CLAREHAVEN THIRTEEN - TO FOLLOW IN 2025

We would like to thanks David Pidduck for his hard work and forwarding his Lucky 13 to follow in 2025. David has been detailing his insight on our blog since 2022. Please take a moment to follow him on X @DarRemi. Firstly, a short recap of the 2024 list. We made a small profit (ROI 8.6%) thanks mainly to finding FRIENDLY SOUL and QUEEN OF THE PRIDE , with the group as a whole winning 16 times from 52 runs (30%) . 

The profit follows the 12.2% ROI profit from the 2023 list. 

So, the usual rules apply – 3yo ’ s can only have ran NO MORE THAN ONCE and 4yo ’ s that haven't ran more than twice, though I am breaking that rule this year! 

3yo’ s 

BANYAN (Lady Bamford) [Siyouni] 2/3/22 b f 2 - Her only start was over 7f on GS ground at Newmarket in early November and she finished a 3.5l second to a very promising Beckett filly, Bright Times Ahead, who already has two Classic entries . Her homework had been good before her debut and she will improve considerably for a step up in trip. From a family John & Thady know extremely well, her full sister Shiva Shakti ran with promise as a 2yo and was given an Oaks entry at three. Her classic season was blighted by injury, so her full potential wasn ’ t seen. I would be hopeful that BANYAN, with a clean injury free season, will be up to running in pattern races. 

BOWMARK (Lordship Stud) [Kingman] 13/3/22 b c 1 - The impressive winner of his only start as a juvenile, BOWMARK would have gone into plenty o f notebooks. With plenty of physical scope to improve upon over the winter, I hope he has grown and filled out, as he has the potential to be a Group class colt. He is laid back at home and does everything you ask of him without being flashy, which is normally a good sign. Ten furlongs will not be a problem and he already has a Prix du Jockey Club entry. 

CAJOLE (Cheveley Park) [Dubawi] 24/2/22 gr/ro f unraced at two. I was able to visit Clarehaven four times last year and on the final two visits, CAJOLE ’ s name was mentioned on more than one occasion as an unraced filly to follow. She is a lovely physical type with a good mind and is the fourth foal from the Group 1 winner, Persuasive, who won the QEII for John in 2017. I expect to see her start her career in April at either Newmarket or Newbury.

DAMYSUS (Wathnan Racing) [Frankel] 20/3/22 ch c 1 - An expensive Tatts Book 1 purchase, he was entered and declared for races in the summer but stiffness on the morning of his intended debut scuppered those plans. He did get a sole 2yo start in December though, which he won over 7Tap at Southwell by 2.5l and 6.5l. The second is a Godolphin gelding now rated 81 but the third has a mark of just 65. A step up in trip will most certainly suit and he has entries in two French Classics and the Betfred Derby. 

HOT FLAME (Sir Anthony) [Too Darn Hot] 30/4/22 b f 1 - I was alerted to her at the Clarehaven Open Day as ‘ a fighter ’ and I was not disappointed when she won her only start just over two weeks later. The second that day carried a 7lb penalty for a previous win and now has a mark of 84, whilst the third, another debutant, won well on her second start earning a RPR of 90, so the form is already looking to have some substance. Rab said afterwards that she has a lovely attitude and she will stay 10f no problem next season. I wonder if she could be a Pretty Polly ( listed) contender on 1,000 Guineas day. It’s a race John and Thady love to run one of our better fillies in. A further note was that her division was two seconds quicker than the one Zanzoun finished 3rd in 35 minutes later. 

KAIZEN (Qatar Racing, China, Howden & Newsells) [Kingman] 9/3/22 b c 6 - This colt was the subject of some glowing reports before his debut in late October and his 6th place finish at Southwell was underwhelming. He cost a lot and his pedigree is excellent, being a half - brother to the 2023 Fillies Mile winner Ylang Ylang. However, David Redvers and Oisin Murphy both suggested in separate interviews earlier in the year that this colt could be special and they are normally correct with their assessments. In addition, whilst talking to John in September, the initial thought was to run him in a mile maiden / novice either at Newmarket or Nottingham and although he was entered, he was never declared. So his run round a sharp seven at Southwell may well have been far too sharp for him and th e first three all have decent form to their names. For those reasons, he deserves to be on this list. 

KALEIDO (Prince A A Faisal) [Make Believe] 20/4/22 b c 2 - A full brother to MISHRIFF, this colt made a very promising debut in late October over 7S at Donny, chasing home a once raced Godolphin Dubawi colt called Music Of Time. He has been given two French Classic entries and a Derby entry so far and if he can progress anywhere close to what his full brother did at three (and four), then he will have an extremely bright future. He has also been given a 2,000 Guineas entry this week, and is the only one of our four that has yet to win a race. 

