2022 has certainly lived up to its name in a season of ‘second-bests’ as we have had a strong campaign with FORTY WINNERS and over £530,000 in prize money. This resulted in our second-best ever season as regards to prize money (2005 remains the pinnacle, mainly thanks to Sergeant Cecil landing the unique Northumberland Plate, Ebor and Cesarewitch handicap hat-trick and bringing home over £350,000 of the £600,000 landed), our second-best regarding winners (2007 brought home 44) and frustratingly it was also our second highest total of seconds, with 50 filling the runners up slot (2005 topped that with 51).
While it would have been wonderful to have achieved some ‘personal bests’ these totals were achieved with just our ninth highest number of runners over the season. Prize money earnings were not dominated by one ‘star’ horse as nine of our string earned between £25,000 and £50,000. At the end of the turf season, we had won with 25 of our 42 individual runners, which meant 60% of the string had won a race, equalling the 60% strike rate of Charlie Appleby who won with 96 of their 160 runners and made us joint-top of any yard running more than 35 horses. When you consider the fact that we aim to run every horse that gets sent to us, whereas most top yards are very protective of their strike rates, it certainly shows how strong the year was across the board. We also targeted some valuable handicaps, winning two Racing League contests, a Sunday Series Handicap and the Bath Sprint Final as well as landing two £20,000 Great British Bonuses. While it didn’t really boost the prize money totals, certainly relative to the performance levels achieved, getting valuable black type for three two-year-olds fillies ensured they became valuable broodmare commodities for their owners.
It was our strength in the two-year-old department that set us up nicely for the year. Having got the superstar Super Sprint winner that was Bettys Hope for just £3,000, we were perhaps guilty of trying to stick within the bargain basement prices in recent years when the reality was that you needed to spend a little bit more money, especially as prices have remarkably risen despite the economic uncertainty. So, we tried to up our quality when buying at the yearling sales and spending a little bit more, although that’s all relative as our most expensive yearling was 35,000gns, which is still at the low end compared to the big yards! While we were also fortunate that we had two fillies by the first season stallion sensation that was Havana Grey but it’s safe to say the season exceeded our expectations.
Of those Havana Grey’s, it was CUBAN MISTRESS who provided us with our first stakes winner in eight years when she landed the Listed St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury in August. She had always shown a lot in the spring, and we were confident that we had a racy two-year-old on our hands. Although a little disappointing on her debut, she won nicely at the second attempt at Sandown, landing a £20,000 GBB bonus in the process. We deliberately missed Royal Ascot to aim for a second bonus and thought we had it in the bag when she kicked five lengths clear at Bath on her following start but she got caught in the shadows of the post by subsequent Group 1 winner Lezoo. A hefty bump coming out the stalls in a 3-runner race didn’t help her next time out at Windsor before she finished second stepped up to Listed company in the Dragon Stakes behind Rocket Rodney. Track bias and lack of stamina for a stiff six found her out when fifth in the Princess Margaret at Ascot before her St Hugh’s win. Unfortunately, she was then sidelined by a minor injury at the end of the season when being prepped for the Cornwallis, frustrating as she had beaten both the first and second in that contest previously. While she had a wonderful juvenile campaign, it could have been slightly more but that’s horse racing and she has put on weight nicely over the winter so there are strong signs she will train on from two to three.
TAGLINE was our other Havana Grey filly and she didn’t disappoint on debut, finishing second at 80/1 before winning her own bonus at Windsor on second start. She then raced exclusively in stakes company and performed at a consistently high level throughout the year. A pair of thirds in the Listed Empress at Newmarket and the Group 3 Dick Poole at Salisbury secured the valuable black-type and she nearly earned some more when fourth in the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge and Group 3 Oh So Sharp. Bought back by her owner breeders for 14,000gns as a yearling, she returned to the sales ring a year later and sold for £110,000 to be covered by stallion A’Ali.
Our black-type trio was rounded out by WOOLHAMPTON who frustratingly remained a maiden, despite being our highest prize money earner of the season, mostly thanks to her second place in the Weatherby’s Super Sprint at 80/1, with earnings just shy of £50,000. She relished being ridden quietly off a fast pace and proved the Super Sprint second was no fluke by following Cuban Mistress home in third in the Listed St Hugh’s Stakes and securing her broodmare career in the process. We then chased more big prize money in two Sales races at Newmarket, but things didn’t pan out ideally which is often the case in those big field contests. This 27,000gns yearling can hopefully get a confidence boosting success in the spring before competing in some of the valuable fillies sprints next year.
