Tag Archive for: Middleham Park Racing

Middleham Park celebrate hitting century in style at Lingfield

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Middleham Park Racing left it late to reach 100 winners for 2024 but ended up getting there with time to spare as Master Technician and Rebel Empire gave them a New Year’s Eve double at Lingfield.

The leading racehorse syndication company went into the meeting needing one more victory to hit a century and Rod Millman’s Master Technician duly obliged in the BetMGM: It’s Showtime/EBF Restricted Novice Stakes.

Lewis Edmunds was always in a prominent position on the 4-7 favourite and they hit the front a furlong out before going to score by a length and a quarter.

Rebel Empire later landed the £30 In Free Bets With BetUK Handicap in emphatic fashion at 4-1 for Richard Hannon and Tyrese Cameron.

Middleham Park director of racing Tim Palin said: “We’re delighted to achieve the 100. Obviously we’ve been panicking a little bit lately as to will we get there or won’t we get there and today was our last two rolls of the dice, so it’s great for Master Technician and for Rod to train that winner for us – and then Rebel Empire prevailing was the icing on the cake.

“Who would have thought 30 years ago when we first set up that we’d have a hundred winners in a year. I never thought that we’d have a hundred runners ever when little old Middleham Park started up in 1995 with Patrick Haslam.

“It’s gone from strength to strength because of a few winners along the way and the very kind support from all our owners – there’s over a thousand owners with us now and we’re delighted to have each and every one of those on board.

“We’ve got a fantastic team of staff behind the scenes, who work tirelessly and ceaselessly to achieve as close to perfection as we can on and off the track.

“So, hopefully we can continue the success and the rich vein of form that we’ve been in this year and then build on that and go from strength to strength.”

Cheltenham Festival winner Marie’s Rock bows out

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Marie’s Rock, the first horse owned by Middleham Park Racing to win more than once at the highest level, has been retired.

Trained by Nicky Henderson, the nine-year-old scaled the heights in the spring of 2022, winning the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and the equivalent at the Punchestown Festival.

Her last two outings came on the Flat, showing how versatile she was she was only beaten a head in Listed company at Bath earlier this month.

She will now head to the Doncaster sales as a broodmare prospect having been bought for just €35,000 in 2018.

Tom Palin of Middleham Park said: “She was always going to be a horse who would tell us when it was time and this presents a bit of an opportunity. She’s nine, about to become 10, and she was always going to be going to the breeding sheds at the end of this year, so this gives potential suitors plenty of time.

Marie's Rock with winning members of her syndicate at Cheltenham
Marie’s Rock with winning members of her syndicate at Cheltenham (Nigel French/PA)

“Her run at Bath was testament to her. Two miles, two and a half, three miles all came alike to her over hurdles. She was second in a Grade One over three, she was favourite for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle before injury got in the way and those recent runs on the Flat as well show no challenge was too big.

“She was always a fighter. Quite a few people spoke about her head carriage but it certainly didn’t stop her, that was just her way of doing things. She wore her heart on her sleeve.

“The dream of a syndicate jumps horse is to win at Cheltenham, and she pulled that off. We had such hopes for her as a novice and when she missed that chance with a setback, we never thought it would happen.

“The following year didn’t start so great but that was just her, she gave us some lows but we had the ultimate highs and she provided the members with great days for an insignificant outlay.

“For €35,000 she’s been a remarkable horse for Middleham Park and will be remembered forever. She’s actually the only horse we’ve ever had to date that has won more than one Group or Grade One. We’ve won six and she’s won two, so you could say she’s the best we’ve ever had.”

A Study of Owners in UK Flat Racing, Part 2

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This is the second of a two part series looking at some owner data for UK flat horse racing, writes Dave Renham. The period of study covers 1st January 2019 to 8th September 2024. Profit and loss figures have been calculated to Industry Starting Price (ISP), but I will quote Betfair SP (BSP) when appropriate.

In the first piece I shared data for the major owners who had the top 25 strike rates during this time frame and drilled into three - the Godolphin operation, Shadwell Estate and Cheveley Park Stud. To begin with in this piece, I will review the man with the second-best strike rate overall.

Mark Chan

Backing Marc Chan-owned horses in Britain during the study period has returned a tidy profit to SP of £34.12 (ROI +20.1%) with a strike rate close to one win in every four. Chan, a Hong Kong businessman, has a small but select group of horses that race in the UK. Initially, he owned and raced horses solely in Hong Kong, however in more recent years he has spread his wings. Saturday August 26th 2023 is a date that will be etched in his memory forever, as he landed an impressive treble that day with Angel Bleu winning the Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood, Kinross the City of York Group 2 contest at York just 20 minutes later and then, 55 minutes after that, Lezoo prevailed in the Listed Hopeful Stakes at Newmarket. Three Class 1 wins at three different courses in just 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Most of Chan's horses are trained by Ralph Beckett and their record together reads: 38 wins from 144 starts (SR 26.4%) for a profit of £27.37 (ROI +19%). To BSP this improves to £44.34 (ROI +30.8%). Chan also has a couple of horses in training with John and Thady Gosden. Currently the Chan/Gosden combination has seen 4 wins from 11 starts.

Mark Chan Runners by Gender

One stat that stands out with Chan’s horses is the difference in success between his male runners and his females. Let’s look at the strike rates first:

 

 

Male horses have been 1.8 times more successful in terms of winning races than female horses. There have been more male runners, but still a fairly even split (94 male; 76 female). In terms of returns to SP there is a considerable difference:

 

 

That disparity equates to around 63p in the £ between the SP returns for male horses compared to female ones.

