Stable News
22.12.06 - 2006 - A year to remember
ONCE AGAIN, Gainsborough Stables can reflect on another excellent season as the bare facts spell out. Four Group 1 triumphs provided the highlights, while there were 56 victories in all.
On the home front, prize money levels hit a new high with over £1.2million earned by the string. Plus, there were several significant efforts in valuable races abroad. Anyone remember a certain race by a certain mare at Churchill Downs in November?
Horses out at exercise earlier this morning
So all in all, it has been a case of ‘job well done’ with trainer Ed Dunlop more than content with how the season panned out.
He summed up: “It has been a good year. Winning over £1million in domestic prize money for the first time was something of a milestone, while I feel 56 winners is a decent enough return.
“As for highlights, Ouija Board provided us with several. The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes win gave us a day to remember at Royal Ascot, while the Nassau Stakes – as a spectacle – was fantastic. And, of course, her Breeders’ Cup victory was a real thrill for all of the team.
“Elsewhere, Court Masterpiece proved his 2005 Prix de la Foret success was no fluke when he won the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. That was a great highlight.
“Wagtail’s achievements were also very satisfying. She won four, culminating in a Listed victory at Ascot.
“Several two-year-olds made their mark and, in particular, King Charles deserves a special mention for winning three races in quick succession. There were others to show a deal of promise to suggest that there is plenty to look forward to in 2007.
“I must just also express my sincere thanks to the staff here at Gainsborough Stables. Without their hard work, none of what we have achieved would have been possible.
“On a personal front, the year ahead will be my first as a public trainer. I hope, then, that we can build on this season’s success and enjoy even more good days in the coming months.”
The early part of 2006 was notable for the progress of Song Of Silence. She bagged two victories at Lingfield, then finished second in the Listed Masaka Stakes as she rose through the handicap to a high of 99 – a hike of 33lb from the mark she started her campaign off.
Mubaashir was the Gainsborough Stables’ two-year-old to show early dash. He won on his debut at Kempton, followed up with a condition stakes’ victory at Chester and went on to run with credit in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes.
Royal Ascot saw Dunlop’s first Group 1 winner of the year with Ouija Board sweeping to a storming victory in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. With a smoother passage, Court Masterpiece – second in the Queen Anne – may well have given the Dunlop team a second top-class winner at the Royal meeting. Meanwhile, Easy Air was also second at Ascot, running a big race in defeat in the Britannia.
Glorious Goodwood has traditionally been a meeting that Dunlop has targeted, but no one would have dared dream that the yard could win both the feature Group 1s.
However, Ouija Board – in arguably the best race of the year – beat off the determined challenge of Alexander Goldrun in the Nassau Stakes, while Court Masterpiece rattled home to glory in the Sussex Stakes. It was a fantastic and unlikely- to-be-forgotten double for the Gainsborough Stables’ team.
There have been several multiple winners in the yard including Cool Customer, Island Odyssey and Wagtail, whose rise began in high summer. She’d won on her debut at Lingfield back in March but it was through July, August and September that she really flourished. Her fourth triumph arrived in a Listed race at Ascot in late September – a result that significantly enhanced her value. But she won’t be heading to the paddocks just yet and is set to carry on her racing career in 2007.
September also saw King Charles striking a blow for the two-year-olds. He completed a rapid hat-trick on September 19 at Newmarket – his third win in the space of a fortnight.
Other two-year-olds to catch the eye included Dream Scheme, also a winner on the Rowley Mile, the fast-finishing Dalvina who powered to victory at Lingfield and My Love Thomas, a debut scorer on the all-weather at the Surrey track. There were others to demonstrate promise, including Western Adventure, Broomielaw and Super Cross.
As the year drew to a close, Ouija Board provided one more memorable victory with a dazzling performance to earn a second Filly & Mare turf crown. She may now be finished but the memory of her brilliance lives.
There will never be another Ouija Board – she was a one-off. But fingers crossed, Dunlop and his team can keep on finding and nurturing outstanding horses to give Gainsborough Stables more glory in the weeks and months ahead.
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