National Stakes preview: James Tate on his Sandown contender Blue Storm

It’s debatable whether any two-year-old race this spring has worked out better than the five-furlong novice event run on day one of Newmarket’s Craven meeting.

It was won by James Tate’s Blue Storm, who hasn’t been seen on a racecourse since but must be considered very much one to follow given how well those who finished immediately behind him have performed in his absence.

For context, the next four home have all won their only subsequent starts, including runner-up Cuban Thunder, who went one better with an authoritative success at York's Dante Festival, and third-placed Hackman, who was similarly dominant when opening his account at Chester's May Festival the previous week.

It's not just about who Blue Storm beat at Newmarket, either. The manner in which he beat them also marked him out as an above-average prospect, quickening to lead entering the final furlong and just needing to be nudged out from there to land the spoils by a length and a quarter in a good time.

It was an impressive performance and by no means unexpected according to Tate, who is understandably buoyed by the way the form has worked out ahead of Blue Storm's return to action in the Listed National Stakes at Sandown on Thursday.

"All being well, Blue Storm is definitely going to run at Sandown," Tate confirmed. "I’ve been very happy with him since Newmarket and I’m obviously delighted that the form has worked out so well. This has been the plan since then and we’re looking forward to it.

"He had been showing up well at home before Newmarket. If he hadn’t won, it would have meant the others might not be anything special. But we’ve had two two-year-old winners now and quite a few placed, so we’ve got a fair idea of where we stand.

"Generally speaking, my two-year-olds improve for their first run as well, so we’re really looking forward to the race. I’ve had a few runners in the National Stakes over the years and I’d say it looks a warm renewal this year, but I can’t be happier with my horse."

By leading sprinter Blue Point – who has made waves with his first crop of two-year-olds this spring – and out of a mare who won a Listed race over five furlongs as a three-year-old, Blue Storm is bred to be a precocious sort and in a different mould to most of the other good horses Tate has trained since sending out his first runners in 2011.

Never before can Tate remember having a juvenile as good as Blue Storm at this stage of his career, looking every inch a Royal Ascot contender and one to make hay with in the months ahead.

Tate added: "I would say he’s an out-and-out two-year-old. He is developing, there’s no doubt. He’s considerably heavier now than when he won at Newmarket, so he is growing like you’d want them to. But he does look like a two-year-old type.

"I think he’d get six furlongs later on in the year but, if we were lucky enough to go well in the National Stakes, then I would have thought we’d be sticking to five. It’s a stiff five at Ascot and the Norfolk Stakes would be a nice target.

"Our better two-year-olds before him appeared slightly later in the year, horses like Invincible Army and Hey Gaman. This horse is as forward as I’ve had one. We’ve had winners before Ascot who have gone there, but they’ve not been particularly fancied.

"If he was lucky enough to be in the shake-up in the National Stakes, then you’d have to fancy he’d have a chance at Ascot which would be lovely."

It could be a big week for Tate with star four-year-old filly Royal Aclaim set to try and book her place on the Ascot team when she makes her return to action at Haydock – either in the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes run over six furlongs on Friday or the Group Two Temple Stakes run over the minimum trip the following afternoon.

The Cecil Frail against her own sex would look the easier option of the pair on paper, but Tate is leaning towards the Temple with a filly who quickly developed into a smart sprinter in 2022 having raced just once at two.

"I would have thought the Temple Stakes is the more likely of the two," Tate explained. "Although we would like to try six furlongs with her one day, because she’s only ever run over five so far.

"We’ll keep an eye on the weather and the races and make that decision a bit nearer the time, but the Temple would be plan A at this stage.

"We’ve always thought she had an awful lot of talent and her Listed win at York last year was sensational. She ran with credit in the Nunthorpe and in a Group Three in France afterwards, but she probably didn’t quite reach the same heights.

"She seems to be training really well this year and she’s only had five starts. These sprinters usually take a bit more than five starts before they hit their peak, so I’d be very optimistic that this could be her year."

Royal Aclaim holds entries in both the King's Stand Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, but again the shorter race is reportedly the likeliest target at a meeting where Tate is yet to saddle a winner from 19 attempts.

Only time will tell whether 2023 can be the year that Tate makes the breakthrough, but we should be a bit wiser about his chances this time next week, with two of the star names in an exciting team at Jamesfield Place in Newmarket set to be in action before then.

"We have a nice bunch of horses," Tate summed up. "It was a few years back when we had Invincible Army, Hey Gaman, Far Above and Under The Stars all together, but then they all kind of retired to stud together.

"We’ve had a few others in between, but it would be lovely if these horses can graduate to the next level as they look like they might. If they can be plying their trade in Group races, that’s what we’re all after isn’t it?"

Read Dan Briden's guide to Tate's two-year-olds

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

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