Other Mark Chan Runner Stats

There are three further subsets of stats I’d like to share:

1. Chan’s runners performed well when priced 6/1 or shorter. This group of runners secured 36 wins from 96 (SR 37.5%) for a profit of £35.62 (ROI +37.1%); A/E index 1.31.

2. Focusing on the Grade 1 tracks (Ascot, Doncaster, Epsom, Goodwood, Newbury, Newmarket, Sandown, York), Chan secured a 21.5% strike rate (20 from 93) for an SP profit of £13.60 (ROI +14.6%); A/E index 1.29.

3. Chan-owned two-year-olds have performed extremely well with the benefit of at least one previous run. These juveniles have won 16 of their 43 starts hitting a huge strike rate of over 37%. Returns have been 34p in the £ to SP, 44p to BSP. Compare this to his 2yo debutants who have scored only three times from 21 (SR 14.3%).

As I’m writing this, Kinross has just won for a tenth time (eighth for Chan) winning the Park Stakes (Group 2) at Doncaster.

 

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum

I want to concentrate on the past three years for this Dubai-based owner as his team has excelled during that timeframe. Sheikh Obaid's prizemoney earnings have exceeded £1.5 million in each of the three years, and each year has seen his strike rate north of 20% (21.4% in 2022, 20.9% in 2023 and an impressive 24.7% so far in 2024). Backing all runners ‘blind’ in the past three years would have seen a £85.28 profit to SP; to BSP it stands at a very healthy +£164.41 (ROI +26.6%). It should also be noted that his figures are not skewed by several big-priced winners.

At the front end of the market, Sheikh Obaid has proved profitable to follow, with his favourites and second favourites having combined to win 92 races from 256 (SR 35.9%) for an SP profit of £18.20 (ROI +7.1%). To BSP this improves to £36.03 (ROI +14.1%).

Sheikh Obaid Runners by Age

Moving onto age of horse now and here are the splits:

 

 

Two-year-olds have an excellent record as have those aged four. What is interesting about the 2yo results is what happens when we compare win strike rates based on number of career starts. Normally 2yo debutants score much less frequently than those that have run before. However...

 

 

...as can be seen here, Sheikh Obaid-owned juveniles on debut have won more often than any other subset and, at a ridiculously high 29.9% strike rate for 2yo debutants. The average strike rate for all 2yo debutants in the past three years stands at just 8.4%. Here are the full figures for these 2yos on debut:

 

 

To BSP these figures improve further to  profit of £99.37 (ROI +129.1%). Backing Sheikh Obaid-owned debutants has been a license to print money in the past three seasons.

Sheikh Obaid Runners by Trainer

It’s trainer time next and here are the stats for all runners from any stable that has saddled more than 40 runners for Sheikh Obaid:

 

 

Karl Burke looks the stand-out performer and, if ignoring his bigger-priced runners (14/1 or more), the overall profit improves by £26 to £87.08. His 2yos have been exceptional winning over 36% of the time (16/44) and returning 42p in the £ to SP, 60p to BSP.

Kevin Ryan has a good record in novice events for the Sheikh, scoring ten wins from 36 (SR 27.8%) for a tidy profit of £19.40 (ROI +53.9%). To BSP the profit stands at £30.46 (ROI +84.6%). Sticking with Ryan, when his runners have been in the top three in the betting they have won over 30% of the time (17 wins from 56) returning 39p in the £ to SP, 56p to BSP.

Roger Varian also has a couple of positive stats to feedback to you. Firstly, when Jack Mitchell has ridden their record reads 12 wins from 40 (SR 30%) for a profit of £10.83 (ROI +27.1%). To BSP that improves by a further 9p in the £. In Class 5 events Varian has a 35.7% strike rate thanks to ten wins from 28. Returns to SP stand at 18p in the £, 31p in the £ to BSP.

Unfortunately for Varian, and to a lesser degree for us punters, Sheikh Obaid removed all of his horses from Varian's Carlburg Stables last month.

Sheikh Obaid Runners by Race Class

There has been excellent consistency over the last three years from the runners of Sheikh Obaid which is highlighted nicely by an analysis of race class. His runners have produced profit to SP in every single class of race as the graph below shows:

 

 

Obviously, to BSP these figures improve still further. Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum is by all accounts a demanding owner, but he does seem to be one to keep a close eye on at present.

 

Amo Racing Limited

Amo Racing Limited was founded by football agent Kia Joorabchian and they have had over 200 winners in the past six seasons. However, this year has not gone so well hitting a strike rate of below 10% compared with over 16% when combining the years 2019 to 2023. There have been plenty of ups and downs already with horses being taken away from trainers and jockey Kevin Stott being sacked after eight months of an initial one-year contract; Joorabchian certainly seems to do things his way.

To date he has one Group 1 success courtesy of King of Steel in the 2023 Qipco Champion Stakes. However, it was his 150-1 winner, Valiant Force, at Royal Ascot in the same year that perhaps he is best known for.

Amo Racing by Trainer

In terms of trainers both George Boughey and Alice Haynes boast a 20%+ win strike rate, although this year, as with all his trainers, this figure has dropped.

