We enjoyed a rewarding afternoon on Saturday with two youngsters winning their bumpers on debut and several more horses running very well, most notably SAM BROWN who finished third in the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase at Aintree.
FORTUITOUS FAVOUR was the first to score in the juvenile fillies race at Wetherby before MARCO ISLAND completed our double with a striking success at Chepstow with stable companion HATOS running another race full of promise in third place.
Fortuitous Favour is an attractive filly by Soldier of Fortune out of a mare with a decent pedigree. She was sent to us as a yearling by Bryan Murphy who has sourced quite a few nice horses for us from his base in County Limerick close to his popular hotel the Dunraven Arms in Adare.
She has a lovely nature but as she has never been away for a racecourse gallop or worked on turf I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It was hardly a surprise to see her running green in the early stages at Wetherby before the penny began to drop and she came from the rear to snatch the verdict on the line.
Fortuitous Favour showed a good attitude and I anticipate bags of improvement when she runs next.
I’ve always liked Marco Island, a fine big chasing type by Mahler out of a winning bumper mare. He is fully 17 hands and was a bit too backward to run last season. He was one of three I ran in the second division of the bumper chiefly because this weekend was just about the first chance I’ve had to get them out on safe ground.
Hatos had the box seat throughout before Sean Houlihan picked his way through the pack on Marco Island to seal the victory.
I was pleased with him when I rode him in a piece of work on Wednesday and over the moon with the way he won on his debut. Mahlers tend to improve with racing and I’m confident he will make a cracking chaser in time.
I was also thrilled with Hatos who is a winner waiting to happen while Serious Charges, runner up in the first division of the bumper, is another exciting chasing prospect. There is just one final share remaining in Hatos, in a new small syndicate that we are running from the yard ; and there are also a few shares remaining in the new Potwell Racing Syndicate which will have Serious Charges and Cape Vidal under it’s umbrella – visit our HORSES FOR SALE page for details on these, or give Anthony a call on 07815898569
At Aintree Aidan Coleman was delighted with Sam Brown who finished third to Protektorat. He felt there were plenty of positives for the season ahead. Sam Brown had quite a hard race so I’ll give him an easy time before looking for suitable targets in six weeks time.
