Richard Fahey is preparing to take the wraps of Powerful Glory in the next two weeks.
The four-year-old is a horse Sporting Life readers know well having been the subject of a YouTube series after we followed Fahey at Doncaster as he looked to buy the colt at the 2024 Goffs Breeze-Up Sale at Doncaster, where he was ultimately successful.
Having won the Mill Reef Stakes on the final of two starts as juvenile, last season threatened to be something of a damp squib until he roared back to form when springing a 200/1 surprise in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint at Ascot in October.
Here our columnist sets the scene for his season ahead.
How has Powerful Glory done from three to four?
"I’m really pleased with him. He’s quite an immature horse and had a bit of maturing to do over the winter which he did and I’m very pleased with him. Physically he’s gone from being a boy to being a man now. As they get older you’d imagine, especially sprinters, that they can get better."
How do you see his campaign mapping out this time around?
“The plan for him, as it is with any Group One sprinter, is pretty simple. There are five or six races here and a couple in France in too. We might see if we can stretch him out to seven furlongs, if he stays, that would put another two or three races into the mix.
“He’s in at the York Dante Meeting and also over in Ireland at the Curragh, and at the moment I’m swaying towards heading there for the Greenlands Stakes. He has a three pound penalty in that and a five-pound Group One penalty in the Minster Stakes but we’ll see, keep an eye on him, on the ground and on where we are when it's decision time. But that’s where we look to be heading. It will be a stepping-stone for the Jubilee at Royal Ascot. It’s quite simple to organise really - the better they are, the less races there are to choose from.”
How important a horse is he for your team this year?
“He’s massive. He was a huge winner for us last year, we had a disappointing season and it happens I’m afraid. The Group One on Champions Day was a huge fillip and especially with this horse too.
“We’ve always believed in him, he’s won three races, had excuses for the twice he was beaten, and potentially he’s still a dream, still unfurnished and we haven’t got to the bottom of him yet.
"Hopefully we’ll get a good go at him and a clear run this time.”
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