Martin Dixon of The Horse Watchers reveals which horses have joined the ownership group and why they were purchased.
The recruits
Bluecoltrane
He made his handicap debut at Doncaster in a race in which we ran Forest Caper. It was only his fourth start, his first since being gelded and his first handicap run. You could see he was still a bit green for that type of race, but we liked how he shaped in third.
It was his first try at beyond a mile and he clearly stayed really well. He's a horse with a lot of stamina on the dam's side of his pedigree and we got the impression at Doncaster that he wanted every bit of a mile and a quarter and will probably get a bit further in his four-year-old season.
That Doncaster race proved to be quite strong form - Crystal Mariner who was runner-up has won twice since - and we ran Forest Caper who is on a fair mark and has run well in handicap company since. It was a good first effort in handicaps from Bluecoltrane in a strongly-run race, and we felt he was still learning his job compared to a lot of the field. It was an encouraging run in the circumstances and he has the size and scope to fill out and improve again.
Spirit of Albion
I think he was a bit of a bargain at 9,000 guineas. He hasn't run since July and his last three runs have been a bit disappointing, but he ran over a mile and a quarter on soft ground at Lingfield in June and we felt that was probably the wrong thing to do with a son of Invincible Spirit who travels strongly through his races. He seemed to lose his way after that, but he probably had a hard enough race over a mile and a quarter on soft ground. We were focusing more on what he'd done before Lingfield, and thought he had the potential to make up into an 80-plus-rated handicapper based on what he was doing as a two-year-old and early on as a three-year-old.
He was entered to run a few days before the sale but wasn't declared, but you could see he'd been in full training so we weren't concerned about any ongoing issues, for all he's been off the track for a while.
Looking at how he'd been shaping up in the early part of the year, we think there's still some upside. He's been campaigned over a mile and a mile and a quarter, but he's by Invincible Spirit and a half-brother to one by Showcasing who won over six and seven furlongs. We felt he showed the signs that we could pull him back to short of a mile, potentially, if that's what we want to do.
Valsharah
He reminded us of Intervention when we bought him, in that he's a long-standing maiden but one that has regularly threatened to win handicaps through the course of his three-year-old season. There were some runs that we liked, including at Newmarket in spring when he ran well from the back of the field in a 0-80. And then at Kempton in August when he split Breakdancer and Silca Bay who both went on to win handicaps next time.
Those two runs, off higher marks than he's currently rated, were enough to suggest he's well handicapped if a break benefits him. He's probably had enough racing for the year because he's had quite a few runs in the autumn, but even his most recent start at Wolverhampton didn't discourage us as he was drawn very wide and had to be used up too early.
We think he's a good project for Mick Appleby as he's well handicapped on his best form and has a bit of size and quality about him physically. He's by a sire in Dark Angel whose progeny we have done well with previously, and hopefully a break does him good. If he comes back to form early next year we should have a bit of fun straight away.
Finlaggan
There's no doubt he's a bit of a punt. He's been off since debuting at Fontainebleau in April and is still a colt. He's a very big horse who we have no doubt would have been very backward as a two-year-old and in the spring of his three-year-old season. It's probably going to take a bit of time and he needs gelding, but it's the ideal time to buy a horse like this as they need the winter off and then can steadily step up through the spring.
There will be no mad rush to be running him early on as a four-year-old. The pedigree was the thing that drew him to our attention - it's a fantastic pedigree. He's a half-brother to Isle of Jura and Cascadian, who are Group 1 horses, and the six previous foals out of the mare have won races, with five of them rated 100-plus with the BHA.
We're taking a bit of a punt, but it was encouraging he made the track early in his three-year-old season so obviously stood up to his training and was ready to get started in the spring; it's not like he's never got to that point of running.
Given that he's such a big horse we think it's plausible he might have been a bit too weak and had the odd niggle that meant they couldn't get him out again as a three-year-old. He's a complete unknown quantity but if he comes to himself after being gelded we could have a really nice horse on our hands. He joins David O'Meara.
Arklow Lad
If you asked me which horse I was most excited about for next year out of those we bought, he'd be the one I'd pick. He's a big, strong horse who didn't debut until late July as a three-year-old and they've managed to run him six times between then and late October, so he took his racing well.
He impressed us when he won at Bellewstown because he was basically far too good for them and won easily, showing a lot of speed to beat a filly who has since won a maiden. He was then second in a good handicap at Naas, which was won by Stag Night, a good-quality soft-ground sprint handicapper for a few years in Ireland. That race had a bit of depth to it, and we thought he ran well stuck out towards the middle of the track which isn't where you want to be at Naas.
We're happy to excuse his final run at Navan on a couple of counts. It came quickly after Naas and was at the end of a busy period for him, and he also appeared to race on the slowest part of the track by the far rail, when all the action was up the middle.
He'll be gelded and we're not in a rush to run him again after a busy period. He's one mainly for the back-end of the all-weather and early turf races next season. We think he's well handicapped off a mark in the mid-70s, and having got to that point in a short space of time we're hopeful he can go on again. Mick's training him and has a terrific record with his sprinters, so we're looking forward to him.
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Moving on
Hornsea Bay
He made 70,000 guineas and I believe he is going to race in Qatar. His three-year-old season for us was a bit frustrating in that he kept running well in some good races without winning. He's a horse with a lot of ability and clearly has some upside going forwards. Hopefully he can go on and do well for his new connections.
Daring Legend
He made 35,000 guineas which is similar to what we paid for him a couple of seasons ago as a two-year-old. We had two years of good fun with him and I think it's fair to say he was a success story. He won four times, stood plenty of racing and is a very solid handicapper who is capable of running at some of the bigger tracks, but maybe not in the very top-end handicaps. He's won at Newbury and Newmarket and has placed form at Doncaster and York, so he's been a really good horse for us for the last couple of years. He stays in Britain with Mark Pattinson, and hopefully he wins more races and gives connections a lot of good days out.
War Howl
He also stays in this country and joins Ben Haslam. We bought him for 20,000 guineas the year before and had a decent season with him, winning at Doncaster and Ascot - he was our first ever Ascot winner.
We decided we would put him through the ring and he made 22,000 guineas. We've had a year's racing and won a couple of nice races but, just with the way we operate, we felt we needed to move some horses on to bring in some new ones. He's still a young horse and is a big, good-looking one who might well improve again as a four-year-old.
Sanat and Symbol of Light
Sanat and Symbol of Light also won two races for us in 2025 and have moved on to new connections.
Staying with us
Royal Zabeel
He's a very highly rated horse and we put him through the ring hoping to get more than what was on the table, so we bought him back in at 60,000 guineas. At York last time we dropped him to six furlongs, and he was hampered in the race that unfortunately had two fallers, so that's a race you can forgive and forget. He's had a freshen up since then and has been working really well.
Our plan is to go to France with him for a conditions race on the Polytrack at Deauville in early December. He's been prepped for that and will be fresh and ready to go. He's rated 110 on the all-weather and there are very few races we can run in on the all-weather in Britain, because most of the handicaps have a 105 ratings limit. We're struggling to find opportunities here, but the French race is on the all-weather, has good prize-money and is part of a series.
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