Perhaps the most potent stat is for favourites: jollies wearing the distinctive purple and white livery have won 103 of their 249 starts (SR 41.4%) for a profit to SP of £28.59 (ROI +11.5%). To BSP this stands at +£44.60 (ROI +17.9%). For the record Amo-owned favourites have edged into profit to BSP even during this poor year of 2024.

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Trainer Performance by Price Movement

In some other recent articles I have written about price movement, so I thought I would check for any owners who have fared particularly well with horses that have shortened in price from Early Morning Odds (around 9am in the morning) to final Starting Price. The idea was to try and establish which owners may be worth 'following in' if you see a horse of theirs being backed.

Positive Price Movement

There are six owners who have achieved an A/E index of over 1.00 with at least 75 horses that have shortened in price during this time frame. They are shown in the graph below:

 

 

Two owners that I have discussed earlier, Marc Chan and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, both appear in this list of six. All six from the chart above - the others being David Armstrong, Valmont Racing, Qatar Racing and Paul & Clare Rooney - have been profitable to SP as well as BSP, impressive considering all the horses shortened in price during the day. Hence, a positive market move for any of these owners should be seen as material.

Negative Price Movement

It is interesting when looking at the A/E index of Paul & Clare Rooney with horses that do the reverse and drift from Early Odds to SP. When this has happened their A/E index was way down at 0.59. Such runners showed hefty losses to SP standing at over 55p in the £. But when their horses have been backed, they have produced a return to SP over nearly 7p in the £, with an A/E index of 1.01 (as can be seen in the graph). The strike rates between the two groups vary massively, too, going from 18.9% for horses that shorten to 6.7% for horses that drifted in price.

There is a similar pattern when comparing ‘shorteners’ and ‘drifters’ for Qatar Racing Limited. Here are their splits:

 

 

There is a noteworthy difference here again, much bigger than the norm. Are certain owners really in the know? It’s obviously difficult to tell, but if I was thinking about backing a horse owned by Qatar Racing, I’d prefer to see it strong in the market than weak.

 

Additional Owner stats

For the final part of this article I'm going to share some individual owner stats that I believe are worth knowing:

1. Opulence Thoroughbreds have an excellent record with their 2yos when racing on the all-weather, scoring over 37% of the time and producing returns to SP of 22p in the £.

2. Kirsten Rausing has a good record with her 2yo runners trained by Andrew Balding. Eight of the 24 runners in the study period have won securing an SP profit in every year from 2020 to 2024.

3. Middleham Park send out on average over 600 runners every year hitting a win strike rate of 12%. They spread their horses across numerous trainers and the stand-out handler for them has been Robert Cowell. Of his 67 runners 17 have won (SR 25.4%) for an SP profit of £48.23 (ROI +72%). No other trainer for Middleham has exceeded an 18% win rate with most of them between 10% and 14%.

4. The Cool Silk Partnership has an overall strike rate of 14% but with runners from the Archie Watson yard this jumps to 20.1% (19 wins from 93). Also keep an eye out for the jockey booking because when Hollie Doyle has taken the ride the stats read nine wins from 27 (SR 33.3%) for an SP profit of £16.26 (ROI +60.2%). To BSP it jumps up to +£22.78 (ROI +84.4%).

5. Sticking with Archie Watson and The Cool Silk Partnership, runners sent off first or second favourite have produced outstanding results: 15 wins from 31 (SR 48.4%) for a profit to SP of £24.15 (ROI +77.9%).

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And that concludes the second of two owner articles. I hope you enjoyed both pieces and have gained some useful insights to help inform your betting where certain owners are concerned.

- DR

Lazy Griff given Group One aim

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Lazy Griff has a French return at Group One level on his agenda after a smart victory at Chantilly on Saturday.

The two-year-old, who is trained by Charlie Johnston and owned by Middleham Park Racing, has been building a decent record but his only previous victory came in a minor event at Beverley.

Third in a Deauville Listed race in August, he crossed over to France once more for the Group Three Prix de Conde under Christophe Soumillon.

The bay made all the running in a field of seven and was not for catching, holding off the fast-finishing runner-up to score by a neck when always doing enough to seal the victory.

“We’d had that race in mind for him since he ran well in the Listed race in Deauville,” said Middleham Park’s Mike Prince.

“We knew there’d be improvement for stepping up to nine furlongs.

“He’s very stoutly bred and he’s actually turned out to be more precocious than we thought he was going to be initially, we thought he’d be a nice type for the back end of the season but he started showing up nicely earlier in the year.

“We cracked on with him and it’s all come to fruition nicely.

“He had got slightly outpaced over a mile, he was a bit vulnerable to those with a bit more pace.”

He went on: “We wanted Christophe to make it a test of stamina which is why he kicked on earlier than he might have done to stretch them out a little bit.

“It was cosy at the end, the second horse was closing but Super Soumi had them cooked, it was nice and comfortable.”

The Criterium de Saint-Cloud is now the target, a Group One event run over 10 furlongs in late October that the Johnston stable won in 2022 with Dubai Mile.

Prince added: “The plan is to go to the Group One Criterium de Saint-Cloud on October 27. He’s been to France twice now and he’s run well both times, he’s quite experienced with the travel so we’ve got no qualms about that.

“The ground might be a bit heavier at that time of year but he is German-bred and it was good to soft when he debuted at Doncaster, so we wouldn’t necessarily worry about running on soft ground.

“He’s a three-year-old type so hopefully there’s more to come next year as well.”

