Scampi wins at the Shergar Cup
In the last three months, Scampi has been a dream horse to own and has underlined how special it is when a syndicate like RaceShare owns a horse like him, because his successes touch so many more lives. He has taken us to some top meetings and added a second win in August at the Shergar Cup.
This was a special day and, thanks to Ascot Racecourse, a huge group of owners attended and enjoyed hospitality for the day. Scampi represented the winning Ladies’ Team and was ridden by Saffie Osborne, who has enjoyed a tremendous season. Scampi and Wootton’Sun went 12 lengths clear of the third horse and the pair were locked together, heads up, heads down, but Scampi had his nose in front when it mattered and a huge roar from his owners ensued. To have Oli Bell, a regular contributor for us, interview Saffie on the walk back into the parade ring was really special and it was a day we won’t forget.
Scampi has now run nine times this season since April and has taken us to some of the best meetings in the Flat calendar and high quality handicaps. Before his win at the Shergar Cup, he had finished second to Wootton’Sun in the £150k Old Newton Cup at Haydock and sixth of 18 in the historic £200k John Smith’s Cup at York in the space of a week. On the other side of the Ascot win were midfield finishes in the middle distance handicap showpiece, the £500k Ebor at York, and the £100k Racing League finale.
Scampi’s Ascot win made him a big fancy for the Ebor only two weeks later. This was another particularly memorable day for RaceShare and Scampi’s adoring owners, because York
Racecourse generously gave us exclusive access to the Sharpo Bar for the entire day, allowing us to invite nearly 200 owners and their guests to watch.
Oli Bell came to meet owners, take photos with them and give a rundown of the card. We kept him so busy that he almost missed his other job of interviewing the jockeys after the first race for ITV! Scampi had a huge battalion of support that day, but unfortunately the one question mark over stamina for the new trip of 1m 6f was realised and the tank emptied in the final furlong or so. Scampi was the last horse off the bridle and jockey Jason Hart said afterwards that he thought he was going to win a couple of furlongs from home. It wasn’t meant to be, but this proved what a classy racehorse he is. Click below to watch our interview with Tom Stanley on Racing TV, along with Ebor race analysis from Ross Brierley.
La Pulga bounces right back to form La Pulga had more than his fair share of bad luck since rising to a mark of 88 following a win and agonising second back in June. He had a couple of runs on ground that was too soft for him and then at York’s Ebor meeting, he was hampered twice in the home straight when making his challenge. He was unable to show his best next time at Haydock, but soon put that behind him with a gutsy display at Newcastle on 2 October, splitting the market leaders in a tight finish. This was his all-weather debut and he showed a clear liking for the surface, so a whole host of options have been opened up for him when the Flat turf season finishes. It was great to see him bounce right back to form and gives us lots to look forward to. Click the play button opposite to watch York race analysis from Ross Brierley, the Newcastle replay and a photo of him being washed down after that race.
Treasure Time nearing his second racecourse appearance
The form of Treasure Time’s debut at Newbury in June has not stopped churning out good results and form boosts, including most notably by the winner, Iberian, who won the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster in mid-September and is now rated 110! Treasure Time was particularly coltish before his debut, so he has been gelded, which should help him concentrate on the job which is running as fast as he can and saving his energy for the finish, rather than expending it in the parade ring! Treasure Time has had entries recently and it shouldn’t be long now before we see him make his eagerly anticipated second start.
Jolly Nellerie is back from his summer holiday
Jolly Nellerie has spent much of the past three months living the dream in the Herefordshire pastoral countryside on his summer break, along with the rest of Venetia Williams’ string. Some of the clips we have been sent of him frolicking in the field with so many of his companions, and splashing in huge puddles in the yard’s expansive fields, have been a joy to watch. Now, it’s back to business with our French import, as he returned to training in August with a view to a first run of the new season in early November. Jolly is only four, which means there should be plenty to come with him and hopefully a long and successful career in RaceShare silks awaits. He has an official rating of 115 and we think he’s looking well-handicapped on that mark based on his French form last year, so the excitement is starting to ramp up for his owners.
Finding the key to Red Mirage
Red Mirage has been somewhat of an enigma this season. This is common with racehorses and trainers spend a lot of their time trying to find the key to horses like him. Big Red, as he’s affectionately known, ran a solid race in defeat at the beginning of July at Haydock on his unfavoured quicker ground, where he was beaten under three lengths in fourth by Paws For Thought. That horse went on to win a Class 2 event next time out, so this was definitely a step in the right direction and more like the form of his first run of the season in May. Since then, he has run a few puzzling races at Carlisle and back at Chester, but this is what racehorses often do and we are confident that the Quinn team can freshen him up.
Seeing the horses at home
Our latest round of stable visits began on September 9 with a trip to see La Pulga at Kingsley Park in Middleham - the home of the Charlie Johnston team. Remarkably, this was another occasion whereby La Pulga ran that afternoon, which also happened back in April before his RaceShare debut. This time, his owners followed him from his home down to Haydock for his ninth run of the season, so it was a bumper day of action and quite the experience to see him in both environments within hours.