KENNETH (Normandie Stud) [Kingman] 2/3/22 b c (At Clarehaven 3/10/24) unraced as a juvenile Philippa Cooper (Normandie Stud) is one of my top three owners. Her interviews are always interesting and her passion for her horses shines through every time. Since her first big race win in 2002, she has had 12 Group winners and 15 listed winners. Incredibly, 11 of those Group winners have been trained by John (and latterly with Thady) and eight of the Listed wins have also been with the Gosden’s. All three top flight wins and all four Group 2’ s have been gained with John training her horses. Philippa has scaled down her st ring in recent years but she has kept the 2022 foal from her beloved Gretchen who entered training at Clarehaven in October last year. Her horses are always so well pre - schooled so the lateness isn’t a problem. Being a half - brother to Gregory and Lionel, who have won at Group 2 and Listed level respectively , the pedigree page is strong. Those pair were sired by Golden Horn and Lope De Vega, so I am extremely interested in seeing how this Kingman sired colt will go. In a Racing Post Weekender interview with Rab Havlin in mid - January, he was asked for an unraced 3yo to follow and Rab chose Kenneth. Rab will be riding him, as he does all of Philippa ’ s horses that are stabled at Clarehaven, so I would have expected him to have ridden him on more than one occasion before the interview. 

MUDBIR (Shadwell) [Kingman] 1/5/22 b c 2 - John and Thady know this Shadwell family extremely well and Mudbir ’ s top four siblings have all been trained at Clarehaven, all achieved a RPR of 99+ and the top pair, Mostahdaf and Nazeef won four Group 1’ s and two Royal Ascot races between them. Neither of them ran at two, so Mudbir ’ s encouraging performance at Newmarket ’ s traditional 2yo ’ s day meet in the latter part of October was another positive. The performances of the next three home behind Mudbir has strengthened the form of the race as well. Both Mostahdaf and Nazeef ’ s form rose to another level from September of their 3yo careers, through to the following season, so Mudbir may be a slow burner for the first half of the sea son. But I still expect him to be winning races in 2025. 

SAND GAZELLE (Thoroughbred Racing Corporation) [Frankel] 8/3/22 ch f 1 - The form of her only race, which was a winning one, doesn’t seem that strong and after opening at 9/2 24 hours before that race, she drifted alarmingly, all the way out to 20/1. But the positives for this filly more than outweigh those points in the previous paragraph. I spoke to John & Thady on separate visits last year and both liked Sand Gazelle back in July and September respectively. She is sired by Frankel and cost a fair bit. The 7f trip of her debut was on the short side for her and she will improve for a step up to a mile, even 10f. Finally, she has been given French Classic entries over a mile and 10.5f, suggesting she has talent and she has wintered well. 

TYCOON (Bjorn) [Kingman] 10/2/22 b c 3 - The form of his only start as a 2yo is good and the two that beat him that day are both well thought of. Finishing off his race well, a step up to a mile plus would be an obvious plus. In addition to those points, George Baker described him a lovely big type, “ takes your eye out ”, and he felt he would tighten up for the run, and was very much a 3yo, unlike the race winner. Although he got an entry in the 1m Doncaster maiden at the St Leger meeting, he didn’t run in the race, but John has always targeted that race with his most promising juveniles, so I still take that as a good sign. We still had a runner in that race, and he is the next horse on my list. Finally, Thady likes this colt a lot. I spoke to him at length at the Open Day about Tycoon and nothing he said to me then was anything but a positive. He was given a Group 1 Futurity entry, has a Prix du Jockey Club entry and is in the initial entries for the Betfred Derby. These last two suggest he has wintered well. 

VALEDICTORY (Godolphin) [Cracksman] 29/3/22 b c 3 - This colt was the chosen one for the Doncaster maiden that I mentioned in the Tycoon section. John has targeted this race for 25 years, going back to Theatre Script, who was our potential 2001 Derby horse before injuries took their toll. Our best horse to run in the race has been Nathaniel who finished second at Donny, but his career was a terrific one. From a family John and Thady know well, this colt was sold at Book 2 and Godolphin sent him to Clarehaven. Now the form of the race hasn’t worked out, but Valedictory finished his race off well after being second last at the three furlong pole. He has been given Prix du Jockey Club and Betfred Derby entries already this year, so I am pleased by those. 

4yo ’ s 

SARDINIAN WARRIOR (Marc Chan) [Saxon Warrior] 17/2/21 b c 2 - 111 - I make no apologies for having this colt on my To Follow list for the second year running, and for breaking my self - imposed “4 yo ’ s no more than twice raced rule ”, as we still haven’t seen the ceiling of his ability. Unfortunately, he is a little fragile, and he doesn’t get to the track as often as any of us would like, but when he does race, he progresses and improves by 10lb+ , according to RPR ’ s. He has an OR of 107, and personal best RPR of 113 and he has only ran in one handicap and not at all in a pattern race.