Shouldvebeenaring given Sprint Cup target

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Last year’s runner-up Shouldvebeenaring is in line for a second tilt at the Betfred Sprint Cup following another fine effort in defeat at York last week.

Making his first appearance since landing a Group Three prize at Deauville in early July, Richard Hannon’s admirable grey placed third in the City of York Stakes behind shock winner Breege at Group Two level on the Knavesmire.

With a career at stud calling after this season, owners Middleham Park Racing are keen to enhance his stallion value with a Group One victory and the Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday week – in which he was narrowly denied by Regional last season – is viewed as a suitable next port of call.

“He’s all over a Group performer and can compete at Group Two and Group One level no problem. Our job now is to secure that Group One and/or Group Two victory before he goes off to stud,” said Middleham Park’s Tim Palin.

“The other day (at York), it was just unfortunate that the rails were dolled out and that extra 32 yards after seven furlongs just eked into his stamina a wee bit – he is a six- come seven-furlong horse.

“Oisin (Murphy) said he went to beat the favourite (Audience) and win the race. Maybe they got racing a bit far out and maybe that meant he was a bit weaker at the line, but it was another cracking run and it sets him up for what is traditionally a good time of the year for him.

“Richard Hannon’s words were ‘that will put him spot on’, because he’d had a little bit of time off, having scoped dirty and missed the Prix Maurice de Gheest and then we had to get him back to fitness.”

Palin added: “Haydock is where we’ll go. He does go a little bit better on quicker ground and the forecast is good at the minute, so hopefully we get a dry week to bring everything nicely on point.

“York will have blown away any cobwebs and Haydock is nearly us playing at home. He’s been there twice and been beaten by two horses only, one was Little Big Bear in the Sandy Lane and the other was Regional in the Sprint Cup last year.”

Shouldvebeenaring will race on beyond Haydock, with trips to France and America under consideration.

Sean Levy and Shouldvebeenaring at Newmarket
Sean Levy and Shouldvebeenaring at Newmarket (David Davies/PA)

“He was third in the Prix de la Foret last year, so that is under consideration, and he is also in the Park Stakes at the Leger meeting at Doncaster,” said Palin.

“Last year we nearly ran him in the Challenge at Newmarket, so that’s an option, and while it’s a bit of a long shot at the minute that we’d finish our career at the Breeders’ Cup, don’t rule it out.

“I don’t know what the terms are like and what the weather will be like. It would be a long way to go for a Breeders’ Cup Mile on soft ground as obviously that wouldn’t suit him, so we’ll see.”

Shouldvebeenaring heading back to France after Deauville Group Three win

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Shouldvebeenaring will return to France for the Prix Maurice de Gheest after gaining a deserved first Group-race success at Deauville last time out.

Trained by Richard Hannon, the grey has come close on numerous occasions but had a habit of finding one or two too good.

However, in the Group Three Prix de Ris-Orangis last time out he beat James Tate’s promising Electric Storm to book a place at stud at the end of the year.

“He thoroughly deserved his day in the sun as he’d been knocking on the door in all the big races,” said Tim Palin of owners Middleham Park Racing.

“That was a Group Three win and his form entitled him to win.

“We toyed with taking him to Ireland this weekend but we’re going to wait for the Prix Maurice de Gheest and then back to Haydock for the Sprint Cup – they are his two Derbys if you can say that about a sprinter.

“He runs well at both tracks so it just makes sense. At Deauville he’s been fifth in a Prix Jean Prat and obviously won last time and at Haydock he’s been second to Little Big Bear in the Sandy Lane and just been touched off by Regional in the Sprint Cup.

“He likes top of the ground so we’ll need a sunny week so hopefully he gets that.

“He retires to the Irish National Stud at the end of the season so we’ll have a couple more cracks at the highest level.”

Group One engagement next for Shouldvebeenaring

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Shouldvebeenaring has a Deauville return in the diary after his maiden Group race victory in the Prix de Ris-Orangis on Sunday.

The Havana Grey colt has done his owners proud so many times in pattern events, going down only narrowly in valuable contests such as the Sandy Lane, Sprint Cup, Prix de la Foret and the Duke of York Stakes.

The latter run came earlier this season, where was beaten by a nose in a finish so tight that the judge had to split the winner and the runner-up.

Despite now earning just shy of £500,000 in prize money, victory had proved elusive for the grey as his last win came in the Listed King Charles II Stakes at Newmarket in early May 2023.

The wait for a sixth career success ended at Deauville on Sunday, where the four-year-old was contesting the Group Three Prix de Ris-Orangis for trainer Richard Hannon and owners Middleham Park Racing.

Partnered as usual by Sean Levey, Shouldvebeenaring was one of a five-strong British contingent and brought the prize home when prevailing by a short neck from James Tate’s Electric Storm.

Group One opportunities await the colt now, and he will return to Deauville to contest the Prix Maurice de Gheest before aiming to go one better in the Sprint Cup at Haydock.

“We were relived to get that first Group win because he’s been knocking on the door in Group Ones and Group Twos, he was devilishly unlucky at York in the Duke of York Stakes,” said Tim Palin of Middleham Park.

“It’s great to set that record straight and get a first Group win under his belt. It was a great ride from Sean, who was really tenacious through that final furlong when he was a bit blocked up.

“He had to come round and pass half a dozen in the final furlong and a half, it was a thoroughly deserved victory.