This visit was hosted by the brilliant Ross Brierley, a regular contributor to the RaceShare experience courtesy of the monthly shows and RaceTime, our live show for all runners. Ross chatted to Charlie about La Pulga’s results and prospects, as well as taking over the licence from his record-breaking father Mark and the bloodstock side of their business.
Seeing the horses at home
The show continued in Yorkshire the following weekend, as owners travelled across to Malton to see Red Mirage at John Quinn’s Highfield Stables on September 17. This came only two days after Red Mirage’s run at Chester, so it was great for owners to see him in race-fit condition so soon after his exploits on the track.
Red Mirage looked magnificent and the weather was kind, so it was another great day out for his owners. He’s such a good looking horse, so it was no surprise to see so many owners posting their snaps in the Facebook group over that weekend.
Ross Brierley once again hosted the visit and John was in great form fielding lots of questions.
Seeing the horses at home
The final one of our trio of stable visits in September took place at the Venetia Williams yard in Hereford on the last day of the month, where Jolly Nellerie looked in fine fettle as he builds up for the new season. Owners had the pleasure of seeing him on the gallops with some of his stablemates, including the high class chaser, Royale Pagaille.
In October, visits to William Haggas’s Somerville Lodge in Newmarket and Andrew Balding’s Park House Stables in Hampshire will complete the set, so we are really looking forward to those. Treasure Time and Scampi have been so popular among our owners, so it will be great to end the season seeing them at home in the flesh again.
RaceShare community growing
Our Facebook group recently reached 1,000 members within 11 months! It has become such a great hub for owners to share their photos and videos from racedays, and opinions on their horses. We have already witnessed so many of our owners make genuine friendships by being a part of the group, which is exactly what it’s there for.
The level of positivity and enthusiasm for RaceShare has been amazing and hugely appreciated, so here’s to the next 1,000 and beyond! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the group and made it such a big part of the RaceShare experience.
If you haven’t already joined us in the Facebook group, please click here to join.
Our
new official on-course
representative Nick Briggs joined the RaceShare team as an official on-course representative in September and we are delighted to have him on the team. Nick has been such a loyal and enthusiastic supporter since purchasing shares in all our horses shortly after we launched last year. He has helped us on a number of occasions as our representative and his hosting skills, along with his efforts to keep everyone informed and involved on racedays has been impressive. Nick is really popular among our owners too. Welcome Nick and thank you!
Wishing our colleague Dan Walsh all the best
Unfortunately, in early September our colleague Dan Walsh was hospitalised with a heart attack.
Dan has been a valuable member of the RaceShare team and has done a great job getting to know owners in person and via our social media channels. He also has the unique accolade of calling home our first winner on his debut on our live RaceTime show back in May, which led many owners to believe he was our lucky charm!
At the time of writing, he is taking it easy at home. We wish him all the best in his recovery.
Our latest competition - Pre-Champions Day
Lunch with Oli Bell and Lydia Hislop
At RaceShare, we have tried to have as many competitions as possible during the course of our first year, which have included an all expenses paid trip for two to the Dubai World Cup in March and free shares in our team of Flat horses during Derby week. Our latest competition comprised a chance to win a place at lunch in London with Oli Bell and Lydia Hislop on the day before British Champions Day at Ascot.
The competition was well supported on social media and particularly so among our existing owners. There were two places up for grabs on our socials and eight places for our owners. It promises to be an excellent event and a great opportunity to get to know two of racing’s most respected figures.
Looking ahead
In just over a month, RaceShare will celebrate its one-year anniversary and the time has flown by. This means the initial syndicate term of one year is coming to an end, so it will be time for owners to renew their shares in our horses for a further term, if they so wish. It has been our policy to be as transparent as possible on costs, which is why we committed to the renewal cost for Year 2 at launch, so that owners knew what they would be invited to pay for a further year at the point they joined RaceShare.
Owners will receive their share of any net prize money won by their horses at the renewal stage and can put this towards their renewal payment. For lucky owners in Scampi, their share of prize money will virtually cover their renewal fee, such has been the exploits of the horse and that is a bonus for all his owners.
The time is also nearly here to honour our pledge to horse racing, which is to donate £5,000 every year to the charity, Retraining of Racehorses. We hope our annual donation will help the RoR continue to do a brilliant job in retraining and rehoming ex-racehorses. Longer-term, as we expand, we intend to increase our support for grass-roots racing charities and projects. We will do this to show our respect and commitment to supporting the infrastructure of horseracing, which ultimately ensures the strength of the sport we love.
Finally, this time of year is also the time to look at adding to RaceShare’s string of horses and we will be at the sales in October looking for more nice prospects. This means that from early November, we hope to have a couple of new horses to purchase shares in and offer you the chance to get involved, whether you already are or you are yet to give RaceShare a try. We are grateful to everyone who joins us for the ride!
A taster of all the great content our owners receive…
