Flat Stable Tour: Ed Bethell on big hopes for next season

ATOMIC FORCE

He had a good winter and was badly drawn at Pontefract last time. He probably didn’t run as badly there as first seemed and I’d imagine he’ll go to the Chester May meeting for the 0-100 handicap there.

He came back from Hong Kong and we tried him on a straight track a couple of times, but I think he’d been so drilled going around a bend that Chester might be his cup of tea if we get a bit of luck with the draw.

AZURE ANGEL

I bought her with the view to potentially picking up a bit of Black Type and potentially selling her later on. So for her to win a Listed race at Bath first time was tremendous. She has always worked like a very good mare; I’ve never seen her work badly. She’d take Regional off his feet.

I would imagine we’ll continue going Black Type hunting and we’ll look at the Temple Stakes, the King’s Stand and probably the Nunthorpe and then I’d say she’ll go to the Mares Sale at the end of the year.

CODIAK

I probably ran him back a bit early after a break last time and he probably wasn’t as fit as I’d have wanted him to be. Also, now his handicap mark has gone up I probably need to step him up in trip a little further. I’ll look at the Sky Bet Sunday Series at Musselburgh over two miles or a mile-and-six race at Nottingham next.

COEDANA

I love this filly. She’s wintered exceedingly well. She’s taken a bit of time to come to hand but is coming now and coming good. She’ll go for a fillies’ handicap at Kempton on May 3rd and should she win that she’d then go into Black Type races.

She didn’t stay the mile and six on soft ground as a three-year-old against some good horses but travelled as though she’s still seriously well handicapped and it was very blatant to see in the final furlong she was treading water.

I’m hoping that might have just been a bit of weakness and she should potentially get that trip later in the year; I always look at the mile-and-a-half upwards fillies’ category and think where could you go?

I’ve always wanted to try and win a Park Hill and while that may be flying too high, she’s that type of filly that if I can get her to win a Listed race or run well in one, she’s not going to be out of the question on ratings for a Lillie Langtry and a Park Hill if she stays that far.

If not, I’ll have to rejig that plan.

COROLLA POINT

Shaped great at Beverley but straight after the race I was kicking myself. He didn’t look as well as I wanted him to and still hasn’t come in his coat. We probably hadn’t been hard enough on him going into that race either.

That’s not a bad thing. He took a blow coming to the furlong pole and it’s brilliant having Callum Rodriguez as a stable jockey, he knows these things and there’s always another day. That another day will be at the York Dante meeting in a five-furlong handicap where I think we might have a different racehorse there.

DANGER BAY

A lovely horse. He beat Eternal Force, who was obviously favourite for a while for the Lincoln, at Hamilton last year. This guy is fun, a lovely big horse who is still an entire. He had a setback in October last year which has taken a little time to get over, but it was nothing major and I’m hoping I can get him ready for the Zetland Gold Cup at Redcar on that Bank Holiday weekend. I’d imagine he’ll go there, the 70 grand handicap at York and then the John Smith’s Cup depending on his rating.

JAMES MCHENRY

He’s coming back to the boil. He had a setback last year which ruled him out for the whole season and ran great at Musselburgh last time where the track probably didn’t suit him. We’re going to step him up to a mile-and-a-quarter and probably go to Redcar on April 30th.

KHAFIZ

An interesting horse. Ran third to Rogue Diplomat over seven furlongs at Doncaster at the back end of last year and finished four lengths off the subsequent Moulin winner in a Group Three at Deauville before that.

He came here in the autumn and has settled in well. He probably wants juice in the ground and we’re looking at Haydock and Leicester this weekend. It will probably be Haydock over seven then I’ll work forward from there, but he’s a nice horse.

KIRKDALE

An enigma. Works exceptionally well at home, no horse can get him on the gallops and how I’ve got him beat so many times I’ll never know. He might have got himself beat though and it’s frustrating to say the least but he’s getting his act together now. I’m very pleased that he has for his owners who have shown great patience.

He’ll probably find himself at the Chester May meeting in a £30,000 0-80 over six furlongs and I think that track will keep him thinking.

MINSTREL KNIGHT

I thought my jumps career was out the window when he fell first time out and then he just seemed to improve and improve and looked good when he won at Doncaster. He’s a bit between a rock and a hard place with his rating; he probably wasn’t good enough to go for the good novices like a Sky Bet Supreme, Turners or an Albert Bartlett, or at Aintree probably wasn’t high enough to get into a handicap there – or have enough experience for one either.