“He does seem to like Deauville, he’s been there twice now and he was fifth in the Prix Jean Prat, he probably lost a couple of places in the final furlong in the soft ground there.

“We’ve described him as having two Derbys this season – if you can use the word Derby to describe a sprint race – the Prix Maurice de Gheest, which is where he’ll go next, and then off to Haydock for the Sprint Cup.

“He seems to go well at both of those venues, so it’s back up to Group One company to try to get that icing on the cake.”

Shouldvebeenaring is already engaged to start a new career once his racing days end, with the Irish National Stud adding him their roster of stallions following the conclusion of the season.

“He will retire to the Irish National Stud at the end of the season, we’re looking forward to that chapter in his career already,” said Palin.

“There’s a little bit of unfinished business for us to be focusing on between now and then!”

Middleham could roll Group One dice with The Strikin Viking

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Connections could be torn between “sensible shoes” or wanting to “reach for the stars” with The Strikin Viking following his gallant second in the Gain Railway Stakes.

The two-year-old built on his impressive debut at York, where he travelled strongly to make all and win by two and three-quarters lengths, to fail narrowly on his first Pattern appearance in Ireland on Sunday.

Kevin Ryan’s colt hit the front with a furlong to go in the Group Two race at the Curragh, but he was headed by Aidan O’Brien’s Henri Matisse in the closing stages to finish a half-length second in the five-runner contest.

Owners Middleham Park Racing are buoyed by the display of their charge after the son of Inns Of Court moved three and a quarter lengths clear of Norfolk Stakes third Arizona Blaze.

That has opened plenty of opportunities for The Strikin Viking, although director of Middleham Park Racing Tim Palin has ruled out the previously touted Group Two Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly later this month.

Instead, it will be a call on whether to remain at this level in the Qatar Richmond Stakes at Goodwood or Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes at York, or to step up to Group One company with a return to the Curragh for the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes or a trip to France for the Prix Morny at Deauville next month.

“He’s back home already, he ate up and trotted up just fine. We can start making some plans,” Palin said.

“Delighted. You probably would have taken that before the race. He’s pulled three and a quarter lengths clear of the Norfolk third so the collateral form is there.

“At the minute, I think Timeform has just given it a 108, whether that gets slightly adjusted because of the time I don’t know, up or down. A mighty performance in defeat and the winner is already favourite for the 2000 Guineas I’m led to believe.

“He’s in the Papin, the chronology might not work brilliantly. He had 15 days between York and then, he will probably only have another 14 days between the Railway and that.

“There was an element of it was one or the other, so just at the minute we might just park him up for a little while, a mini-break.

The Strikin Viking wins on debut for Kevin Ryan at York
A return to York or the Curragh could be an option for The Strikin Viking (Nigel French/PA)

“Races like the Richmond and the Gimcrack would be on the agenda, and for all that he’s not in the Phoenix Stakes, we might just monitor what’s being aimed at that because if Timeform stick with their 108, that performance is only bettered by the winner and Bedtime Story.

“If at the minute he’s the third-best rated two-year-old out there, why wouldn’t you consider the Phoenix Stakes or the Morny?

“We’ve got two Group Two options there if you pop on some sensible shoes with the Richmond and the Gimcrack, but if we wanted to reach for the stars then the possibilities of either the Phoenix Stakes or the Morny, which are within seven days of each other.

“The two-year-old cohort is going to be split in two directions at that time and arguably more if you are talking Gimcracks and such like.”

Railway Stakes mission for The Strikin Viking this weekend

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Connections are hoping The Strikin Viking can be as prolific as the Premier League footballer he was named after when he aims to build on an impressive debut in the Gain Railway Stakes at the Curragh.

The two-year-old is named after Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and his owners, Middleham Park Racing, admitted they saved the moniker for a “nice horse”.

Bought for 65,000 guineas, he was sent to trainer Kevin Ryan and found his feet at home before debuting in the Reg Griffin Appreciation ebfstallions.com Maiden Stakes at York earlier this month.

The Strikin Viking wins at York in June
The Strikin Viking is named after Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (Nigel French/PA)

The son of Inns Of Court travelled strongly to make all and win by two and three-quarters lengths ahead of Tiger Mask, which immediately brought him into the conversation of Group-level contests.

The Strikin Viking is out to follow in the footsteps of Kool Kompany, who carried the sky blue and yellow silks of Middleham to victory in the 2014 running of the Curragh Group Two.

On Tuesday, he was supplemented into the Sunday’s race, where he could face four Aidan O’Brien runners among a total of nine rivals, and director of Middleham Park Racing Tim Palin believes he has “earned his stripes” for a step up to Pattern company.

“We went to York, we were hopeful he would be showing what he had been doing at home on the track, and he did that in spades,” Palin said.

“The performance had a bit of a ‘wow’ factor about it. He did it on the clock and he did it visually as well, I think the commentator on the day used the word ‘pulverised’.

“Straight away Kevin was mentioning races like the Gimcrack so he’s of the opinion that he’s a Group horse. He’s gone and done it on the track in a fast time with big numbers so he’s worthy of consideration at least for Group races.

“He wasn’t initially in the Railway Stakes, just because of the chronology of the sales. The entries go in fairly early for that race and he was still a horse that was settling in from the breeze-ups, and we don’t like to put in fancy entries until they’ve earned their stripes on the track.

“He’s earned his stripes. The race looks a particularly warm renewal and there’s lots of Aidan O’Brien horses in there. There’s lots of fancy silks and we are just privileged to be dining at the same table as these people.

