakes over a mile at Goodwood in the opening week.
She gained her second stakes win under a well-judged ride by Hollie Doyle, coping well with the testing conditions to supplement her victory in Listed company on the All-Weather for previous trainer Tom Ward.
Up at Ayr, Victorious Racing and Fawzi Nass’s Shalaa juvenile Army Ethos created a strong impression by winning on debut in a six-furlong maiden for Hollie to underline his credentials for Royal Ascot. Victorious Racing’s colours were carried to victory in last year’s Group 2 Coventry Stakes.
There was a winning start, too, for Primevera’s Reveiller who recorded a commanding display in a Salisbury novice on 27th May, skipping over the fast ground to win the five-furlong dash by three lengths.
A half-brother to six-furlong scorer Autumn Angel and winning miler Mutadaawel, this £50,000 son of Archie’s Windsor Castle hero Soldier’s Call also put himself firmly on the shortlist for the Royal meeting.
Hambleton Racing’s familiar gold and navy blue silks were to the fore again when their two-year-old Chuturanga became another winning debutant. He couldn’t have been more impressive, easing to a seven and a half-length win in a six-furlong Redcar maiden for Hollie.
A lack of experience didn’t stop the Cool Silk Partnership’s filly Ba’Hoa from beating all seven opponents on her racecourse debut in a five-furlong fillies’ maiden at Newcastle on 9th May, further enhancing Archie’s flying start with the juvenile battalions.
In the older division, Hambleton Racing’s Chriszoff visited the winner’s enclosure twice, firstly after landing an extended mile novice at Wolverhampton on 3rd May and again when defying a penalty in that grade at Lingfield Park at the end of the month.
This three-year-old son of Zoffany made all the running for Hector Crouch, enjoying the step up to nine furlongs while Hambleton’s Manitou bounced back to form to take a Leicester claimer on the same day. Sporting blinkers for the first time, he appreciated the drop in grade as he supplemented his two juvenile wins, this time under Hollie’s guidance.
Meanwhile, Deva Racing’s four-year-old Mountbatten enjoyed a productive month with back-to-back successes, contributing to two across-the-card doubles.
He scored in soft ground over seven furlongs at Doncaster under Luke Morris on 6th May before travelling over the border to Ayr two and a half weeks later to gain a narrow verdict in a mile handicap for Hollie.
Lone Star Investments’ grey filly Way To Amarillo signed off with a win in France last December and returning in top form to add a fillies’ handicap at Chepstow to her tally. Returning from a winter break, she got up to give Hollie yet another winner for the stable.
The previous week, on 10th May, Heed The Call showed the benefit of her debut at Bath to justify favouritism in a five-furlong fillies’ novice on the Polytrack at Kempton Park. She made all to set herself up for a respectable run in defeat in Listed company in France.
Meanwhile, one of our stable stars Bradsell headed to Haydock Park to run in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes, showing a lot of speed before finishing third to Little Big Bear on only his second start back from a lengthy injury lay-off. A drop in trip to 5F and the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot is among his targets.
By Simon Mapletoft
