New Geegeez Syndicate: Bringing in some Razzam-atazz!
I'm super excited to welcome the latest member of the geegeez.co.uk stable, a three-year-old Showcasing gelding called...
RAZZAM
He's a very lightly raced, unexposed horse who looks a near certainty to win a maiden or novice stakes at the minimum trip before going on to better things. He will go into training with Mick Appleby, a master at handling sprinters, and below you can find out more about the horse, the opportunity, and how you can get involved!
The pedigree
Razzam is by Showcasing, who stands at £45,000. That’s before the breeder has incurred the costs of minding the mare for a year, raising the foal for two years, and then the owner has paid training fees to get him to the track.
This lad actually sold at the Tattersalls Yearling Sales in October 2021 for 45,000 guineas (£47,250).
Showcasing has countless highlights on his score card, including the now stallions Advertise, Soldier’s Call, and Tasleet, all of which were very fast racehorses.
The dam, Whispering Bell, only ran three times but won a Windsor maiden before taking on Listed company on her final start. Razzam is her second foal to race, after Zeussina, a dual winner in Italy.
She also has a colt by Too Darn Hot who is yet to race. He sold for £70,000.
Here is Razzam's 'page'.
The ‘physical’
Physically, Razzam has plenty of size and substance – a big bull of a horse – and he looks all speed. We expect he’ll prove a different proposition racing over five furlongs under Mick’s guidance.
The trainer
Mick is perhaps not the most fashionable trainer, but he is undoubtedly top drawer. He’s the reigning all-weather champion trainer, an accolade he has won numerous times; and this year he’s taking his turf season highlights to another level with Annaf running 3rd in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes and Big Evs blitzing a field of 23 by three lengths in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes – he might have won the Norfolk if he’d been entered there - both at Royal Ascot.
Mick trains out of Langham Stables near Rutland Water, and his record when dropping horses back to five furlongs where they’d run over further for someone else last time is highly impressive:
Such horses include the likes of Saaheq, who arrived rated 71 and won five races and £68,000 while going up to a peak rating of 92; Warrior Brave, three wins and two seconds from seven runs (and £26,700) before selling for 100,000 guineas; Raasel, who has now won over £225,000 for connections; and Night On Earth, who won five from 22 and £66,000 before selling for 2.5x his purchase price.
There is quite simply no better man for improving a horse by dropping it to five furlongs than Mick.
The form
Razzam has had six races, placing four times. His full form string is 325243 and a line on each run, as well as a link to watch the videos (if you have appropriate access) is below. You can view his form on geegeez.co.uk here.
The general themes are a burst of acceleration and then not quite getting home over six due to over-racing/wanting to go faster.
We feel strongly that dropping him to five furlongs is the key to unlocking his potential.
3/6/22: 3rd/4 Class 3 Bath novice 5f GF. Blew the start before recording the fastest time in each of the last four furlongs. Razzam’s only run at the minimum trip. Winner ran in Norfolk next time, rated 87 currently.
https://www.attheraces.com/atrplayer-popout/VOD/1270889?showResult=yes
17/1/23: 2nd/12 Kempton 6f. Car park draw (11), dropped in, fastest final 3f split, passing 8 horses last quarter mile.
15/2/23: Kempton 6f. Jumped well from middle draw, over-raced for quarter mile, didn’t get home. Disappointing effort. Winner now rated 105, 2nd 80+.
5/5/23: Newcastle 6f Standard/Slow – Raced widest, travelled strongly, came with winning run but got mugged close home. Sectionals again solid.
https://www.attheraces.com/atrplayer-popout/VOD/1345637?showResult=yes
15/5/23: Wolverhampton 6f – Turned out 10 days later, good inside draw but nearly put through the rail by a rival on the outside. Did well in the circumstances.
https://www.attheraces.com/atrplayer-popout/VOD/1348204?showResult=yes
8/7/23: Nottingham 6f Good – First start after gelding; again over-raced, before not quite getting home. Winner a very smart horse, ran off 77 here, put up 8lb to 85 and looks a 90+ performer all day long. Was beaten a neck for second.
His Work
Razzam was given a week to settle in to his new surroundings, and did his first piece of fast work on Saturday 22nd July.
He worked with a horse called Juan Les Pins, who is rated 98 and was last seen finishing third in the Wokingham Heritage Handicap at Royal Ascot; in other words, a very smart horse.
And, as you can see, he worked very well. He's the horse near side with the yellow cap. [The video quality is not great, I'm afraid, as it's taken from WhatsApp]
The plan
The plan is pretty clear. Revert to pure sprint distances, jump and run. He seems best accelerating from off the pace but we may need to learn about how best to ride him. The one five furlong run was his debut, where he missed the break quite badly through inexperience.
He has been bought for the all-weather season but that is not to say he can’t run on the turf, too. At some point, either immediately or by mid-August, he will have a break to freshen up ahead of the winter season.
The syndicate
Razzam is being offered as 12 equal shares. The initial cost to join is £4,000, which will cover the purchase price plus VAT. The VAT will be reclaimed by the syndicate and used to fund training and any racing expenses to the end of October.
From November 1st, members will each pay £208 / month to cover training and racing expenses.
At the end of the all-weather season, we will decide whether to continue to race or to offer Razzam at the Guineas ‘Horses in Training’ sale at Newmarket. A further decision point will be the July Sale at Newmarket, where he will sell unless we unanimously agree to retain him.
Naturally, each syndicate member will receive a full pro-rata (i.e. 1/12th per share) dividend of all prize and sales revenues.
Members will be entitled to one owner’s badge (and the option for a second when available) each time Razzam runs.
To express your interest and to receive a copy of the syndicate agreement, which contains further details of how to get involved, click here.
Matt
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