He is pretty ground dependent and is a soft ground lover. He has an entry in the Chester Cup, and I imagine that probably won’t be taken up. We’ll see how we go but I have an audacious plan to try and win the Coral Cup or County Hurdle with him next year.

We’d give him a nice run at the back-end of the year on soft ground over jumps and then look to get his mark up to get into one of those races. I think he’s pretty good over jumps – and he’s pretty good on the Flat too. If things fall right for him over a mile and six or two miles he’ll win nice races, but soft ground is very important to him.

MURASHAH

A nice horse who had a setback last year when he got loose and got himself injured. He quickened up like a good horse to win at Thirsk on Saturday when they were not making up any ground that day. I’d imagine he’ll go back there, for a 0-90, on May 16th.

NOCHE CLASICA

She came to me at the back end of last year and never showed a whole lot at home but won at Redcar. Then she looked a million dollars going up to Musselburgh this time around. Again, she’d been working adequately but didn’t show me a whole lot and won very well, like a well-handicapped filly.

She’ll go to the Hedge Of Oak which is a fillies' listed race over a mile-and-a-quarter at Haydock at the end of May and I think that will suit her. I was impressed with her last time. She had to wait for a gap which isn’t always easy at Musselburgh and quickened up really well.

OOLONG POOBONG

She got injured after finishing fourth in the Sandringham last season but is back and looks bigger and better than ever. She was due to reappear on Monday, but the ground was too quick and I’ll box clever with her ground wise.

I would hope she would be Stakes class and think she’d have been closer had she been drawn better at Ascot. She was racing on the wing and hit the line good, but everything was racing away from her. If she’d been drawn with them, I’m not saying she’d have won, but I think she’d have been even closer. I think we can definitely look at some nice Stakes options with some cut in the ground.

POINT LYNAS

He’s clocked up plenty of air miles. He went to America at the back-end to Kentucky and things didn’t go right for him, it was a bit of a mess. Then he want to Qatar and in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have run him.

He didn’t look as well as he should have done and just blew out. I would think I’ll start him in the Hambleton at York off top weight. Hopefully he’ll drop to a mark of 108 or 109 which will put him off a big weight but not too ridiculous. The way he runs, he might be alright in there.

REGIONAL

He has his entry in the Minster Stakes at York and the Greenlands at the Curragh then he’ll go to the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. Then we’ll see.

He doesn’t owe anyone anything, never will owe us anything. He’s been an absolute superstar and if we can get him to run well this year then brilliant. He was disappointing at Beverley on his final start last year and I really couldn’t tell you why. Maybe it was first-time blinkers but I’m not sure. He seems to have come back to himself well and his last two pieces of work have been nice. He’s just about to start getting a bit more serious with a view to going to the Dante meeting.

ROGUE MILLIONS

A big, strong, strapping horse and we’re still really learning about him. He worked very well the other day and could very easily appear in some very nice handicaps. I could see him in the John Smith’s Cup potentially. He might want to go further, but I haven’t worked that out yet.

TALISMANS TIME

He could run in the Sky Bet Sunday Series race over two miles at Musselburgh on Sunday. He’s done very well and is ready to start off. We just need the right race.

WILD NATURE

He’s difficult to train but I think exceedingly talented, yet not straightforward in any way, shape or form. He needs a bend, I’m not sure he needs all-weather and he doesn’t want soft ground even though his action would lend you towards thinking he does.

I haven’t got a plan with him just yet but he’ll be back out in the next month, I would think, on a track with a bend. He could go to Thirsk on the same day as Murashah but we might need to keep them apart. We’ll see.

YORKSHIRE

Ran a brilliant race in the Buckingham Palace last season and has done exceptionally well over the winter, he’s a big bull of a horse now. I’d imagine it will be one run into the Buckingham Palace this time.

THREE-YEAR-OLDS

ACCORDING TO MARK

I love him. A lovely, big strapping horse who was just beaten by a more experienced rival on his return at Redcar. He has manned up from two to three and is one I really like.

APPLESANDPEARS

Owned by some exceedingly difficult people in my parents! She was meant to start off in the Sunday Series at Musselburgh the other day but just had a dirty scope. I’d imagine she’ll re-start again in May in a 0-85 and the aim will be to try and appease the owners first and foremost but pick up some Black Type too and make her somewhat valuable.

