It’s been an exceptional season for Newmarket trainer Roger Varian and his 2-year-old team. Let’s rewind back to the start of the season. On the 18th May at Newmarket racecourse Roger Varian introduced a lovely looking Bated Breath filly in the name of Daahyeh. Born 29 January 2017 and sold for £75,000 at the 2018 Goffs yearling sales. The money was down as Daahyeh opened up 4s but that soon went, and she was sent off 3/1 joint-favourite for her racecourse debut. The result was never in doubt as Daahyeh beat the Mark Johnston filly Raffle Prize. That was an impressive performance considering we didn’t know Raffle Prize would turn out to be a 113 rated filly. As for Daahyeh her next start would see her win the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and go on to finish second in the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes and the Moyglare Stakes before adding the Group 2 Shadwell Rockfel Stakes to an impressive first season. Daahyeh wasn’t finished as Roger Varian gave her the chance to finish the season in style as Daahyeh traveled across the pond to take on the best in the Breeders Cup Juvenile fillies Grade 1 turf race at Santa Anita. It was a valiant effort by Daayeh who ran a fantastic race to finish second to the American filly Sharing in what was a brilliant debut season and I can’t wait to see her back out as a 3-year-old next year. The following Friday another Roger Varian 2-year-old superstar was about to be unleashed at Haydock Park. Bought for 140,000 Guineas at the 2018 October Yearling Sales by Roger Varian for owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum.
Pierre Lapin must have been setting the gallops alight as the Cappella Sansevero colt was sent off even-money favourite for his debut. Pierre Lapin quickened clear in the final furlong showing why he was such short odds on debut. A string of significant entries followed but no sign of the Varian colt turning up. Finally 120 days later when Roger Varian was happy with Pierre Lapin he lined up for the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury where his half brother Harry Angel was victorious in 2016. Another easy victory here as Pierre Lapin showed his class and won again at odds of 9/4. The futures bright and I can see him being a real star next season when he fills out and learns to settle. My first Roger Varian 2-year-old to follow also comes with a big reputation and a touching story. DELTA’S ROYALTY has a lot to live up to being the only foal produced by the sadly departed American superstar Royal Delta. Owner Mr Benjamin Leon Jr bought Royal Delta for $8.5 Million at the Keeneland sales in 2011, and she went on to win six Grade one races in America. As for Pedigrees, they don’t come much bigger than Delta’s Royalty after the mare Royal Delta was bred to the brilliant Galileo, but it came at a price as on the 1st February 2017 Royal Delta gave birth to Delta’s Royalty only to die due to complications which must have been heartbreaking for owner and connections. By all accounts, Delta’s Royalty has impressed in her work and the fact she had an entry for the Group 1 Fillies Mile this season and has been given an early entry for the Group 1 Irish Oaks next July gives the impression it won’t be long before she gets off the mark. Roger Varian likes to wait till he has his horses spot on before they hit the track and even though Delta’s Royalty may not be much of a price I really hope she can give owner Benjamin Leon Jr another brilliant filly like her mother Royal Delta was. Thanks for reading and look out for part two of Roger Varian's horses to follow.
TRACKER AND EYE-CATCHER UPDATE: It's been a great few days for the blog with a few nice winners from my tracker list and my weekly eye-catchers. 13:15 Fri 20 September 2019: NEWBURY: 33/1 SHOT TOTHEOTHERSIDE ROMPS HOME. First up was Tommy Rock who was an eye-catcher after a promising debut at Bath last month. I also had Tommy Rock as a tracker after Clive Cox had given this Society Rock colt a Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes entry back in August. This was a definite step backwards and I think that Group entry might have been a little ambitious, time will tell. The early morning drift was a worry and Tommy Rock never turned up and finished a disappointing twelfth. I am hopeful we will see a better performance next timeout because I feel this wasn't the real Tommy Rock that turned up today. In the same race, I had Totheotherside who I noted as a tracker after Richard Hannon had given this Dandy Man filly two Class 2 entries. This was a really nice performance and how she started at 33/1 is beyond me. I guess somebody had a few quid on though as she was 50/1 earlier in the day. Totheotherside ran out an easy winner when making all to win by a length and a half from the promising King Ragner and looks a horse to follow. 13:40 Fri 20 September 2019: AYR: 8/1 SHOT GRAVITY FORCE HANGS ON FOR WIN. Same again here with two horses I had noted down. First was Gift Of Kings who just like Tommy Rock I was expecting a much better performance this time. To be fair Gift Of Kings ran a decent debut race at York last timeout and I thought the Kevin Ryan trained Kingman colt would be in the shake-up at least. The heavily backed favourite finished second to last and it was another mystery and disappointment. This is another potentially nice horse and hopefully, Gift Of Kings will come back strong next timeout. The winner was the Karl Burke trained Gravity Force who was on my eye-catcher list after a promising debut at Newcastle at the beginning of the month. At Newcastle, I noted that jockey Clifford Lee had earned his money after he was pushing hard on Gravity Force as soon as he left the gates. This time he travelled much better and held on gamely to win at 8/1. I do love a second timeout Karl Burke 2-year-old. 14:55 Newbury 21 Sep 2019: NEWBURY: PIERRE LAPIN OOZES CLASS IN THE MILL REEF. I think I enjoyed this tracker the most even though I didn't have a bet. I have been waiting to see the exciting Pierre Lapin for a while now, in fact since the 24th of May. I think that’s what makes this victory even sweeter. Pierre Lapin is trained by Roger Varian and a half brother to the speed machine Harry Angel. His debut race at Haydock back in May was promising and despite a string of significant entries throughout the season, Roger gave him time to mature and strengthen up.
