Martin Dixon of The Horse Watchers provides an update on the ownership group's runners, including news of an exciting target for Royal Zabeel.
Last year was our best yet numerically. We ran a total of 31 individual horses and had 40 winners in a calendar year for the first time.
Among those 40 winners we had two listed wins with Royal Zabeel, we won the Golden Mile at Goodwood with Rhoscolyn, the Great St Wilfrid with Intervention and the Lincoln Trial with Symbol of Light.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
Ambitious Saudi Arabia aim for Royal Zabeel
Royal Zabeel has been accepted to go to Saudi Arabia for the Dirt Sprint on Saudi Cup night. It's a $2 million race. We're going to be taking on some of the horses from the Breeders' Cup Sprint so it's going to be a massive uphill task for him, but there isn't a wide range of races for him to run in through the winter and this is a good experience and opportunity for everyone involved in him. We'll take up that invitation and roll the dice.
He's been in training since he won the listed race at Southwell in November, which was a career-best performance, and he's earned a crack at this type of race. Our eyes are wide open and we know it will be difficult for him to go and win but even if he finished in the top six we'd be delighted. The big question will be whether he can run to his rating on dirt. In theory, if he can he'd have a good chance of finishing in the three. He's from an American dirt family and it wouldn't shock me if he ran really well, so I don't think he's a no-hoper. If I thought he was a no-hoper I wouldn't want to send him at all.
Recent winners
Amber Honey
She got a win at Southwell in December. She was bought cheaply to run through the winter and have a bit of fun with, so it was nice we got a win on the board with her. She's kept on running well since and is probably going to go to Lingfield on Saturday or Monday. She's definitely still on a handicap mark she can win off, but she just needs everything to drop right. She wants a strong pace to aim at and when she gets that and a bit of luck she'll be going close again.
Baldomero
Baldomero has been a massive success for the all-weather season and has already won three times this campaign. We didn't have him quite as busy through the height of the summer this season on the turf and he seems to have really thrived since we switched him back to the all-weather.
Harry [Davies] has given him a couple of really good rides and it has probably helped fitting a visor the last twice, but he's showing more speed than he ever has. After we bought him he won over a mile and a quarter at Kempton but he's very much a sprinter now and we'll keep looking at five-furlong options.
We had the chance of running in a £55,000 race at Wolverhampton on Friday night but we've decided to go to Lingfield on Saturday instead. The Lingfield race is more akin to what he's been doing. His last win was in a small field over five furlongs around Lingfield and the race on Saturday is less competitive than the one at Wolverhampton on Friday. He'll keep on running in the better five and six-furlong races during the all-weather season and probably have a crack at Finals Day as well.
He's definitely as good as he's ever been. He's found some confidence and the nature of these all-weather races is suiting him as well. He's become a bit of a legend and has won an amazing amount of prize money for a horse with his rating - more than £250,000. He's never been rated higher than his current BHA rating of 92, and he's never been lower than 82, so he's operated within a 10 lb ratings band through his whole career.
Intervention
He had a very good year in 2025 and won four races, including the Great St Wilfrid at Ripon. He also won at Lingfield before Christmas which was his 15th win for us.
He was disappointing at Wolverhampton at the end of the month - he just didn't fire - but he'll have a little break and will probably be back out again by the end of January. He's a difficult horse to read from one day to the next, but you know he has the ability when it clicks and he's in the right frame of mind. He'll continue to run through the all-weather season.
Jungle Ruler
He's an exciting young horse who we managed to buy privately after the [Tattersalls Horses In Training] sale. We're delighted we were able to get him as we didn't necessarily think we would be able to. His homework has been very good since day one and has always shown plenty on the gallops, so it was good to see him back that up with a pretty impressive win at Southwell on Saturday. He's very uncomplicated and Jason [Watson] said you wouldn't believe he'd only had one run beforehand as he's such a professional with a really good attitude.
There are no fixed plans. We'll see if we're going to go down the route of the three-year-old sprint on AW Finals Day, but he would need a couple more runs to be able to do that.
We'll pick our spots steadily through the next few months and see where we end up. He's got a rating of 89 which is quite lofty, but he's won both his starts and does everything right. Mick [Appleby] thinks he's a good horse and he's done nothing to suggest otherwise.
Ribble Vibe
He got his first win on the board at Wolverhampton in December and did it quite easily. He found it a bit easier than some of the races he had been contesting and won quite impressively.
He's probably going to go for a two-mile handicap at Newcastle next Friday at a meeting where there's very good prize money. We've saved him for some of those races with better money. and he's had a freshen up after a busy enough few months.
Earlier on in the campaign we were figuring out his trip but he's proven he's a stayer, which is what we thought he was. He had a good year in the end and it was nice he got his head in front after some good placed efforts. He's earned a crack at one of the better all-weather staying races. He still seems to be improving and it's a positive that he generally held his form well last year, so I'm optimistic he can at least compete in some of the better staying races on the all-weather.
Newcomer to the team
Mollie Foster
She's with Mark Loughnane and starts out for us at Wolverhampton on Friday. She was bought with an eye on the fillies' race on AW Finals Day and will need three runs to get qualified for that. She won on her final start for Ed Walker on her all-weather debut at Southwell and that form has proved quite strong as Lady of Arabia, who was third, has come out and won twice, and True Colors in fourth won next time out.
She's running in a very competitive 0-80 at Wolverhampton on Friday night but she needs three runs before the Final and it's a £35,000 race so it's really good money for the grade. She's got a handy draw in six but this is going to be a bit of a learning curve for everyone in what is a very competitive race.
More from Sporting Life
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.