“It wasn’t an easy decision whether to spend €12,000 on the supplement, but collectively we earned more than that in prize-money and €10,000 Irish incentive at York so we are rolling back in some of our earnings.

“He warrants a place in there, (not sure) whether he can cut the mustard against horses like that. But usually the horses that do on the numbers on debut are capable of a step up in class.

“We thought we would go down the step-up-in-class route rather than the novice under a penalty. The ground will be quicker at the Curragh than it was at York so there will be differences there, but we thought a faint heart never wins a fair maiden.

“We’ve rolled the dice with a number of horses in the past. If you have a horse like this, this is what we try to bring to the general public where you can pit your wits against Aidan O’Brien, against Amo Racing and line up against their silks, and on the odd occasion you will come away disappointed and the odd occasion you will come away with glory.”

Palin opened up on possible destinations for The Strikin Viking this summer, with France and a return to the Knavesmire set to be likely appointments.

“As a northerner I would love to win the Gimcrack. It would be fantastic to reconvene at the Gimcrack dinner and celebrate the victory,” he said.

“He’s in the Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly in July, obviously a race like the Gimcrack would be the dream, if he went back to the Knavesmire and at least run in that, let alone pull it off, if he could finish in the fame there that would be some achievement.

“It will be a big learning curve for him, for us, and we might come away disappointed, we might come away bathed in glory. We will see, that’s why we do this.”

The Strikin Viking straight onto the scoresheet on York debut

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The Strikin Viking lived up to his name with a stunning start to his racecourse career at York.

Named in honour of Manchester City hotshot Erling Haaland by owners Middleham Park Racing, the Kevin Ryan-trained youngster broke sharply in the Reg Griffin Appreciation ebfstallions.com Maiden Stakes over six furlongs on the Knavesmire.

Always bowling along powerfully from there under Tom Eaves, the further he went, the better he looked, with the 8-1 chance ultimately striding right away from the field to score by an emphatic two and three-quarter lengths over Tiger Mask.

The victory came as no surprise to his trainer, who said: “He’s been very good from the day we’ve had him.

“I told Tim (Palin, syndicate manager) a while ago that I thought he was a very good horse and I think that’s why they put the name to him, as the boys are very passionate about Manchester City.

“I didn’t hide the fact how much I liked him to the syndicate today. They have to go and do it on a racecourse, but I think he’s a very smart horse.

“He’s done what he had to do today and I’ll speak to Tim next week. You might see him back here in August (for the Gimcrack Stakes), but we’ll be doing something beforehand.”

Manchester City v BSC Young Boys – UEFA Champions League – Group G – Etihad Stadium
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland celebrates scoring in the Champions League (Richard Sellers/PA).

Tom Palin, who like his father is an avid Manchester City supporter, added: “He shoots, he scores, I guess!

“There’s a lot been made about our Manchester City names and we tend to save them for horses that we think have got a bit of ability. I didn’t realise he possessed quite that much, but we’ve never had a bad word from Kevin about him, he’s done nothing but please the team at home.

“When you come to the Knavesmire on debut, there’s a lot of things that can go wrong, you normally bump into nice horses here and they invariably work out well these maidens.

“Tom said it was tough to fault anything he did in the race. He came out of the stalls great, took him there on the bridle and was a total professional. You’d hope there’s more to come.”

The Strikin Viking dominated his rivals
The Strikin Viking dominated his rivals (Nigel French/PA)

Considering future plans, Palin said: “We’ve not sat down and talked about where we’re going to go, obviously Royal Ascot is next week, so that’s going to come far too soon for him.

“But there’s plenty of other options – the July meeting (at Newmarket) and things like that, but we’ll have a discussion with Kevin and see where we go.

“There’s a few Man City supporters in the syndicate, so it’s great it’s worked out so well.

“Winning today is a great start, we’ve probably got promoted from League Two now and can start thinking about League One!”

Middleham Park aiming to put a ring on Ascot success

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Connections believe popular colt Shouldvebeenaring has “unfinished business” in Pattern races as they target Royal Ascot glory in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.

The four-year-old has been knocking on the door for Group-class triumphs ever since making the step up from Listed company after his victory in the King Charles II Stakes at Newmarket in May 2023.

His near-misses include a second in the Sandy Lane Stakes on his next run, before returning to Haydock last September to be beaten by a neck in the Sprint Cup behind Regional.

A third in the Group One Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs at ParisLongchamp followed in October, while more recently the Richard Hannon-trained colt was a nose behind Mill Stream at York on his penultimate start.

Shouldvebeenaring
Shouldvebeenaring, right, has had several near-misses in Group company over the last 13 months (Tim Goode/PA)

That run gives his owners plenty of optimism regarding another strong performance at the Royal meeting, where Shouldvebeenaring aims to improve on his seventh-place finish in last year’s renewal of the Commonwealth Cup.

“You can imagine that slightly patient tactics at Ascot could work,” said Tom Palin, of Middleham Park Racing.

“He didn’t disgrace himself by any stretch of the imagination in the Commonwealth Cup last year, I just think we were drawn on the wrong side, so there is a bit of unfinished business at Ascot.

“But really his season revolves around the six-and-a-half-furlong French Group One (Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville in August) and going back to Haydock for that Sprint Cup, where we really do have unfinished business in that Group One against Regional.