It was race time and Richard Hannon had been talking up his exciting prospect Mystery Power. The betting couldn't separate the pair as they were sent off 9/4 joint-favourites. It was a race I had been waiting a while for but was over in what seemed a second as Pierre Lapin showed the racing world what he was all about. To be honest I was slightly worried until he picked up a furlong out and quickened up to beat his main rival Mystery Power by a length and a half. An impressive victory and worth the wait as the Roger Varian colt won the Dubai Duty-Free Mill Reef Stakes with ease. I for one can't wait to see what he can do as a 3-year-old next season. See what the stable said before the big race. Learn more about the Mill Reef Stakes (past winners and more) Thanks for reading and good luck
Everybody in the racing game has been talking about one horse lately and rightly so. Pinatubo has brought excitement back into the game, even the hardened jump racing fans have come out in force to admire the brilliant Charlie Appleby 2-year-old. The big debate has been about Pinatubo and the mighty Frankel, I even wrote a post on it myself a few weeks back: Can Promising Colt Pinatubo Match The might of Frankel? Anyway, I think we have talked about this one enough so time to move on. The whole point of this post is a forgotten horse that could be useful. After looking at his debut victory and the significant entries he has received since I will be hoping Pierre Lapin takes his place in the Group 2 Duty-Free Mill Stakes on Saturday for trainer Roger Varian.
Roger Varian has trained a few nice 2-year-olds over the years. In 2017 the Kylachy filly Altyn Orda won the Group 3 Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket at huge odds of 25/1 and in 2018 Roger Varian was toasting another Group success in the same race when Mot Juste beat Angels Hideaway in his last race of the season. This year hasn't been bad either with the impressive Daahyeh already looking a superstar in the making with two Group wins to her name. The Group 3 Albany Stakes was the first at Royal Ascot followed by the Group 2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket. If that wasn't enough she ran a great race at Curragh when just beaten by the smart Aidan O’Brien horse Love in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes. Pierre Lapin was foaled on the 22nd of January 2017. The Cappella Sansevero bay colt was purchased for 140,000 gns for owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum in October 2018. Pierre Lapin must have been catching pigeons on the gallops because he was sent off favourite for his debut race at Haydock back in May. Pierre Lapin looked a shade inexperienced at the start and even jumped the path before staying on strongly to win by three and a half lengths. It was an impressive debut even though it wasn't the strongest race.
I do wonder why trainer Roger Varian has kept him off the track for so long, was it to just strength up or did have some kind of problem? For whatever reason we haven't seen Pierre Lapin back on track I still think he could be one of Roger Varian's best 2-year-olds this season if not the best. How do I know? Because he was entered in quite a few significant races including the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes, the Group 1 Vincent O’Brien Stakes and many more group entries. As I said earlier he has an early entry in Saturdays Duty-Free Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury which could see him take on some top-class 2-year-olds including Richard Hannon's Mystery Power. Win or lose its intriguing to see why Roger Varian thinks so highly of Pierre Lapin. Thanks for reading and good luck.
Continuing with my 2-year-old horses to follow. Fox Duty Free will be a short price I imagine next timeout. The Andrew Balding Kingman colt was a 280,000 gns purchase in October last year. The King Power Racing owned colt was made favourite on his debut at Newbury in July. Fox Duty Free was slowly away that day and then to make things worse got hampered. Silvestre De Sousa came with a strong run with a couple of furlongs to go but couldn't quite catch the eventual winner Owney Madden. I don't think that was the strongest race but Fox Duty Free ran a great race despite the problems on his debut run. The fact he has been given a significant entry since his last run gives me confidence he should be winning his next race and is definitely one to keep an eye out for. Jamais Assez is a horse trainer Karl Burke rates highly after what looked like a promising debut. The 190,000 euro Invincible Spirit colt wasn't really fancied on debut when an 8/1 shot. Jamais Assez was quickly away that day at Ayr and looked to know his job before tiring late on. A Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes entry gives me some encouragement that Jamais Assezwill be more clued-up next timeout and hopefully, he attracts some market support. Pierre Lapin has already run once and won once. The Roger Varian trained Cappella Sansevero colt could be winning again before the season ends. Purchased for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum for 140,000 gns last October, this bay colt made his debut at Haydock in May and after running green he soon put the race to bed with an impressive turn of foot. His sectionals confirmed it was a pretty decent debut despite being an average race. Roger Varian has givenPierre Lapin some fancy entries and me for one will be looking out for his next racecourse appearance. Skontonovski looks to be a surefire winner next timeout. The Richard Spencer trained Harbour Watch colt made a pleasing debut at Newmarket at the beginning of August. Purchased for £50,000 in August 2018 and owned by Rebel Racing Premier. Skontonovski must have been working well before his debut because he started off 7/2 second favourite to the eventual winner Lazuli. This looked a pretty nice race with the third-placed Ziggle Pops well-thought-of by Richard Hannon. Skontonovski was hampered at the start and checked when making his move a furlong out before running on again. Trainer Richard Spencer thinks very highly of Skontonovski and I expect a win won't be far away. Horses to follow updates:
Abstemious (Won 11/8) was a short-priced winner for my 2-year-olds to follow. An impressive five-length victory for the Kevin Ryan trained gelding at York and will be looking to add to that victory in the coming months. Dramatista: Declaring Love: Boma Green: Thanks for reading and look out for my next 2-year-olds to follow coming soon.