That trio operated successfully at Stakes level, but we also had a strong time in the two-year-old nurseries in the second half of the season, with SAFARI DREAM having a profitable campaign. A full brother to Amazonian Dream, who had showed so much as a juvenile, Safari is a different type physically, taller and leaner than his brother and also a month younger as a May foal so we took our time with him in the spring and he only made his debut in June, greenness costing him a winning start as he lost out by just a neck at Sandown. He was then third at Windsor before finishing tenth in the Super Sprint where his lack of experience showed. Off a lenient opening mark of 74 he won on nursery debut back at Sandown before we targeted him at the £35,000 Sunday Series Nursery that we had won twelve months previously with his full brother at the Esher track. While first past the post by a nose in that contest, he was controversially disqualified, to the shock of everyone watching and reporting on the race. Although it certainly put a downer on the day for the owners (and anyone that backed him) we were confident we could reverse the decision on appeal and it meant he could go for a £25,000 Racing League nursery ten days later without a penalty. He duly won that race and a few weeks later the subsequent appeal, so he ended up with a profitable nursery hat-trick and over £40,000 in prize money. He endured a rough race in the 27-runner sales race that ended his campaign but we feel he should strengthen up nicely from two to three and is one to look forward to off a mark of 84.
We also had back-to-back nursery success with a true Rod Millman Racing homebred in PRINCESS NAOMI who was by our very own Master Carpenter out of a mare in Achianna that had shown promise on the gallops but injury meant she couldn’t fulfil her potential on the track. Having finished third on her final qualifying run at Chepstow, we were surprised she got a lenient opening mark of 48 and she duly won one of the first nurseries of the season over 7f at Chelmsford, providing Master Carpenter with his first winner as a sire. She then followed up at Beverley under a penalty, but the handicapper got his revenge by putting her up 14lbs for the two wins. Another dual nursery winner was COCO HILL, who won her final two starts at Chepstow and Yarmouth, enjoying the soft ground conditions which hardly ever appeared throughout the season. While one that seemed much better on the all-weather was IGNAC LAMAR and this Dandy Man gelding was impressive when winning at Wolverhampton and we are hopeful he can do well on the artificial surfaces this winter.
At the other end of the age spectrum, it was old favourite AIRSHOW that was our most prolific winner of the year as the admirable gelding won four times in 2022, twice on the AW in January and then two more at Bath on the turf. Since returning to the yard two years ago, he has run 27 times, winning six and finishing placed on seventeen occasions. Another of the veterans was SIR PLATO who landed career win number twelve at Chepstow in June, equalling Whitbarrow as the joint winning-most horse trained here at The Paddocks. Not far behind him in the winning stakes is SINGING THE BLUES who returned from a leg injury to win two amateur contests at Ffos Las, for both Pat and Jo Supple (who recorded her first flat win) and took his career tally to ten victories. Meanwhile the consistent CRYSTAL CASQUE was another dual winner, her two apprentice wins at Salisbury, providing Connor Planas with his very first winner back in May and giving our apprentice Oliver Searle his first winner since a hip operation in September. She has now won eight times and been placed 22 times from 49 starts in her career.
We targeted some valuable handicaps with our older horses and while the London Final didn’t go to plan for BILLY MILL, the £50,000 Racing League Handicap at Newcastle in September certainly did as he added to his earlier Kempton success in his first season at the yard and he too could have a profitable winter on the AW. Tough filly CRAZY LUCK had a very similar campaign to 2021, landing the same fillies handicap at Newbury in June and then a £20,000 contest at Chester. She certainly requires luck with her running style and that eluded us a Glorious Goodwood when getting absolutely no run whatsoever. While ABLE KANE had an exceptional 2021, winning three times and over £66,000 in prize money, so this year was always going to be tough but he soon found his level. Unfortunately winning a £20,000 handicap at Ffos Las by six lengths ruined his handicap mark but he continued to perform with credit in some strong contests, winning another £30,000 in prize money and taking his earnings over the £100,000 barrier.