“Those are probably his two Derbys for the year, but absolutely the Jubilee will be his next run and we’re looking forward to seeing how that pans out.

“If we have a bit of pace on our side, hopefully we can come and pick them up late on – and normally it’s not a bad thing to do at Ascot.”

Globetrotting Brave Emperor returns to British soil for the first time since finishing down the field in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot last year.

Successes in France, Germany, Italy and Qatar have earned the Archie Watson-trained four-year-old an entry in the Queen Anne Stakes this time around.

Malc, trained by Richard Fahey, will renew his rivalry with Elite Status in the Commonwealth Cup at the same venue where he beat him by half a length when second in the Norfolk Stakes 12 months ago.

Middleham Park are also enthused by two-year-old Glorious Kitty, who came fourth on debut in the Marygate at York for Mick and David Easterby last month, as she makes her second career start in Berkshire.

Palin said of Brave Emperor: “He is thoroughly deserving of a stab at these sorts of races.

“He’s earned his right to have a go the hard way by doing Listed races, Group Threes and Group Twos in far-flung places, so there’s not a more deserving horse to roll the dice in one of these English Group Ones.

“And as you saw in the Lockinge, it is a wide-open division, and who knows, he might be able to get loose rolling away at the front end in the same way Audience did and he might just stay there, we know he’s a tough horse to go past.”

On Malc, Palin added: “He was second in the Norfolk last year, so he’s got previous at Ascot.

“He’s had his little ailments at the end of his two-year-old career, but I felt the way the race panned out in the Carnarvon at Newbury, again we were just drawn this side and we were the best of anything drawn that side by quite a long way.

“I know Elite Status looked mighty impressive that day and he was always held in high regard, but we did beat him at Ascot last year and I feel that if you change the draw, at least put us over that side, we would have definitely given Elite Status something to think about.

“The way that Ascot pans out for the likes of Malc, just a little more patient tactics, I expect him to be quite a live 66-1 each-way shot.”

Speaking about Glorious Kitty, he said: “She will either go for the Queen Mary or the Albany. She ran fourth in the Marygate on debut, so she’s a hugely exciting horse with Mick and Dave Easterby.”

Chantilly return mapped out for Got To Love A Grey

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Karl Burke’s Got To Love A Grey has another Chantilly start pencilled in after a taking victory in the Listed Prix Ronde de Nuit.

The three-year-old, who is by Dark Angel, was twice a winner as a juvenile and picked up early black type when landing the Listed Marygate Fillies’ Stakes at York last May.

She was then a creditable fifth in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, but met with a setback after that run and therefore it was her last start of 2023.

At Chantilly on Monday she returned to action after a 271-day absence from the track, defeating previous Group and Listed winners in heavy ground to prevail by a length and a half.

Got To Love A Grey (left) winning the Marygate
Got To Love A Grey (left) winning the Marygate (Mike Egerton/PA)

That performance was over a five-and-a-half-furlong trip and the filly is now booked in for a course-and-distance return as the Group Three Sigy is intended to be her next outing.

“It was a great training performance as she was off since the Queen Mary, she had a minor injury that was nothing serious and just needed time,” said Mike Prince of owners Middleham Park Racing.

“We always had that race in mind to get her back ready, it’s good Listed form for a filly and she didn’t carry a penalty for her Marygate win, so it seemed an ideal starting point.

“She was gutsy, it was pretty heavy ground but she’d won on soft at Nottingham so that didn’t seem to stop her.

“The plan was that if she won or ran well then we’d go back for the Sigy, I know Karl’s got quite a few for the race – he’s pretty well stocked for sprint fillies!”

Beyond the Prix Sigy, connections are likely to embark on a fact-finding mission as to the filly’s ideal trip as her pedigree would suggest she will be effective over longer distances.

“It will be an interesting one, I think she’s versatile ground wise so what we need to find out is what her optimum trip is,” Prince explained.

“She shaped on Monday like she’d certainly get six furlongs and her pedigree suggests that she might actually get seven and potentially a mile.

“You’d say at this point she probably shows too much speed for a mile, but after the Sigy we’ll probably step her up to six and explore black type races – it’ll be Group races now as she’ll be carrying Listed penalties.

“We could try her over further later in the season but if she goes well over six, then it could be a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

“In the Sigy she’ll be up a notch in terms of her opposition and that’ll tell us what route we should go. If she were to win it would be Group Twos and Group Ones, but we’ll take it from there. There should be lots of fun times ahead.”

Globetrotter Brave Emperor all set for Qatar run

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Middleham Park Racing’s well-travelled Brave Emperor will try to break new ground as he bids for further Group success in Qatar on Saturday.

The gelding is one of racing’s most prolific globetrotters and has brought home significant prize money from Italy, Germany, France and Sweden in the last year alone – as well as winning on home turf.

He won the Listed Prix de la Californie at Cagnes-Sur-Mer last term before travelling around Europe to pick up three Group Three events and the Group Two Premio Vittorio Di Capua at San Siro in November.

Now Archie Watson’s charge will return to action at the same level in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup at the Amir Sword meeting in Qatar this weekend.

The bay is currently settling in ahead of his first run in the Middle East and will compete for a total prize fund of nearly £400,000, with the winning connections taking home over £225,000.

“He’s the second top-rated for the race, he definitely deserves his chance and it’s fantastic prize money,” said Tim Palin of Middleham Park.

“It’s going to be the experience of a lifetime for the half a dozen owners going over.