BE PATIENT

He did well to win at Newcastle on his second start. The pace held up but he has an enormous stride, and I really like this horse. He has a mark of 79 which I think is very workable but there aren’t many races for a 79-rated horse.

Novices are fine and I’m sure he’d go and win one, but I want to use the mark of 79. I’m just trying to establish what is best for him. There is a 0-80 or a 0-85 at the York Dante meeting over a mile-and-a-half but I’m not sure I want to start him off at that trip just yet, but it might have to be the case. He’s a lovely horse and is going to give his owners a lot of fun this year.

CAIM

Lovely filly who would have gone to Wolverhampton but got injured going onto the horsebox. She’s in the French Oaks and the French Guineas and she’s also in the German Guineas. If I get her back in time I think I’ll look at the Michael Seely at York, then I’ll have a look at the German Guineas which might be the play. They usually have pretty soft ground over there and she needs soft ground.

GOLDINTHESEA

His work had been nice leading into Southwell and then like every maiden and novice that you have, the amount of talk about everyone else’s horses in the race was quite remarkable. But he did it more impressively than I thought he would.

He didn’t really have a hard race and cantered on Monday morning, he is as fresh as paint. I was very, very impressed and he’s going to for the Italian Guineas. His owners are Italian, it’s a lifelong dream of theirs, and hopefully he’ll go there and we’ll see what we can do.

HAADERR

A lovely horse who is training well and has done very well from two to three. I’m really looking forward to him. He is smart and I’m looking at him with the view to Royal Ascot and he’ll go to either the Britannia or Jersey Stakes depending on what his trip is.

I’m hoping he’ll emulate his brother, La Botte, and go one place better in the Britannia, but I think he has a bit of speed so whether he stays at seven and is a Jersey Stakes horse I’m not sure.

I think we’ll look at a handicap at the end of May and then go to Ascot. He’s talented for sure.

HAAYIMM

A nice but very unassuming horse but then I’m told that’s very typical of Gleneagles’ progeny. He galloped them into the ground at Pontefract, and I’d imagine we’ll look at another mile novice before going up to a mile-and-a-quarter and potentially a mile-and-a-half at some point.

He’s going to get a pretty lofty mark off the back of beating Arabian Desert. I have spoken to the handicappers and I’m glad they didn’t think the runner-up ran to 100 on the day at Pontefract and they might give us a bit of a reprieve.

I think we’ll end up with a mark of 85 into the 90s which would lend itself to being either a King George V Handicap horse or a Golden Gates one.

NOELAN STAR

A nice horse who was emphatic on debut and did what he had to do back at Newcastle the next time. He probably wasn’t ready to start off that day and was still a bit backward in his coat.

He hasn’t really thrived yet this spring but is a lovely horse who only does what he needs to at home and is definitely more impressive on the racetrack. I would imagine we’ll go to the Lockinge meeting for a 0-90 over a mile for his handicap debut as I’d imagine he’s going to get high 80s or 90 anyway, then I’ll step him up to a mile-and-a-quarter for the Golden Gates at Royal Ascot.

That’s what I have in my head. Whether he’s just a Britannia horse or not I’m not sure, but I like the idea of a mile at Newbury and a mile-and-a-quarter at Ascot.

ROGUE ATTRACTION

Stepping up in grade after winning at Catterick last season probably wasn’t the right thing to have done by her. She’s grown a lot and is starting to thrive now. There’s a race at Wetherby on Sunday that I’m potentially going to have a look at but she’s only just about ready to start and she might take that up. She’s a nice filly and I think stepping up to seven furlongs would be good.

ROGUE TEMPTATION

Rose Dawes gave her a nice ride from an awkward draw at Ripon, and she hit the line well. She’s a sound filly who will race as often as possible and give her owners a lot of fun.

WELBURY

Won well at Southwell, hit the line well that day, and will go to Doncaster on Friday over a mile in a 0-75. Then I’d imagine you’ll see him go a mile-and-a-quarter after that.

WHERNSIDE

Second to Noelan Star at Newcastle last time and is a nice horse who will get further in time. There’s a novice for him at Redcar on 30th April which might be next.

More in the series

• Karl Burke
• Alan King
• Ed Walker
• Andrew Balding
• Harry Eustace

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