Both SILENT FLAME and FOUR ADAAY won three times each at three but didn’t have smooth four-year-old campaigns this time around. Silent Flame won at Newbury and had three second places but she wasn’t quite at her best and she remains well handicapped for her five-year-old career. Meanwhile, Four Adaay was unlucky to come up against two smart sprinters in Equality and Tees Spirit (both now rated 104) in her first two starts of the campaign before winning cosily at Nottingham in May. Sadly she picked up sinus infection that required an operation which set her back for the rest of the season. She has dropped to a mark of 70 and is very well treated if getting back to her best next year. Meanhwhile, HURRICANE HELEN was never the easiest but progressed again from three to four, winning twice at Bath to take her career tally to four successes.
While we don’t have as many middle distance/staying handicappers as we used to, we still had winners in that division. PRINCE OF HARTS was an all the way winner in January at Kempton before being side-lined with a leg injury, but he should be back early next year. MASTER GREY requires a fast pace which he rarely gets in staying handicaps and amateur races are what he enjoys most, a 2m Lingfield success amongst eight placed efforts. And another newcomer to the yard FAST STEPS took a while to find his feet but after two second places for Pat, he won nicely at Sandown before finishing third in the Amateur Derby. He should improve for a winter out in the field and could do better again next season. While PRIDE OF HAWRIDGE’s need for ease in the ground meant he had few opportunities but was impressive when winning a Novice Amateur race at Ffos Las in the autumn. That was one of ten winners that we had in Apprentice/Amateur events, where identifying the right type of horse combined with a good rider can be a huge advantage.
Usually three-year-old handicappers provide our strongest source of winners but we were down on numbers in that division this year, but still enjoyed success. SOI DAO was a frustrating filly, a nasty kick in the field as a yearling meant she couldn’t run as a two-year-old and she picked up a bad lung infection after showing promise on her first two starts at three in the winter. She proved exceptionally consistent (eleven placed efforts in all) when getting back on track but was a much better filly on soft ground which was nearly impossible to find. However, the stars aligned when she finally got her conditions and lost her maiden tag in the £25,000 Bath Sprint Final at Chepstow. A filly whose pedigree improved as time went on, her Listed winning dam a half-sister to Group 1 QEII winner Bayside Boy meant she was sold for 25,000gns in October having been bought for 12,000gns as a yearling. Homebred DEVON ENVOY didn’t have the best confirmation but had tremendous early speed and he recorded all the way wins at Salisbury and Nottingham within a week to go with his juvenile success at Chepstow but as usual the handicapper won the battle as a 13lbs rise for those two wins forced him into a higher grade.
After slicing off part of his hip bone when getting cast as a two-year-old, we were unsure if AMAZONIAN DREAM would even stand training to run again so it was a relief to get him back to full fitness and on the track at three. His win at Bath in June showed that there remains plenty of ability, although his quirks got the better of him thereafter. Last winter he was stuck on box rest so we are hoping a long break out in the field will do him the world of good both physically and mentally this time around and hopefully he can fulfil that juvenile potential as a four year old. While Amazon is very quirky, TWILIGHT TONE was just plain lazy and didn’t particularly want to be a racehorse but we managed to coax him to victory at Wolverhampton on his handicap debut and in first time blinkers at Salisbury before the limited enthusiasm wore away. Speedy MISS ANACO was our first winner of 2022 when getting off the mark at Lingfield over 5f and added a couple of seconds to her tally in the summer.
While we had plenty of winners, there were plenty of agonising near misses and some of the string were unfortunate not to get off the mark. The veteran of the stable HANDYTALK picked up another four seconds (fourteen in total throughout his career) and was unlucky to meet Soi Dao in the Bath Sprint Final as we landed a one-two but another £13,000 in prize money took his career earnings past £75,000 and hopefully he can gain a final win on the AW before retirement. BAMA LAMA needs soft ground but she found some in Wales, getting three seconds and two thirds but deserved a win, twice losing out in photos. MOUNTAIN ASH was another that needed ease in the ground which was hard to find but he added two seconds (including one by a short head at Chepstow on a day where we had five fill the runners up slot!) in a frustrating campaign. While we didn’t have EXUDING very long but she was placed in three of her four starts on the AW in the winter and was one of our fifty second places!
So, all in all it was a very successful campaign, but we cannot do it without our excellent team of staff backed up by a strong support team of vets, farriers, feed merchants, physios etc that allow us to train these horses so a huge thanks to all involved. Meanwhile we are forever grateful for the strong show of support from our owners over the past thirty years that have helped the business to thrive and hopefully we can all have plenty more success in 2023.