“It’s going to be once in a lifetime, for all they’ve tasted success in Milan and Sweden, twice in Germany and in France as well.

“He’s a real globetrotting horse, he’s the perfect horse. He’s a Group Two winner and three times a Group Three winner.

“He was originally purchased as a yearling by Robson Aguiar and we bought him privately as a two-year-old just before the breeze-ups.

“He’s been an absolute revelation for us and everybody has experienced a fantastic journey with him. Hopefully he’ll continue to acquit himself well on Saturday.”

Marie’s Rock set to target second Mares’ Hurdle triumph

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Connections of Marie’s Rock appear to have abandoned ambitions of conquering the staying hurdling division in favour of another crack at the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Her previous attempts at three miles have proved fruitless, but the team behind Nicky Henderson’s nine-year-old have always felt they needed further evidence over a staying distance before completely giving up on the Stayers’ Hurdle dream.

A run in the Cleeve Hurdle later in the month was mooted as the potential acid test of her staying credentials, but following a seven-length defeat by a resurgent Bob Olinger when trying to defend her Relkeel Hurdle crown, attentions will be turned to another run over two and a half miles at the Festival in March and an attempt to win the mares’ only Grade One for a second time.

Marie's Rock (right) could not match Bob Olinger at Cheltenham
Marie’s Rock (right) could not match Bob Olinger at Cheltenham (Nigel French/PA)

“I think she ran a Marie’s Rock race. They went a good enough gallop. James (Bowen) was very happy with how she settled and she jumped very well,” said Middleham Park’s National Hunt racing manager Tom Palin.

“I think we were just beaten by a resurgent Bob Olinger and you can do nothing but tip your cap and go ‘well played’.

“We were discussing about going three miles again, but I would say at this point we are going to go for the Mares’ Hurdle. That would be the hot take, if you were.

“I think this tells us we should be looking back to what we know and to go and try to win the Mares’ Hurdle again. Hopefully, we get a truer-run race in it this year.”

Marie’s Rock won at the Cheltenham Festival in 2022
Marie’s Rock won at the Cheltenham Festival in 2022 (David Davies/PA)

Although surrendering her Relkeel crown to Henry de Bromhead’s on-song raider, the Middleham Park Racing team were pleased with Marie’s Rock’s efforts at Prestbury Park and will now return their star mare to her own sex for her Festival tune-up, which is likely to be Warwick’s Listed Hurdle on February 10.

“That performance she put in was the real Marie’s Rock and I think that performance is good enough to be competitive in a Mares’ Hurdle at the Festival,” continued Palin.

“I don’t think we will go to Ascot (for the Warfield) or the Cleeve Hurdle.

“I think we will go to Warwick for the Listed race she won before the Mares’ Hurdle at the Festival. That is in mid-February. That is about six weeks away now, then it is a month to the Festival and that appears the route we will go.”

Relkeel target for Marie’s Rock on New Year’s Day

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Marie’s Rock is being readied for a defence of her Relkeel Hurdle crown on New Year’s Day after connections decided against a tilt at Saturday’s Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

Nicky Henderson’s dual Grade One winner proved much too strong for Dashel Drasher in the Relkeel at Cheltenham last season, prompting the Middleham Park Racing team to seriously consider stepping up to three miles in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival in March.

Ultimately, though, she was kept against her own sex in a bid to secure back-to-back victories in the Mares’ Hurdle, but failed to fire as retiring superstar Honeysuckle stole the show.

Nicky Henderson with Marie's Rock
Nicky Henderson with Marie’s Rock (David Davies/PA)

Having subsequently run with credit over the extended distance at Aintree in the spring, optimism was high when she tackled three miles again in last month’s Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, but Marie’s Rock could finish only fourth behind her old rival Dashel Drasher, prompting a change of direction.

“She was a bit too free and fresh at Newbury to get an accurate reading on whether she stayed the three miles and we’ve decided to go back to what we know for her next start,” said Middleham Park’s National Hunt racing manager Tom Palin.

“I was probably a bit too bullish for my own good before Newbury, but horses to have a tendency to make you look silly at times! She was certainly the liveliest I’ve seen her in recent memory in the parade ring beforehand and Nico (de Boinville) felt the damage was done before the tapes even went up.

“We’ll go back to two and a half on soft ground at Cheltenham, which we know she loves, burn some more freshness off her and get her really fit before going back up to three miles, either in the Cleeve Hurdle back at Cheltenham on Trials day or there’s a Grade Two mares’ race at Ascot on January 20.”

Bob Olinger could face Marie's Rock at Cheltenham
Bob Olinger could face Marie’s Rock at Cheltenham (Tim Goode/PA)

Palin is fully aware the Relkeel Hurdle will be no penalty kick for Marie’s Rock, with Henry de Bromhead’s resurgent Irish star Bob Olinger among her potential rivals.

He added: “It’s not a bad race the Relkeel, by the way – it’s not a case of we’re dodging the Long Walk and ‘only’ going for the Relkeel. It was a very competitive race last year and it looks like it’s going to be at least as strong this time around.

“Unless it’s very obvious in the Relkeel that she doesn’t want any further, we’re keen to give her another go over three miles afterwards as that will tell us whether we aim for the Mares’ Hurdle again at the Festival or have another look at the Stayers’ Hurdle.

“She is a mare at the end of the day, so let’s see if we can get some more wins into her, starting off in a race where we know everything should be right for her.”