The British Flat season returns in style on Saturday with every race of the Lincoln meeting at Doncaster all live on Sky Sports Racing; Aidan O'Brien's Auguste Rodin among those set to shine in 2023 with 2000 Guineas and Derby in mind
Wednesday 29 March 2023 14:33, UK
It’s that time of the year again when anyone and everyone assembles a list of horses to follow in the hope of some constant crowing, or at least occasional trumpet blast, through the Flat season.
Because of the blank canvas of around 8,000 thoroughbreds to choose from, what's critical is the composition of the shortlist as, on the one hand, it can be too easy to only skim the surface for the obvious ones, while going too deep or different is an ego exercise that can backfire.
To that end, instead of rather randomly selecting 10 horses, I've elected 10 categories and assigned a horse to each, in the hope of an equitable and estimable list, one which sparks some ideas and some excitement for the Flat season if nothing else. Here goes.
Classic boy - AUGUSTE RODIN
The fundamental function of a juvenile campaign is to find out what a horse can do, but by the end of Auguste Rodin's first season the question became what can't he do?
He would have beaten Crypto Force but for trouble on his debut, then went from strength to strength, and to deal with the adverse circumstances as he did in the Group One Vertem Futurity at Doncaster, without looking flat out at any stage, had more than a sprinkling of star quality.
He's clear favourite for the Derby but could easily do a Camelot and take the Guineas en route, and he might even be in the mould of a Sea The Stars who did that double and so much more.
Classic girl - TAHIYRA
The mighty mare Tarnawa didn't even win a race (from three attempts) as a two-year-old, hence it elaborates the excitement that her half-sister, Tahiyra, embarks on her classic campaign from such a high platform after winning both of her starts last year.
To go from a Galway maiden straight to the Group One Moyglare and make it look so easy was one of the statements of the season.
It wasn't just style but also substance, as at the Curragh she made short work of Mediate, who subsequently ran away with the Breeders' Cup Fillies' Turf. Tahiyra has the world at her feet.
Three-year-old sprint handicapper - VERDANSK
After a debut third full of promise in a race that threw up numerous winners (including Chaldean no less), it was a bit underwhelming that Verdansk didn't deliver in two subsequent runs, both back at Newbury.
But, there's still reason for thinking he'll take off as a three-year-old, given who trains him and how he's bred.
Clive Cox usually finds the key to his inmates and Verdansk may just have needed time to fill his frame to cultivate more of an end product, while he's also yet to get onto fast ground which may be the making of him. A mark of 79 is certainly lower than it looked like being following his first run.
Three-year-old mile handicapper - GLORIOUS LION
First and foremost, Glorious Lion really looks the part, but he was too green in his three runs to match his looks, or his pedigree: He's from the only crop of Roaring Lion and distantly related to the American high-class cruiser Bodemeister.
He reappeared in February for his third run, and though it was an advance, the race still didn't get near the bottom of him, in part as he didn't settle out on the flank, but that's all part of the learning process and he has been gelded since.
He's bound to be more forward and furnished when we see him next and a mark of 71 is a lowish base for one with his physique and pedigree.
Three-year-old middle-distance handicapper - GALILAEUS
It's the classic 'MO' of three runs in fairly quick succession at two-years-old to lay the groundwork for climbing the handicap at three and letting his genes do the rest. And what genes Galilaeus has got.
He is by Galileo and out of Madame Chiang, who won the Musidora as well as the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot, and that pedigree alone puts into sharp perspective a starting handicap mark of just 61.
He was only 9/2 for his debut at Nottingham but a very slow break set the tone, too needy to show what he's about, and his next two starts on the All-Weather were just a means to an end. Galilaeus will be a different proposition this year over trips in keeping with his blue-blood breeding.
Group graduate - EDUCATOR
This sub-category is for a handicapper with the profile and potential for graduating to Group races, and Educator fits the bill very nicely.
He's had just six races in his life as his three-year-old season was interrupted (missed all of the summer) and never quite picked up where he left off, beaten as favourite (by a good one in Okeechobee) at Salisbury before getting rather lost in the big-field Old Rowley Cup.
There's a strong sense of unfinished business about him returning as a four-year-old (gelded in meantime), with a mark of 90 to play with.
He's just the sort that William Haggas could develop into a Group-class horse over a-mile-and-a-half. He's by Deep Impact and his listed-winning dam, Diploma, got better with age.
Colt who could be anything - SLIPOFTHEPEN
The secret was out ahead of his debut in late-November at Kempton because he went off odds-on, but whatever his reputation was he lived up to it and then some.
The second, third and fourth home all had experience, yet Slipofthepen laughed at them, needing the merest request to shoot clear off a steady pace, winning by five-and-a-half lengths.
He was the only horse on that entire Kempton card to dip under 12 seconds for the final furlong, all while barely looking to be out of third gear. It was the sort of debut whereby a Derby trial becomes an obligation rather than an option: He's 20/1 for Epsom.
Filly who could be anything - REMARQUEE
There were two divisions of the seven furlong novice at Salisbury on September 29 and one was significantly quicker than the other, by over 2 seconds.
That's the clock calculation which adds weight to the visual impression that Remarquee is a very good filly indeed.
Her dam is a half-sister to the ill-fated Scope, a Group One-winning stayer for the same connections, but the Kingman in Remarquee really came out at Salisbury, as seen by her acceleration as she overpowered Bresson with the pair pulling a long way clear.
She has a Guineas entry, and she'll surely be put on trial for it in the spring at Newbury or Newmarket.
Stable switcher - WESTERNESSE
The Horse Watchers need no introduction regards their perceptive and profitable recruitment and Westernesse is a very interesting project for them, and for David O'Meara, the trainer entrusted with the revamp.
It cost 52,000 guineas at the Horses In Training Sale to get him on the team, from Dermot Weld's yard, which might sound pricey for an eight-race maiden, but he was runner-up three times and, somewhat surprisingly, was never tried beyond nine furlongs, despite his pedigree screaming stamina.
Westernesse is still something of a blank canvas, which is exciting for what O'Meara could create.
Wildcard - BONITO CAVALO
Last year, his 29th with a licence, Jim Goldie trained his 1,000th winner and had his best-ever tally with 60. Contributing to that total were Rory (two wins) and Sound Of Iona (four), two of the many relatives of Bonito Cavalo with whom Jim Goldie has worked wonders over the years.
Though ending his first season as a maiden, there were strong signs by the end that Bonito Cavalo was starting to get his act together, the foundations for following the family fortunes, and he's a good bet to develop and more than pay his way in low-level sprint handicaps in the North in 2023.
